Title of presentation umanitoba.ca Helping Hands Come in Many Different Colours: Support Services for International Student Success Presenter: Soon Kong Academic Advisor University 1 First Year Centre University of Manitoba Canada

University of Manitoba

Agenda  International Students in Canada and U.S.  Economic and Social Impact.  Why U.S. and Canada?  Internal findings and services at the University of Manitoba.  Best Practices in Canada and U.S.  Impact on domestic students, academic staff, faculties, institution and in the communities.  Essential resources.

National Level  Canada  Plans to double its international student body by 2022  265,377 in  450,000 by 2022  China, Vietnam, India, Brazil, Mexico, and the Middle East- North Africa region.  B.C. /Ontario combined: 68 % of all international students. Source: CBIE

National Level U.S.  819,644 in  China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Canada  California hosts over 100, % of total international students  Less than 4 % of all students (21 million)

Economic & Social Impacts Canada  $10 billion annually  86,000 new jobs  GDP Contribution  Tax revenue  Recruiting skilled labour  Building relationships with other countries for potential trade opportunities U.S.  $24 billion annually  313,000 new jobs

Why Students Choose North America for Higher Education?  Highly competitive to get into prestigious universities in home country.  Marketability.  Better Education System.  Critical & creative thinking skills  Teamwork skills  Communication skills  Language skills  Opportunities to work/to immigrate/overall quality of life.

Findings at the U of M  Assessing International Student Performance  High School grades above 80%  62-65% (Manitobans) vs  82-83% (International Students)  Academic performance: less than 2.0 GPA at the end of the first year of study.  : 31.38% (All University 1) vs  42.30% (International)

Why Do International Students Struggle?  Language  Different education system  Culture  Isolation  Climate  Other

Areas of Support  “Cultural identity”  “Psychological and emotional support”  “Professional and academic support”  “Multicultural network”

Student Services: Best Practices – Canada and U.S.  “ Psychological and emotional support”  “Professional and academic support”  “Multicultural network”  Orientation  Pre-arrival package/Handbook  Mentorship Program/Pioneer or Pioneer  Student Advising/Academic Advising  Workshops  U of A+ (boot camp)  Global Friendship  Language Bank  Global Learning Centre

Student Services: Best Practices – Canada and U.S.  Global community  Community connections  Global café/Weekly coffee hour  English conversation program  Cultural events throughout the year including field trips  Cultural centres  Newsletter  Social media  Homestay Program  “Psychological and emotional support”  “Professional and academic support”  “Multicultural network”

Student Services: Best Practices  U of A+ (University of Alberta, Canada)  Mentorship Program (U.S. and Canada)  Global Café/Weekly Coffee Hour (U.S. and Canada)  Global Community (University of Victoria, Canada)  International Friends Inc. (The University of Arizona)  Language Bank (U of Calgary, U of Manitoba, others)

International Student Mentorship Program (ISMP)  Designed to help new international students during their transition and induction into life at the University of Manitoba.  Runs from September to the end of April.

Institutional: Best Practices  “Internationalizing the Curriculum” – University of Victoria, Canada  Guest lectureship  Tour  Academic links  Study visits of teaching staff  Intellectual Exchange Conference  Workshops  Confucius Institute

Discussion  In groups (5 minutes)  What kind of programs does your institution offer for international students?  How do the program(s) operate? Do you measure outcomes of the program(s)?  Did you find any program(s) that you (or your institution) might be interested in developing further?  Share best practices within your group.

How International Students Impact on Various Levels?  Domestic Students  Academic Staff  Faculties  Institution  Communities

Impact on domestic students  Benefits  Diversity in classrooms  Make connections with international students  Learn about different cultures  Broaden their minds and knowledge  Become global citizens  Consideration:  Mutual stereotype

Impact on academic staff  Benefits:  Opportunities to incorporate global materials and perspectives within curricula.  Opportunities to bring up global issues to share with domestic students.  International perspective.  Attitudes toward cultural diversity may change.  Consideration:  Understand, acknowledge and accommodate (as needed) that some international students may have difficulties in classes.

Impact on faculties  Benefits:  Bring international perspective for students and staff.  Diversity in classrooms.  New opportunities for research.  Opportunities to form partnerships with international institutions.  Contribute to the institution and society in general.  Considerations:  Ratios between domestic and international students – should there be a quota?  Require more resources.

Impact on institution  Benefits  Internationalization  Partnerships  Diversity on campus  Diversity in staff  Potential employment  Revenue  Funding opportunity  Economic contribution  Considerations  Less spots for domestic students?  Require more staff  Academic discipline cases  Require more support resources  Budget constraints

Impact in the community  Benefits:  Contribute to local economy.  Strengthen international awareness  Considerations:  Discrimination.  Very little is known – research opportunity.

Discussion  Within groups  How do international students impact on the behaviours of academic staff and institutions (if at all)?  Is it necessary to change some of the curricula to incorporate international context?  More within global context than a North American context?  If curricula should not change, then would there be any accommodation in diverse classrooms?  Attitude towards international students  Academic staff  Domestic students

Are we doing enough?  Always room to improve!!!

Essential Resources  Budget  Research  Staff  Support services: programs/projects  Time  Expertise  Diversity  Language Barriers  Cultural Barriers  Attitudes

Reference Blais, C. (2010). University 1 International Student Profile and University of Manitoba CBCNEWS: British Columbia (January 15, 2014). Canada wants to double its international student body. Retrieved May 25, 2014 from CBIE(Canadian Bureau for International Education) (2014). Canada’s performance in international education, Retrieved June 22, 2014 from ICEF Monitor (2014). Canada’s international student enrolment up 94% over past decade. Retrieved June 22, 2014 from Education Counts (2014). The impact of international students on domestic students and host institutions. Retrieved June 22, 2014 from : Hefling, K. (November 11, 2013). Study: Record number of foreign students hit US. Retrieved June 22, 2014 from Institute of International Education (2014). Open doors 2013: International Students in the United States and Study Abroad by American Students are at All-Time High. Retrieved June 22, 2014 from Doors-Data NAFSA (2014). Internationalizing higher education. Retrieved June 29, 2014 from

Thank you very much for your participation!!! Soon Kong Phone: Questions?

Title of presentation umanitoba.ca