The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) has grown its incoming international student and study abroad programs and is capitalizing on its recent recognition as an R1 university, the nation’s highest level of research performance. However, until recently, UMBC’s global education team relied entirely on paper processes to log, manage and update student information. As a result, the team didn’t have the time or resources to engage with students and realized they knew they needed to enlist the help of an edtech platform to help coordinate some of the processes. After adopting and implementing Terra Dotta’s International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) solutions, UMBC transformed its time-consuming paper-based workflows into automated systems that gave advisors more time to work closely with students and increase growth in its incoming international programs.
The Problem
UMBC knows how critical it is to support international students and ensure they not only have access to services during the application process but also that they feel welcome on their new campus community. And maintaining a manual application system was not going to allow the UMBC Center for Global Engagement team to expand its international student & scholars services program. Records were incomplete, and team members were tasked with performing tedious data entry, leading to numerous errors. The team spent 30% of their day on paper processing to track applications and oversee student visa compliance.
International student visa compliance is a critical but challenging part of any incoming international program as it helps ensure the student’s process of getting to the U.S., through customs and settled in on campus is as smooth as possible. Also, it can be very cumbersome for institutions to properly navigate the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) landscape and manage all the associated data mining and paperwork while also growing a program, so it often requires the use of automated technology to streamline this process.
With approximately 750 incoming international students each year, more than 2300 active F-1 students and 50 – 75 active scholars, UMBC’s global education has been able to leverage an automated approach to manage the incoming international student and scholars application and enrollment process. And in adopting Terra Dotta the team also gained valuable time to focus on the strategic business of advising students and growing and improving UMBC’s programs.
The Tech Solution
UMBC deployed several Terra Dotta solutions to streamline workflows and enhance the student experience. Terra Dotta’s ISSS portal consolidated all of UMBC’s student files and SEVIS information and helped the institution eliminate its filing cabinet system and move the application process online, leaving program advisors with more time to focus on students and advise them rather than processing paperwork. The solution also helped UMBC meet the needs of its international student program as it expanded over 300% in a four-year period.
In addition, UMBC’s outgoing program leaders started leveraging Terra Dotta’s Study Abroad, AlertTraveler and Travel Registry solutions so they were equipped with real-time country intelligence to notify students and faculty abroad of any emergencies in their area, mitigate institutional risk and quickly pull travel details when needed.
The Success of Terra Dotta Digital Workflows
UMBC’s international student programs have grown since implementing Terra Dotta, and program team members have been able to focus on improving the program and the student experience. At the same time, previously time-consuming activities are now fully automated. For example, international students can use Terra Dotta’s self-service tools to access draft copies of their I-20s rather than waiting for them to arrive in the mail. This was critical during the pandemic as students could still access this information and schedule visa appointments from their home countries. At the same time, having Terra Dotta’s cloud-based platform made the transition to remote work seamless.
“We are grateful to work with the teams at Terra Dotta to further enhance our international education program,” said Adam Julian, in a statement. “We wouldn’t have been able to be where we are now without Terra Dotta’s comprehensive solutions. Furthermore, as we make our next step into the program’s future, we are excited to use the portal to continue growing our program.”
Going forward, UMBC’s global education team plans to further integrate Terra Dotta’s solutions into their programming to focus on the resurgence of international travel in a post-COVID environment and manage international partnerships and student engagement.
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