MSM Higher Ed Launches Preparation Course for Study Abroad Students

In keeping with its vision of delivering high-quality education and university pathways to students, MSM Higher Ed’s Prep School has announced the launch of Global Awareness and Study Skills (GASS). This course prepares students for studying abroad and boosts higher education institutions’ pre-departure services in the post-COVID-19 environment. MSM Higher Ed Prep offers a genuine global pathway designed for all students from all countries regardless of their study destination. It builds students’ global awareness and study skills, preparing them for an enjoyable, smooth transition and successful educational experience abroad.
College Preparation Course for Study Abroad Students
The course features seven key modules featuring topics, including pre-departure planning, arrival planning, social and cultural awareness, part-time employment preparation, effective study skills and academic integrity along with destination institution content. GASS may be tailored to an HEI’s requirements through workshops, presentations, assigned reading, or video viewing. “What distinguishes MSM Higher Ed Prep is its online accessibility, customized and well-aligned with a student’s desired college or university track in any part of the world,” said Donna Hooker, MSM Higher Ed President. “We are immensely excited how this initiative showcases our goals of offering education management solutions that transform lives and communities, including for students who plan to study abroad and the institutions that receive them.”
The program is delivered in modules and made available on MSM Higher Ed’s learning management platform. Students apply the content using research, reading and writing skills as they build their study abroad portfolio. Institution-specific modules can be delivered via video conferencing or in-person workshops, as supported by the institution’s existing body of video and reading resources.
“Too often students arrive in their host country without a full understanding of where they are going, what they will study, and what is expected of them. Higher Ed Prep assures institutions that incoming students are confident in their transition to a new country, able to integrate into the community, and well-equipped to balance their study, social, and employment plans,” Hooker said. She added: “A preparatory course also assures their family that they are safe, knowledgeable, and ready to meet the challenges of studying abroad.”
Internationalizing HEIs
Besides better preparing students for their journey ahead, Higher Ed Prep enables institutions to achieve global reach and consistency in pre-departure orientation delivery while sparing them the often-significant expense of conducting pre-departure orientations in international students’ home countries.
Since 2012, MSM has been providing pre-departure orientation services to students and parents on behalf of its partner institutions. These briefings are a key feature of its global and in-country offices that promises increased international enrollment via dedicated recruitment and local representation in targeted student markets. Through Higher Ed Prep, HEIs can standardize student preparation and distill it into a single course, and focus their incoming orientations on their unique campus offerings and student services. It is “only through a global lens” that higher education will flourish, noted Hooker, pointing to the role of international partnerships in creating innovative higher education solutions. One such solution is the MSM Higher Ed Pathways that will be delivered in multiple countries, making it possible for students to begin their studies near home and graduate from recognized institutions in Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.