The Opinions of International Students about an International Student Center’s Orientation Training

Authors : Meltem Acar Güvendir

Pages : 83-99

View : 13 | Download : 19

Publication Date : 2016-11-29

Article Type : Other Papers

Abstract :The purpose of the research is to examine how the orientation training is performed in the international student center of a U.S. university insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(University of California, Los Angeles/Dashew Center);. The study is in the form of a case study that makes it a qualitative research. The interview was used to get the international students’ opinion about the international center and its orientation training. A total of 41 first year undergraduate and graduate international students who study at UCLA were interviewed to describing what the international students think about the orientation training at the center. The participants in this research were given information about UCLA’s general structure, purpose, students’ rights, the resources of the university, activities, student organization, possible risky situation, which they may encounter on the campus, and their responsibilities and duties, by the center during the orientation. The students’ opinions about the orientation process were mostly positive and they thought that the staff at the center were welcoming during their orientation training. The students’ attachments to the school were also positively affected by the orientation as they gathered a lot of information about their university through this process. Furthermore, students considered the online orientation offerred by the center as a beneficial service that provided constant access to information that international students need to know. The study findings withdraw attention to the necessity of constructing international student centers and organizing international student orientation sessions at universities that provide education to international students. 
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