The International Student Experience: A Manifesto for Change

The International Student Experience A MANIFESTO FOR CHANGE

Improving the academic, financial and wellbeing experience for students at Huddersfield

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Contents Foreword

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Statement of Principle 4 Background Information 6 Our Methodology 9 Our results & Big Ideas for Change

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1. Foreword

For many, arriving in the UK to begin a programme of study is a lifelong dream that brings with it significant emotional and financial investment. Within the first weeks of a student’s arrival in the UK, universities and Students’ Unions have a vital role to play in welcoming, directing, informing and supporting as they accustom themselves to life and study in the UK. This manifesto outlines a range of improvements that I want to deliver to ensure that International and EU students are better represented, better supported, and better welcomed to our institution in order that they can have a successful academic experience. I want to make sure that all students arriving here will feel prepared to encounter this hugely important time in their career.

Following on from the Immigration Bill recently debated in Parliament, I feel that action needs to be taken to ensure that some of the consequences of the bill do not put International and EU students at risk by being excluded from some of the services and support mechanisms that other students are entitled to. One good reason to better the quality of the services we offer can be seen in the contribution that International and EU students bring to the UK – an estimated £7.9 billion to the UK economy alone.

In January 2014 the Students’ Union surveyed over 150 International and EU students on a range of topics with the overall aim of answering the question ‘have the University and Students’ Union sufficiently met the needs of International and EU students both prior to, and after their arrival in Huddersfield’. The survey questions made provision for students to both rate and comment on their experience of the International Office, Students’ Union and Student Services, as well as other social and cultural opportunities on offer both on campus and in the surrounding area.

As an EU student myself, I believe the university experience should be a balance of academia and enrichment. This manifesto aims to help those who are finding difficulty integrating into any aspect of life in the UK, whether social, cultural or academic – and will improve the way the Students’ Union delivers its services to International and EU students through the provision of cross-cultural opportunities.

Coco Toma

Vice President Communications and Democracy

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2. Statement of Principle In the publication An Education Manifesto for Change, the Students’ Union set out a number of key principles that should shape higher education for students at the University of Huddersfield: We believe in a higher education sector that is characterised by five key principles: 1. Public: a sector that recognises the role of higher education as a public good, where the benefit of further study adds value not just to the individual, but society in general.

2. Transformative: a sector that makes a positive impact on peoples’ lives, and gives students the skills and knowledge to develop both personally and professionally.

3. Responsive: a sector that not only adapts to different political, economic, sociological and technological expectations, but helps to shape them. Higher education should be at the forefront of shaping public debate and discussion.

4. Collaborative: a sector that champions the approach of genuine partnership between the academy and student body, recognising students as co-producers of knowledge.

5. Holistic: a sector that recognises the wider student experience as important, not just what happens in the classroom.

Students at Huddersfield deserve a higher education experience that: • Respects and engages them as genuine partners in their learning development.

• Develops their critical thinking skills.

• Establishes a platform for lifelong learning and professional development.

• Provides subject specific knowledge and transferrable skills relevant to the programme.

• Prepares them for a career beyond their education.

• Supports and develops them as active, responsible citizens.

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To deliver this, the University of Huddersfield should provide: • High quality learning environments fit for students.

• A high quality staff team actively engaged in knowledge transfer.

• Teachers who consistently inspire, stretch and motivate their students.

• Course content that is relevant, engaging and inspiring.

• Formative and summative assessment that is linked to constructive feedback.

• Curriculums that enable and encourage holistic self-directed learning.

• A platform to engage students as partners in the learning experience.

As the University continues to drive forward its plans for internationalisation, the following additional principles should guide its work: 1. Internationalisation is more than the act of recruiting international and EU students on to campus – it is about giving all students (home included) an international experience that prepares them for the global environment.

2. Internationalisation will have a significant impact on the services required by students – funding must be provided to ensure the University and Students’ Union change to reflect the different demographic.

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3. Background Information 3.1 Our key themes for development Orientation: t he process of an International or EU student settling into their new surroundings. This includes adapting to the customs and culture of the UK, becoming familiar with Huddersfield and the local area, and being able to carry out necessary tasks such as finding suitable accommodation and opening a bank account.

Academic Induction: refers more specifically to the process of ensuring that International and EU students understand what is expected of them while studying at the University of Huddersfield. This will include not just an understanding of University rules and regulations, but also an extensive introduction to the nature of study in the UK and development of the skills required – including Degree Preparation Courses and English language skills.

Ongoing support: i s acknowledgement that the Orientation and Induction process does not end a short time after a student’s arrival in the UK – it is an ongoing process that fosters a sense of belonging within the wider student community. This will include services and functions that exist to make student life easier, such as the International Office and how well International and EU students are represented by the Students’ Union.

