International Student CSU Transfer Fair

First International Student CSU Transfer Fair/Saddleback College

Learning Domains:

Leadership	Social Advocacy and Justice	Education	Assessment and Evaluation	Personal Development
X		X	X	X

Description:

            The International Student Office at Saddleback College hosted its first CSU Transfer Fair on March 25, 2013. This fair intended to promote California State Universities to current international students studying at Saddleback College. International students from other education institutions were also invited to attend the fair, which included Intensive English Language Programs, Private High Schools, and other local Community Colleges.  The CSU representatives included 12 different institutions from the Southern and Northern California regions. The fair offered international students an opportunity to find out more about CSU institution/s of their interest by engaging in conversation with the college representatives. The International Student Office also recruited several international students who had previously completed a program at Saddleback and successfully transferred to a CSU.  Furthermore, the International Student Office recruited a few current internationals students to serve as volunteers during the event. This entry describes my learning as it relates to planning, organizing, and implementing the fair.

Learning Outcomes:

SWiBAT: Recruit 3-4 former Saddleback international students currently attending a CSU institution to represent their university at the fair in order to connect with international students at Saddleback College

SWIBAT: Employ effective marketing efforts to promote the fair to local community colleges, current F-1 international students at Saddleback College, and other local educational institutions

SWIBAT: Expand professional network in International Student Admissions by connecting with 5 or more CSU representatives, while learning 3 new facts about CSU different CSU institutions 

Assessment Rubric:

	Advanced	Competent	Basic	Needs Improvement
SLO # 1	Recruited 3-4 former Saddleback international students currently attending a CSU institution to represent their university	Recruited 2 former Saddleback international students currently attending a CSU institution to represent their university	Recruited 1 former Saddleback international student currently attending a CSU institution to represent their university	Did not recruit any former Saddleback international student currently attending a CSU institution to represent their university
SLO # 2	Employed excellent marketing efforts to promote the fair to current  international Saddleback students, other community colleges, and local educational institutions	Employed effective marketing efforts to promote the fair to current  international Saddleback students, other community colleges, and local educational institutions	Employed some, but not all effective marketing efforts to promote the fair to current  international Saddleback students, other community colleges, and local educational institutions	Did not employ any effective marketing efforts to promote the fair to current  international Saddleback students, other community colleges, and local educational institutions
SLO # 3	Expanded professional network in International Student Admissions by connecting with 5 or more CSU representatives, while learning 3 new facts about different CSU institutions	Expanded professional network in International Student Admissions by connecting with 3-4 CSU representatives, while learning 2-3 new facts about different CSU institutions	Expanded professional network in International Student Admissions by connecting with 2 CSU representatives, while learning 1 new fact about a CSU institution	Expanded professional network in International Student Admissions by connecting with 1 or fewer  CSU representatives,

Evidence:

Email Template to Transferred CSU Students

CSU Representatives’ Business Cards

Reflection:

In general, the CSU Transfer Fair was a great event that benefitted the Saddleback international students and allowed the International Student Office to develop positive partnerships with different CSU institutions.  On a personal level, I found it rewarding to recruit former Saddleback students as guests to represent their current CSU’s because it added a genuine student perspective to the fair. I was able to recruit 3 student guests who served as a great addition to the event while they shared their experiences attending a CSU with other students.  When it comes to the marketing efforts, I would say that they were carried out effectively.  However, I have a few recommendations that would make the marketing process more effective in the future.  Because this was the first ever CSU Transfer Fair hosted by Saddleback College, the international student turnout was relatively low. I think it will be more effective to begin marketing the event starting in the fall semester in order to promote more awareness of the fair.  For example, we can announce the event at the new student orientation in the fall and other program events to help current international students at Saddleback learn about it early on in the academic year. We can also begin sending out save-the-date invitations to other local schools in the fall semester to provide them with more time to prepare to attend.  Furthermore, believe that this event served as an effective professional development opportunity for me by allowing me to expand my professional network in International Student Admissions. I was able to interact with almost all of the 12 CSU representatives during the fair.  During my conversations with them, I was able to find out new information about their institutions that would be enticing to international students. For example, I found out that Cal State University Northridge is known for its positive partnerships with the local entertainment industry for those interested in pursuing degrees in entertainment.  Also, San Francisco State University has a strong reputation in the field of natural sciences and pre-medicine.  Not only did I learn more about other institutions, I also had a chance to provide the CSU representatives with more information about the Saddleback International Student Program. During my interactions with the CSU representatives, I described the international students’ demographics, interests, and experiences in order to pain a better picture of our international student population at Saddleback. Overall, I hope that the CSU Transfer Fair will become an annual event hosted by the International Student Office every spring semester.

