Chapter 9: VTBound: Overcoming Barriers to Matriculation and Promoting Academic Success of International Students During the Pandemic

The VTBound program was implemented at Virginia Tech to ensure international student enrollment despite travel and visa restrictions during the pandemic. The program was a partnership across academic affairs, student affairs, and admissions. Eighty-two first-year undergraduate international students from 19 countries participated in a full-time remote curriculum directed to their intended major (mostly engineering). Instruction was primarily asynchronous with synchronous office hours and recitations attentive to global time differences. Support mechanisms to maximize student success included dedicated academic advising and a customized first-year experience (FYE) course with peer mentors. The academic performance of and adherence to academic integrity standards by these students exceeded that of domestic and international first-year students on campus. Many VTBound students became engaged in co- and extracurricular programming while studying remotely. The greatest challenge was limited access to visa appointments and global travel restrictions necessitating a second remote semester for most VTBound students. Overall, the VTBound program demonstrates the value of a customized first-year transition program for international students and the potential to engage students for a successful semester of remote learning from their home Countries.