International Students' Perceptions of the Orientation Process
Elizabeth Margarita Hernández López
INTRODUCTION
There
is a lot of research that has shed light on the topic of internationalization,
and inherently on international mobility programs; however, little is known in
regards to the actual experiences and perceptions of the students involved in
the process. Several authors (Van Hoof and
Verbeeten, and Gargano) suggest that the voices of these
learners play an essential role in the development of future policies for
international programs. Moreover, institutions need to be aware of the quality
of the services they offer. The researcher considers the orientation given on
behalf of the host University prior and within the first two weeks of the
students’ arrival to the new culture, is a determining factor on how promptly
and effectively they would adjust to the new environment and consequently, on
how successfully they would perform their academic endeavours.
Bearing
that in mind,
the
broad aim of the research is
to provide
valuable information that might allow practitioners in the area,
administrators, educators, advisers and staff, at this particular University
realize about their performance in advising international students. A second
general objective is to
suggest
alternative means of support for the orientation process based on the
suggestions the students involved made. Finally, this paper specifically
intends to explore and analyze the perceptions in
regards to the orientation process, of a group of international students,
coming from different geographical locations and attending the Social Sciences
and Humanities Campus (CUCSH) of the University of Guadalajara.
LITERATURE
REVIEW
The ongoing
influx of international students as part of the globalization phenomenon has
significantly grown within the last few decades. As international students
continue impacting higher education, the need to understand this subpopulation
as well as to assess and address their needs increase, Hanassan and Tidwell state. They indicate
that “international students bring their cultural orientations with them:
values, beliefs, patterns of behaviors, ways of learning and thinking”
(2002,p.12) which according
to Barnes (1991)“enrich the intellectual life of a campus”. Hanassan and
Tidwell perceive a lot of gains from international students’ presence. They
claim that host nationals benefit through social interactions with them, the
learning environment is also enriched due to the experiences and perspectives
of international students; moreover, long-term commercial, trade, and
diplomatic links with other countries are established.
Van Hoof and
Verbeeten (2005)point out that “ the study of international education has
started to move from a purely theoretical and conceptual approach to a more
analytical approach, a sign that international education has not only gained
importance as a field of study but also has become an important part of many
university curricula all over the world. As more and more institutions have
begun to mandate an international experience in the degree programs of their
students, be in the form of a semester of studies or an industry internship,
more quantitative and qualitative research is needed to improve the quality of
the programs offered and to test the validity of the assumptions on which those
programs are built. It is no longer sufficient for educators to say that the
international study experience is invaluable and necessary in the education of
our students because they think it is so. These opinions need to be backed up
with hard facts (…)”. These same authors
indicate that “it is important for the study of international education to
start analyzing the perceptions of the students involved in such programs, not
only to corroborate predominant ideas about the benefits and challenges of
international education but also for purely practical reasons. The
practitioners on the field, those who administer international programs and
maintain international relationships on behalf of their universities, need to
know what students think about their product offerings”. Van Hoof and Verbeeten
(2005) claim that the institutions “needs to be aware of costumer sentiments
when they market and sell these programs to future respondents and in making modifications to existing programs,
and those decisions need to be based on facts” (p.54).
Gargano in her
work (Re)conceptualizing International Student Mobility claims that
international students are very diverse and they all come (to the United States
higher education system) with a variety of skills, worldviews, histories, and
educational experiences that cannot be homogenized as international students’
experiences based on the assumption that they all went through a similar
educational experience. This is instead “proliferating generalizations where
great diversity at the intersection of cultures actually exists”. A point of
paramount significance on her paper is the absence of international student voices
and the complexity of their experiences from discourses on international
student mobility. She believes little attention has been given to the
populations or individuals involved in the learning process whereas the various
forms of education have been greatly emphasized. Moreover, she states “ the
limitations of scholarly literatures reverberate on campuses where policies and
programs isolate, marginalize, and stereotype international students needs and
interests” (Gargano,2008, p.9). and
therefore, she proposes that “a personal level of analysis be included in the
literatures that address cross-border education policies and practices to
ensure that student voices are at the core of discourses on international
student mobility” (p.12).
