Student Exchange
FRAMEWORKS FOR THE DEPLOYMENT OF STUDENT EXCHANGES
About
These international experiences allow institutions to send or receive students for one or two semesters. Students receive the same privileges and responsibilities regarding the completion of courses. An agreement is required.
Type
Courses: Students take similar or equivalent number of courses as at their home institution. Through this experience, students are exposed to new content, teaching methods, studying with classmates, etc. They receive a credit.
Research: Students are assigned a research topic by the host university or they carry out their own research but supervised by a host faculty member. They expand their research outcomes as they are exposed to new ideas, and perspectives. This option tends to be official recognized by the home university (credit, etc.)
Learning Approach
In the classroom: Formal learning takes place within the context of university classrooms.
Outside of the classroom: Students are exposed to campus life allowing them to learn a number of skills that contribute to their own personal and professional development, including abilities to better adapt to their local environment, languages, cultural norms, etc. Activities outside the classroom can provide enriching and long-lasting memories which impact the life of the student.
Partner Involvement
Standard Student Services: Students receive most services as local students.
Customized services for exchange students: Host universities might opt to offer customized experiences that further enrich the exchange including language instructions, cultural tours, volunteer placements, internship experiences, and more. These types of partnerships place great importance to flexibility allowing more students to make the most of their experience abroad. In most cases, fees are required to finance these extra experiences.
Expectations
Many universities tend to focus on providing the similar services to exchange students, others offer initiatives specifically designed to enhance the short-term stay of the inbound exchange student. In general, universities can consider adding additional services for their visiting exchange students such as:
Workshops: local cultural norms, history, local issues, industries, traditions, ways of life, language, etc.
Relationship Building: Extra-curricular opportunities for visiting exchange student.
Intercultural Communication: Exercises that measure the evolution of intercultural skills (pre, during and post).
Return Plans: Opportunities for visiting exchange students to transform their new experience into tangible activities once they return home.
Student exchange alumni: Develop ongoing opportunities for past inbound exchange students to get involved with the host university.
