Services streamlined, enhanced with ISS move to Student Success Centre

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International students at this year's Supercrawl in downtown Hamilton.


More than 2,800 international and exchange students will now have direct access to Student Success Centre services as a result of combining the two offices in Gilmour Hall, Room 110.

“The move is about providing better, more efficient service to students,” says Sean Van Koughnett, AVP of Students and Learning and dean of students. “It enables staff in both areas to work together more collaboratively and make better use of our staff and resources.”

Of the nearly 3,000 international students at McMaster, 66 per cent are undergraduate students. The majority of international students in both the undergrad and grad programs come from China but students from many other countries travel to McMaster for post–secondary studies.

“I wanted to come to Canada since I was a little kid,” says Franco Simoes, an exchange student from UNICAMP, Brazil. “Hamilton is an awesome big city with a soul of a small city,” says Simoes. “I am absolutely glad that I made the right choice. The classes, professors, the city, the people, everything is better than I expected.”

Nick Spong, an exchange student from Durham University in Durham, England, says he is particularly impressed with the athletic and science facilities. “I have settled in easily and I am really happy to be here.”

Marcos Costa, manager of ISS, says he hopes international students will benefit from services such as career counselling and advising, leadership development, and opportunities for community engagement.

“We know that international students struggle with transitional issues associated with being in a new country surrounded by new cultures and confronted with language barriers,” says Gina Robinson, assistant dean of Student Affairs and director of the Student Success Centre.

The SSC has been working with ISS staff for some time, says Robinson, but is now in the process of tailoring workshops to meet the specific needs of international students.

Formed in 2011, the SSC provides support with orientation and transition, leadership development, academic skills, volunteer connections, mentorship opportunities, and career and employment. ISS provides support to international and exchange students but both departments foster an enhanced student experience.

Programs such as The Hamilton Series and Hamilton One-Bite-at-a-Time support international students transition to campus and the community, while the McMaster Exchange Program facilitates study abroad experiences with university partners overseas. Each year, McMaster welcomes exchange students to campus while a similar number of McMaster students leave to pursue studies abroad.

To learn about the Student Success Centre, visit studentsuccess.mcmaster.ca. For information about exchange programs, click here.

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