How do you create a welcoming environment in higher education?

Every individual is unique, so the road map to help the freshmen is first to respect their uniqueness and allow them time to adjust in their own pace. After pandemic, the freshmen are definitely less prepared than their cohorts before. Several universities in Asia have started to offer more lenient general course in the first semester. Compliment the individual assessment with group work and project.

One thing I've found overwhelmingly helpful is leading by example - 24/7- and not just during class or when you're on campus or on a Zoom call. In your daily life, if you strive to live/breathe the principles of inclusiveness, diversity, equity, kindness and empathy, then you figuratively "are" what you're teaching your students. Mark Twain says "When you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." Students or clients are watching for verbal and nonverbal communication –and it is much easier to be yourself and exemplify those values. Seems simple: "walk the talk" but easier said than done. If you can master that in your personal life, you can teach it in your professional life.

The initial phase of international students is usually tougher as they are in a whole new environment be it the geography, climate, campus, away from home, into a new culture and among different people. Thus , it's very critical for them to not feel lonely, worked up and at the same time be welcomed to have conversations and build connection with peer groups from diverse nationalities. A buddy system and group activities be it social, educational and practice project oriented across campus helps people not only break ice amongst each other but also experience a good cultural exchange. Something, I learnt while PhD and undergraduate candidates taking classes for professional communication to entrepreneurship together at the campus.

If the group is not too big, to use a few hrs two or three times in the first two weeks for teambuilding activities can be beneficial. To get the freshmen to relax, get to know each other and most of all to create bonds within the group. A strive towards a psychologically safe environment is as important for students as it is in working life. The additional challenge at universities may often be, that the first courses are often based on individual achievements and the students are probably not too much into cooperation and helping each other.

Crafting a welcoming higher education environment starts with understanding the challenges. Recognize potential barriers - cultural differences, language barriers, socioeconomic factors. Listen to marginalized voices. Addressing challenges with empathy fosters inclusivity. By acknowledging and proactively addressing obstacles, educational institutions can create a nurturing atmosphere where all students feel valued and empowered to succeed.

Building a welcoming higher education environment requires a commitment to listen and learn. Engage with students, faculty, and staff. Seek feedback on their experiences. Understand their needs, concerns, and aspirations. Continuous learning about diverse perspectives informs inclusive policies and practices. By actively listening and adapting, institutions foster a sense of belonging and respect, ensuring everyone's success in the educational journey.

I believe that this as well as the other suggestions are all ways to work toward the same goal of creating welcoming communities. What many of the people in charge of developing this welcoming environment may not know is that the information to achieve this goal is not always forthcoming. It doesn't take long for even small children to learn that speaking up, speaking out or standing out from the crowd can have undesirable consequences. The information you need to make meaningful change may be hard to get without developing a great deal of trust and/or guaranteed anonymity.

Group workshops to seminars & campus activities along with, a relatively lighter and more practical oriented syllabus in 1st semester helps Students open up with each other. Then, cultural, sports and social activities adds up to the student experience but with guided buddy (college senior) helps the student feel accompanied and enables them to be an active part of the college community. Talent shows to community connect helps Students learn about each other. Also, guest talks from diverse backgrounds esp from alumni helps students take real life inspiration from their success and learnings.

Establishing a welcoming higher education environment involves empowering and supporting. Offer resources like mentorship, counseling, and academic assistance. Foster an inclusive community where individuals' voices are heard and respected. Address individual needs, recognizing diverse backgrounds and challenges. Empowerment through support enhances student well-being and academic success, creating a campus where everyone can thrive and contribute meaningfully.

Students hardly know how to navigate their college life abroad. They come with a lot of notions and expectations which may need some alignment and proper guidance. Career Connect, Career Guidance, Professional Communication, LinkedIn Profile building, Internship to Job Exploration process. All of these things start from the initial year of the college, or at least we can say that the foundation of the right parameters are set from the very 1st year. In case of post graduate students they hardly have much time to settle down & thus have to get started from the end of 1st semester to start looking for their Internship opportunities. Thus, upskilling & profile building to professional life experiences are critical for their long term success.

Creating a welcoming higher education environment involves modeling and rewarding inclusivity. Faculty and staff should exemplify respectful behavior. Recognize and celebrate efforts that promote diversity and equity. Showcase success stories that highlight inclusive initiatives. When inclusivity is modeled and acknowledged, it encourages others to embrace and champion a welcoming atmosphere, fostering a campus culture where every individual feels valued and encouraged to contribute their best.

Establishing a welcoming higher education environment involves collaborating and partnering. Engage student groups, organizations, and community stakeholders. Collaborative efforts amplify diverse perspectives and enrich campus life. Partner with diversity-focused initiatives, fostering a sense of belonging for underrepresented groups. By working together, institutions create an inclusive ecosystem where students find support, networks, and opportunities that ensure their success and growth.

Involve faculty and students alike in extension activities and provide them with the necessary support of all sorts - training, financial, and moral. Involve students and other stakeholders in decision-making on matters pivotal to students' development and curriculum alignment.

Helping students be a part of niche clubs to societies at local, regional, national or international level to allow them to get exposed to their target professional world. Also, these partnered clubs, societies, coalition among institutions can be benefited with an influx of new ideas and support of extra hands in driving their initiatives. The job creation or training opportunities or internships or volunteering opportunities created under these partnerships would ultimately benefit both sides. Cross Institute or Inter department collaboration itself is a good start for enabling people to get multiple disciplinary exposure.

Widening participation should not be a buzz word. We should understand and scaffold the different learning styles of these students, empowering them, by identifying their strong points and providing challenges to improve. This needs commitment beyond 9 to 5. Hence I always equate HE to a service industry such as NHS, where we provide our commitment

Understanding the engagement level of students and correlating with their success and satisfaction levels is very critical. Thus frequent surveys and understanding the student sentiments is critical. Post Class Feedbacks, Post Project Feedbacks, Professor's Evaluation, Subject Evaluation, Fest or Function Evaluation, Career Centre to Sports centre or University different Clubs Evaluation via feedback taken from a different body helps universities understand the overall outcome/ effectiveness of these bodies to initiatives and helps them improve to add value ro students life. Also maintaining a level of transparency on feedback implementation helps bring confidence in community driven improvement & makes the Students feel like stakeholder

Often there are many programs put in place to make institutions more welcoming, but they typically are not institutionalized and/or properly funded. So in order to sustain and improve on making institutions more welcoming we must have funding mechanisms in place that shows the institution truly cares about the challenge they are trying to solve.

Avoid Making Higher Education A Business Higher education should not be made a business by taking huge donations for admission and very high amount of fees. The Government should take necessary steps to make higher education still cheeper. The meritorious students should get all fecilities with no cost or with low cost. Spending money in higher education cannot termed as an expenditure, but it is an investment.