Welcome to UNBC’s Global Engagement: Ready for Student Success Plan (“the Plan”) development webpage. Here, you will find an overview of the planning process, engagement events and opportunities, and links to important documents and resources.
What is a Global Engagement Strategic Plan, and why now?
UNBC's 2023-2028 Strategic Plan Ready defines UNBC’s mission to Ignite, Inspire, and Lead Change, and serves as a guiding framework for the entire University. A global engagement strategic plan typically supports the institution’s broader strategic and academic plans by focusing on internationalization initiatives to support institution-wide priorities.
For UNBC, the Global Engagement: Ready for Student Success Plan will focus on student success through an international education lens. The Plan will support other institutional plans such as our Strategic Research and Academic plans, and in future may become part of a broader comprehensive internationalization plan. The scope of the Plan will include inbound and outbound student success, including services, experiences, enrolment initiatives, staff and faculty supports, as well as broader community engagement.
Why now?
The federal and provincial governments have mandated specific initiatives and practices within institutions engaged in international education. As of 2024, the BC government requires institutions to have an international strategic plan as part of their EQA and DLI processes and Code of Practice. At UNBC, we are looking beyond this requirement to enhance sustainable student success that aligns with our institutional mission, vision, values, goals and themes.
In alignment with the Ready plan, the development of the Plan will ensure relevance and innovation in UNBC's response to local and global trends in the post-secondary environment.
What is our planning process?
It is through feedback from everyone within the UNBC community that we can shape the future of our international engagement and student success. A series of engagement opportunities on campus and online will be offered where your input will be invaluable. All faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to share their perspectives. Input will also be sought from alumni, community members, and other relevant interest-holders.
We recognize that multiple engagement processes are taking place concurrently. Where possible, we have worked with other planning teams to avoid overlap and share insight. The Plan is being developed alongside the UNBC Academic Refresh and UNBC Strategic Research Plan and supports UNBC's 2023-2028 Strategic Plan Ready.
What is our timeline?
Our goal is to present a Global Engagement: Ready for Student Success Plan to the UNBC Senate for consideration and to the Board for approval in the second quarter of 2025.
- Preparation phase (concluded)
- Targeted engagement and feedback with interest-holders (concluded)
- Synthesizing data and generating draft plan (March/April, 2025)
- Refinement, completion and endorsement through Senate (Spring 2025)
- Approval at the Board (Spring 2025)
- Launch (Summer 2025)
Dates are provisional and subject to change.
How can you engage in the process?
The engagement phase of The Plan development process has been concluded. Information from the Global Engagement survey results, will be posted shortly (Summer 2025).
Information from the CBIE 2021 International Student Survey was also used to inform The Plan and is available here.
Feedback is always welcome and you can reach out to share ideas, comments, questions, at globalengagement@unbc.ca.
Project team
The project sponsor is Dr. Bill Owen, Interim Vice-President Academic & Provost.
The Project Team is composed of internal representatives and external consultants and is responsible for contributing to and steering the Plan’s development.
Members include:
- Kimberly Read, University Registrar
- Amy Beyer, Associate Registrar, International
- Saeedeh Goodarzvand Chegini, Executive Assistant to the University Registrar
- Kate Jennings, External Consultant
- Sarah Mines, External Consultant