The Creation of
UBC Vantage College’s
Fully Integrated First-Year International Program
Presented by:
Susanne Schmiesing,
Director Business Development & Operations
James Ridge, Principal
Overview
• UBC Vantage College: Mandate and Key Facts
• Academics
• Student Life
• Faculty and Staff
• Administrative Considerations
• Lessons Learned
UBC Vantage College
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An integrated first-year program for international students
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Full 1st year (30-38 credits) in Arts or Science combined with English language
preparation. Strong potential for Engineering in 2015.
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Upon successful completion, students enter directly into the second year (subject to
progression requirements).
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UBC courses, UBC Faculty, UBC transcript, no private partner. This is a major market
differentiator.
Student profile
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Academically outstanding international students who need additional English support
IELTS 5.5-6.5
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Primary focus on students from countries from which UBC has few students
UBC Vantage College Mandate
1. Diversify UBC’s international student population by
focusing on students from under-represented curricula,
countries, and cultures.
2. Increase the number of international students at UBC.
3. Serve as a laboratory for innovative curriculum,
pedagogy, student life, intercultural understanding, and
administration; expand new best practices to the rest of
the university in time.
Why this Model?
• UBC carefully studied various models including private sector
partners; did 12 months of due diligence
• Rejected the option of partnering with a private sector provider for
several reasons:
 We have a robust international recruiting capacity
 We wanted full control of academic quality
 We felt that meeting the diversity and innovation mandates
could be harder with a partner focused on the bottom line
 Private sector partners wanted very long contractual
agreements
Program Features
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Program designed and taught by UBC tenure-track faculty
Students are full UBC students and student union members
Deeply integrated academics and student life
High-touch student support
Deeply integrated Academic English
Capstone project
11.5 months long (August to late July)
Residence mandatory
Small program cohorts of 75 students
Robust awards program
ACADEMICS
Faculty Profile
• Core faculty are cross-appointed in their home department
• Roughly 75% time is spent with UBC Vantage and 25% home department,
with UBC Vantage paying 100%
• Core faculty are tenure-track positions
• Some teaching will also be done by lecturers and post-doctoral fellows, and
will be supported by graduate teaching fellows and graduate teaching
assistants
• English language instructors will be UBC Vantage staff
• Vantage has the ability to appoint its own academic faculty,
but has chosen not to do so
Our Program at a Glance (2014/15)
Term One
Term Two
Term Three
VANT 140
VANT 140
VANT 140
VANT 148
VANT 148
VANT 149
Arts
Science
Arts
Science
Arts
Science
GEOG 121 (3)
CHEM 121 (3)
GEOG 122 (3)
CPSC 110 (4) or
EOSC 110 (3)
Elective
CHEM 123 (4)
LLED 200 (3)
LLED 200 (3)
LLED 200 (con’t)
LLED 201 (3)
POLI 100 (3)
MATH 100 (3)
POLI 220 (3)
MATH 101 (3)
PSYC 102 (3)
PHYS 107 (4)
PSYC 208 (3)
PHYS 109 (1)
WRDS 150 (con’t)
SCIE 113 (3)
WRDS 150 (6)
PHYS 108 (3)
Curricular Highlights
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Cohort based – 75 students per stream
Coordinated curriculum in both Arts and Science
Embedded English for academic purposes instruction
Multidisciplinary research project course (VANT 148/149)
Content and language enrichment tutorials (VANT 140)
Flexible learning model
Program evaluation and research component throughout
Coordinated with student service specialists
Multidisciplinary Research Project
and Enrichment Tutorials
Multidisciplinary Research Project
• provides students with opportunities to extend and enrich disciplinespecific classroom learning
• provides students with the opportunity to engage in multidisciplinary
ways of knowing
• uses common lecture series and cross-cutting themes to connect
courses in program
• uses faculty mentorship model
• culminates in student-led conference
Multidisciplinary Research Project
and Enrichment Tutorials
Content and Language Enrichment Tutorials
• use strategies of self-directed learning to reflect on and revise
student work
• provide timely, discipline-specific supplementary
academic English language instruction
• use Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)
model of delivery
Educational Technology
• All courses incorporate UBC learning management system
(Connect) to help foster a common, program-wide, learner
experience
• Online course components adopt a multi-modal, multi-literacies
approach
• Academic English support is directly embedded in each course
