Zheng Yang

Online Information Session: an Alternative Channel for Information Flow between Canadian Universities and Prospective Students

As a Canadian citizen of Chinese origin, I am aware of the language and cultural barriers high school students from China face when attempting to gather information online for selecting a school in North America for higher studies. Systematic research revealed a gap between the information channels they resort to and the channels through which universities approach prospective students. I attempted to bridge the gap by exploring effective alternative information channels. I examined the needs of prospective Chinese students through preliminary research with current students at OCAD University. I also explored Baidu Forum and WeChat, two online social media channels most used by Chinese students. I designed an online information session where universities could provide information to prospective students in China in real time, and conducted two sessions, one from Toronto, Canada and one from Tai Yuan, China. My recommendations to OCAD University about effective ways to reach prospective students from China could be extrapolated to other universities and countries. http://openresearch.ocadu.ca/id/eprint/326/