Spotlight on Alexander College

Alexander College is one of two private educational institutions that have recently joined AskAway.  Kat Siddle (AskAway Librarian) visited Alexander College to find out more about one of our newest participating libraries...

With two locations in downtown Vancouver and Burnaby, Alexander College is a private institution that focuses on helping international students enter BC’s post-secondary system and acclimatize to life in Canada. The college is small, but growing: there are presently around 850 students enrolled. Its programs include university transfer credits, Associate of Arts degrees, academic ESL, and pre-MBA courses.

Alexander College pays particular attention to the task of preparing its students for life at other BC post-secondary institutions. This is also true of its library, which has recently made key changes to its collections and web site. These changes vastly increase the library’s web presence, and place it in step with other academic libraries in BC. It will also be easier for AskAway staff to assist Alexander College students. Recently, I spoke to Alexander College librarians Marc Breschuk and Jade Shepherd about the changes.

“We are very pleased with new website,” Breschuk told me. “Our intentions were to better user experience and give students everything they would expect or should expect from a library website.” The new website gives students a preview of the type of site they would use at a university library. It also makes service a little simpler for AskAway service providers, who are now be able to search the catalogue without logging in first.  Less clicking and predictable site organization mean that both students and librarians will be able to find the information they need more quickly.

And now there will be more information to look for: Alexander College recently purchased 15 ELN licenses for databases and indexes in humanities, business, science and art. Previously, Askaway staff handled reference questions from Alexander’s students by finding free online resources. Now they are able to guide students through well-known products like Academic Search Premier and Business Source Premier.  Access to these resources also helps prepare these students for the type of research they will be expected to do as they complete an advanced degree.

While many international students are web-savy, a student’s less-than-fluent English can make communication difficult in a text-only environment like AskAway. Students may have trouble explaining their specific needs, or may have difficulty understanding what you have typed. I asked Jade Shepherd for some tips.

“Our students have a real range of abilities in English. Their mastery of spoken and written communication can vary. Try to approach everyone individually. Rephrase, and express an idea in different ways a few different times. Explain what you’re doing as you’re doing it. Push links and use videos to demonstrate a task.” Jing videos would be an excellent tool for this.

Jade also mentions cultural differences that affect communication. “Students from other cultures may be unwilling to ask for help when they want it, so offer to do the next step with them.”

Alexander College has been part of AskAway for 18 months. With an increased web presence and more online resources, its students now have the opportunity to participate more fully in the service. “We are very happy to be in this partnership,” Jade elaborated. “And we are definitely benefiting from it.”

- Kat Siddle, AskAway Librarian (February 2011)