PLATTSBURGH — When Jaafar El Tassa stepped off an airplane here for the first time, members of Plattsburgh State’s Office of International Student Services were there to greet him.
Then they helped get him settled into his new home.
“When I first got here, I always felt like I could come and talk to them,” said El Tassa, a Brazilian native and Chinese citizen who, before his arrival at age 17, had never been to the United States.
And it seems his positive experience adjusting to life at Plattsburgh State is not unique.
In fact, the college ranks No. 1 in the United States and No. 2 in the world for overall satisfaction by international students, according to the results of the fall 2011 International Student Barometer, a survey administered by the International Graduate Insight Group Ltd.
The 2011 barometer used an online questionnaire to survey 209,422 international students attending 238 schools in 16 countries. Eighteen of those are located in the United States.
NOT UNNOTICED
This is the second year in a row that Plattsburgh State has ranked top in the country for overall satisfaction. The college has also improved its global ranking since 2010, when it placed third.
In addition, the 2011 survey ranks the university top in the nation and the world for its Office of International Student Services, learning support and performance feedback, housing conditions offered upon arrival, visa advice and the ability of its international students to make friends from their host countries and other countries upon arrival.
Plattsburgh State also ranked No. 1 in the United States and No. 2 in the world for overall satisfaction with the arrival experience and No. 1 in the United States and No. 3 in the world for overall learning satisfaction among international students.
“These results once again confirm what we already know:
Our faculty and staff work hard to provide exceptional educational experiences to international students — and to all of our students,” said Plattsburgh State President John Ettling in a media release.
“The International Student Barometer results show that these efforts do not go unnoticed.”
CULTURAL ENRICHMENT
In addition to picking El Tassa up at the airport, International Student Services helped him to acquire a Social Security card, an American bank account, a driver’s license and, so he could travel to Canada, a visa.
“We actually go step by step through the process,” said Catrillia Young, associate director of International Student Services at Plattsburgh State.
In addition, Young’s office offers the Partners in Cross-Cultural Learning program, in which international students are invited to connect with community members at luncheon events.
El Tassa is now a graduate student at Plattsburgh State who works as a graduate assistant for International Student Services.
“Another cool thing that we do that’s really awesome is we organize trips for students, for international students specifically … and we go all over,” he said.
For example, the office is offering a trip to see an upcoming Cirque du Soleil performance in Montreal and also organizes trips to places such as Lake Placid and Boston.
“The purpose of these trips is to provide cultural enrichment,” El Tassa said.
THE RIGHT FIT
Along with constantly trying to meet the needs of existing international students, Young said, the office also makes an effort to ensure that those who choose the college do so because it is the right fit for them.
“I think if you speak to any international students on the campus, it’s a pretty popular opinion that Plattsburgh is very international-student friendly,” said senior Bhishma Mago.
“One thing that struck me before I even came to Plattsburgh was the way the office replied to any queries I had,” said the native of India, who now works in the Office of International Student Services as a student assistant.
Young noted that while she feels the college does its best to meet the needs of its students, there is always room for improvement.
“I personally see it as an opportunity for growth,” she said.
Email
Ashleigh Livingston at:
alivingston@pressrepublican.com
