Introduction
I began teaching at KPU in September 2020 with three sections of CRIM 1100: Introduction to Criminology. I still recall the overwhelming and visceral sense, a few weeks into my first semester, that I was unable to connect with many of my students. I realized that my assumptions about my students were incorrect. To address what I felt to be my lack of understanding about how to meet students where they are at, I joined the Arts Committee on Faculty and International Student Success. Through this committee, whose remit includes much more than the production of this book, I learned a tremendous amount about the experience of International students at KPU, both inside and outside the classroom. The committee includes faculty, staff and students, and benefits from wide-ranging and passionate conversations about all manner of issues related to International students. But while those conversations were taking place, and while this book was taking shape, seismic shifts resulted in declining International student enrollment.
The context of this book changed dramatically over the course of its writing. When we began writing in 2021, many instructors – myself included – were actively adjusting our teaching practices to meet the needs of International students who, at that time, were attending KPU in increasing numbers. In contrast, 2025 finds us confronting lowered International student enrollment. However, while the issues related to International students at KPU have changed over the years, we still feel that this book is relevant.
Our intent with this guide is twofold. First, we want to provide KPU instructors with practical resources that they can use to ensure the success of International students in their classroom. To this end, Part One, Foster Belonging, includes ways that International students can be more fully included in classroom culture. Part Two, Instructional Strategies, contains more detailed pedagogical approaches to achieve this inclusion. Part Three, Helpful Resources, hosts a range of sites, both internal and external to KPU, that we found helpful, and hope others might too.
Our second intent is to provide International students a forum to tell KPU Instructors what they want us to know about what it’s like to be an International student. To this end, we created videos with International students speaking to their own experiences. As mentioned in the Acknowledgements, these videos make the guide come alive. The videos are interspersed throughout Parts One and Two of the book. The videos filmed by Gordon Cobb (you’ll know which ones they are) were made in 2022. Although many of the students in these videos have now moved on from KPU, they speak to important issues that are still relevant today. In addition to the videos made by Gordon, committee member Jeffrey Meyers and I sat down with Amandeep Dhillon in August 2025 to record another series of video clips. Amandeep came to Canada as a KPU International student in December 2016. After earning a diploma, he worked for several years and obtained Permanent Residency before returning to KPU as a domestic student. Amandeep is now graduating with a BA in Criminology. In his video clips, Amandeep shares insight into how the experience of being an International student has shifted between 2017 and 2025.
Every Instructor I have ever talked to at KPU is continually searching for ways to increase the chances of making meaningful connections with students in the classroom. On behalf of the Arts Committee on Faculty and International Student Success, we hope that this guide can provide a small amount of insight or guidance on how to do that, and how to ensure International student success.
Mark Vardy, August 2025, outgoing chair, Arts Committee on Faculty and International Student Success