Hanassab and
Tidwell argue that getting adapted to a new country and lifestyle can be
difficult for international students. “When they arrive, new circumstances
suddenly impose a variety of competing roles and demands. Students must learn
how to meet these demands quickly at the same time they are attempting to
settle into their new academic environments. If this is not addressed, there
may be serious problems related to the achievement of the international
students’ educational goals” (2002, p.15). According to them, the focus, of in
workshops and orientation sessions on cultural adjustment for “new” and
“continuing” international students, should be on career and vocational
decisions as well as on immigration rules and regulations.
The authors
greatly value the application of an effective needs assessment to international
students since its results can have consequences on the delivery of services
from the institutions on higher education.
Such results can prompt a reformulation or modification of the existing
policies in a way that adequately respond the different groups of international
students. Those changes in future policies are where students’ experiences have
a lot to contribute with. Another essential aspect is to raise awareness and
sensitivity to different cultures from top administration to faculty and staff
members. Cultural differences should be valued and appreciated.
Entering the
higher education system is per se a difficult experience that brings with it
anxiety transition periods. In spite of it, international students have to cope
with the need to get adapted to a set of cultural, social and educational
changes (Schram&Lauver,1988). These issues can be overwhelming for
international students, indicate Selvadurai. When colleges and universities
desire to provide international students with quality
assistance, “ all university personnel (faculty members, administrators, and
staff members)need to increase their awareness of the particular needs and
concerns of these students (Zhang and Dixon in Hanassab and Tidwell)
METHOD AND DATA
COLLECTION
Methodology
The design of
the study follows the methodology of qualitative research, specifically a
grounded study based on interviews. Eleven international students from various
majors, partaking a semester, a year or the whole pre- graduate career at the
Social Sciences and Humanities Campus (CUCSH) of the University of Guadalajara,
were interviewed.
Questionnaire
Design
The
questionnaire was designed to gain insights into the perceptions of students
about the orientation process given by the host University. As stated earlier,
the intent was twofold. First, take into consideration the students’ opinion;
then, suggest alternative means of support in regards to the orientation
process currently provided. For instance, questions such as: “Did you get any
orientation, on behalf of the host University, regarding: immigration matters,
administrative issues,
academic processes, university life, Mexico’s cultural surrounding and accommodations? If
so, do you consider such orientation useful?” “If your answer was negative, do
you consider that providing an orientation to International students would be
beneficial to students?” “How would you consider the orientation given by the
host University to its International students?
Why?”
“Would you recommend another student
to undergo this international program? Why?” and “What recommendations would
you give to students coming from your University to this University campus?”
(see Appendix1), were meant to directly tackle the objective.
The
questionnaire was designed using a traditional method: hard copy. One of the conveniences of following this format was
the allowance for clarification. Moreover the researcher was aware of students’
facial expressions and body language. Finally, it allotted the interview’s
development in a more conversational way and therefore, be able to get
substantial information from that.
The survey
instrument consisted of 23 questions (see Appendix 1), administered by the
researcher. However, for the purpose of this paper, the analysis will be based
on six of those questions. The respondents took between 30 to 45 minutes to
complete the questionnaire; most of the questions were open-ended.
In the first
part, the questionnaire asked interviewees about demographic information
(questions 1-9). They were asked to provide information about gender,
nationality, age group, level of target language, mother tongue, major,
duration of stay, subjects and departments attending at host institution and
first contact at host University.
The second
section (questions 10-14) aimed to find out the process students followed to
get into the host University, and
who advised them throughout that process as well as their previous general
knowledge of Mexican culture. It also sought to discover students’ most
difficult challenging areas in the target culture and at the University. This
section will not be considered for the current study. It will be presented and discussed in a
future paper.
