GSWOC International Student Committee email back up
Mar 21, 2022
Hi everyone,
I hope you enjoyed your spring break.
In the previous followup, Rob shared with us the Caltech international student survey, I think that’s a good start point. ( https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qXd94p9VRlYUUQSeHlGP7s5z3zsrLIxx/view?usp=sharing If you don’t have permission, you can ask Rob for sharing it. )
I have several additional questions that can be considered:
For general question, I think we can make the question more emotional and personal.
For example: Have you worried about visa expiring? Has the difficulty of getting visa influenced your future plan?
For USC’s role in this problem, I prefer to use some specific examples, like:
- If you are having trouble renew your visa, are you allowed to work remotely as a RA/TA in your home country?
- If you couldn’t get to US due to visa problem, would USC allow you to study remotely and covers your tuition fee?
Best,
R
Mar 26, 2022
I was discussing this with B, who believe Caltech’s survey is very much similar to ours. My point here is about the way we are asking question:
Our current version is making a statement, and ask people agree or disagree, which seems too rigid for me. USC provides adequate resources and guidance to international students throughout their time at the university. agree or disagree?
In comparison, Caltech’s survey focus on possible improvements. Their questions always have an uprising tone and clearly state their demands. Provide greater guidance; Provide more assistance; Provide greater support; Provide adequate paid time;
I believe their survey is better due to this way of asking questions.
Best, R
Mar 26, 2022
Hi R,
Thanks for sharing. I agree with what R says. Asking people how important are certain issues instead of whether agree with such issues exist is better because it won’t left people with the ideas that “these issues does not exist on our campus” after taking the survey.
Additionally, I think since we are at the stage of dropping card publicly, we should ask more straight forward questions like “do you think the stipend is enough to live in LA?”, or “do you think your work load is too high?”, etc.
Best B