This session is divided into three parts: 1) Scott Clerk from Northern Lights College will present a case study of the international enrolment expansion to the Chetwynd campus (a smaller campus), including insights from students, staff, and community leadership. He will also discuss planning for the Fort Nelson campus and the opportunities and challenges in expanding the international program to smaller campuses; 2) Jieni Lim from Coast Mountain College will discuss a case study on launching programs at the Smithers campus, a town with limited housing. She will cover the idea’s inception, stakeholder support, discovered resources, challenges, and municipal and local contributors. She will also touch on marketing strategies to showcase the small community to a global audience and pre-arrival plans for incoming students. 3) Marissa Thola will present the results of her dissertation on “The Relationship between Success and Access to Support Systems of International Students in a rural community college” compared to the research undertaken at Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba, an urban community college.

Key takeaways from this presentation: 1) understand the dynamics of small rural communities and how to involve the community leaders and members in expanding international education programs and attract residents to pursue their higher education in their communities; 2) learn from our lessons and build on the strengths of the partnership between the community college and the community leaders and members; 3) develop strategies that could work in your communities based on our weaknesses and strengths; 4) find out which services international students benefit from; and 5) are international students who attend urban community colleges more successful than those who attend rural community colleges?