1. International Student Support Through the Lens of Residence Life
Janet Jun Siew Loh, Rutgers University
Jiayou Zhao, Miami University
Wednesday, March 15th, 2017 Convention Center, ROOM# 006
Welcome

2. Learning Outcomes
Participants will identify the current challenges of undergraduate international students upon arrival to campus residence halls.
Participants will understand the collaborative role that Residence Life offices can play in supporting new international students living on campus.
Participants will identify tangible strategies and new initiatives in supporting international students in Residence Life to help make meaning of their study-abroad experiences.
Participants will use best practice sharing to learn about Residence Life specific initiatives that can be applied to their home institutions.
Janet

4. General Information about Miami
A public university in Ohio, founded in 1809.
Three regional campuses: Hamilton, Middletown, and West Chester. One international campus: Luxemburg
Miami's name reflects the history of the Native American tribe that once inhabited the Miami Valley region of Ohio. Miami maintains strong ties with the Miami Tribe, now located in Oklahoma.
Office of Residence Life comprises of 261 RAs, 10 PASS mentors, 22 full-time RDs, 24 Graduate/Assistant Resident Directors, and 12 central staff members.
Jianyou
29 LLCs, 16 Student-created LLCs and General Housing

5. Statistics at Miami Total International Students Enrolled: 1813
Oxford Campus= 1,670; Regional Campuses=143
Total students living on campus 8905.
1355 are international, 1125 are from China
Jianyou

7. Top 5 Countries of Origin
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a leading national research university
Established in 1766, The university is the 8th oldest higher education institution in the US.
Residence Life (NB) is comprised of nearly 275 RA’s, 30 Peer Mentors, 30 Graduate Hall Directors, and 50+ full time staff.
Top 5 Countries of Origin
China
India
Saudi Arabia
5400 international students (UG/G), on campus, double the national average
5000
South Korea
Taiwan

8. International Student Challenges
We want you to think about the experiences you have had about working with international students (good/bad) and what challenges that international students face in college life have you noticed while working with this population.

9. Top Challenges for International Students on Campus
Janet-First four common challenges
Jianyou-Academic challenges but feeling socially supported
Wu, H. P., Garza, E., & Guzman, N. (2015). International Student’s Challenge and Adjustment to College. Education Research International. Retrieved from ri/2015/202753/​

10. Current Initiatives

11. Initiatives at Miami
-RA One-on-ones
Jianyou

12. 94% of the international students who responded to the survey said their 1:1s with their RAs are helpful
94% of the international students who responded to the survey said their 1:1s with their RAs are helpful .

13. Initiatives at Miami -Global Connections LLC
The heart of Miami's international experience since 1985, making it one of the oldest Living Learning Communities on campus.
ITS 151
120 students lived in the Global Connection LLC in academic year; 60 international students and 59 domestic students.
Interview
Last year was the first year. Learning Partnership,

14. Assessment of Living & Learning(2015)-Global Connections
Q60. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements: - People actively learn about other cultures in my residential community.
83% of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed, compared with 53.5% of all hall results.
Q61. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements: - There is widespread respect of diverse points of view or experiences in my residential community.
89% of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed, compared with 71.35% overall
Jianyou

15. Assessment of Living & Learning(2015)-Global Connections
Q66. Living Learning Communities are designed to build community and create educational opportunities centered on a common theme or interest. What is one thing that you appreciate most about your living learning community (Global Connections)?
“It is very accepting of a diversity of sexualities, ethnicities, races, etc. It is open to sharing new cultural experiences and does a lot of events.”
“I appreciate the 1 credit hour course that is open to students in my LLC as well as the events that we put on that help to break down the international/domestic student barriers.”
Jianyou

16. Other Initiatives
-Staff Development-Chinese Names Pronunciation Workshops
-Collect WeChat addresses during move-in
-Residence Hall Orientation
Jianyou

