A survey to consult with UWindsor faculty and staff on their experiences and challenges while working with international students will help the University establish effective practices to support them, says Beth Oakley, director of the International Student Centre.

She notes that their ranks have grown to the point where in the Fall 2018 semester, international students — full-time, part-time, undergraduate and graduate students — make up 22 per cent of the student body and represent 92 countries.

A working group consisting of representatives from Academic Advising, Career Development and Experiential Learning, the Centre for English Language Development, Faculty of Graduate Studies, the International Student Centre, Office of the Associate Vice President Enrolment Management - Marketing, the Office of the Registrar, Residence Services, and Student Recruitment has been meeting to discuss the unique needs of international students and how best to support them.

Oakley says the goal of the survey is to determine potential knowledge gaps that may exist when working with and referring international students to the appropriate support services.

“We are not judging or evaluating current practices,” she says. “This information will be used to help us learn and share best practices currently implemented on campus and to understand how we can better support the campus with serving the international student population.”

The survey will take five to seven minutes to complete, is anonymous and confidential, and allows respondents to withdraw at any time. Take the survey online.

Should you have any questions in this regard, contact Oakley at oakleyb@uwindsor.ca.