Strategies for Saudi Student Success

By Elizabeth Redden. Several sessions on Wednesday at the annual NAFSA: Association of International Educators conference focused on the rapidly growing numbers of Saudi Arabian students in the United States and the unique challenges associated with these students, who often arrive on campus with low levels of English and math preparation and with cultural values that can complicate their chances for success in an American classroom. Fueling the growth in the numbers of these students has been the King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship Program, administered by the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM); the program, which started in 2005, funds 12 to 18 months of language training in addition to undergraduate or graduate degree study, predominantly in science- or engineering-related fields. Read more...