Uploaded byPatrick Arsenault
International Student Barometer Results Overview
The document presents the findings from the International Student Barometer at Grenfell, highlighting high satisfaction rates among international students in various support services. Key points include a significant rise in satisfaction concerning housing and arrival experiences, along with identified challenges such as the need for improved transportation and campus services. The document emphasizes the importance of staff support and personalized attention in enhancing the overall international student experience.
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International Student Barometer Results Overview
- 1. Public Forum: Experience ofInternational Students By: Patrick Arsenault | September 2018 parsenault@grenfell.mun.ca
- 2. 1. Background Information 2.5 Points of Pride 3. Overview of the Results 4. 5 New Challenges to Tackle 5. Discussion and Questions Agenda
- 3. • Please, keepyour questions for the discussion part. • You can share your questions during the presentation at slido.com (#N401)
- 4. Background What is theInternational Student Barometer and Why Does it Matter? The ISB tracks and compares the decision-making, expectations, perceptions and intentions of our international students from application to graduation. It enables us to make informed decisions to enhance the international student experience and drive successful recruitment and marketing strategies. With feedback from over 3 million students worldwide across all student types, levels and years of study, the ISB is the leading benchmarking tool used to track the international student experience. The Sample (Grenfell) Graduate Students: 14 Undergraduate students: 33 Short programs: 5 1st year: 20 Last year: 10 TOTAL participants: 49 slido.com (#N401)
- 5. Top 5 Pointsof Pride •100% Satisfaction Bursars' Office (During Arrival) •100% Satisfaction Office of Graduate Studies •100% Satisfaction Residence Assistants •100% Satisfaction International Student Services •Satisfaction went up from 60% to 92% in just two years Arrival in Housing Graduate Students: 14 Undergraduate students: 33 Short programs: 5 1st year: 20 Last year: 10 TOTAL participants: 49 The Sample (Grenfell) slido.com (#N401)
- 6. Overall Results 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 2015 2017 WouldRecommend Global St. John's Grenfell 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 2015 2017 Overall Satisfaction Global St. John's Grenfell slido.com (#N401)
- 7. ARRIVALS Welcome University orientation Internet Access Social Activities LEARNING Learning Support Learning Spaces Work Experience Multicultural LIVING Social Activities Campus Environment Social Facilities SportsFacilities Eco-Friendly Attitude Transportation Links SUPPORT International Support Services University Clubs/Societies Office of Graduate Studies Housing International Student Experience slido.com (#N401)
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- 9. Welcome and Orientation 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 20152017 University orientation Global St. John's Grenfell 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 2015 2017 Welcome Global St. John's Grenfell slido.com (#N401)
- 10. Internet Access andOverall Housing Conditions 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 2015 2017 Internet Access Global St. John's Grenfell 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 2015 2017 Overall Housing conditions Global St. John's Grenfell
- 11. Social Activities andMaking friends in Canada 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 2015 2017 Social Activities - Arrivals Global St. John's Grenfell 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 2015 2017 Making friends from Canada Global St. John's Grenfell slido.com (#N401)
- 12. Learning: What we areall about
- 13. Learning Support and LearningSpaces 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 2015 2017 Learning Support Global St. John's Grenfell 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 2015 2017 Learning Spaces Global St. John's Grenfell slido.com (#N401)
- 14. Work Experience and MulticulturalEnvironment 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 2015 2017 Work Experience Global St. John's Grenfell 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 2015 2017 Multicultural Global St. John's Grenfell slido.com (#N401)
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- 16. Social Facilities andActivities 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 2015 2017 Social Facilities Global St. John's Grenfell 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 2015 2017 Social Activities Global St. John's Grenfell slido.com (#N401)
- 17. Sports Facilities andCampus Environment 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 2015 2017 Sports Facilities Global St. John's Grenfell 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 2015 2017 Campus Environment Global St. John's Grenfell slido.com (#N401)
- 18. Eco-Friendly and Transportation Links 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 20152017 Eco-Friendly Attitude Global St. John's Grenfell 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 2015 2017 Transportation Links Global St. John's Grenfell slido.com (#N401)
- 19. Support: Help Students beSuccessful
- 20. Support Services forInternational Students and Graduate Students 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 2015 2017 International Support Services Global St. John's Grenfell 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 2015 2017 Office of Grad Studies Global St. John's Grenfell slido.com (#N401)
- 21. Student Clubs andHousing 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 2015 2017 University Clubs/Societies Global St. John's Grenfell 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 2015 2017 Housing Global St. John's Grenfell slido.com (#N401)
- 22. 5 New Challenges •Adda new Saturday shuttle to Murphy Square and other key locations •Add 4 fieldtrips for students per academic year •Have more services on campus (Get Involved Fair, Open a bank account on campus, get SIN on campus, etc). Transportation •Install more wireless access points to provide better coverage •Update the wireless network •Inform students in residence of ways to minimize interferences •Produce a factsheet with best practices Wireless Internet •Get Involved Fair (tomorrow) •Monthly meetings with the Speaker of the International Student Caucus Clubs and Societies •Applied for funding to create a career readiness program •Province-wide new initiative: Study and Stay (entrepreneurship) •ANC, ConnectorNL and WelcomeNL Off-Campus Employment and Career Readiness •Increased promotion of what is being done Eco-Friendly Attitude slido.com (#N401)
- 23. Final Thoughts • Whenit comes to choice of an institution, staff was one of the biggest contributors for international students. That is not the case at other institutions. • As a small campus focused on liberal arts education and graduate studies, we provide an exceptional learning environment, great support services, and personalized attention. • However, it can be more challenging for us to provide our students with the facilities of a much larger campus (e.g. sports facilities) and to provide the same employment opportunities of a bigger city. slido.com (#N401)
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- 25. International Student Barometer September 2018 PatrickArsenault, M.Ed., M.Sc. International Student Programming Coordinator parsenault@grenfell.mun.ca slido.com (#N401)
Editor's Notes
- #2 Welcome to this overview of the International Student Barometer Session. Today, I will be leading a discussion about some of the results that stood out. Feel free to email me if you would like to receive the whole dataset or more specific information about the results. In order to share these results externally, we first need to seek permission by asking the ISB. However, these can be shared internally. Please hold questions for the end.
