As the new manager of the International Centre (formerly known as ISES: International Student and Exchange Services), Pam Williams is making sure international students arriving at Dalhousie are given a royal Maritime welcome.
Last week, International Centre staff and volunteers were at the arrival area at the Stanfield International Airport, greeting international students as they arrived, some with their families, in Halifax. The information table, draped with the Dal crest and banner, was stacked with information on transportation options, orientation events, and the services provided by the International Centre.
Seamless welcome, flexible advising, digital supports
The newly rebranded International Centre is focused on several key initiatives for the 2011/2012 academic year. The first is creating a more seamless welcome and orientation process, including the welcome desk at the airport, to ensure incoming students receive a warm welcome and have all the information required to get them off on the right foot.
“International students are a significant part of the fabric of our university community,” says Ms. Williams. “We have roughly 1,700 international students from 110 countries and we want to provide appropriate and adequate information and support to international and exchange students to ensure their academic success and integration to Dalhousie and the broader community.”
The second initiative is creating additional advising by extending office hours into the evening and providing more accessibility to advising on both the Studley and Sexton campuses.
“We are trying to be as responsive as we can to the needs of the students given the demand and the university’s 10 per cent increase in international student enrolment.”
The third initiative is expanding contacts with students electronically and taking a more multimedia approach in integrating international students into the Dal community.
“International students are hungry for information even before they come here,” explains Ms. Williams. “We’re doing whatever we can to ensure their success academically and socially.”
For example, for the first time, the centre is providing an online orientation with details on the logistics and what students can expect their first year in terms of intercultural transition and changes in their physical settings.
Ms. Williams also says that the International Centre is using more social media this year to stay connected with incoming international and exchange students. By using Facebook and YouTube, students are able to make connections with their future academic community before even attending classes.
“Communicating through social media allows us to generate discussion, collect feedback and build relationships,” Ms. Williams explains. “We want students to know that we’re really listening to them.”
‘Home away from home’
To help coordinate programs and activities for international and exchange students, the centre has been working closely with the Dalhousie International Students Association (DISA), whose mandate is to promote cultural diversity across campus while organizing events and societies that appeal to students from abroad.
This year, the International Centre has collaborated with DISA, the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU) and Housing and Conference Services to help enrich the student experience and create a home away from home. In fact, international students have their own, two day transition orientation prior to the Dalhousie Student Union orientation.
“We want students to feel looked after when they come to Dal,” explains Ms. Williams. “We will continue to collaborate with Dal community resources to create a real sense of belonging and acceptance for international students.”
Personal connections
Throughout the year, the International Centre hopes to ensure international students are made to feel welcomed and taken care of by the Dal community through a range of advising options and social programming.
“If they choose, students will have enhanced options to be connected to the Dal community from the point of their arrival and throughout their academic career at Dalhousie,” says Meri Kim Oliver, assistant vice-president, Student Services.
“The orientation, advising and programming initiatives have been carefully considered to provide support in ways that are proven to assist students in feeling more connected to the campus and surrounding community and to give them the problem solving resources that can be critical to managing the many immigration and administrative details that international students face.”
For more on services for international students at Dalhousie, visit http://isd.dal.ca/
Read also: "An international orientation"