When faced with a global health pandemic, Niagara College responds with virtual innovation and college-wide collaboration to engage students and partners from around the world. Through new events, rolled out to adapt to the changing institutional climate, NC has been able to continue its engagement with prospective students to help them gain an understanding of Niagara College and its special features, and connect with new students to help them feel supported before beginning their studies.
With the support and collaboration of academic and service areas of the College, NC hosted a three-day global event called NC Canada Worldwide Application Days. The event was hosted on Zoom and broadcasted live around the world on Facebook Live for 66 hours beginning June 8 at 6 a.m. and ending June 10 at midnight, and featured information sessions, student success stories, culture sessions, tours and demonstration classes.
NC’s School of Hospitality, Tourism and Sport’s associate dean, Damian Goulbourne, offered presentations on his school of study each day of the event and three professors from the academic area presented demonstration classes.
“This was one of the most innovative and engaging recruitment activities that I have been able to participate in during my almost 25 years at Niagara College,” shared Goulbourne, commenting on how NC’s diversification strategy was evident during the event as viewers from around the world engaged in the sessions.
“Aligning with the College’s strategic direction of being globally and culturally engaged, the event enabled direct communication between academic areas and international applicants. This allowed for faculty integration at an early stage in the student’s life, strengthening our student-focused approach and inclusive learning environments.”
The event was an immense success thanks to the contributions, support and teamwork from faculty, support staff, students, graduates, administrators, and executive team. Over 11,300 people registered for the event from 106 countries around the world with engagement on Facebook, and through digital advertising, reaching over one million people. NC received 1,612 new International applications during the three-day event and 108 new students received scholarships through this initiative.
Also new over the past few months was ExperieNCe English for Academic Preparation (EAP) on May 27. The event, which was also hosted on Zoom and Facebook Live, attracted 1,000 registrants, 350 attendees and had 1,000 live viewers on Facebook. EAP academic program coordinator and faculty member, Shauna Gupta, facilitated the interactive demo which walked viewers through mock lessons transitioning through each of the program’s five levels of English language proficiency. This format also allowed viewers to gain a better understanding of the program’s temporary online format.
The topics of the lessons gave attendees a taste of life as a Niagara College student, highlighting Canada, the Niagara Region and Niagara College. Niagara College’s regional managers and local in-country representatives played the roles of the students in the classroom to give prospective students a deeper understanding of what they could expect of our program. During the lessons, polls were conducted to engage the audience in the demo class to allow those watching to contribute to the lesson being delivered. The session concluded with breakout rooms hosted by NC’s recruitment team, who addressed viewers’ questions in different languages. To watch a recording of the video, click here.
Although many of these online initiatives are new, Niagara College’s regional managers and in-country regional representatives are well-versed in attending virtual fairs and hosting information sessions for prospective students and partners virtually. During COVID-19, they have increased their virtual engagement efforts to enhance services and supports for students.
“The world is always on the path of innovation in times of struggle or prosperity; at NC, we have advanced our innovative minds even further lately,” said Matthew Marios, International regional manager of Europe, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Middle East. “We connect daily with students, partners and colleagues from every corner of the world using technologies that at one time we never even knew existed. We sit in cyber spaces for hours on end in order to connect with every student possible, to answer any question or concern we can. We have adapted to our new surroundings and brought them further than we could have ever imagined. We have brought student satisfaction virtual.”
To continue to engage and educate students and educational partners on college updates and the upcoming Fall 2020 term, NC New Student Information Sessions are being hosted weekly until the end of July via Zoom. Session topics include immigration, housing, events and engagement and general college updates, and provide an opportunity for students, agents and partners to have their questions answered in a live format.
Additionally, an Academic Spotlight is featured each week with a special guest from a different academic area who speaks to their program opportunities, as well as any changes in the delivery mode of the program, to help prepare students for the first day of class. Past spotlights and special guests have included NC’s Community and Health Studies Division with dean Carolyn Triemstra, NC’s School of Food and Wine Sciences with associate dean, Gary Torraville, NC’s School of English Language Studies with associate dean, Guhan Ilgazli and NC’s School of Hospitality, Tourism and Sport with associate dean, Damian Goulbourne.
The upcoming session on Friday, July 24 will feature NC’s School of Business and Management Studies with professor Kristine Clarke.
Any international students who are inquiring about the upcoming Fall 2020 term can be directed to the following link to sign up for an information session: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_t-zRGrfGQI2WFMT3fntq5w
