Study Abroad Pre-Departure Orientation: More than 90 students from five COF colleges attend two Study Abroad Pre-Departure Orientations in November and December. These students were bound for 16 different countries for a period ranging from a few weeks to the entire spring semester. Destinations include: Argentina, Australia, Belize, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, New Zealand, Senegal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Students in attendance experienced a new Pre-Departure Orientation program that was developed over the summer by subcommittee with members from Emmanuel College, MassArt and Simmons College and included contributions from COF staff of the GEO Center, the Office of Emergency Preparedness and the Office of Environmental Health & Safety. Student surveys of the program indicate that they were pleased by the new Pre-Departure Orientation model, especially by hearing the hands-on experience from the returnees of past COF study abroad opportunities.
J-1 Exchange Visitors: During August, September and October – four of our COF colleges (Emmanuel, MassArt, MCPHS and Wentworth) welcomed 14 exchange students from Germany, India, the Netherlands, Peru, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. All 14 students studied in Boston during the fall and four will continue their studies through the spring semester as well.
Increasing Efficiency:
Wheelock College piloted the use of two new administrative functions in the online application processing system (TerraDotta): A “submit” button which automatically lets students know what requirements remain before their application is considered complete, and a “reminders” function which sends scheduled messages out to students who have not completed their post-decision application requirements, such as uploading a copy of their passport or signing their liability waiver. Students enjoyed more efficient application processing and an enhanced student experience brought about by these collaborative improvements, while administrators reported a higher compliance rate of student submitting post-decision documentation. The GEO Center is working with other COF schools to implement these functions prior to the March 15, 2018 application deadline.
