Hi Chainey!

Below are responses to your questions from UNL’s New Student Enrollment, which is the unit responsible for our undergraduate international student orientation. Graduate international student orientation is handled by our office (ISSO), so if you want more information about that, let me know.

• Which unit in your institution oversees this international student transition experience? How many staff do you have to carry out this large project? I have seen various formats (ISSS taking the lead, ISSS collaborating with student affairs, and global engagement taking the lead along with a few representatives from ISSS) and would love to learn about your structures.
• At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the office of New Student Enrollment (NSE) oversees arrival and orientation for undergraduate international students as well as welcome week events. One staff member, Emily Klesner Platt,  from NSE oversees this and hires a team of 25 current students to assist with arrival, events, and a two-day orientation. Emily does have general support from other professional staff in NSE but does the bulk of the planning and execution herself with the student staff. NSE pulls in ISSO for any immigration issues/questions before arrival as well as an immigration/ISSO overview session during orientation. ISSO also hosts a welcome event at the end of orientation which acts as a “handoff” to give the students from NSE to ISSO just before classes start. NSE also facilitates course enrollment for all students. Emily acts as a liaison between the enrollment staff in NSE and the international students to give a little more direct attention to the international students to avoid students arriving unenrolled.

• If your institution asks international students to arrive early for this experience, will you cover the expense? Or will students be billed by housing and dining directly? Could you please share the costs/charges in this regard?
• Undergraduate international students are asked to arrive during a three-day window each semester, which for the fall semester is the Sunday-Tuesday of the week before classes start. Our two-day orientation is the Wednesday and Thursday after this arrival window and traditional all-campus events happen on that Friday-Sunday. For students living in University Housing, they do not incur extra cost because the housing contract (including the required meal plan) begins on the Sunday of the arrival window, so they are able to move in upon arrival for no extra charge. If they are given permission to move in earlier, then our window it is $40/night plus $9/meal at the dining centers billed by housing to the student bill. We do work with housing to get a 5-meal punch card for on-campus students to use if they need a meal before they get their student ID (which is the only way to use a meal plan). These punch cards costs are covered by housing. For students who live off campus we find that most are moving in with friends or family and do not have a problem with the early arrival. On the rare occasion a student is not able to move into their off-campus housing when they arrive during our window, they choose to stay in a hotel at their own cost. This usually only happens when they have a family member traveling with them, so the hotel is more for that family member then the student. We do a lot of work in our pre-arrival communications (both automated and manual) to help students arrive in the most cost effective way possible for housing.  

You are also welcome to contact Emily Klesner Platt directly with any additional questions – her email is emily.klesner@unl.edu.

Angela Bryan Associate Director, International Student Support University of Nebraska–Lincoln International Student & Scholar Office Lincoln, NE

From: Qianying Gao <qgao@northwestern.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2024 3:18 PM
To: 'btaa.intl.support@lists.unl.edu' <btaa.intl.support@lists.unl.edu>
Subject: [btaa.intl.support] [Insighted Wanted] International Student Orientation/Transition Experience

Caution: Non-NU Email

Hi colleagues,

I hope you are enjoying the wonderful springtime!

My name is Chainey, and I work at Northwestern University. As we are rethinking and rebranding the international student orientation experience, I want to reach out to you all to learn some best practices and logistics.

1. Which unit in your institution oversees this international student transition experience? How many staff do you have to carry out this large project? I have seen various formats ( ISSS taking the lead, ISSS collaborating with student affairs, and global engagement taking the lead along with a few representatives from ISSS) and would love to learn about your structures.

2. If your institution asks international students to arrive early for this experience, will you cover the expense? Or will students be billed by housing and dining directly? Could you please share the costs/charges in this regard?

I appreciate all the possible insights, suggestions, and feedback being shared here, and would love to connect with you via a Zoom meeting if you are open to a longer conversation 😊

Stay awesome!

Thanks，

Chainey

Qianying (Chainey) Gao 

She/Her/Hers  

Coordinator of International Student Experience

Office of International Student & Scholar Services (OISS)

Buffett Institute for Global Affairs

Northwestern University

E: qgao@northwestern.edu | Office: 630 Dartmouth Pl, Evanston IL 60208