Six questions
out of nine from the survey’s third part (questions 15-23) will be used for the
analysis of this paper. Question fifteen was divided into six subdivisions
(A-F) which explored the orientation
international students had received from the host university in terms of: A)
immigration matters, B) administrative issues,
C) academic processes, D) university life, E) Mexico’s
cultural surrounding and F)
accommodations. The following two questions examined students’ perceptions in
regards to the orientation received, if any,
and the usefulness of an orientation course in the case of having received
none. There is a question (on a 10-point scale) in this section, which asked
them to rate the support given by the host university and to state their
reasons. The last two questions that will be taken into account for the
analysis of this research, asked interviewees if they would recommend another
student to undergo this international program and what advice they would give
to students coming to this same campus.
Limitations
There were three
main limitations for the development of this study; the first two were linked. First of all, there was no
accessibility to a database with international students’ personal information
as a way to reach them. This brought as a consequence the second limitation;
the interview could not be applied to the desired population (2 males and 2
females from each region; also students whose native language was or was not
Spanish), but to a specific number of international students regardless
nationality, gender and/or mother tongue. If access
to that database, the survey could be Web-based designed and sent out to a
bigger population augmenting the reliability of this research. Finally,
language was another constraint since some of the interviewees were unable to properly
complete the survey and some others
could not be approached to answer it since they lacked Spanish or
English linguistic knowledge and the questionnaire was only designed in those
two languages.
This article
first discusses the demographic data and the descriptive results of the
analyses. After that, it describes the relevant outcomes observed from the
students’ opinions. Finally, it summarizes some of the leading opinions in
regards to the received orientation on behalf of the host university and states
some suggestions for further research.
DESCRIPTIVE
RESULTS
Demographics
Of the 11
students interviewed, eight were female and three male. These students’ age
range from 18-25 years old, except for one of them who was 26-29 years
old. They came from 8 different
countries with no significant representation of a specific country. There were
Canadian-Swedish (1), Korean (2), Spanish (1), British (2), Vincentian (2),
Saint Lucian (1), German (1) and Polish (1). Most of them said to have an
intermediate level of Spanish, there was a native
speaker, and few of them with a basic level of
the language. All of the respondents
were pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree at their home institution and a large
majority was attending the host university for an academic year whereas the few
others for the whole career. The Departments they were taking classes from,
were mainly 5: History, Literature, Modern Languages, Anthropology and
Geography. A large majority of the students identified as their first contact,
in the host university, a professor
of the Department they were to attend. Secondly, the remainder referred to
personnel from the General Coordination of Cooperation and Internationalization
(CGCI) of the University and finally, to staff from the Scholarships and
Exchanges Section.
Orientation
received on behalf of the host university.
The results of
this paper, as stated before, were based on six questions from the third
section. The first question asked interviewees if they had received any
orientation on behalf of the host university in terms of: A) immigration
matters, B) administrative issues, C) academic
processes, D) university life, E) Mexico’s
cultural surrounding and F)
accommodations.
A) Immigration
matters.
This referred
to the advising they received in order to do the needed paper work and obtain
their student’s visa. Moreover, to the information they have been given
concerning their duties and responsibilities, and their legal status as
international students.
A majority of
the respondents felt they had received orientation from the host university. Two different
sources of help were identified. First of all, information received from the
General Coordination of Cooperation and Internationalization (CGCI) from that
particular university and secondly from professors of the Departments they
attended. One of the students felt that although a guide was given, her home
institution had supported her more. The rest of the interviewees considered
they had not been given any orientation in this regard.
B)Administrative issues.
This aimed to
find out the guidance offered on how to perform different administrative
processes (e.g. registration, payment of tuition and fees, getting student’s
ID, requesting a scholarship, etc.)
Most of the
interviewees considered having received no help from the host institution.
Nevertheless, they did not express any difficulties when carrying out any of
these activities. A couple of them said orientation had been given at their
home institution before departure.
C)Academic processes.
Each university
has its own and unique structure. This particular institution works with a
credits system. Students’ knowledge of how this process works was the aim of
this section.
For the most
part, students’ felt they have been given counseling in this matter. Their
professors from the Department they attended and personnel from the
Scholarships and Exchanges Section were identified as their main advising
source. In this matter, the home institution was also recognized as counselor
for a couple of respondents.
