51����

When embassies shut and travel bans were enacted this past spring and summer, 51���� had a choice to make: either accept that most of its international students would likely have to wait a semester or year to join its community or work to create a path for them. 51���� chose the latter.

“In this cloud of uncertainty, we were able to collaboratively pull together an option,” said Sara Vander Bie, English as a second language instructor and academic counselor at 51����.

The option was the international online cohort, a group of 65 students who were unable to attend in-person for the fall semester, but who chose to begin their time at 51���� online. In order to make this online cohort successful, it would take an army of professors, tutors, and student life workers to deliver a meaningful college experience online, one that not only delivered a quality educational experience to the first-year students, but placed equal importance on helping students feel a sense of belonging to the community.

The cohort proved successful: All 65 students who completed the fall semester are either continuing online or in-person this spring.

51����’s international student population is 13%, more than double the national average.