One of my major projects was completing registration worksheets for incoming freshman international students. I learned a lot about the undergraduate curriuculum, registration processes, and international student retention efforts through the completion of this work. In May, I had the opportunity to attend parts of the Loyola University Chicago Orientation training for academic advisors, organized by the Office of First & Second Year Advising. During this training, advisors and department chairs from across the university give updates on changes to their curriculum or program requirements. I learned a lot about the many academic programs offered by Loyola, as well as some of the requirements and sequencing within these programs. Following that training, I was able to start organizing student information into a master spreadsheet. I was even able to make a few changes to the previous process and teach my internship supervisor how to use Mail Merge as a tool for importing the student information into the registration sheets. Then, I individualized each registraiton sheet based on the student's test scores, intended major, and learning community, if applicable. 

Through this project I learned a lot of valuable information about the registration process for international students. First, I learned about some of the test scores and measurements that are used to determine placement in math and writing courses, in particular. It is important that students are placed in the correct level, so all Loyola students are required to take a university administered writing placement assessment (WPA). Math placement can be determined based on outside test scores, or the Loyola math placement exam can also be taken, if students wish to place into a higher level. I learned that there are some degrees (such as engineering or business) where students need to start in a certain math level, or else they will be behind on their studies before they even begin. Second, I learned the difficulties of communicating with international students. Many students are finishing high school abroad during May or June and are not thinking about their next step; additionally, there are the barriers of time and language also at play. It is a challenge to communicate registration information to these students and ensure that they are actually registering themselves in the correct coursework. Most domestic students meet with their academic advisor in person during their summer orientation session and are able to ask questions and register for coursework with their assistance. This is not the case for the majority of international students. The registration worksheets provide a tool for the students to know what classes they should or should not be registering for, but it is not a perfect system. There is a lot of follow up required on the part of the academic advisor, to answer questions via email and ensure that students are following instructions. International students who do not register themselves in classes by July 1st, but have submitted a deposit, are registered by the academic advisor. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the registration process is very important for international student retention. If students have a class schedule, they are more likely to actually arrive on campus and matriculate at Loyola University Chicago. I learned a lot about retention efforts and new student orientation through this project, and hope to apply this knowledge in other areas of my work. 

Attached is an example of a registration worksheet for incoming freshman international students.