It is worthwhile to point out that after conducting
the students’ interview, two of the professors most mentioned by the students
as their aid and resource, were informally interviewed and asked why they
helped these students. Although there was some reluctance on behalf of one of
them, it was found out that she holds a contract with the University to run and
teach the courses for a specific group of international students, based on the
geographical region they come from. However, it is uncertain if helping them
with all the aspects of the orientation is part of her job or personal
willingness. The other professor expressed to help them out of her own will,
having had the experience of being an international student.
D) University life.
Commonly, there
are a series of cultural and scholar events organized for and by students at
each institution. How familiar international students are with the events
usually programmed was the objective
sought for this section.
Although, a
couple of students pointed out the welcoming session as the place where they
got acquainted with this information, most of the respondents expressed having received no information in this
regard.
E) Mexico’s
cultural surrounding.
Even though,
there is no better or worse, having some basic knowledge, of the new culture,
as the kind of weather, food, costs of living, and security, would be
beneficial for the adaptation process of the involved students.
A majority of
the interviewees expressed to have gained some knowledge about Mexican culture
through professors, classmates and from the welcoming session given on behalf
of the CGCI. The remainder considered no information was given to them.
F)Accommodations.
“Housing is
always a major concern for students when they go abroad”, expressed Van Hoof
and Verbeeten (2005). For instance, finding out the thoughts of this group of
interviewees, related to the support received in terms of housing, reception at
the airport, effectuating banking transactions and meals’ accessibility, was
the focus at this point.
In this case,
there was a slight indication tendency to having received no orientation. Those
who felt had been oriented expressed support from personnel of the CGCI, the
welcoming session and professors.
Was the orientation
useful?
The following
question was intended for those students who said had received an orientation
on behalf of the host university. It aimed to discover how useful it had been.
There were some
students who felt the orientation had been of no help whereas the respondents,
who considered it helpful, mentioned it had been useful enough because they
were supported by somebody else (a friend). A couple of respondents said it had
been useful, but would have liked to receive that information earlier (e.g. via
e-mail), so they do not have to wait for it until the day of the “presentation”
(such presentation was said to take place a few
days before classes at the institution started).
Would you
benefit from an orientation course?
This inquiry
was addressed for those respondents who indicated had received no orientation.
The overall
answer was positive. All of them believed they could have benefited from an
orientation course. The words and ideas that came up to support their answer
were comments such as: Yes, “so that we do not feel alone and know what to
expect,” “to understand what the university offers,” “because some classmates
have limited knowledge understanding differences,” “everything would be
easier,” and “ yes, but not necessarily a long one”.
Interviewees
were asked to rate on a 10-point scale, with 1 being insufficient to 10 being
excellent, the support provided by the host institution to its international
students. The results did not display any consistencies and extreme responses
were not given. When taking a look to the results, one student decided not to
answer this question and the rest gave an appreciation that went from 2 to 9
on the given scale. Although, respondents were not prompted to compare the
service provided by the host
university in regards to the one from their home institution, one of them used
that as a referent. This student commented: “compared to my home university
where they provide help with housing, give them a tour around campus and offer
a “twin” from there, the service is not excellent”. The student who gave the highest grade
mentioned he had faced no problems at all. It might be reasonable to assume
that in spite of the help provided by the institution, this student encountered
less difficulties to adapt to the new environment due to the fact that he
shares the same language as the new-second culture. However, another student, whose mother tongue
was not Spanish, expressed as well experiencing no difficulties at all. One of
the respondents considered that the service would be perfect if the institution
had a person in charge of the orientation, in regards to cultural events in and
outside the university. This person clarifies “a person who leads international
students”.
The
justifications from the students giving the lowest rates provide valuable
insights for the institution as to what areas need to be reinforced in order to
improve the quality of the services offered. The students giving the lowest
rates, considered such because they felt there was little advising provided on
behalf of the institution. The respondents consider the university could
implement more services for international students. Besides, they believe the
quality of the help already offered to foreigners could be improved by
providing more information concerning academic plans of study, culture, etc.
