Student Centeredness - Recruiting and Retaining Students- especially female and regional students: ACENTDFB Experience Prof Yakub K.E. IBRAHIM (ACENTDFB) Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria www.acentdfb.abu.edu.ng

All activities of ACEs are student centred: Major Focus of ACEs All activities of ACEs are student centred: 1. Building critical manpower for the economic development of the society 2. Making scientific breakthrough for socio-economic advancement

Recruitment Process in ACENTDFB Online advertisement of admission into programme Shortlisting of applicants for pre-admission written tests (foreign students exempted from written test) Oral interview for successful applicants Foreign applicants are assessed for need for English language support and deficiencies remediation Appointment of supervisory teams and advisers Recruitment Process in ACENTDFB

Specific Foreign Student Recruitment Channels Nigerian Embassies through the University’s Distance Learning Centre platform Regional Collaborating Institutions Institute for Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD), Yaoundé, Cameroon Centre International e Recherde-Development sur l’Elevage en zone Subhumide (CIRDES), Bobo-Doulasso, Burkina Faso Africa Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), Nigeria

Retaining Students ACENTDFB Student and University Postgraduate Student Handbooks Institutional policies and governance Admission and graduation requirements Examination guidelines and other general rules/ regulations Annexure-ACENTDFB Specific administrative and research procedures and guidelines Available and accessible research facilities Procedures for accessing research materials, facilities and funds Roles of academic departments, supervisors, advisers and students Channels for communications Attendance of conferences, workshops and internship placement Documentation of interaction with supervisors (log books)

Retaining Students Student Participation in Centre Management Scheduled interactions Participation in programme evaluation workshops (curriculum review, programme weaknesses and ameliorating strategies) Formal and informal feedbacks Establishment of Students WhatsApp groups Production of Pamphlet on incentives for students with special emphasis on foreign students English Language support for non-English Language speaking students Familiarization of students with communities and their culture

Support to Students Payment of Tuition fees (foreign students only) Provision of research consumables Financial support for bench works at research labs of regional and international collaborating partners Sponsorship of students for field work Sponsorship to Scientific conferences & Workshops Provision of free hostel accommodation (foreign students only- preference given to female students) Support for Grant writing Language support for regional students (non-English speaking foreign students only)

Processing of visa and travels documents Other Supports Rehabilitation and furnishing of a Block of Hostel for Foreign Students Processing of visa and travels documents Provision of initial access to communication facilities (mobile phone lines, modems for internet facilities, etc.)