Thank you!
Thanks for writing to us at the Community Tool Box with your important question. We understand the situation you describe, and in our experience it applies to many other student housing situations in different countries. It’s very natural to feel isolated and alone in those situations.
But there are many ways this situation can be improved. For example:
Establishing a physical meeting space where new students, and especially foreign students, can come together, either on or off campus
Establishing a special website and social media channels for these students
Developing a “buddy system,” where a new student is paired with a returning student from the same country or locale, to help the new student adjust to school
Developing a strong orientation program for new students when they arrive, and even before they arrive at the beginning of the school year
Developing a program of planned activities throughout the school year for those students
Creating a student-led advisory board or similar groups to help plan activities and programs
Designating a staff coordinator for these services, paid for by the school -- that is, the school should invest some of its financial resources for this purpose.
Ensuring that sufficient transportation opportunities are available, so that students can easily get back and forth from campus
Ensuring that counseling services are available for students experiencing academic or emotional problems, or just seeking an opportunity to talk
Collecting evaluation data on programs that are offered, so that new programs are based upon stated need and previous positive feedback
Learning from other schools who have had successes in this area, and adopting or adapting their ideas. In other words, what are the best models or practices in the field?
(There are many sources for such models and practices. For example, try a simple internet search for “welcoming new students to college,” or “welcoming foreign students to college,” and examine some of the sources you find.)
Creating more on-campus housing options, of course
In these recommendations, we can also identify some of the underlying change principles that seem important for success:
Establishing an organizational structure through which desired changes can take place
Having a long-term commitment
Investing resources into the effort – both people, money, and time
Spending time to plan these activities in advance
Basing planning decisions on past evaluation data
Generating participation by those affected
These principles, which are based in psychology, will also apply in many other change settings. When they are operative, desired change is more likely.
Is there an opposing side to this issue? We have a hard time imagining one. Policy recommendations may differ, but we think just about everyone wants new or international students to have a positive experience when they are at school.
We should also mention that some other students in your class, such as Presiana, Brigena, and Mihail, wrote us with a similar question, and you might want to coordinate your work with theirs.
We hope some of these thoughts may be helpful to you. All best wishes for success in your project work and beyond.
And please say hello to Prof. Harvey!