The University of Canterbury in New Zealand is a large public university, with approximately 1,500 international students drawn from 80 different countries. In September 2010, the region was hit by a M7.1 earthquake, which closed the university for two weeks. In February 2011, there was a second major earthquake measuring M6.3, which devastated the city centre killing 181 people. The University of Canterbury was again closed, this time for a longer period and several of its buildings sustained serious damage. This presentation discusses the challenges of supporting international students at a time of crisis and outlines the steps the university took to rebuild its international enrolments, which fell sharply in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. QS Asia-Pacific Professional Leaders in Education (QS-APPLE) 7th Annual Conference, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, November 2011

1. The 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes:
managing international students in a time of crisis
Professor Nigel Healey, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International)
Nottingham Trent University

2. Overview
• University of Canterbury
• The 2010 and 2011 earthquakes
• Managing after the major earthquakes
– September 4, 2010
– February 22, 2011
– June 13, 2011
• International students in a crisis
– Special features of international students
– Difficulties faced by international students
– Successful strategies for supporting international students
– Some positives for international students
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3. The University of Canterbury pre-September
4, 2010
• Medium-sized, public comprehensive university
• 15,362 enrolments (EFTS) in 2010, of which:
– 13,960 domestic students
– 1,402 international students (9.2% of the total)
• Based in western suburbs of Christchurch
• Christchurch is a city of 325,000 people
– Major international tourist gateway
– Major international student destination: two universities, one polytechnic and
number of prestigious high schools which attract international students
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4. The 2010 and 2011 earthquakes
• Pacific Plate moves 37-47mm per
year against the Australian Plate
• 37-47mm per year = 3.7-4.7m
per century
• Many of the fault systems from
Alpine Fault are not fully mapped
• “Most probable date of next big
shock is tomorrow”
• Strict building codes since 1931
Hawke‟s Bay earthquake (M7.8)
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5. The September 4, 2010 earthquake
• M7.1 at 4:35am on Saturday, September 4, 2010
• Epicentre 40km west of Christchurch, near the town of Darfield
• 2 injuries, no deaths
• Earthquake occurred during mid-semester break
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6. The September 4, 2010 earthquake
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7. The February 22, 2011 earthquake
• M6.3 at 12:51pm on Tuesday, 22 February 2011
• Epicentre 10km south-east of Christchurch
• 181 fatalities, from 20 countries; approximately 2,000 injured
• Fatalities included many Japanese, Chinese and other international
students studying English in a collapsed building in the city
• Second day of academic year
• Height of tourist season
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8. The February 22, 2011 earthquake
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9. The February 22, 2011 earthquake
Liquefaction
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10. The June 13, 2011 earthquake
• M6.3 at 2:20pm on Monday, 13 June 2011
• Epicentre 10 km south-east of Christchurch
• Replica of February 22 earthquake, but:
– Preceded by a M5.7 at 1:00pm which led to the evacuation of major buildings
– The most vulnerable buildings had been destroyed by the February 22
earthquake and were being pulled down
– Mid-winter, tourist numbers very low due to damage to CBD
• 46 injuries
• Psychologically very damaging
• Four days from the start of the end of semester I examinations
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11. The June 13, 2011 earthquake
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12. The three „major‟ earthquakes in context
Note: Richter scale is logarithmic: M6 is 10x M5
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13. Managing after the earthquakes
• UC had a very sophisticated emergency management system pre-
September 4 with:
– Incident Management Team
– Emergency Management Centre (generator, secure server, CCTV, two-way
radio, remote campus control)
– Strategic Emergency Management Team
• Management teams had practised for emergencies using simulations
– earthquake, plane hitting the campus, bomb at graduation,
shooter on campus
• Emergency response mobilised instantly in all three earthquakes
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14. Managing after September 4
• University closed for one week
• Building checklist:
– Checked by engineers for structural integrity
– Inspected by volunteer managers for hazards
– Cleaned up by volunteer staff
• Most buildings reopened within one week
• General sense of relief that such a major earthquake caused no loss
of life and little structural damage
• Second semester timetable slightly adjusted to allow for missed
week, no discernable impact on student academic performance in
end-of-semester examinations
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15. Managing after February 22
• University closed for three weeks
