Abstract
The population of international students has increased significantly at the University of Windsor in recent years, and the university takes a variety of actions to address several key issues of interest to international students, including academic integrity, English language development, and writing support. This chapter reports findings from a multi-year collaborative project that was designed to enhance international students' library and academic literacy, with a focus on the understanding of plagiarism and measures to prevent it. A number of workshops that involved students at different levels were delivered to students from the English language improvement, undergraduate, and graduate programs. Research data collected from these workshops indicate that students benefited from the workshops, although at different degrees because of various factors, such as academic discipline, English language proficiency, previous educational experience. Further research can be conducted to explore ways to optimize such programs to meet the needs of students, particularly international students.
TopIntroduction
International Students in Canada
Colleges and universities in North America are increasingly becoming culturally diverse, which is partially due to increasing enrolment of international students. Currently, 494,525 international students choose to study at all levels at Canadian educational institutions, which increased by 17 percent between 2016 and 2017, and by 34 percent between 2014 and 2017 (Canadian Bureau of International Education, 2018). Most international students study in university programs. Globally, the United States is currently the top destination for study abroad while Canada ranks sixth (Institute of International Education, 2017). Top countries of origin for Canada include China, India, South Korea, France, and Vietnam. Several factors contribute to international students’ choice of Canada as their destination, including “programs, policies put in place to increase their numbers, the quality of postsecondary education, and the appeal of Canada as a study destination” (Statistics Canada, 2018, para. 3).
This has led many institutions to make internationalization a strategic priority. Knight (2003) identifies internationalization as a process “of integrating an international or intercultural dimension into teaching, research, and services functions of an institution” (p. 3). Dr. Paul Davidson, President of Universities Canada, suggests:
Globalization has become a pervasive force shaping higher education. Today almost all institutions in Canada and around the world engage to some degree in activities aimed at forging global connections and building global competencies among their students, faculty, and administrative units. Developing such activities at many levels within universities is now a central part of institutional planning, structures, and programming – a phenomenon known as the internationalization of higher education. (Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, 2014, p. 3)
The enrollment of international students contributes to the increasing multiculturalism and diversity on campus, while providing a global perspective in the classroom. Additionally, international student enrolment can help in the development of global cultural skills throughout the student body, both in and outside of the classroom. The presence of international students represents a cost benefit for the institutions and Canada. Roslyn Kunin and Associates (2017) reports that $15.5 billion was spent by international students who studied in Canada in 2016. Today, most postsecondary institutional leaders see the enrollment of international students to be an institutional priority.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Academic Writing: A clear, concise, focussed, and structured kind of written discourse, normally backed up by evidence. Academic writing usually follows discipline-specific conventions.
Library Literacy: Familiarity with library resources, services, and material organization.
International Students: Students studying in a country under non-immigrant status.
Academic Integrity: Understanding of ethical and legal issues associated with information use.
Academic Library: A library belonging to a higher education institute to support teaching, learning and research.
Academic Literacy: The ability to understand, interpret, and construct meaningful text.
Information Literacy: The expertise to perceive, retrieve, evaluate, and apply information effectively.