Appendix to International Students

One College/One Student Overview
Student Success, St. Lawrence College
October 2022
Shelley Aylesworth-Spink, Vice President, Student Success

Background

The SLC student population is evolving rapidly with enrolments increasing among international students and decreasing among domestic students. This evolution complements the commitments in SLC’s strategic plan, SLC in Five, to belonging and creating a college that is global in character and culture.

The Student Success division’s mission is to help students experience belonging in the SLC community and to offer meaningful supports that ensure their physical and mental well-being, academic success and ability to thrive in an interconnected world. The division comprises Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being, Health, Wellness and Accessibility, Community Development, Athletics and Student Engagement, Student Services, Residences, Libraries and Learning Centres, Global Partnerships and Learning Services, Student Rights and Responsibilities, Spiritual Care, Public-Private Partnership Relations and Student Success Assessment and Evaluation.

With this mission in mind, the Student Success division adopted a One College/One Student philosophy that responds to SLC in Five, with its commitment to building a global mindset, strengthening our global network and connecting our students to the world.

Approach

The One College/One Student approach focuses on the student experience and support from admission to graduation. It began under two separate divisions, International Education and Student Affairs. Shortly after the One College/One Student project began, in the spring of 2022, the two divisions collapsed to create a new division of Student Success. This organizational change accelerated efforts relating to the One College/One Student philosophy. Key to this change was several international-related functions moving to relevant college divisions. International Admissions joined the Registrar’s Office and International Recruitment became embedded in Marketing and Recruitment.

Global engagement and intercultural understanding and support are woven throughout the work of the new Student Success division. We are integrating services throughout the division, including transitioning the Student Services Centre (formally known as the Welcome Centre) to a ‘one-stop-shop’ where students can seamlessly access information and services. English language support is growing in our academic support centres. Additionally, the One College/One Student approach resulted in strategic initiative funding to enhance equitable, culturally relevant access to mental health support, expand sports offerings to serve our diverse student population, and support on and off-campus housing needs for students.

The following five action planning groups were struck in early 2022 to focus on achieving this work:

• Student Supports
• Student Engagement
• Housing
• Student Services
• Information Systems and Communication

Each action planning group has the mandate to develop recommendations designed to:

• Advance and entrench collaboration in tri-campus
• Maximize our ability to meet the needs of our student population as articulated in the College’s five-year enrolment plan
• Support/advance the objectives of our Strategic Enrolment Management process

One College/One Student under the new division of Student Success maximizes resources to ensure SLC focuses on helping each student achieve success. What began as a project is now an integrated and harmonized approach to supporting all students.