• Online course components use a ‘lightly’ flipped model of delivery
STUDENT LIFE
Student Life Principles
• High-touch, very personal support (begins with airport pick-up)
• Active tracking of academic and personal success
• Students served by in-house UBC Vantage College Student Service
Professionals, although some specialized services will be provided
by existing UBC student services
• Specially hired and trained residence life staff
• Goal is to create an exceptional student experience and lasting
affinity for UBC Vantage College
Orientation
• Mandatory two-week orientation in August
 Focus on building of social networks, campus orientation, Vancouver
orientation, and academic expectations
 Assistance with opening bank accounts, purchasing a cell phone,
textbooks, laptops, and daily necessities
 Overview of insurance coverage and application for MSP
• Math Basic Skills test administered for the Science stream students
• Standard Timetable registration completed by Student Services Professional
Student Roadmap
• Students will complete a Roadmap to document their engagement
with the University and community, culminating in a year-end project
• The Roadmap will focusing on:
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Learning & Research
Wellness
Leadership & Involvement
Community Service
Career and Professional Development
Culture
• Students will microblog about their experiences and receive
guidance from their Residence Advisors and Teaching Assistants
Residence
• Students will be living in 3 dedicated houses
• Co-ed Vantage, co-ed mixed, all female mixed
• Vantage College specific programming in residence such as
study groups, language circles, and cross-cultural activities
• Cross house programming to foster interaction with students
from outside of Vantage College
• Faculty and staff will participate in the residence programming and
join students for meals in the dining hall
• Dedicated advising office and student lounge located in residence
• Students will be encouraged to become floor reps, house president,
and Residence Advisors (in upper years)
Events
September – Day trip to Victoria
January – Overnight trip to Whistler
July – Weekend trip to Okanagan campus
ADMINISTRATIVE
Administrative Details
• Faculty a mix of tenure-track cross-appointed with departments,
UBC Vantage College English language instructors, lecturers and
sessionals appointed only in Vantage
• Full cost-recovery unit returning a large ‘dividend’ to “the centre”
• Full UBC academic unit accountable to Senate
• Governance body includes key VPs and Deans
• Potential to be an umbrella for other lines of business
Administrative Details
• Ambitious enrolment targets: 300 – 600 - 1,000 over 3 years
• Admitted over 700 eligible students;
on track for 250-300 students in 2014
• 24 faculty and staff as of February 2014, 40 by summer of 2014
• Program fee $30,000 for 11 months in 14/15
• 45+ Faculty at maturity, plus 20+ English Language instructors, and
100+ TA and GTA, and 20 staff
• Approx. $1.5 million recruiting budget; close coordination with
existing international recruitment team
Facilities
• For its first two years, UBC Vantage College will use existing
classrooms, labs, and administrative facilities.
• A $127 million project within the Vancouver campus has received
Board of Governors approval and is scheduled to start construction
July 2014 for occupancy in August of 2016.
• Includes; 1050 residence beds, numerous classrooms, faculty and
staff offices, informal learning space, writing centre, dining hall, and
recreational facilities.
LESSONS LEARNED
Lessons Learned
• Commitment from the participating Faculties is essential. Arts and
Science have each appointed faculty members as coordinators and
liaison leads.
• Change leadership and management capability is essential.
• The diversity mandate, in particular, is causing UBC to rethink
recruiting strategy/tactics, including agents.
• The enthusiasm of our new faculty and staff is key to the success to
date. The innovation mandate has created an environment of
excitement and commitment.
Lessons Learned
• Strong and unwavering executive support has been essential.
• UBC Vantage has already been a catalyst for rethinking some
traditional practices at UBC.
• There has been an astonishing amount of national and international
interest.
• Perhaps the most complex, challenging, and frustrating step so far
was getting a name for the College.
Questions / Discussion
About the University of British Columbia
One of the world’s top 40 universities
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39,500 Undergraduate students
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6300 international undergraduate students from 151 countries
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212 Undergraduate programs
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99% of faculty with PhDs
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$550M annually for research funding
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Canada’s largest teaching museum: The Museum of Anthropology