Stepping up International Student Orientation

KSA International Students Rep. talks about what KPU could be doing better

Going to school in another country is an experience many students look forward to their entire lives, but the culture shock can be damaging in the wrong environment. In order for someone from another part of the world to feel happy and comfortable far from home, they have to be taught what to expect and where to find their new community.

That’s an effort the Kwantlen Student Association’s International Students Representative, Navkaran Kahlon, believes Kwantlen Polytechnic University should give more attention to during international student orientations.

“We’re not doing anything wrong at KPU, but there is information and other things that can be added to orientations which can be very helpful for international students,” he says.

As an international student himself, Kahlon can attest to the differences between Indian and Canadian life and schooling. The disparity between the two countries’ education systems—which he believes is a particularly important point to raise at orientations—is that academia in India is “more theoretical and way less technical.”

“Participation doesn’t matter a lot over there. Over here, we have marks assigned for each and every thing. We have around 10-15 per cent for participation in almost all of the classes, and then we have assignments, quizzes, midterms, and finals,” says Kahlon. “When we come from India, the expectation is that we do well in finals and we do good overall, because in India, the finals are like, 80 per cent.”

Giving new, international KPU students a heads up about the necessity of participation and shift in marking distribution would make their success at school more likely, Kahlon believes.

Participation can be especially tricky for non-native English speakers, he adds, as they may doubt their ability to communicate effectively in the classroom. This, too, is something that could be remedied by verbal preparation at orientations.

“In many cases, international students know the answers, but they’re hesitant to give their answers because they think their accent or pronunciation is not good. We just want to motivate them and make them aware of what they need to do here.”

There are also many unique features of Canadian society as a whole that should be brought up to anyone who wasn’t raised in it. For instance, social insurance numbers don’t exist in India, so visitors from there don’t know how to apply for insurance or health and dental plans. Potentially, not having a SIN could even prevent them from joining the workforce.

For the sake of their social lives, Kahlon also suggests giving international students ideas about where to go to find like-minded friends. Alerting them of community centres, organizations, or well-known hangouts could make them feel less alone in a new city, which carries a great deal of value for students with a busy schedule.

“The basic idea with the KPU international students orientation is to make students aware and more comfortable,” he says. “Many students do not know, so we need to tell them, ‘These are the things that you need to take care of.’”

Although no official complaints have been made about international student orientation, the goal is to keep it that way. Kahlon and Vice-president Student Life Natasha Lopes met with the international students coordinator about their ideas for future orientations and hope to see them implemented by this spring.