“Orientation is an important time in a student’s journey; it can set them up on a path of success or start the road to something more sinister” says this week’s article by The Koala News.
The regulators agree with explicit standards in the Higher Education Standards Framework (HESF) and the National Code (NC):
- The HESF states that “successful transition into courses of study is achieved through orientation programs that are tailored to the needs of student cohorts and include specific consideration for international students adjusting to living and studying in Australia”
- The NC states that “registered providers must support the overseas student in adjusting to study and life in Australia by giving the overseas student information on or access to an age and culturally appropriate orientation program”
Interestingly, the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015 are silent with no mention of orientation programs as an educational or support service and much more emphasis placed on training and assessment services that the RTO considers necessary to support learners to achieve competency.
Anyone who knows me well knows I’m a fan of pre-arrival communication campaigns that provide commencing international students with the knowledge, skills and understanding that are central to preparing for and adjusting to living and studying in Australia. International students on a panel last year were asked what their education providers could have done differently or better to help them prepare for life in Australia. There was enthusiastic consensus that they would have liked a ‘cheat sheet’ to take on the plane with them with direct contact number/s for someone in their institution in case they get lost; what they need at the airport when they arrive; where to buy food for their first few days; and Australian internet and phone access options. They were clear that less is more!
There’s a lot to learn, and orientation programs provide a critical foundation for students’ academic and personal success. Several decade’s worth of research has now established that the transition into university is key for student learning, persistence, success and well-being. The quality of transition can predict student success over the course of a degree (Hughes, G. et al, 2022, p.88). I argue that a successful transition takes longer than three weeks!
There have been some key light-bulb moments for me over my career in international student support – these moments came directly from international student comments at orientation, insights shared in focus groups, and assisting international students in a state of distress.
Light-Bulb Moment #1:
At an international student orientation session in the early 2000s, I very proudly decorated the orientation venue with flags from the countries the students were joining us from – there were a few flags that I couldn’t find, though, and (unwisely) I decided to proceed in showcasing the majority of flags I’d procured. At the end of orientation, the sole student from one of the countries I was missing came up to me in tears, saying that she couldn’t find her flag.
With that one decision, orientation wasn’t inclusive or welcoming for that student, and I’d undermined the importance of creating a sense of belonging for her. We know that creating a sense of belonging provides one of the foundational aspects of a student’s well-being while studying in Australia. A sense of belonging also builds trust with the student’s institution as an inclusive, safe environment – culturally, physically and psychologically.
Orientation is a key opportunity to foster a sense of belonging with your institution. It’s bigger than orientation, though and requires ongoing explicit attention by providing a “relentless welcome”; opportunities for “inescapable interactions”; and viewing every interaction as a “belonging opportunity” (Felten, P. & Lambert, L., 2020)
Light-Bulb Moment #2
At an international student focus group discussing international student engagement in the 2010s, one of the international student participants asked a very curt, hurt question to me and my international student support team: ‘Why do you just dump us after Week 4’?
The team were, of course, bewildered by this question and the agreeing nodding of heads around the room. When we asked for more information on why there was this perception amongst the students, their response was that they’d felt supported and welcomed through our pre-arrival campaign from November-February; had embraced the International Student Host welcome program that had been delivered across O-Week and their early weeks; and had attended multiple faculty-led welcome and enrolment events. By Week 4 of the semester, though, the international student transition Facebook group was winding down; the International Host program was disbanded until the next semester, and there were no student engagement events in their diaries. They’d been ‘dumped’ by our institution in their eyes and felt they’d been left to fend for themselves in their new environment.
When asked what we as an institution could do to ‘fix the problem’, the students simply asked for a space on campus where they could meet as a group to continue to get to know each other. They didn’t buy our explanation that we assumed they’d now want to focus on their assessments as they became due and that we did not want to distract them from their academic studies – they were humans with an innate need to belong and connect.
The Australian Strategy for International Education 2021-2030 says that “connecting students to local community groups and with each other improves interculturalism and allows education providers to champion social cohesion”. Our first opportunity as institutions to do this is through pre-arrival and orientation – it’s bigger than orientation, though, and needs sustained attention!
Light-Bulb Moments #3
#3 is a combination of light-bulb moments that a) sprang from assisting international students in states of distress and b) attending ongoing professional development in cross-cultural awareness and competency. These light-bulb moments have culminated in a strong view that practitioners in international student support should explicitly provide information on or access to information that normalises feelings of loneliness and homesickness for their international students and enables their students’ understanding of the stages of culture shock.
Culture shock is a kind of homesickness that results from being in a new culture where everything is different: the language, the food, the way of life, and the values and attitudes. “Teaching” culture shock to commencing international students at orientation helps them understand that they are likely to experience culture shock symptoms during their time in Australia and this will most often happen to them when they are missing special events; family milestones; or religious festivals in their home country.
The work of Canadian anthropologist Kalervo Oberg who identified 4 stages of culture shock continues to be commonly used. If we equate Oberg’s work to the international student experience:
- ‘Arrival in Australia’ = honeymoon stage
- ‘Culture Shock’ = frustration stage
- ‘Adjusting’ = adjustment stage
- ‘Completion of Studies’ = acceptance stage
Again, orientation is a key opportunity to talk to your commencing international student cohort about the challenges they will likely face in adjusting to their new living and studying environments. It’s bigger than orientation though and requires ongoing messaging to your students that support services are available to them if they find they are struggling. Just-in-time, just-for-me support interventions across the student lifecycle is the order of the day.
References & Resources:
Advance HE: Education for Mental Health: Enhancing Student Mental Health through Curriculum and Pedagogy
Gareth Hughes, Gareth Hughes, Dr Rebecca Upsher, Dr Anna Nobili, Dr Ann Kirkman, Chris Wilson, Dr Tamsin Bowers-Brown, Dr Juliet Foster, Professor Sally Bradley and Dr Nicola Byrom
https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/education-mental-health-toolkit
Languages Alive
What are the 4 stages of culture shock
https://www.languagesalive.com/culture-shock-effects/
Let Your Story Talk: Mental Health Support for International Students
https://www.letyourstorytalk.com/
Now Health International
Culture Shock Stages: Everything You Need to Know
https://www.now-health.com/en/blog/culture-shock-stages/
preparise: preparing students for study, work & life
10-minute confidence program: Student Confidence
https://studentconfidence.com.au/pre-recorded/
Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College
Peter Felten & Leo M. Lambert
https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12146/relationship-rich-education
The Rainbow Guide: Student Education Project – Orientation and Pre-Arrival Handbook
