This presentation was provided by Matthew Sheehy of Brandeis University during the NISO event, "The Library of the Future: Inside & Out", held on December 12, 2018.

1. The library's role in attracting,
supporting, and retaining the
international student
Matthew Sheehy

2. Agenda
• Why is it important to have international students?
• Changes and anxiety
• Brandeis’s profile
• Things we are doing at the Brandeis Library
• Things we could do better

3. Misconception: it is all about money
Noël Hallé - The education of the rich
people

4. Perspective
A number of leading American universities pay the most talented
international students to come to their campuses

5. Perspective
• International Students make up about 5% of the student population

6. Why it is important
• Early investment will bring benefit for the US and the world
• Global fluency, the ability to move across borders
• Spreading knowledge around the world
• Creating he most dynamic, interesting, educationally fascinating
environment possible

7. Changes and anxiety
• America-first policy
• International Students not feeling welcome
• It is harder
• They will be punished for life events

8. Perspective
• 3% decline in the number of international students, a drop double in
2019.
• International students brought $37 billion to the U.S. during the
2016-17 academic year.

9. Brandeis University

10. Perspective
• Concerns about going home and not being able to return
• Counseling center visits up with hospitalizations up
• Fear and isolation - Bento box on campus

11. Things we are doing
• Popular reading collection
• Hours, especially around holidays
• Training around technical/computer literacy
• TheWriting Center
• The English Language Programs
• The MakerLab

12. Things we are doing
• Individual visits to Programs and Cohorts
• Research Help Having handouts helps (but that’s also true for all
students)
• Lynda.com
• Closed captioning in class presentations that utilize video(helps all
sorts of students!
• Feedback

13. Things we will do
• Improve the accessibility of workshops for ESL students.
• Use as many pictures in presentations as possible
• Orient around what students know and can do, as opposed to a
perceived lack
• PDF-reading software
• Publicize and share our services with students who would benefit
from them, without highlighting or making them feel singled out.

14. Things we will do
• Student clubs
• Common language: Data Analytics club, which is comprised of many
international students
• Brandeis’ inStep (International Student Experience)
• Programs hold many events specifically geared towards international
students

15. Things we could do better
• Space
• Utilizing international student employees without exploiting them
• Usability - with language in mind
• Non-English resource discovery
• Additional non-English resources
• Newspapers, periodicals, and media
• Targeted Handouts
• Staff training

16. Thank you
Sheehy@brandeis.edu