Vice president, International, Sean Coote noted that by taking International supports, activities and initiatives virtual, they are seeing student participation rates increase and often exceed on-campus event engagement.
“Although it has been a challenging year, the Niagara College community and the International Division have turned it into an opportunity to explore new ways to engage students and the Niagara College community as a whole,” said Coote.
When faced with a global health pandemic, Niagara College responded with virtual innovation and college-wide collaboration to engage students and partners from around the world. One would be hard-pressed to find a process, procedure or policy that was not adapted due to COVID-19. NC took that as an opportunity to implement tools and services that better serve NC students and the students are better for it, many of which were made possible by increased interdepartmental collaboration and synergies. With the number one priority being students’ wellbeing, NC staff and faculty quickly mobilized and went above and beyond for its students as well as future NC students.
“Guided by the vision to enrich lives and fulfill dreams, International staff and faculty’s response to COVD-19 continues to strengthen NC’s position as a global leader in applied, experiential learning and demonstrates our commitment to student success in and out of the classroom,” said Coote.
Despite the many unknowns as a result of COVID-19, the College seeks to provide as much transparency as possible. In February of 2020, NC International created a webpage to house college-wide COVID-19 updates. Additionally, these updates were translated by NC staff and partners into multiple languages to increase transparency for English as a Second Language (ESL) learners into languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (PT-BR), Russian, Simple Chinese and Vietnamese.
Within the first month of the pandemic:
- A new COVID-19 webpage was added to the NC International website, which included a centralized Frequently Asked Questions specific to a global audience as well as linking to the NC webpage dedicated to ensuring students had the most current information;
- Online step-by-step guides became a norm for each term, educating the reader on what it is they need to know and do to successfully begin their studies, whether in-person or online;
- There was, and continues to be, a constant flow of student and partner bulletins and communications surrounding COVID related updates to processes and policies including government updates that affect the student journey; and
- To better communicate information to ESL learners, visual guides using graphic elements were enhanced and increased to more clearly articulate information as not every word has an exact translation into another language.
To help international students better prepare for success in and out of the classroom, Be NC Ready online training modules were expanded and adapted for the postsecondary system’s new realities including the addition of a Be Online Learning Ready module and a Be Quarantine Ready module.
Although the International Division has been using an Orientation app since spring 2017, it has since been transformed into the Be NC Ready app. Fall 2020 was the first time this app catered to all NC students, whether they were new, returning, international or domestic. This tool allows students to still experience the NC community in a virtual format. In addition to being an informational resource, the app is also an engagement tool; students can post pictures and comments to activity streams, join and chat among private groups as well as engage in one-on-one messaging. For the Fall 2020 term, the College had over 1,500 students download the app and currently has 2,454 participants.
Similar new collaborations, expansions and synergies were also evident during Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 Orientations. Previous to these terms, International and College-wide Orientations complemented each other, but Fall 2020 marked the first time there was a consistent and consolidated orientation package for all students. The Orientation webpage promoted all events and allowed students to see every event offering on one page, having the option to filter the criteria to discover which offering was best suited to them.
A student’s experience
As the College transitioned to virtual services, staff and faculty worked closely with students to make sure they could continue excelling in their new learning environment. For former NC construction engineering student, Ingrid Vitalino, who had to overcome challenges studying in a foreign country, the support of NC’s faculty and staff was invaluable while studying in the Construction Engineering Technology program during the 2019 Fall and Winter terms. Originally from Brazil, Vitalino was one of 10 students studying in Canada through the 2019 Canada & Brazil Scholarship Program.
International contract training manager Cindy Andrews, and School of Technology professor Dino Morabito, helped Vitalino secure a two-month co-op placement starting in May 2020, a requirement of her scholarship, despite COVID-19’s impact on local businesses and the economy. They also assisted Morabito with AutoCAD drawings during her quarantine period back home.
“That was what saved me,” she said. “Thanks to everyone who got involved and helped, I was able to stay here until the end of my scholarship period and complete my co-op. Plus, it helped me stay busy during quarantine …staying at home without being able to leave can be bad for mental health. There are no words to thank them.”