- #5 We hope to use these results to improve what we do and to ultimately provide a better experience for our international students. We recognize that increased diversity on campus is important and we value the contribution of our international students. They bring different perspectives and ideas, which improves the learning experience of everyone.
- #7 Overall satisfaction of international students at Grenfell Campus remains strong and is higher than St. John’s and the global average. A slight decrease (2%) was observed. More students would recommend coming to Grenfell Campus than 2 years ago.
- #8 Now that we have taken a look at the initial results, we will be looking at four main areas that significantly contribute to the overall experience and satisfaction of our international students.
- #10 Welcome As we grow, we have to rethink our practices and adapt. We are in a period of transition where things that worked great in the past, with less than 30 incoming students, need tweaking. One area that we have been working on recently is better defining our Greeting Program. We are developing new Guidelines for the new International Student Greeting Program so that we are all on the same page and the process goes smoother. With no campus vehicle available at the moment, we are also looking at several options. There was an issue with the bus service for one of the airport pickups last fall which caused a delay of several hours which surely negatively impacted the experience of our students. I am also working with marcom to develop a proposal to make the shuttle reimbursement easier with Star Taxi, so students don’t have to pay and then get reimbursed. We are looking into creating a space for international students to gather and enjoy snacks when they get on campus in the middle of the night and are waiting for their keys. Not having access to food at the time they arrive on campus (after sometimes several days of traveling) has been identified as a major issue. We are working with student volunteers that will be moving back early to organize activities for new students and help with the arrival process. Housing has agreed to welcome any students early as long as sufficient notice is given. International students on 12+ hours of jetlag with very little sleep won’t be expected to be up at 7am for orientation the next day. University Orientation In the last year, we have revisited our orientation to streamline it. We have been gradually moving some of the important information online (Brightspace) using various media including videos. We focus more on health insurance and immigration and have integrated quizzes and ice breakers to make orientation more social to help students make friends in their first few hours together. The International orientation feeds into the main orientation. This fall, we will be moving to a one day orientation with concurrent sessions.
- #11 Both areas have increased a lot in the past two years leading to overall housing conditions being largely superior at Grenfell. However, internet access remains an issue. When students get on campus, they are looking to connect to strong and reliable internet right away.
- #12 In the past 2 years, we have been able to significantly improve social activities for students when they first arrive on campus as well as their ability to meet Canadian friends right away. Meeting local friends is a challenge on the majority of campuses around the world. We have managed to do well and we keep improving.
- #15 While the small size of our campus and community allows us to foster greater interactions between people from different cultures, we struggle to provide students with meaningful work experience. To work on this weakness, I am developing a Canadian Career Launch Program. I do acknowledge that less opportunities to work are available in a small town, but there are other things that we can do to help students develop leadership skills and find mentors. This program will also encourage them to work or volunteer. The Association for New Canadians recently hired someone to focus on helping newcomers secure employment. She will work in close collaboration with our students (she has done so already) and we are hoping to find a space for her to work from our campus once a week during the fall and winter semester.
- #17 In general, our students are satisfied with the social spaces on campus. For international students, this can mean the International Student Lounge, the airport lounge for Coffee House, the Atrium, the GCSU Lounge, the Backlot, and any other areas that is available for them to socialize. Students are less satisfied when it comes to social activities they can participate in however. To change that, we are working on having three fieldtrips per semester (as opposed to only one) and include one trip to St. John’s for a long weekend every year. By tripling the number of fieldtrips and offering an opportunity to visit St. John’s for an affordable price, we are aiming to increase student satisfaction.
- #18 Janice and Jana are working together to add more sports programming and purchase equipment that could make a difference for our international students. We are going to ask new students to fill out a survey about what sports they would like to play on campus during orientation. So, while we cannot build facilities that compare with what St. John’s has, there are other things we can do to meet the sports and recreation needs of our international students.
- #19 Jeff proposed to look at potential added transportation services similar to the Colemans shuttle service, but that would connect campus with other areas in town. There could be a small fee associated with the service, but it would be more affordable than taking a taxi. During orientation, students will go on a city walking tour, which will help students discover places that are close enough to walk. We have not yet established a plan of action to improve the eco-friendly attitude on campus. There are a lot of things being done by various groups and individuals. Perhaps, these initiatives just need more visibility.
- #22 Housing has dramatically improved in the last two years. On the other hand, the transition from an international student society to a caucus has resulted in a decrease of the satisfaction of many international students. Starting in the fall, I will be meeting with the Speaker of the international student caucus once a month to see how we can better collaborate. I also started to invite the Speaker to introduce himself during orientation and to explain what the caucus is and what are its goals. Education students about what the caucus is and is not could change expectations of students and impact their satisfaction.