Moreover, they felt its programs are designed for local students and therefore,
solutions are regularly for them.
Would you
recommend it?
Under the
heading “would you recommend another student to undergo this international
program?” the students’ opinions and sentiments about this experience abroad
were analyzed. They were asked to specify the reason of their answer.
Two thirds of
the students indicated that they would recommend it. Some samples of the
reasons why they would endorse this experience include comments such as “it is
an enriching cultural experience, it helps you to value different things and to
change the way you perceive life. Moreover, it helps you to improve your
language skills and to develop your capacity to adapt,” “it is an unforgettable experience, you learn
not only the language, but about the culture,” “It is fun and enriching,”
“professors are good, “and “classes are interesting.”
The remainder
expressed they would not recommend it since they felt the institution needed to
apply more services and activities for international students.
What advice
would you give?
In agreement
with Gargano’s belief that student voices need to be included at the core of
discourses on international student mobility, this group of students were asked
what advice they would give to students coming to this University campus.
Comments
varied, but to get adjusted to the new culture and to successfully cope with
it, a majority of the respondents suggested making connections and hanging
around with local friends since they could help to solve issues international
students are not aware of. By the same token, some other students suggested:
“to come with an open mind” and “not to be afraid of anything because students
are treated well here”.
Some students
felt the information given by the institution and
the one found on the website, was not clear nor enough. They suggested to
approach the personnel of the Scholarships and Exchanges Section, to ask on-campus
students and to attend the welcoming
ceremony.
A couple of
respondents expressed their sentiments in regards to housing arrangements. Yet
their opinions are opposite. One of them considered finding housing was
difficult whereas the other interviewee advised not to worry about housing
since it could be found once being here.
CONCLUSION
In agreement with
the literature consulted, international
students’ perceptions were found to have been little explored. Taking into account those sentiments can help
the administrators of international programs a great deal to tackle specific
aspects of the services they offer.
There seems to
be no consistency on the type of orientation they received.
While
some seemed to have been advised in some areas, others did not. They also feel
that receiving some information related to the academic programs, general
information as well as accommodation prior to their arrival would be helpful.
From this study we can say this group of international
students believes it would be of great benefit to implement more services to
international students on behalf of this institution. Based on the findings of
this paper, there are some additional services that could be proposed.
International students could be offered a twin. By that it is meant to pair
each international student with a local student, so there is empathy and
familiarity, and therefore they would not feel alone, as expressed.
International students would benefit from more help with housing. An updated
database of recommendable places they could safely live in could be sent to
them via e-mail prior to their arrival or consulted on the University’s
website. This recommendation leads to the following suggestion: to offer
more information for international
students on the institution’s webpage. Moreover, having an international
students’ e-mail list could foster the integration of these students into
Campus Life and activities. A database with international students’ information
might facilitate communication between international students and faculty.
Professors appeared to be a powerful support for them; therefore, assigning a
tutor to each international student and having them be in touch prior to their
arrival would release some tension and promote confidence.
Although, students’ mobility has largely augmented
recently, it cannot be assumed local and international students are ready to
face and cope with cultural differences and the effects of culture shock.
Bearing that idea in mind a course based on cultural differences could be
implemented as an elective for local students and mandatory, during their first
semester, to international students. Finally, the city and campus itself could
offer lots of extracurricular activities to be done and it is with that idea
that students could be given a planned tour of both the city and campus to
familiarize themselves with campus facilities and get a whole sense of the
city.
The development of
this paper showed there is a myriad of information that can be explored.
Analyzing the perceptions of international students in regards to the
orientation process was only a tiny piece.
For instance, some of the
respondents referred to the
welcoming reception as the place where
they had been acquainted with some information. However, not everybody seemed
to have known this event took place, and international students who
acknowledged this reception had different perceptions towards it. While some
consider it useful, others felt it had been of no help. Bearing this in mind,
there are two research areas which have unfolded. First of all, some efforts could be devoted
to explore the processes international students go through to enrol in this
university. This is based on the hypothesis that international students from
this campus do not undergo the same process to be admitted. In appearance some
of them are better prepared than others for this international experience. Why
is it so? Who is better prepared?