17. Initiatives within Residence Life at Rutgers
Themed training sessions in August training
Helping RAs understand
challenges of international
students whether they have 1 or
100 in their halls
Conflict mediation
Names and initial interactions
Building understanding and addressing stereotypes
Creating and communicating a 48 hour action plan at the hall level
Addressing initial move in needs (Keys, Food and WiFi)
Predictable crisis mitigation
Welcome events and socials
Utilizing or adapting existing surveys and assessments
Filtering Student Satisfaction Survey (EBI) or the HERI Freshman Survey responses for international student responses
Focus groups for existing populations
Challenges with engagement and “clustering”

18. Global Roommate Program
Created in Spring 2014 in an effort to better support incoming first year international students
Students live in on campus apartment in groups of 4 students , 2 first year international students, 2 returning Rutgers students
In , there are 120 participants in the Global Roommate Program
(Janet)First 2 years, GRP was run by a Residence Life Coordinator as a special interest community

23. Assessment via pre-post survey and focus groups
International Living Learning Community
Proposed November 2014
Non-credit bearing seminar piloted Fall 2015, 3 Mentors
Residence Life only
45 first year international SAS students in 3 sections taught by Residence Life and Global Services staff.
Assessment via pre-post survey and focus groups
2016
Jointly sponsored by Rutgers School of Arts and Science (SAS)
Curriculum for 1 credit SAS course approved Spring 2016
LLC model with SAS Course piloted Fall 2016, 3 peer mentors
The International Community was a preexisting special interest community that was only programmatic, and was transitioned to the Living Learning Community model over 2 years.
The Transition course curriculum is a blend of academic (SAS specific) modules and social support modules. An RLC oversees the community and 3 peer mentors, while a specialized staff oversees course work and planning. This is the same model as other LLCs where an academic department or cultural center would coordinate the course.

24. Collaborative Role of Residence Life
Janet: International student concerns span a wide range, so collaboration on campus is critical to meeting student needs in areas where specialized skills are needed.

25. International Student & Scholar Services/ Global Services
Global Buddies Program / International Friendship Program
Life Skills Workshops: Weapons Culture, Networking and LinkedIn for International Students, Driving in the U.S., On-campus Employment, etc.
Off Campus Trips: Jungle Jim’s International Market, Kenwood Towne Center, NBA Games, Shopping Shuttles, Trips to NYC & Philadelphia
International Student Orientation in Fall and Spring
Academic Departments
Educational Leadership Department: EDL 151
Transition courses-seminar
Workshops with academic advisors for major and course planning
Jianyou
Global Advancement and International Affairs (Global Services)
Rec, Residence Life, Global Services
School of Art and Science for international students who live in the LLC, 1 credit hour open to all international first-year students. Instructors are from Residence Life and Global Services
Dean office from SAS are doing workshops in Residence Halls: class registration, open to the whole building. How to use online schedule, timeline of advising (more general)

26. Student Organizations
International Student Organization
Chinese Student and Scholar Association
Residence Hall Association/ National Residence Hall Honorary
Other Campus Partners
Recreation
Orientation & Transition Program
Student Counseling Services
Dean of Students office
Career Services
Student Engagement/Student Life
Cultural Centers-Asian American Cultural Center, Confucius Institute, Office of Diversity Affairs , Women’s Center
Janet

27. Future Initiatives

28. Co-curricular Focus Programming Focus
I Am Miami Living Learning Communities (International House)
Taking UNV 101 together with domestic students
Expansion of transition courses
Developing a 2nd year International Student experience
Integrating a more cross cultural programming model
Creating a targeted programming model for graduate and families living on campus
Programming Focus
Jianyou/Janet

29. Discussion Questions
What initiatives are currently implemented/could be implemented on your campus that are effective to engage and support international students?
How do you assess international students’ experience on your campus?
What campus partners are you collaborating with/would like to collaborate with?

30. Questions? Janet Jun Siew Loh Jianyou Zhao

31. Thank you for joining us today!
Please remember to complete your customized online evaluation following the conference.
See you in Philly in 2018!