How First Class Helps International Students Transition to BU

in Global Matters
March 13th, 2024

Online, Pre-arrival Course Covers Many Important Topics, Helps International Students Prepare for Arrival in U.S.

For all international students coming to BU, Global Programs offers an online, noncredit pre-arrival course designed to prepare them for their transition to the American classroom and the University.

The course, first launched in 2016, is aptly called First Class and is delivered on Blackboard, with short videos, polls, and self-checks designed to be completed from anywhere, on any device. There is a second First Class course offered by the ISSO, currently in the edXedge platform, to help students maintain their visa status while at BU.

“BU First Class introduced me to the different resources on campus, and I also appreciated the videos of students who discussed ways to deal with stress and the importance of health and wellness,” says Myat Thadar (QST ’26). “Taking the ISSO [portion of the First Class] course has helped me maintain my visa status and allowed me to prepare accordingly to visit my home country Myanmar during the summer break!”

Comprised of several sections, First Class helps international students in myriad ways and covers everything from academics to health and wellness to preparing for entering the U.S.

Simran Raikundalia (CAS ’25), a junior studying biochemistry and molecular biology with a minor in mathematical statistics, remembers the uncertainty she faced when transitioning from an international British high school to a university in the United States.

“It was one of the hardest decisions I made, and First Class was one of the first orientation platforms that helped me transition into studying abroad and understand that this step outside my comfort zone was worth it,” she recalls. “The most helpful information I gained from this course was regarding the BU Classroom principles. I learned a lot about engaging with professors outside of the classroom as I was introduced to the concept of office hours and learned more about Classroom ethics. Additionally, I was unaware of the importance of each syllabus and the breakdown of course grades, as during my high school, grades were simply based on end-of-year exams.”

PhD student Erning (Henry) Chen agrees and says the parts about the American classroom experience were most helpful for him.

“For those [students] who have not been studying in the context of the U.S., I think talking about the classroom experience is helpful. Especially, there are quite a few students invited into these videos to provide testimonials and talk about their experiences,” he says. “The most helpful thing that I found was, I think, the conversations and dialogues that happen between certain students.”

Read on for some additional highlights and feedback about First Class from BU international students who took the course in fall 2023:

“I really feel educated and informed about BU after this class. I have learned things about various different aspects, and highly appreciate BU’s effort’s on ensuring me smooth transition into the BU community/society. Please keep up the good work for students that are coming in the future!”

“国际学生在陌生的环境中很容易感到不知所措和孤独。然而，这个模块让我觉得我真的被学校照顾了，我不需要担心新的开始。”

“我不知道有关抄袭的规定，总的来说，内容真的很有帮助。”

“我现在知道，在评估成绩时，参与真的很重要，这在我的家乡大学是没有的。”

澳门威尼斯人注册学生们学到的其他东西的一些附加评论……