OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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The International Student Advocacy Committee (ISA-C) gives international students at OSU a voice to share their experiences with the university, advocate for their needs, and recommend various initiatives to ensure a vibrant and inclusive campus experience for all students.
ISA-C is open to international and domestic students. All members are expected to think critically, ask difficult questions, perform research and analysis, engage in respectful dialogue, work across cultures and contribute to advocacy efforts.
A term of service is one academic year. Regular participation in meetings and activities are essential and expected in order to be effective. The frequency of meetings will be determined by the members in fall term. ISA-C may also discuss the option of holding one open forum per year and other opportunities for community input. Summer engagement will also be determined by members, with participation expected to be optional. Members are expected to devote about 4-5 hours per month for meeting attendance, outreach, research, projects, email and other communications, etc.
The committee is ideally composed of eight members: 2 INTO OSU supported students, 2 undergraduate students, 2 graduate or professional students, and 2 domestic students as defined by the University Registrar. Members may return for succeeding years upon review and recommendation of the committee advisor(s).
Members are expected to:
Are you a critical thinker, comfortable with asking difficult questions, good at research and analysis, and passionate about advocacy? Do you enjoy engaging in dialogue, working with different cultures and furthering campus internationalization at OSU? If yes, we encourage you to apply to be a member of the International Student Advocacy Committee.
Sogol Balali, Computer Science
Natia Javakhishvili, Wildlife Science
Pongchalat Chaisiriroj, Mechanical Engineering
Claire Chen, Business
Marua Bekbossynova, Chemistry
Background:
Student committee members focused on challenges faced by international students within the classroom and academic settings resulting in a disproportionate number of international students going through academic-related misconduct referrals, compared to domestic students. Research and discussion also took place around the discomfort international students may experience in self-advocacy related to academic performance concerns due to cultural differences and faculty-student power difference, resulting in increased stress and less equitable outcomes when compared to the domestic student population.
Proposal:
An annual report with student recommendations was not completed prior to the end of the term of service, as the committee was still awaiting critical data to support a proposal.
Dolor Enarevba - Doctorate, Mechanical Engineering (PhD)
Serey Oeur - Bachelors, Public Health
Kosisochukwu Ugwuede - Masters, Creative Writing
Divyansh - Bachelors, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Josephine Namuddu - Masters, Management Science
Background:
International Students leaving all that is familiar to them to come for studies in the US are faced with the expected challenges transitioning to a new campus, city, educational system, and culture. These challenges can be compounded by a feeling of lack of community, engagement on and off campus, and generally feeling isolated from their familiar support systems. It is critical that students quickly find opportunities for them to engage in and build a new network and support system.
Through informal research, ISAB members learnt that international students did not generally identify lack of engagement opportunities as a challenge. International students instead identified that the primary challenge is the lack of a cohesive communication strategy to create awareness of available engagement opportunities and resources. Students also shared that they were more likely to participate in a program or use a resource if it was recommended by their peers.
Proposal:
Sylvester Omondi, Thidarat Sawai, Kolade Salaudeen, Arman Askari, Muhammad Khan
Background: Some international students at OSU are offered assistance with booking an airport transfer from PDX to campus, and in some cases are met by a greeter at the airport, while others are not. Information is provided to help students book airport transfer by themselves, but it can be expensive and difficult to navigate.
Proposal: OSU should offer support for airport transfer from PDX to Corvallis for all new international students, including having greeters at the airport during peak arrival periods to welcome incoming new students.
Background: Depending on which term a new student arrives, they may receive varying amounts of information about student engagement opportunities on campus, such as cultural organizations and academic clubs. There is a fair in fall term, but not in other terms. Many international students do not feel they received this information in a clear and concise manner, and it may take many terms or years before they find their social niche on campus.
Proposal: Ensure international students receive more information about engagement and leadership opportunities sooner, starting before they arrive, and through various methods. Ensure students are aware of the range of opportunities available, including cultural groups, academic and major-related groups, sports, leadership opportunities, and so on. Helping new students become aware of the range of opportunities on campus and start planning for their social engagement and leadership opportunities sooner will provide for more connected, enriching student experiences at OSU.
Actions: A variety of initiatives are being discussed, including more communication about opportunities to students pre-arrival, more events and promotion of opportunities at the start of terms, including more information in orientation, etc.
Background: International students do not have an overarching organization or designated physical location on campus which unites them and brings them into community with one another as an international student body. International student feedback has consistently indicated that a location for them to work together, coordinate between various cultural organizations, plan events for campus, access resources, and enhance intercultural exchange with domestic students would improve their student experience at OSU.
Proposal: Create an international student center at OSU.
Actions: A full proposal has been drafted with the leadership of the ASOSU International Affairs Coordinator and has been introduced to various departments and campus leadership. Conversations are ongoing about the possibility of space allocated for this purpose. The efforts will be carried forward in 2021-22 by the new ASOSU leadership.
