Mission:
Berkeley International Office's mission is to enhance the academic experiences of international students and scholars by providing the highest levels of knowledge and expertise in advising, immigration services, advocacy, and programming to the UC Berkeley campus community.
Strategic Goals (2023-2025)
The following goals and listed strategies to achieve these goals will guide Berkeley International Office with equal priority:
1. Serve as a vital partner to campus and external entities to advance international engagement and advocacy
- Highlight the value of the international community and advocate for their needs and concerns
- Collaborate with campus partners to advance international engagement at UC Berkeley
- Leverage relationships with campus and external partners to meet the needs of our clients
2. Enhance the client experience through our services and programs
- Provide a personalized client experience through clear, accurate and holistic advising
- Maintain a flexible, hybrid service model to best serve the changing and diverse needs of our clients
- Utilize data to inform and evaluate our services and programs
- Pursue creative improvements of our services and programs to meet new challenges and identify opportunities for growth
- Enrich the client experience by facilitating connections with the campus and local community
- Maintain and build on existing emergency protocols to ensure effective response to emergency situations
- Improve the user-friendliness of client-facing materials and procedures
3. Support international student retention by utilizing a holistic approach
- Offer a flexible array of programs to assist with connection, inclusion, and intercultural engagement
- Provide resources and support for international student housing and basic needs
- Demonstrate a helpful and caring approach when supporting students in crisis.
- Strengthen academic retention through the creation of new academic tools, promotion of resources, and collaborating with key campus partners
- Support students’ mental health at varying levels of need through collaboration and outreach
- Assist students by providing them with the tools they need to succeed on campus and post graduation
- Provide training for campus staff to understand and improve the campus experience of international students
4. Optimize staff, financial, and space resources to strengthen organizational effectiveness
- Ensure that staff have the necessary tools, technologies, and training to support their work
- Align staffing levels and address staff workload based on bandwidth across the organization
- Prioritize a diverse and versatile staff who can provide the highest level of service
- Use a holistic approach when focusing on staff retention, addressing their financial, personal, professional development, and career growth needs
- Ensure continuity of services through cross-training, documentation of shared knowledge, and transparency of staff responsibilities
- Maintain a strong financial footing to address short and long-term economic challenges
- Adapt the use of space to address evolving needs