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• Understanding Gatekeeper Courses
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Gatekeeper Courses

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Preparing students for an intensive educational experience abroad can be a challenge. In last week's People with Impact interview, John Stuppy of Tutorvista discussed how some online students struggle with "gatekeeper courses." What is a gatekeeper course? A gatekeeper course in the traditional sense is the first college-level course that students must pass before enrolling in more advanced courses in their major field. Such courses are characterized by high enrollment and low completion rates.

Traditionally, this concept applies to undergraduates and online students, however the concept also applies to study abroad. Study abroad? Turns out that preparing students for study abroad and then preparing them for a return home is an area of increasing focus for colleges to improve student retention and success Often, study abroad "orientation programs" involve a half-day seminar concentrating on health and safety and attendance is not always mandatory. For incoming international students this lack of orientation can be quite traumatic and a barrier to completing the enrollment process.

There is a great deal of marketing in drawing students to international education (both inbound and outbound) with advisors and promoters describing the amazing adventures and life-changing experiences a student will face, but what is missing is a preparation for the culture shock experienced by some study abroad students.

I recently heard a conference session by Bruce LaBrack, the creator of "What's Up with Culture", an online resource that addresses various aspects of intercultural communication and adjustment. The focus is generally on the concept of culture and how it impacts upon one’s ability to understand and function in a new and unfamiliar environment. It concentrates on the skills, attitudes and behaviors which all international students, regardless of their specific destination, find useful. In its five years of operation, he web site has been used by over 2 million students globally to prepare for studying abroad.

Adapting to a new culture can be difficult for students who do not necessarily have the knowledge or support needed to immerse themselves in their new environment. Although culture is defined hundreds of ways, for study abroad purposes, Up with Culture broadly defines cultureas: The shared sets of values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that are widely held by members of the host culture. A sojourner will not only need to be aware of these cultural patterns but will have to respond to them appropriately.

Many colleges describe today's orientation programs as sufficient to get a student overseas and checked in, but two weeks into the program, the student is truly in a different world and needs to be prepared to look at the world in a different way. Up With Culture is a great example of how online course material can help bring a dose of reality in advance of the real event and hopefully prepare students with tools to better learn and solve problems while studying abroad.

Another aspect of cultural adjustment is the student's return. The so called re-entry of a student back into his or her home country also is in need of preparation. Students energized by their study abroad experience quite often become passionate advocates for the issues they encountered and the causes they now champion, and are generally met with a less than energetic response. This secondary culture shock can impact a student as greatly as the first culture shock.

Beyond preparation, there is a growing interest in measuring the intercultural or cross-cultural competency or learning outcomes of a study abroad experience. Look for online tools to provide some of the answers here as well.

In the case of orientations and gateway courses, we see that online education can bring greater depth to the learning experience and is yet another example of how colleges can deepen the educational experiences of all students to strengthen student success and retention.

Like this article? - Read similar topics:
Online International Learning
The BlogAbroad Experience

Additional sections of this journal address student recruiting and student retention. We have also placed all articles with a common theme of Innovative Practices in Communicating with Students in a separate portal. New articles will be posted each Monday, please check back by bookmarking this site or placing a link to this online education and distance education programs portal.

Mark Shay is the founder of EDU - a leading academic advertising provider, - part of Halyard Education Partners, a leader in student lead generation and enrollment management services.