Several international students resort to Canadian universities as they are equally prestigious as the United States’ colleges and universities and are often more affordable. UBC Okanagan offers its international students several resources, including academic support services, to accommodate and maximize their academic stay in Canada. As an international student at UBC Okanagan, it is important to immerse oneself in Canada’s culture through participation across scenic nature and campus activities. In order to complete everything from your bucket list, we have compiled a list of international student resources to ease your transition into UBC and Canada’s culture and community.
Self-Isolation Support
With the current challenging circumstances brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, UBC Okanagan can provide international students a place of isolation with meals and health support during the required 14 days of quarantine. While students are required to find private transportation from Kelowna International Airport (YLW), students may be eligible to receive a subsidy for the UBC self-isolation package, which is a much cheaper option than booking a hotel room for two weeks. Students must abide by COVID-19 health protocols by directly going to the reserved place of isolation and wearing a non-medical mask throughout the process.
If you are interested, check out this website for more information!
Campus Housing
In order to fully enrich oneself into UBC Okanagan, staying in campus housing is definitely a must for having the best experience! Residence living at UBC Okanagan allows students to form meaningful, lifetime friendships and gain access to professional services that support a student’s academic and social journey. Currently, over 1,700 students occupy the campus’s housing within various types of accommodations, including fully-furnished single rooms, semi-suites, quad units, studios, and one-bedroom apartments. The majority of these rooms have cooking facilities; however, students may also take advantage of meal plans in the dining hall. While housing is not guaranteed, international students are placed on priority on the waitlist.
If you are interested, check out this website for more information!
UBC-O Student Union
If you are interested, check out this website for more information!
The UBC Okanagan Student Union is an organization aimed to promote the social and academic well-being of domestic and international students. Students can come to their offices to access a wide range of student support and referral services, including health and dental services. In addition, students may decide to book space on campus under membership of a club associated with UBC Students’ Union Okanagan- overall, showing the unlimited opportunities possible with them.
University courses are drastically different from high school subjects in academic grading, choosing professors, and group work activities and projects. UBC Okanagan accommodates international and domestic students in easing their transition from high school to university academic experiences. The Student Learning Hub offers undergraduate academic services designed to empower and strengthen student’s academic skills in all disciplines and year levels. We have accommodated you with a list of free go-to-resources, including remote services, from the Student Learning Hub.
Math and Science Tutoring
Studying maths and science courses can be tough at times- especially within a university course’s short time frame. The math and science tutoring service is free for students taking various subjects- including economics, computer science, biology, chemistry- for five days a week. With upper-year peer tutoring trained to help students develop critical analysis and problem-solving skills, students can increase their confidence and proficiency in self-understanding math and science topics. While not being able to help complete homework, peer tutors are professionally trained to provide similar content and questions that will foster the students’ understanding in completing the assignment.
If you are interested, check out this website for more information!
Writing and Language Consultations
As university students, it is expected for us to write several academic research papers throughout our undergraduate careers. Different people will research for an academic paper in different ways and have different writing styles. The writing and language consultation team will help students develop confidence in academic writing and communication. Moreover, for students learning a foreign language, peer tutors -who are proficient in French, Spanish, Mandarin, and even English- are available to develop conversational and writing skills.
If you are interested, check out this website for more information!
Academic Advising
Academic Advising is a great place to resort to navigating a degree plan, registering for courses, and monitoring graduation progress. The service is especially helpful for first-year and second-year students navigating and exploring different programs. They can also assist your academic papers in interpreting academic policies and procedures if students are afraid of copyright violations and plagiarism. During the COVID-19 pandemic, academic Advising transitioned into remote, virtual services that easily made the services accessible for students worldwide.
If you are interested, check out this website for more information!
Supplemental Learning
Through peer-facilitated study sessions, students can help other students improve their grades and build their academic performances.” SL Leaders” are undergraduate students who have completed the selected courses before and are trained to professionally educate other students. Therefore, students from UBC Okanagan take advantage of this free and co-curricular service for selected courses to gain greater knowledge acquisition of the course content. By participating in weekly fun and collaborative sessions, students will be more than ready to ace the finals by the end of the term.
If you are interested, check out this website for more information!
Technology Support
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a rise in e-learning, wherein the integration of information technology and education has changed teaching and education together. UBC Okanagan understands that technological issues may arise with online schooling. Hence, they offer technical assistance to have student’s technology-related questions answered by peer assistance on troubleshooting software issues, access to UBC software, etc. Moreover, they offer free workshops that teach how to use famous virtual learning
If you are interested, check out this website for more information!
