International students need good information to make informed choices about their study, career, and immigration pathways. Yet the information landscape is uneven. Policy volatility means some online information is out of date. Other online information is accurate but too technical to be helpful. Generative AI and content creators provide user friendly information, but the quality of that information varies significantly. This session provides insight into the information needs and information-seeking journeys of international students, as well as an analysis of the overall information landscape. Drawing on student experiences and ecosystem analysis, it answers two core questions: Why should the availability of good information matter to post-secondary institutions and to government? What can be done to strengthen the information ecosystem, given the reality so many different players are providing information? This session will discuss the collaborative approaches to ensure a strong information ecosystem, including opportunities for partnership that fill information gaps, reduce confusion, and limit duplication efforts. It will also explore feedback mechanisms that can lead to better outcomes.
- Understand information needs of prospective and current international students and map how international students find, interpret, and verify information about admissions, employment, and immigration.
- Analyze the key factors that allow misinformation to circulate, including policy complexity, regulatory change, inconsistent messaging across information providers, and the influence of social media platforms, and AI tools.
- Evaluate the roles played by different actors (eg, governments, institutions, recruiters, AI tools, influencers, and community networks) and understand how these roles intersect, overlap, or contradict one another.
- Identify practical, collaborative solutions that institutions and governments can adopt to strengthen international student access to high quality information.