Virtual connections
Student services, engagement and recruitment transitioned its in-person services and events to Zoom and Microsoft Teams sessions, remaining closely connected with students no matter where they were studying from in the world. This included online virtual academic advisement sessions and enhanced immigration sessions. In March 2020, International conducted a survey to better understand what virtual programming students were interested in and what frequency before shifting its on-campus activities calendar to a virtual environment which included live programming to ensure activities best benefitted students.
NC’s new digital format did not lessen their festivities and impact, whether it be an academic milestone or cultural festival. Events such as Diwali, Lunar New Year, International Student Awards, or EAP End-of-term Ceremony (EAP EOTC) transitioned to virtual video celebrations, which allowed students to still feel a sense of community and belonging.
“Diwali means full fun with family and friends,” shared Computer Programming student, Krupal Sanjaykumar Patel, who is originally from India and participated in NC’s online Diwali celebration. “This Diwali my family was not with me, but I have friends with whom my Diwali will be lightened up. Thanks Niagara College for introducing those friends.”
By transitioning events to a virtual environment, students were now able to participate from anywhere in the world, at any time. For instance, EAP EOTC going digital allows the graduates to have more of their family and friends living around the world witness this momentous milestone in their education. The Diwali celebration video had 675 viewers, the last International Student Awards ceremony had 915 views on Facebook and the innovative engagement of the Lunar New Year video earned itself a feature in Ken Steele’s ‘Year of the Ox, Fireworks in Court’ Eduvation post.
Virtual resources
Mental health supports
Over the past few months, the College has expanded its resources for mental health support. NC International staff who have their Mental Health First Aid facilitators’ qualification have been hosting Mental Health First Aid Basic (MHFA) virtually and is catered to internationals students. The course was developed to enable people to provide early support to someone who may be developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. Through the three sessions hosted since December 2020, 39 students have become certified and another 15 students will become certified over the break week, March 2 and March 4; there is currently a waiting list of students interested in taking the course.
Worldwide Application Days
With the support and collaboration of academic and service areas of the College, NC hosted a three-day global event called NC Canada Worldwide Application Days. Hosted on Zoom, the event was broadcast live around the world on Facebook Live for 66 hours, and featured information sessions, student success stories, culture sessions, tours and demonstration classes. Over 11,300 people registered for the event from 106 countries around the world with engagement on Facebook, and through digital advertising, reaching over one million people. NC received 1,612 new International applications during the event.
NC’s School of Hospitality, Tourism and Sport’s former associate dean, Damian Goulbourne, offered presentations on his school of study each day of the event and three professors from the academic area presented demonstration classes.
“This was one of the most innovative and engaging recruitment activities that I have been able to participate in during my almost 25 years at Niagara College,” shared Goulbourne, commenting on how NC’s diversification strategy was evident during the event as viewers from around the world engaged in the sessions. “Aligning with the College’s strategic direction of being globally and culturally engaged, the event enabled direct communication between academic areas and international applicants. This allowed for faculty integration at an early stage in the student’s life, strengthening our student-focused approach and inclusive learning environments.”
Online sessions
To continue to engage and educate students and educational partners on College updates, NC also hosted frequent online sessions leading up to the start of the Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 terms with topics including immigration, housing, events, travel and quarantine and general updates. These events provided an opportunity for students, international recruitment partners and institutional partners to have their questions answered in a live format and stay connected. Academic Spotlights were also offered in July and August of 2020, which featured a special guest each week from a different academic area to speak to their program opportunities, as well as any changes in the delivery mode of the program, to help prepare students for the first day of class.
Another notable virtual event was ExperieNCe English for Academic Preparation – an interactive virtual demo that walked viewers through mock lessons transitioning through each of the program’s five levels of English language proficiency.
Financial support
COVID-19 has had a financial impact on many people around the world. Early in the pandemic, NC International offered a $250 International Emergency Bursary to support students with short-term financial needs such as food, rent, living expenses and tuition, who were not eligible for other government supports. In addition to a developing a payment plan system for international students to support them in this difficult time, NC also adopted an international insurance opt out policy for those studying outside of Canada.
Help without borders
No matter where students were studying from, NC was, and continues to be there to support students. The College is shipping student materials around the world to its students, such as photonics packages, to ensure students have the tools they need in their home environment in a guided fashion. NC also developed an accelerator program in China and India as students studying from these countries may have limited bandwidth affecting their learning environment. Designed to enhance the student learning experience, this program speeds up students’ internet bandwidth to allow better participation and engagement in online learning.
