Meeting of the international Services Advisory Subcommittee

 

Date: February 19, 2009, 9:00-10:00am, Library 419

Present: Sue Skekloff, Chair, Jane Ehle, Marietta Frye, Tarek Elshayeb, Peter Dragnev, Linda Hite

 

 

Meeting notes:

 

Tarek reported that over 40 applications have been received for the 2009 Fall semester. 

The ISS office is now a full admissions office which has streamlined and improved the admissions process for international students.   27 applications have been process and 15 are in progress. 

 

 

 A change in the IPFW Bulletin for undergraduates related  tothe admissions process for international students as been submitted by the ISS Office and has been initially reviewed approved by Dr. Aasand.  Currently TOEFL is the only standardized language proficiency exam listed in the Bulletin.  The new wording, if it is approved by the Senate, will reflect the actual variety of exams which IPFW also accepts.

 

 Tarek reported that Banner will contain students’ English proficiency exam scores to assist advisors and faculty when working with ISS students.  However, the question was raised as to whether or not all faculty actually have access via Banner to this information.  Tarek  will investigate the answer to this question.

 

 Dean Chang from the School of Business is assisting in the recruitment efforts of ISS. He will be traveling to China and will contact appropriate educational institutions for recruitment meetings.  He will also pursue efforts to streamline the transfer agreement process.

 

               Tarek and Dr. Chang will give a brief presentation on ISS this month to faculty in the

               School of  Business.  Dr. Chang will provide informational envelopes on IPFW’s ISS program to 

               faculty traveling overseas,  which they can distribute to American  schools which may be in the

               vicinity. 

 

               If there is the opportunity, the faculty member will also contact the college counselor   

               at these schools as well, for recruitment purposes.  Discussion followed about providing for

               expenses which might be incurred by the faculty member if the American school(s) were at     

               some distance.   Subcommittee members also suggested that Tarek pursue presenting

               this session for AOC or other Schools and/or academic departments.

               

                Dr. Mustafa in Biology will also be assisting with recruitment efforts in an upcoming visit to

                Costa Rica.

 

              

 Tarek gave an overview of the various organizations and events in which ISS will be involved.  These include the annual Seattle community college recruitment event for international students (Two of our incoming students next fall were recruited at this event.), the Overseas Association for College Admission Counseling which will be held next July at Chapman University in Orange, California, and the NAFSA, the largest conference for international students which will be held in May in Los Angeles this year, and the NAFSA regional meeting which will be held at Purdue in April. 

 

 Although Tarek has persistently pursued every avenue of possibility to allow some rooms in IPFW student housing to be reserved for international students, he reports that this request is not considered feasible by the administration at this time.  However, a new private apartment complex currently under construction close to campus, has agreed to provide housing for our international students, with backing from IPFW.

 

 

 

Next meeting:  March 19, 9:00am, Library 419

 

 

Submitted by Sue Skekloff, Chair. 

 

 

           

   

      

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Meeting of the International Services Advisory Subcommittee

 

Date: October 31, 2008, 1:30-2:30pm, Library 419

Present: Susan Skekloff (Chair), Jane Ehle, Marietta Frye, Tarek Elshayeb

  

 

Meeting notes:  The Director of International Services, Tarek  Elshayeb, presented an update on the unit.

Changes which have occurred include the addition of two new positions in the office, a secretary and an international student advisor, and the development of a new website.  The unit is also now a full admission office and no longer just a processing office.   Challenges remain in the area of making sure all policies and procedures are as user friendly as possible.  ISS is working towards the goal of ensuring that IPFW is in compliance with government regulations and that all international students can easily determine all options open to them.  Programming is a second area of concern.  Our campus does not have the wide range of programs that, for example, Purdue has for their international students; thus, developing our procedural base to assist students in such areas as housing, preregistration and English placement examinations, can help IPFW become a “welcoming campus for international students” and offer a major way in which we can be competitive in recruitment and retention of students.  After an improved procedural base has been established, then programming will become the next focus.  ISS is working towards reserving a number of dormitory rooms for international students, and a preregistration process has already been approved.  Comparing procedures at IPFW with those used at like institutions may also suggest additional ways to modify ISS policies, perhaps, for example, in the area of English placement exams, and recruitment.

Currently, there is no clear policy on recruitment.   A big challenge is trying to come up with more ideas to recruit with no travel money.  The international student advisor is currently attending an annual recruitment event involving two-year community colleges in Seattle in order to explore recruitment agreement options and we may investigate other two-year systems to approach as well. We should also review our contract with the company we are currently using to recruit students who are overseas, and look at other possibly more effective options which are available. 

Tarek would like to set monthly meetings for our committee and the Chair will try to arrange a time for us to meet once again this semester.   Tarek will pursue looking for a student to serve as a member of our committee.