LSU Shreveport begins to build a new International Student Advisory Committee to help current and future international students. The committee plans for a large reception on Oct. 16 to meet with their students.
The committee is filling with volunteers from LSUS to advise students, and is hoping to achieve its ambitious goal.
“The goal is two-fold: It is to cater to the needs of the existing students in terms of what they need, and how we can make their experience better. We would also serve as a bridge between existing international students and new international students,” said Dr. Sanjay Menon, dean of graduate studies. “The other part is to advise the faculty senate and the administration on recruiting efforts for new international students.”
The ISAC is returning after being formed back in 2013. This new version of the committee has a renewed focus for the school.
“The chancellor has identified international student recruiting as a priority for LSUS, so it is considered very important to the future of the university,” Menon said.
According to Menon, this committee would be useful to all members of LSUS. Everyone could benefit from a renewed interest in international student recruiting.
“Faculty are very enthusiastic about working on this project and it benefits everybody. It benefits our non-international students as well because they get to interact with our international students. Potentially, this effort could lead to study abroad programs and exchange programs, all of which would benefit native and domestic students,” Menon said.
Ms. Penny Lyons, from the University of Magnolia, was hired to consult on the forming of this committee and offer advice to volunteers about how to help international students acclimate to LSUS.
“She is someone who started a program from scratch, going from 13 students to over 400 students. She has specialized knowledge and she has done this,” Menon said.
The meeting for Oct. 16 is when the committee hopes to begin helping students and advise them every way they can.
“For this particular meeting, we have sent an email to our existing students to come to the meeting, and at the same time, we are revamping the website,” Menon said.
In this update, anyone can click on an international students link to see anything that international students need and will be available in one place. This and the Oct. 16 meeting will be the first actions of the International Student Advisory Committee at LSUS.
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