Mrs Sally McGill1, Miss Susan Ye2
1Wintec, Hamilton Central, New Zealand, 2Wintec, Hamilton Central, New Zealand
Wintec wants to take student support beyond the minimum expectations outlined in the Code of Practice for the Care of International Students, so through Wintec’s internal research it was established that almost 10% of Wintec’s international students are under the age of 18 at the time of enrolment. This led to a review of the way the Wintec International team understand, care and support our 16 & 17-year-old internationals.
Cultural training for homestay hosts, Halls or residence Residential Advisors and a dedicated caregiver process ensures accommodation is safe and suitable. Weekly meetings with internal stakeholders such as faculties, enrolment and health centre staff ensures open communication and support is available where and when required.
In order to make these students feel supported a number of initiatives have been trialled including an Amazing Race Orientation, key cultural celebrations, native language support, dedicated phone support, academic support sessions as well as a homework club.
To connect with students and parents, social media such as Facebook, WhatsApp and WeChat have been used to establish relationships.
This presentation is about sharing the learnings over the past 2 years in supporting a complex group of adolescents. Their happiness, wellbeing and academic progress, as well as their successful settlement in a new community and their parent’s satisfaction are at the forefront of our student support structure. We want happy students to have fun and enjoy their time at Wintec – while achieving academically.
Biography:
SALLY MCGILL
Sally is originally from Germany and came to NZ without speaking any English. She now holds a Masters in Psychology from the University of Waikato, majoring in Community Psychology and has been in her current role at Wintec since 2012. She is the key relationship manager for homestay families as she knows them all by heart. She is also responsible for all homestay placements for students and scholars, provides dedicated accommodation support and hosts the bi-annual trainings. Since starting her role, host numbers and homestay demand has doubled. For her efforts, she won the Wintec Staff Award in 2013.
SUSAN YE
Susan is from China and was an international student herself. She understands the difficulties many students face, like homesickness, culture shock and the difficulties of studying in a second language. She now holds a Bachelor of Management Studies degree from the University of Waikato, majoring in both Human Resource Management and Hospitality Management. She has been with Wintec since 2014, where student numbers, especially underage student numbers, have increased significantly. Her very busy role at Wintec as the dedicated student support advisor for all under 18 international students and the key relationship manager for parents of underage students. Her support and guidance has resulted in clear processes and new resources for students, increased support levels and more activities for students. She is dedicated to her students, and wants each of them to achieve to the best of their abilities.