Second, a study to find out the specifications of the welcoming
reception in an attempt to become aware of areas of improvement could be as
well conducted.
Even though this
research gave a wealth of information to conduct further studies and build up a
more general schema, there is, at this point, the recognition of one question
that could have been included as part of the questionnaire and it is: How would
you have liked your first two weeks to have been? Inquiring about this would
have allowed to know what the respondents’ expectations were and the most
difficult challenges they faced.
Although the
results of this paper could be of special interest to the personnel in charge
of the General
Coordination of Cooperation and Internationalization (CGCI)
and to the Scholarships and Exchanges Section of the University of Guadalajara,
they can also be of some benefit to practitioners on the same area at other
institutions.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Barnes, G. (1991). The international student’s
guide to the American University.
Lincolnwood,
IL: National Textbook.
Gacel-Ávila,
Jocelyne (2003)La Internacionalización de ña Educación Superior.Paradigma para
la Ciudadanía Global. Guadalajara,Mexico: Universidad de Guadalajara.
Gargano, Terra.
(2008) (Re)conceptualizing International Student Mobility: The Potential of
Transnational Social Fields.
Journal of Studies in International Education,
1-16
Hanassab, S., &
Tidwell, R. (2002). International
Students inHigher Education: Identification of Needs and Implications for
Policy and Practice. Journal of Studies in
International Education, Vol. 6 No.
4, Winter 2002 305-322
Selvadurai, R. (1992). Problems faced by
international students in American
colleges and
universities. Community Review, 12, 27-32.
Schram, J. L., & Lauver, P. J. (1988).
Alienation in international students.
Journal
of College Student Development, 29, 146-150.
Van Hoof, Hubert B., & Verbeeten, M. J. (2005).Wine
is for drinking, Water is for washing: Student opinions about International
Exchange Programs. Journal of Studies in
International Education, Vol.9, No.1, 42-61.
Zhang, N., & Dixon, D. H. (2001).
Multiculturally responsive counseling:
Effects on Asian students’ ratings of counselor.
Multicultural
Counseling and
Development, 29,
253-262.
Appendix 1
Objetivo: descubrir el tipo de orientación recibida como estudiante internacional
dentro de este centro universitario previo a tu arribo y durante las primeras
dos semanas de tu estadía en esta
Universidad.
Nota: la
información proporcionada aquí será totalmente confidencial y no se utilizaran
los nombres reales.
Instrucciones: por favor da respuesta a las siguientes preguntas de
la manera más clara posible.
1. Nombre
(opcional)_________________________e-mail (opcional)______________
2. Género: Femenino_____ Masculino______
3.
Nacionalidad: _______________
Edad: 18-25____ 26-29_____
30-40______ 41-50_____ 51 +_____
4. ¿Cómo
calificarías tu nivel de español antes de venir a esta Universidad?
Básico_____ Intermedio______ Avanzado_____ Nativo______
5. ¿Cuál es tu
lengua materna?
6. ¿Qué grado
académico de estudios cursas en esta Universidad?
Licenciatura_______
Maestría_________ Doctorado_______ Otro_______
7. ¿Cuál es la
duración de tu programa aquí?
8. ¿Qué
materias llevas en esta Universidad? ¿A qué Departamento pertenecen?
9. ¿Quién fue
tu primer contacto en esta Universidad?
10. ¿Podrías
brevemente describir el proceso para
ingresar a esta Universidad?
11.
¿Alguien te asesoró en este proceso de
intercambio? ¿Quién? ¿Qué puesto tiene?
12. ¿Conocías
acerca de la cultura mexicana antes de venir? Si tu respuesta es afirmativa,
¿qué conocías?
13. En el
ámbito universitario, ¿cuál es el área en la que has tenido más dificultades
para adaptarte? ¿Por qué?
14. Fuera de la Universidad, en el entorno
social, ¿cuál es el área en la que has tenido más dificultades para
adaptarte? Explica por qué.
