The latest International Student Barometer (ISB 2010) survey results showed that UWIC’s international students rated UWIC top overall in the UK, and sixth worldwide, based on the average scores of the four areas; learning, living, support and arrival.

The survey was completed by representatives from India, Pakistan, Brunei, Oman, China, and Saudi Arabia. Reflecting back on how we have got to this position I thought that it might be useful to highlight why student satisfaction is so high, some changes that have been made as a result of the feedback from the ISB and some future challenges that we are yet to address.

A relationship is developed with students even before the application process begins. The International pre-departure guide provide prospective students with information on Immigration, Travelling to the UK, UWIC's Free Airport Welcome Service, Check List - What to bring with you, International Student Induction Programme, Money Matters, Accommodation, Council Tax, Health, Religion, Part-time Work, Weather and Climate, The International Office, Term Dates and Holidays & Contact Details. It is at this point that UWIC seeks to provide a home from home experience for the student. Arrival at the UK starts with a personal greeting service at the airport , by the marketing team, and there begins a process that seeks to promote inclusion and ensure continuity of care for the individual.

This is achieved in the main by the students having a one-stop shop at the International Office. The aim of the office is to help international students settle down in the city, make new friends and get used to studying in the UK. The international office gives each student a named person to contact, and it is this very personal touch that is felt to be the one of the factors that helps in creating a safe environment in which students can voice their worries and feel part of an extended family. The international office provides support from an initial campus welcome to ongoing support with regards to accommodation, banking, medical advice, social events, cultural visits, English language and tutorial support and emergency support. Social events are seen as vital to social integration and creating a family within UWIC. The team also seek to act as a buffer between the student and systems, trying to fully understand the situation from the students perspective. They act as a broker between the student and academic staff, highlighting when religious festivals are occurring that might have an impact on the students’ academic performance, and providing feedback about the students’ learning experience to Deans of School and Director’s of Learning and Teaching. They also view it as important that they are not the ones to deliver bad news e.g. exam results but remain solution focussed. The ISB has given us the opportunity to gain student feedback and identify areas for further improvement. One of the areas highlighted as needing improvement was the Careers service. Feedback received through satisfaction levels indicated that international students felt that the Careers service was ‘not for me’, but rather aimed at the UK born students and did not address the different needs of International students.

As a result of this feedback the Careers service has now been embedded into the International Student Induction and has been personalised to International students to address, ‘what can we do for you’. A dedicated web page within the Careers service provides information applicable to international students, providing website links geared to meet the needs and questions of those students. This is also supported by information in the International Student handbook, with key contact details and a clear outline of the function of the careers service. Having implemented these changes there has been a sharp rise in student satisfaction in this area. Once again it appears that the individualised approach which values the personal is of vital importance to students satisfaction. The induction programme also allows the team to assess students at a very early stage and identify potential difficulties. This enables the team to direct students to other services if necessary i.e. student support or the izone (one stop student services). Although parts of the induction may appear simplistic ( giving minute details e.g. the need to carry an umbrella around at all times due to the British weather), feedback from the students indicates that it is the small details that are important to the settling in process.

There remains a number of challenges, highlighted by the ISB. One of the challenges within UWIC is the integration of international students into the sporting arena and encouraging use of sporting facilities. This has yet to be solved and may be due to a number of reasons The nature of UWIC’s sport profile – elite athletes, competitive nature etc. The challenge of a separate campus, when students have a sense of identity within one campus and Cardiff becomes a big place! The challenge of ensuring that no-body gets lost.

A number of external changes also need to be recognised to impacting on student satisfaction. Change of campus near to their accommodation The opening of a new management building , which attracts a lot of interest from industry and raises the profile of the School. Main Messages The first few weeks are vital in creating a home from home experiences and allowing the students to gain a new sense of identity. The personal touch cannot be over emphasised To encourage ownership through the setting up of societies etc. To pre-empt difficulties if possible.