Welcoming foreign students

Administrative constraints

The first contact with a foreign country often begins with a confrontation with its administration.

In principle, structures that welcome foreign students should make administrative formalities as straightforward as possible. But when you don't speak the language, and have to deal with a bureaucracy that's not your own, the process can take on enormous proportions. Reb Merida talks to Campus Monde about the difficulties he encountered in France. As long as these hassles weigh on the student, it's difficult to take full advantage of the courses, the encounters and the culture.

Some students who came to Orléans for a Master's degree felt the need to help their successors, by creating their own guidebook. This is an isolated initiative. We could imagine a school organizing it, and allowing each graduating class to improve it...

Other European universities adopt a very administrative tone, and seem to forget that the first contact lasts a very long time...

In France, Campus France provides extensive information that goes beyond the formalities. The site presents the advantages of higher education in France, and even some positive testimonials.

A quick browse through the university sites shows, however, that many adopt a very formal tone when it comes to presenting the steps to be taken. This is understandable in the interests of clarity, but as this is often the first contact, a little more warmth would often be welcome!

The marketing mix of student cities

Just as there are rankings for universities and degrees, there are also rankings for university towns. Montreal and Paris vie for top spot on the top universities website. More than the results, it's the methodology and criteria used that interest us. The questions asked are:

• Is it a student city?
• What is the proportion of foreign students?
• How desirable is it? Top Universities compiles a number of indicators under this heading, covering tourist appeal, economic attractiveness, students' views, pollution, corruption, safety, etc.
• What's the cost of living? Top universities integrates the "Big Mac" index, on the cost of daily living, and the "IPad" index, which compares the price of an iPad in different countries...
• What kind of job market?
• And Top universities also includes the results of a questionnaire administered to 18,000 students.
  

Le Figaro recently extolled the merits of Canada for university studies. The arguments put forward in the questionnaire make it possible to identify relevant criteria.

• Open-mindedness.
• Entrepreneurial spirit.
• Student encouragement.
• Close-knit teaching staff.
• Multidisciplinary curricula.
• Gateways.
• Opportunities to improve English.
• The job market.
• The cost of studies.

In France, Campus France promotes France's advantages as a destination for foreign students:

• The quality of the country's higher education
• International openness
• Recognition of the country's expertise
• A dynamic economy
• The country's art of living
• The country's (contemporary!) culture.
  

These heterogeneous inventories combine the quality of the city's training facilities with its cultural and economic dynamism... They show that the attractiveness of a student city can only be built through the combined efforts of training and reception facilities, municipalities and regions.

Intercultural encounters

Student testimonials reveal, however, that it's the encounters and astonishment provoked by the encounter with another culture that leave their mark on their stay.

Intercultural analyses are numerous in the world of management. They can shed light on the feelings of a foreign student immersed in another culture. Geert Hofstede has been studying cultural differences for over a decade. The dimensions he proposes are relevant to students.

For example, the "hierarchical distance" that varies from one culture to another can shed light on the teacher-student relationship. "Acceptance of uncertainty" can help to understand a greater or lesser need for instructions, while "individualism" can explain the variable success of group work.

More recently, in her book Cultural Map, Erin Meyer has proposed a tool for comparing major cultural traits. It too is aimed at international companies, but can help overcome misunderstandings in other contexts.

The attractiveness of a university or business school to foreign students depends on a number of criteria, many of which do not depend on the training center itself. Nevertheless, a number of ideas emerge from the testimonials.

• Facilitating and supporting administrative procedures, avoiding the cold, bureaucratic tone that some universities adopt when it comes to procedures.
• Work with regional and local authorities to make it easier for students to discover local culture and life.
• Incorporate the intercultural dimension into the design of learning and assessment situations.
  

Resources

University of Westminster - When you arive - welcome and orientation -consulted February 19, 2017
https://www.westminster.ac.uk/international/visas-and-advice/when-you-arrive/welcome-and-orientation/international-student-welcome-programme

University college union - Welcome international students - accessed February 19, 2017
http://uclu.org/welcome-international-students

Geert Hofstede - Countries comparison - Accessed February 19, 2017
https://geerthofstede.com/country-comparison-graphs/

Laurence Estival - Le Figaro Etudiant Dix bonnes raisons de partir étudier au Canada - published February 4, 2016, accessed February 19, 2017 - http://etudiant.lefigaro.fr/international/etudier-a-l-etranger/detail/article/dix-bonnes-raisons-de-partir-etudier-au-canada-18919/

South China Morning Post - published May 25, 2014, accessed February 19, 2017,
http://www.scmp.com/business/economy/article/1518529/mapping-global-cultural-differences-offers-advantages-business