2013 Educational Research Symposium

Poster Presenter on College Integration of Female Veteran Students

Learning Domains:

Leadership	Social Advocacy and Justice	Education	Assessment and Evaluation	Personal Development
X	X	X	X	X

Description:

The event description on the CSUF College of Education website is as follows:

The College of Education, the Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Program (Ed.D.), and the college’s Center for Research on Educational Access and Leadership (C-REAL) hosted a Research Symposium on February 20, 2013. The event titled, “From Theory to Practice: Implications for Leadership, Access, and Diversity” featured 29 posters that identified solutions to educational problems based on applied research conducted by doctoral students from both the P – 12 and Community College Leadership program specializations.

The program included a poster session by Ed.D. alumni and selected Master of Science students in the Educational Leadership Department. Presentation topics concentrated on P-12 and community college issues and implications for leadership, diversity, and access. Following the poster session was a panel discussion with Ed.D. alumni, moderated by Dr. Carol Lundberg, one of the newest faculty members in the Educational Leadership Department.

Learning Outcomes:

SWiBAT: Engage in a meaningful conversation about my qualitative research project on female student veterans with at least 6 symposium attendees during the poster session

SWiBAT: Identify at least 3 relevant education trends from the panel discussion session with Ed.D alumni

SWiBAT: Expand my Community College network by connecting with at least 3 professionals 

Assessment Rubric:

	Advanced	Competent	Basic	Needs Improvement
SLO # 1	Engaged in a meaningful conversation about my qualitative research project with more than 6 symposium attendees during the poster session	Engaged in a meaningful conversation about my qualitative research project with 5-6 symposium attendees during the poster session	Engaged in a meaningful conversation about my qualitative research project with 2-4 symposium attendees during the poster session	Engaged in a meaningful conversation about my qualitative research project with 1or fewer symposium attendees during the poster session
SLO # 2	Identified more than 3 relevant education trends from the panel discussion session with Ed.D alumni	Identified 3 relevant education trends from the panel discussion session with Ed.D alumni	Identified 2 relevant education trends from the panel discussion session with Ed.D alumni	Identified 1 or fewer relevant education trends from the panel discussion session with Ed.D alumni
SLO # 3	Expanded my Community College network by connecting with 3 professionals and arranged a follow-up meeting  with at least 1 of them	Expanded my Community College network by connecting with 3 professionals	Expanded my Community College network by connecting with 1-2 professionals	Did not expand my Community College network by any other professionals

Evidence:

Reflection:

The research symposium was a great opportunity for me to enhance my leadership skills by presenting during the poster session.  I had a chance to communicate information about my qualitative research project to several symposium attendees who were interested in the topic of student veterans. In addition, I gained a great deal of valuable insight on educational issues from attending the panel session with the ED.d alumni.  For instance, I learned more about how librarians can enhance student success as was discussed by April Cunningham, an ED.d alum and a Library Instruction Coordinator at Saddleback College. I also found out about the current trends in undocumented student issues that relate to Asian students and their identity development challenges experienced due to their immigrant status.  Furthermore, I received a better understanding of how K-12 educators perceive federal policy that addresses accountability by adopting it into their everyday teaching practices and internalizing it as local policy.  In terms of personal development, I connected with several professionals whom I found resourceful. I reached out to April Cunningham, in particular, in the hopes of expanding my professional network at Saddleback College. I scheduled a follow up meeting with April and my supervisor to discuss how the Saddleback Library Services can benefit international students.  During the meeting, April identified several workshops that would be beneficial for international students.  As we discussed the common cultural and adjustment issues typically experienced by international students, April was open to collaborating with our office in order to provide plagiarism-related information as a part of an academic planning course curriculum, which enrolls all new international students in their first semester of studies. Overall, the symposium was a great experience because it allowed me to develop further in all five learning domains of the MSHE program: leadership, education, social advocacy/justice, assessment/ evaluation, and personal development.

References

California State University, Fullerton (n.d). Research Symposium. Retrieved March 10, 2013, from http://ed.fullerton.edu/c-real/educational-programs/research-symposium/