Opportunities: include the provision of social, recreational and self-development initiatives offered by the University and Students’ Union. These opportunities are integral to the ongoing orientation process and for equipping students with a broad range of skills and experiences alongside their chosen study.

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3.2 Some national context The recruitment of International and EU students is already a fiercely contested worldwide market. To be competitive in this field, UK institutions need to ensure that they provide a genuinely international experience for all students – including home students – in order to allow students to feel genuinely integrated into the UK Higher Education culture.

In many institutions, it is perceived that more work needs to be done to keep pace with the need to internationalise, in order to achieve the above goal. There are however, many good examples of how institutions are striving to achieve this, some of which are outlined below.

• Warwick Students’ Union is working with their institution on a strategy for internationalising the student experience, focusing on integration and recognising the important role that students’ unions can play in encouraging interaction between UK, EU and international students.

• Sheffield University and their Students’ Union were recently awarded the NUS Internationalisation Award, and were praised for their joint innovation in providing an international experience for all students, as well as their campaigning work.

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3.3 Impact of the Immigration Bill Alongside the challenges faced by institutions to provide a genuinely international experience for all students, there is a new set of obstacles to negotiate in the Immigration Bill that has recently made its way through Parliament.

In particular, international students are facing additional barriers to their integration into UK Higher Education in the following areas: NHS charges Proposals to charge international students £150 per year to access NHS services will potentially add a significant burden on top of the existing cumulative costs of visas, travel and upfront living costs. For students that bring their families with them to the UK this risk is even greater.

Landlord checks of immigration status Proposals that UK and EEA students should prove they have the right to be in the UK to potential landlords before they are allowed to secure accommodation has many potential pitfalls. As many international students are required to secure accommodation before they come to the UK, this poses an unnecessary and potential impossible burden for them as they will not be able to present the documentation needed. It is also likely that estate agents would choose to levy an additional fee for carrying out these checks, further adding to the costs of studying in the UK.

3.4 NUS Internationalising Students’ Unions project In January 2010, the National Union of Students launched this initiative to encourage and support 20 students’ unions each year to carry out an audit on their engagement of international students in union activities, and resulting strategies for improvement. The project carries the following strategic objectives: • All international students will be able to participate in the democratic processes of Students’ Unions.

• We will ensure the individual and collective voices of international students are heard within our students’ unions, institutions, communities and by local and national government.

• We will build communities within our students’ unions where international students may develop a sense of belonging, and where home and international student may come together.

• We will develop services that meet the needs of our international student members.

• We will develop genuine two-way communications between our students’ unions and our international student members.

• We will develop and promote learning and development opportunities for officers and staff to internationalise students’ unions.

• We will develop networks at local, regional and national level to support these aims.

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4. Our Methodology 4.1 Policy Working Group A Policy Working Group was appointed by Union Council to plan and oversee the development of the International Manifesto for Change. The group was comprised of two SU Exec members, two Union Councillors who were both EU or International Students, with support from the Student Representation Manager. The working group decided the themes that should be explored in a survey of International and EU students.

4.2 Survey The data collection took place over February and March 2014. Two methods were used to collect data – the VP Communications and Democracy led a team of Union Councillors who visited different locations across campus, either completing surveys with International and EU students or handing surveys out to be completed in the students’ own time. Concurrently there was an online survey open which was promoted by direct email and through the Union’s social media channels, and with a £100 prize for one lucky student! Over 150 responses were received in total.

4.3 Analysis The survey had asked students to both rate and comment on different aspects of their experience at Huddersfield, with focus on orientation, induction, support and opportunities. Some of the quantitative data is presented within the ‘Results and Big Ideas for Change’ section, while the qualitative data taken from the open responses allowed members of the working group to identify the key themes that were emerging.

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5. Our Results and Big Ideas for Change 5.1 Overall The survey responses on the whole painted a reasonably positive picture of the International and EU Student Experience at the University of Huddersfield – but highlighted a number of key areas where significant improvements could be made.

To identify areas that international and EU students ranked as most important, respondents were asked to say what one piece of advice they would give to future international students arriving at the University of Huddersfield. From 77 usable responses, the following themes emerged:

Other

Get involved in activities

Be prepared for the weather Budget enough money

Mix with home students as well as own nationality

Make use of the Students’ Union

Get to know the University

Mix with other nationalities and cultures

What advice would you give to an international student arriving at the University of Huddersfield?

Ask for help

Find accommodation in advance Get to know the area

Therefore, we have split our big ideas for change up into the following headings: • Orientation • Academic Induction • Ongoing Support • Opportunities

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5.2 Orientation and Academic Induction These areas formed the main focus of the survey, with four of the questions asking respondents to rate key aspects of their orientation and induction experience on a scale of 1 – 5, where 1 = Very Poor and 5 = Excellent.

Quality of information received from the University about living in the UK, and in particular about Huddersfield and the surrounding area.

