Meeting Strategic Plan goals

Goal 1 Foster student and scholar success

Strategies

To foster student and scholar success, ISS will facilitate the interaction among faculty, staff and students; provide timely information and prompt feedback; encourage active learning; and provide opportunities for on-campus and community leadership.

  • Develop intensive orientation programs for students and scholars that implement on-line learning tools, experiential sessions to promote group identity and community involvement, expanded continued orientation sessions, and comprehensive web resources.
  • Collaborate with University Housing, Honors College, International Relations, and Global Engagement Office to create a nationally recognized international living/learning community in Holcombe Hall.
  • Advocate for a pathway program for students to integrate intensive English language courses with first year courses.
  • Provide crucial information to students, scholars, and departments through scheduled communications and reminders, informational seminars and workshops presented in multiple venues and formats, and an academic warning protocol.
  • Encourage campus/community involvement and leadership development through International Culture Team opportunities, iFriend programs, Cross-cultural Mentors, cultural organizations, Global Greeks, Holcombe International Living/Learning Community, educational field trips, cultural passport program and Conversation Club.
  • Assess the student and scholar experience through individualized cohort meetings, mid-term and exit interviews, focus groups, enrollment tracking, and end of program evaluations and guided reflections.
Performance Measures:
  • Measures of retention and graduation rates for international cohort students will exceed retention and graduation rates for all students.
  • Measures of end of program assessment will indicate that student and scholar experiences exceeded expectations.
2014 outcomes related to strategic plan: Foster student and scholar success

Despite the turnover in staff this year, the office made some progress toward this goal. New students scheduled immigration basics sessions using issLink (Sunapsis). issLink also automated some of the messages to students regarding expiring documents. Students and scholars continue to be involved in community engagement through ifriend, ICT, Global Greeks and educational field trips. The Korean Cultural Immersion, Plaza de las Americas and the International Education Kick off provided opportunities for interaction among students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Cynthia Smith enhanced the leadership skills of 4 Korean students over the 9 months of planning the Korean Cultural Immersion program so that they could lead over 45 volunteers to plan and implement the program. Mid-term interviews for scholars is a new initiative to try assess progress toward the scholars’ goals for participating in the exchange visitor program.

Performance Measures

Retention

Measure Fall 2005 Fall 2006 Fall 2007 Fall 2008 Fall 2009 Fall 2010 Fall 2011 Fall 2012 Fall 2013 Fall 2014
1st Year Retention Rate 90 81 79 97 92 81 95 80 96 97*
6 Year Graduate Rate 77 74 66 72
Cohort numbers 29 54 38 36 48 43 55 44 49 57

*Fall to Spring retention

Latest Arkansas Residents: 1st year retention rate is 93% and 6 Year Graduation Rate is 61%.

Goal 2 Provide quality services

Strategies

Implementation of Sunapsis, development of on-line tools, and monitoring staff duties and work load will lead to providing quality services to the campus and community.

  • Develop and implement Sunapsis training for students, staff, and faculty
  • Develop and implement e-forms and checklists through Sunapsis
  • Redesign ISS website to include interactive elements and easy to navigate information
  • Integrate appointments and check-in software to facilitate office visits.
  • Integrate enrollment in Spring International Language Center courses into the University of Arkansas student information system.
  • Develop on-line tools to assist with program maintenance and assessment.
  • Maintain highly personalized Immigration Basics sessions
  • Develop a position to coordinate SEVIS compliance through Sunapsis; annually assess staff responsibilities and performance in relation to changing functions of the office to determine how to best meet the needs of students, scholars and departments.
Performance Measures
  • 100% of applications, sign-ups and request forms will be conducted on-line.
  • Learning and program assessments will indicate that over 75% of participants agree or strongly agree that learning and program outcomes were met.
2014 outcomes related to strategic plan: Provide quality services

issLink (Sunapsis) implemented March 2014. Hired Steven Sevic to develop issLink to adapt to UA needs. Trained ISS, IAO, SSP, and SILC staff on its uses. Began the process of developing e-forms for some F student processes. Developed tables and reports for SSP. Transferred all ifriend applications for both international students and scholars and their domestic hosts to the isslink system. Developed templates for SILC student enrollment. Began workflow processes to develop checklists for J scholar and H requests. Signups for field trips and immigration basics through issLink. Cashnet used to collect fees rather than through cash transactions in the office.

Goal 3 Promote international education

Strategies

To promote international education, ISS will increase educational opportunities and diversify methods of communication to the campus and community.

  • Provide international education seminars and workshops presented in multiple venues and formats such as “In Their Shoes”, intercultural training, First Year Experience and Resident Assistance presentations, cultural immersions, “What’s Behind my Flag”, and country specific workshops that anticipate areas of student population growth.
  • Collaborate with UA Alumni Association to create a national model for international alumni outreach.
  • Actively participate in campus events and professional organizations such as New Faculty Orientation, Welcome Weeks activities, community festivals, Engagement and Retention Committee, NAFSA and NODA leadership
  • Develop and implement policies for the promotion of international education through print, radio, TV, and social media
  • Assist with the promotion of the University of Arkansas through the visiting student program and community college initiative
  • Develop a baseline for volunteers by implementing use of the Volunteer Action database.
Performance Measures
  • 3 International Alumni Groups and the International Alumni Society will be established
  • Learning and program assessments will indicate that over 75% of participants agree or strongly agree that learning outcomes were met.
  • Number of visiting students and community college transfer students increase over current levels
2014 outcomes related to strategic plan: Promote international education

During Academic Integrity Week, ISS offered a panel discussion entitled “Global Views of Academic Integrity”. This panel focused on academic integrity topics such as “cheating” and “plagiarism” according to culture and practices in the Dominican Republic, China, Turkey, Kenya and India. Quarterly newsletters emailed to registered international alumni. ISS staff actively participated in new faculty orientation, welcome weeks activities, GSIE working groups and NAFSA. Several ISS volunteer programs are now listed in the Volunteer Action databse.

Goal 4 Invest in staff and resource development

Strategies

Investing in staff and resource development will assist ISS in accomplishing the vision, mission and goals of the department.

  • Update the knowledge base of professional staff in the following areas: Sunapsis, Diversity Certificate, Strength Quest, Supervisory Development, federal regulations, distance education and web-based software, cultural information, and adult education methods through webinars, conferences, staff meetings, and individualized training.
  • Collaborate with UA International Admissions and Recruitment to increase international student enrollment at University of Arkansas
  • Apply for additional sources of revenue through grants and gifts.
Performance Measures
  • 5 funding proposals submitted annually
  • All staff members have completed or are moving toward completion of UA Diversity Certificate and Strengths Quest training.
  • Staff members who attend conferences are presenting sessions or workshops.
2014 outcomes related to strategic plan: Invest in staff and resource development

Staff were able to participate in many professional development conferences this year with the NAFSA regional in Fort Worth, Texas. Audra Johnston also took the lead in providing webinars to staff on regulatory information from SEVP and NAFSA. Cynthia Smith continues to reach out to her partners with ICT for funding of scholarships through ASG funding for cultural organizations, Center for Multicultural Diversity and Education, Latin American Studies, Spring International Language Center and schools in NW Arkansas.