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.