7.8%

22.5%

34.1%

25.6%

10.1%

Quality of the information provided about accommodation in Huddersfield.

9.4%

26%

28.3%

25.2%

6.3%

4.7%

How well the costs of living were explained to you, including accommodation, transport and groceries.

20.6%

37.3%

20.6%

8.7%

6.3%

6.3%

Information you were given about cultural and social life in the University and surrounding area, including nightlife, entertainment and sport.

18.8%

25.8%

29.7%

17.2%

3.9%

4.7%

Very Poor

Poor

Neutral

Good

Excellent

Other

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Respondents were also asked to comment on areas that they felt the University could do more on in relation to the welcome provided for international students, and which things they found most difficult on their own arrival:

Other Finding Acommodation

Enrolment, fees and finance procedures Understnding accommodation contract Airport pick up service

Was there anything you found particularly difficult about your arrival at the University of Huddersfield?

Meeting people and making friends

Orientation of campus local area

Adapting to different study methods

Lack of information on arrival

Language barrier

Other Student Buddy system More international student societies

Student life guide

English language support

Accommodation support

Transport from the airport

Can you list anything that the University could do for you, as an international student arriving at the University, that would help to welcome you?

International orientation week

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Selected survey comments On accommodation…

“Information provided about accommodation is not enough. We found our accommodation was too far from the University” “I was only made aware of Storthes Hall and Ashenhurst, had no idea there were options much closer to town” On integration…

“Introduce a buddy system where new international students are shown round by an existing student. This would be more effective than the whole induction process being carried out by admin staff” “A brochure detailing clubs and societies to join, as well as activities and points of interest in Huddersfield and surrounding area would be useful” “I have joined international communities, including British, as I believe this is the best way to settle and integrate” On academic induction…

“There should be some help with the English language for EU students” “Essay writing workshops would be great” On finances…

“Everything costs more than you’d expect so try and plan in advance. The Students’ Union is a great port of call for absolutely any question” “I did not receive any information about costs other than for fees and accommodation”

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Therefore, our big ideas for change are: Orientation 1. The International Office should team up with the Students’ Union to produce an International Student Guide to Huddersfield. This would be distributed to all students before they arrive in the UK through the provision of a digital version.

2. The International Office should team up with the Students’ Union to produce a more clearly defined and bigger International Orientation Programme – running prior to and throughout the Freshers period, and including provision for late arrivals.

3. Designated pick-up points and times should be established to allow a substantial and value-for-money ‘meet and greet’ service to be provided at airports and other points of arrival.

4. The International Office should signpost students to HudLets for information about accommodation not provided by DIGS. 5. Both the International Office and the Students’ Union should seek to develop their web provision to ensure it is informative and user-friendly both prior to and after arrival in the UK. Academic Induction 1. There should be no distinction between International and EU when it comes to service delivery. For example, English language pre-sessional courses should be offered to those who need them and not just those from outside the EU. 2. The University should follow the lead from other UK Universities and implement a staged raising of the English language requirements. Provision of pre-sessional courses could be increased to support these extra requirements.

3. The University should establish targeted study skills sessions for International and EU students that look beyond university rules and regulations, focusing on study methods in the UK and helping them to understand the British system, for example essay writing.

5.3 Ongoing Support and Opportunities Respondents were asked specifically to rate the quality of the information provided to them about available support on a scale of 1 – 5, where 1 = Very Poor and 5 = Excellent.

They were also asked specifically about the Students’ Union; how much they felt they knew about the purpose of the Union and areas of its work that they were able to identify.

Information about support services available to you .

26%

28.3%

25.2%

6.3%

9.4%

4.7%

Very Poor

Poor

Neutral

Good

Excellent

Other

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Social Mission Activities Development Opportunities

Events

Key areas of the Students’ Union work recognised by respondents

Representation

Advice and Support

Selected survey comments On the Students’ Union…

“I joined a society, which made me feel more at home” “More advertising and information about the Students’ Union” “The purpose of the Students’ Union is to develop my skills and promote sport and activity. It is not only for entertainment” “Everything costs more than you’d expect so try and plan in advance. The Students’ Union is a great port of call for absolutely any question”

Therefore, our big ideas for change are: Ongoing Support and Opportunities 1. Encourage the University to promote the availability of hardship funds for International and EU students, with clear criteria agreed in consultation with the Students’ Union.

2. Continue to develop the One Campus project to allow as many students as possible to participate, and look to incorporate a buddy scheme.

3. The University should seek to ensure that International and EU students have the opportunity to attend a graduation ceremony within their valid visa period.

4. The University should take whatever steps it can to counter any additional expenses or barriers faced by International students that are posed by the Immigration Bill.

5. The Erasmus Programme should be promoted to all students, to give students more opportunities to develop intercultural skills and become more employable.

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