Language supports
Since COVID-19 started, the School of English Language Studies (SELS) has implemented many firsts to better support students. NC’s English for Academic Preparation (EAP) and Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) programs went fully online with many hours being live/synchronous teaching and learning, allowing students to study in the programs from anywhere in the world. TESL program practicums (observations and teachings) are also being conducted virtually, meaning NC will graduate its first completely online TESL instructors, trained in online teaching as part of their virtual practicum.
EAP placement testing was quickly transitioned to fully online and technology support sessions were provided to students during Orientation to support this. In fact, enrollment numbers have increased for EAP. With all of international’s amazing recruitment efforts during the summer, and SELS faculty’s agility in transitioning to quality, online delivery, and dedication to student success, EAP numbers increased 50% from Spring 2020 to Fall 2020, and nearly 100% from the Spring 2020 lows to Winter 2021.
Quarantine plan
With its ever-present entrepreneurial spirit, the Be World Ready team stepped up and reverse-engineered their years of experience in sending students to study and work abroad, to safely welcoming our international students into Niagara College’s comprehensive quarantine plan since August 2020. The dedicated team tirelessly worked to quickly develop a system and process to welcome hundreds of students to Niagara. The team and NC community partners follow the most stringent of health and safety protocols and a committed philosophy of keeping NC staff, students, and community safe and healthy while ensuring ‘NC DNA’ was at the forefront of welcoming and supporting students during their 14-day quarantine period in Niagara.
The program was built on the foundation of care and consideration, for each student making this journey to Niagara to continue or complete their studies at NC. All aspects of the NC student quarantine experience are fully supported by the NC Quarantine Team. This ranges from providing students with discount codes for select airlines, supporting families travelling with children and pets, arranging for airport pick-up, generated individual comprehensive quarantine packages to 24/7 support while in transit through the Be NC Ready app. The program also entails arranging for 14 nights of accommodation, including an international student tested and approved menu, and even contactless delivery of items such as medications, textbooks, SIM cards, student cards, and technical devices as needed.
International Business Management student, Omar Firas Salim Al-Saadi from Jordan expressed how travelling during the pandemic was very difficult and complicated, but everything went smoothly thanks to the help and support provided by the NC Quarantine Team.
“The experience was very beautiful, comfortable, and great; I am so grateful for all the support provided by the Niagara College team … during the pre-travel period, travelling to Canada, and the quarantine,” said Al-Saadi. He shared how the welcoming he received at the quarantine accommodation was wonderful and positive and commented how delicious the food was, catering to his vegetarian diet.
The Quarantine Team worked collaboratively across NC’s Student Services division to ensure that students were well prepared for this unique experience through the delivery of co-facilitated pre-departure sessions with the housing and settlement team, working with HWAS to refine our mandatory daily virtual check-ins and the international finance team who ensured students had international health insurance. They also worked with international student advisors who carefully advised and supported students through navigating the ever-changing immigration requirements impacted by travel restrictions, and with NC international student engagement team who offer weekly virtual quarantine socials to keep those in quarantine feeling connected.
Virtual exchanges
Although BWR is not currently offering in-person student exchange opportunities, they continue offering programs to ensure graduates are ‘world-ready’ and ‘work-ready,’ including virtual cultural exchanges and online student exchanges. The College continues to welcome cultural engagement not just in the traditional sense, but online to ensure NC students become and maintain being globally connected.
Pioneering spirit
It truly comes down to the people; the secret behind the College’s International Division’s pioneering, passionate and resilient spirit is its staff and faculty leading, creating and supporting these initiatives. Despite remote work environments, NC International is now more connected and collaborative virtually than ever before thanks to the adoption of new digital platforms, increased team meetings with more diverse stakeholders and expanded reach to include more NC staff located around the world. Whether it is a virtual Christmas reception or February Fun Day, they continue to be engaged, celebrated and supported and in turn, has a rippling effect to NC students.
It is evident more now than ever that Niagara College is committed to ensuring students have the most fulfilling learning experience possible no matter the circumstance. The pandemic has forced the way NC to change the way it services and teaches students and Niagara College has evolved to make the student experience exceptional. As true pioneers, NC staff and faculty have truly embraced the changes that have been so necessary to benefit the community and students, further supporting the notion that an education at Niagara College is ‘education evolved.’