15. ¿Recibiste
alguna orientación, por parte de esta Universidad, acerca de los siguientes aspectos?
Proporciona tantos detalles o ejemplos como te sea posible:
A) Trámites migratorios (visa: derechos
y responsabilidades, estatus legal)
B) Procesos administrativos (matrícula,
cuotas, becas, credencial, etc.)
C) Procesos
D) Vida universitaria
E) Cultura mexicana
F) Hospedaje, recibimiento en el
aeropuerto, transacciones bancarias, alimentación, etc.
16. Si tu
respuesta anterior fue positiva, ¿Consideras que ha sido de apoyo dicha
orientación? Da detalles.
17. En caso de
que tu respuesta 15, haya sido negativa, ¿consideras que los estudiantes internacionales
se beneficiarían de un seminario de orientación? Da detalles.
18. ¿Alguien te
guió en el proceso de adaptación cultural dentro de la Universidad? Si fue así, ¿quién?
19. ¿Alguien te
familiarizó con los servicios y
actividades disponibles en este centro universitario? Si fue así, ¿quién?
20. En una
escala del 1 al 10 (siendo 1
insuficiente y 10 excelente) ¿Cómo
consideras el tipo de apoyo brindado por este Centro Universitario para sus
estudiantes internacionales? ¿Por qué?
21. ¿Sabes con
quién dirigirte si tuvieras algún problema en el ámbito universitario? Si es
así, ¿con quién?
22.
¿Recomendarías a otro estudiante a participar en este programa de intercambio?
Explica por qué.
23. ¿Qué
recomendaciones darías a estudiantes de
tu universidad que vienen a este centro universitario?
Objective:
to find out the
kind of orientation received as an International student of this University
before your arrival and within the first two weeks in this University.
Note: any
information given here would be kept confidential and no names would be used.
Instructions:
please give an answer to the following questions being
as clear as possible.
1. Name:
(optional)____________________________________________________
2. Gender: Female_____ Male______
3. Nacionalidad:_______________
Age group: 18-25 ____
26-30_____ 30-40______ 40-50_____
50 +_____
4. ¿How would you grade your level
of Spanish before you came to this University?
Basic_____ Intermediate______ Advanced_____ Native______
5. ¿What is your mother tongue?
6. ¿What level of academic studies
are you pursuing in this University?
B.A._______ M.A._________
Ph.D._______ Other________
7. ¿How long are you going to be
here?
8. ¿What studies are you pursuing in
this University?
9. ¿Who was your first contact in
this University?
10 ¿What procedures did you have to
follow to get into this University?
11. ¿Did anybody guide you in this
exchange process?
If so, who? What position does s/he
hold?
12. ¿Did you know anything about
Mexican culture before coming here?
If yes, what did
you know?
13. Regarding the University
environment, what has been the most difficult area to get adapted to?
Why?
14. And outside the University, in
the social environment?
Why?
15. Please answer yes or no, and
provide as many details and examples as possible.
Did you get any orientation, on
behalf of this University, regarding
A)
Immigration matters (visa: rights and
responsibilities, legal status)
B)
Administrative issues (tuition, fees, scholarships)
C)
Academic
processes (credits system)
D) University
life.
E) Mexico’s cultural surrounding (weather, food,
costs of living, security, etc.)
F)
Accommodations (housing, reception at the airport,
banking, meals, etc.)
16. If your previous answer was
positive, did you consider such orientation useful? Provide details.
17. If your answer to question 15
was negative, do you consider that providing an orientation to International
students would be beneficial to students? Provide details.
18. Did anybody guide you through this cultural
adjustment process?
If so, who?
19. Did anybody familiarize you with
the services and activities available on this campus?
If
so, who?
20.
On a scale from 1 to 10 (being 1
terrible and 10 excellent) How would you grade the advising given by this
University to its International students?
Why?
21. ¿Do you know who would advise
you in the case of an academic problem? If so, who?
22 ¿Would you recommend another
student to undergo this exchange program? Why?
23. ¿What recommendations would you
give to students coming from your University to this University campus?