How can universities help international students feel at home?

There’s never been a more important time for UK universities to nurture their international student population. With the number of applications from EU students falling after Brexit and the government’s approach to immigration deterring some of those from further afield, the quality of the student experience is key for recruitment and retention.

As the British Council’s Anna Esaki-Smith explains, the global education sector is becoming more competitive. “China, Japan and Malaysia are now aiming to increase inward mobility by providing international students with English-language curriculums, scholarships and less-expensive tuition fees when compared to those of the UK or US,” she says.

“In that kind of environment, it’s important for established universities to ensure that the international student experience meets expectations. Do universities deliver on the vibrant photos of engaging campus life being viewed by international students who have never left their home countries? Are home students aware of the benefits of an internationalised campus and encouraged to welcome their international counterparts?”

Starting together

Universities are currently employing a variety of methods to help their international students settle in. These range from alternatives to alcohol-based socialising and buddy schemes to innovative integrated approaches to on-campus services. They’ve also been emphasising the importance of the start of the academic year. Across the sector, there has been a move to get international students arriving at university the same week as home students, rather than offering separate orientations.

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Bournemouth University made a conscious decision to bring home and international students together at this time. “We used to have a separate induction programme for these students, but we felt that it was isolating them,” explains Mandi Barron, Bournemouth’s head of student services. “Now we just badge some events that we think would be particularly useful for international students, but non-international students are welcome to attend if they want.”

The university runs webinars on topics such as visas and UK culture for students before they arrive, and trains staff to be aware of the different cultural needs they may encounter. But it is also wary of treating international students differently. “We try not to focus on a homogenous group, and more on individual needs,” says Barron. “Rather than having an international students department, we have a one-stop shop service for all students, because if you’ve got an accommodation problem you’ve got an accommodation problem, and a complaint is a complaint, whether you’re international or British.”

Sharing experience

At Kingston University, a buddy scheme (PAL) is open to both domestic and international students, who make up 50% of the institution’s intake. PAL offers both social and educational benefits for those involved. During lectures, for example, a PAL may be assigned to lead a small group discussion. Over time, groups become more able to discuss the lecture concepts, and students report feeling more prepared and confident in later sessions. The university considers the programme an important part of its overarching strategy. It even pays the PALs £10.22 an hour, which Graham Walker, a lecturer who helps run the programme, describes as a “fantastic investment, based on the support they’re able to provide”.

Thinking in terms of what international students can bring to university life as well as what universities can offer them is one of the drivers behind a project at Nottingham Trent University. The project, which is funded through a UKCISA grant, sees international students lecture other students on aspects of their home culture, helping them gain academic confidence while educating others. UKCISA director of policy and services Julie Allen explains: “It’s very small scale because it’s the first year they’ve done it and they didn’t have huge numbers, but this is a really good example of recognising the resources that these students are bringing rather than thinking that students who’ve come from outside the UK are in deficit or need additional support.”

Living shoulder-to-shoulder

One of the key challenges is helping domestic students see the positives that international students can bring to university life. This year’s HEPI Student Academic Experience Survey, asked [pdf] whether students feel they benefit from studying alongside international students. Only 36% said yes, while 32% were neutral and 32% said they didn’t see any benefits.

Leeds University is seeking to educate home students on the benefits of a multicultural environment through its student accommodation offer. The Ellerslie Global Residence hall gives 50% of its space to international students and 50% to domestic students. There are just under 100 students in the hall, which has three common rooms and communal catered dinners. They also run events aimed at assisting integration. These include Meet to Eat, where students join an arranged trip to visit a restaurant, a global afternoon tea, Chinese calligraphy and origami workshops, and City Chase, a treasure hunt-style quest where students work together to answer questions.

While the hall hasn’t yet had the excess of demand it would need to expand, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. “Not all students necessarily think they want an intercultural experience, but we always get fantastic feedback,” says head of the international student office Katy Manns.

Training staff is important too – in particular, making more people aware of potential cultural differences and how they may impact on experience and learning. This is something that Helen Spencer-Oatey, one of the authors of a 2014 Warwick report for UKCISA on promoting the integration of campus [pdf], says there needs to be more of.

“At Warwick, our approach to training is not to say ‘This is how it’s done, this is what international students are like’ – it’s a question of trying to be more observant and more aware of preferences for turn-taking, styles of speaking, different basic assumptions about what the role of the teacher is and what the role of the student is, and how we believe people learn.”

What works best?

And how about measuring success? According to Spencer-Oatey, this is what the sector really needs to work on. One of the findings from her research was that despite the availability of student satisfaction data, such as the iGraduate student barometer, there’s not enough detailed analysis of what works and what doesn’t. In response, Warwick has created the Global Education Profiler, now run by iGraduate, which measures integration and internationalisation, and aims to give a more detailed analysis than other available tools.

“There are lots of activities going on, but there’s no real evaluation,” says Spencer-Oatey. Institutions should make sure they are using a reliable tool to track integration systematically, while also having an ongoing dialogue with students and the students’ union – getting comments, suggestions and feedback, she suggests. “At the moment, we do simple things like report that x% of international students attended an event, and you tick the box and say success. But whether that’s really integration is another matter.”

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