In an effort to improve the University’s name recognition outside the United States, two student-run initiatives are planning a variety of projects to better inform international students, parents and employers about how the University operates and the opportunities it offers.
First-year College student Karissa Nanetta, project leader for U.Va. Global Publicity, said she and other students “perceived the need to further put U.Va.’s name out there.” Though international students at the University have first-hand knowledge of the University’s educational experience, the institution does not tend to be as well-known abroad, she said. The first of U.Va. Global Publicity’s efforts will be held during Winter Break, when University international students will be encouraged to visit secondary schools in their home countries.
Director of International Admission Parke Muth has supported organizing the first school visits this December during Winter Break, Nanetta said. This initial effort will allow the parties involved to gauge how effective the program is.
“We believe that the most valuable resource that we have is the current students themselves,” Nanetta said, because international students have the ability to return to their home countries and visit schools while talking about their own experiences at the University.
The school visits, though, will not focus solely on persuading students to apply to the University in particular, said first-year College student Weiqi Tian, project leader for International Parents Outreach. University students instead will be advised to spend time talking about American lifestyles while explaining what they like about the University, Tian said. Such an approach could generate increased interest in the presentations, Nanetta and Muth said. The approach also will provide an opportunity to inform university-bound international students about the liberal arts framework of the American higher education system, Muth said.
In addition to the school visits being planned by U.Va. Global Publicity, students involved in International Parents Outreach plan to promote the University to parents and prospective employers of international students, Tian noted.
“We want our international students to be known by employers, and through parents we can [further] publicize [the University],” Tian said, noting the interdependence of parent and student opinions when choosing a university to attend. Additionally, many international students may not have access to American employers after graduation because they cannot remain in the United States; as a result, these students must rely on the University’s reputation among international employers, Nanetta and Tian added.
Among the services to be provided by International Parents Outreach will be translation of University information, including handbooks and common online resources that are mostly in English, Tian noted.
“Once parents know what is going on here, it will save a lot of energy for international students to explain what is going on to their parents,” Tian said of the efforts to facilitate communication with international families. The Parents Outreach project is expected to complement U.Va. Global Publicity’s efforts, Tian and Nanetta said.
While expressing his support for the student initiatives, Muth noted that the admission office’s travel efforts have generally been one of the main ways in which the University has reached out to international students.
“The importance is once you get outside the boundaries of the United States there are some places that ... know the Ivy League but ... may not know much about U.Va.,” Muth said. “So part of the [motivation] is to go and demonstrate an active interest from students all over.”
Nanetta agreed with the reasoning behind the visits abroad, using the example of her own and Tian’s decisions to attend the University because of information they had received from other students.
“We know it works,” Nanetta said. Her school in her home country of Singapore, which has received such visits, is a good example of the success of these efforts, she said.
The current focus of the newly proposed student initiatives will be on the University students themselves as they visit schools in their home countries, Muth said, noting he believes time will allow for an effort even larger in scope.
U.Va. Global Publicity’s work with the Office of Undergraduate Admission may also be supplemented by an umbrella organization that would aim to coordinate the efforts of the various international student organizations on Grounds. The group proposing the Global Students Council plans to approach Student Council later this week in an attempt to receive authorization as an official contracted independent organization.
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