• Completely different atmosphere, many deaths and injuries,
buildings declared „safe‟ after September 4 collapsed on February
22
• Building checklist on campus – had to be amended to include
modelling for integrity in event of another major earthquake
• Many buildings failed this test and could not be reoccupied, some
without major repairs, others never
• University restarted teaching in large tents
• Missed classes replaced by virtual classes on line
• Universities offered students the opportunity to go „on exchange‟ to
other NZ and Australasian universities – but many chose to leave
and transfer elsewhere
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16. Canterbury Memorial Day, March 18: one
week after Japanese tsunami
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17. Managing after June 13
• University closed for one week
• Buildings could be checked more quickly, as engineers knew the
design and most vulnerable buildings already closed
• Examinations were due to start in five days
– UC‟s Earthquake Facebook site showed very high stress levels amongst students
• With advice from Students‟ Association:
– Many examinations were cancelled and grades from assignments used to
calculate overall course grade
– Other examinations were transformed into „take home‟ tests
• Semester II started in mid-July, more or less as normal
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18. Special features of international students
• Correlation between emotional investment in the university and city
and:
– Period of study pre-earthquake
– Level of study (undergraduate vs postgraduate)
– Subject major
– Home location
Local Medium Low
International High Medium
1st Years 3rd Years
• International Year I undergraduates most at risk
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19. The impact on domestic Equivalent Full-Time
Students
-1,500 EFTS
= -11%
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20. The impact on international Equivalent Full-
Time Students
-400 EFTS
= 30%
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21. Difficulties faced by international students
• Immediate post-earthquake:
– Cell phone networks jammed
– In February and June, students evacuated from campus, had to leave behind
laptops, keys, etc
– No local support networks (families, relatives, etc)
• Other difficulties:
– Pressure from parents and family to return home
– Loss of power, water, sewage in rented properties
– Loss of social venues (bars, restaurants, nightclubs) in the city – although most
international students effected lass than domestic students
– Harder to for international students to cope with changed teaching environment
– tents without audio-visual facilities, etc
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22. Some successful strategies to support
international students (1)
• Use of UC Earthquake Facebook site to communicate in both
directions with international students
– Allows university to know what issues students are facing and develop solutions
– University can quickly respond to students‟ questions (and develop Frequently
Asked Questions FAQs page for the website
– But June 13 showed that it MUST be continuously managed by university to be
effective
• UC website used a definitive source of information
– Very effective communications medium for providing information (eg, new
timetables) and promoting positive recovery messages
– Disadvantage is that it constantly reminds outside world (including parents and
future international students) of the earthquake
• Communications strategies dependent on maintaining electricity and
telecommunications (Manchester 19th Century in March/April 2004)
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23. Some successful strategies to support
international students (2)
• Priority given to establishing student dormitories safe, contacting
international students and organising special social events (lunches,
barbeques)
• Social facilities for students on campus (InTentCity 6.3) set up
alongside teaching tents
• Needed to provide students with mobile computing sticks for those
without internet access
• Hardship funds available to support international students in
financial difficulty due to earthquake
• Major new international scholarships programme to attract new
students for 2012
• Support of Students‟ Association crucial to assist international
students
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24. The positives for international students
• International students who
stayed bonded very closely
with:
– Domestic students
– Local community
• Partly through shared
experience of crisis…
• …but also through volunteering
and the Student Volunteer
Army
• Student Volunteer Army
concept exported to Japan after
tsunami
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25. The Student Volunteer Army at work
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26. Conclusions
• University of Canterbury is a major public university – its
international student body is a key part of its internationalisation
strategy
• The 2010 and 2011 earthquakes had a major impact on existing
international students – and potentially on future international
student demand
• UC‟s experience showed the importance of using new social media
to communicate with students…
• …and the power of voluntary work in integrating international
students into their universities and local communities
nigel.healey@ntu.ac.uk
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