Richard Bland College of William and Mary

A brief introduction:

Established in the year 1960, Richard Bland College is a junior college that is in association with the College of William and Mary. The college was established by the Virginia General Assembly under the umbrella of “the Colleges of William and Mary” as a branch of the institute. The system of “colleges” lasted for the next two years. Most of the other institutions that were part of the colleges of William and Mary became independent universities and colleges. However, Richard Bland College has continued to be a junior college under the aegis of the College of William and Mary.

Richard Bland College works as an extension of William and Mary. Through the rigorous programs that the college has to offer, the institute prepares students for university transfer. With an alumni network of more than 17,000 worldwide, the institute has a vibrant and wide network of students.

Over the years, the institute has developed a reputation for imparting good quality education to the students and helping them in building a base in liberal arts. This education proves to be helpful to all the students who wish to pursue higher education. By attending the Richard Bland College and completing one of the associate degrees, a student automatically completes the first two years of a bachelor’s degree.

Over the years, because of the programs that the college offers and the high quality of education, the college has gained popularity among the international students.

Courses offered:

The main attraction of the Richard Bland College is the Global Student Success Program (GSSP). Under this program, Richard Bland College offers a number of associate degrees for the students to choose from. These programs are offered across a wide range of disciplines and subjects.

The college has formal credit transfer agreements with more than 40 Virginia colleges, including prestigious institutes like Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Virginia State University, State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Old Dominion University, and many more. Therefore, when you take up an associate degree at Richard Bland College and complete it, you automatically complete the first two years towards the Baccalaureate degree or the undergraduate degree. Some of the associate degrees that the college offers are:

Associate of Arts Degree (A.A.)
Associate of Science Degree- Behavioural Sciences (A.S.- Behavioural Science)
Associate of Science Degree (A.S.)
Associate of Science Degree- Business Administration (A.S.- Business Administration)
Associate of Science Degree- Math/Computer Science (A.S.- Math/ Computer Science)
Associate of Science Degree- Clinical Lab Sciences
Associate of Science Degree- Life Science
Associate of Science Degree- Physical Science

Global Student Success Program and collaboration with Navitas:

In the year 2017, Richard Bland College of William and Mary and Navitas announced to the world the initiation of their partnership in order to strengthen the goals of the internationalization of the institute. The partnership has resulted in diversifying the student population of the institute. After the initiation of the program, international students have become more and more attracted to the institute. The partnership has proved to be really successful for the institute and has resulted in the college gaining a high reputation as an international study destination. The global reach of the college has increased massively.

Navitas is a globally present higher education organization that has had partnerships with more than 30 countries for more than 2 decades. The organization helps to increase access to higher education and prepare students from all over the world for successful careers. Navitas has, time and again, proven to be a reliable partner for institutes and has helped them accelerate and achieve their goals of internationalization. Many institutes around the world have benefited from partnering with Navitas and have been successful in gaining an international and diverse student population, global profile, revenue streams, and enhanced academic results.

The Richard Bland College is grounded in the liberal arts tradition of the College of William & Mary, and therefore, under this Global Student Success Program, the college offers the two-year program to the students and prepares them for university transfer. In this partnership with Navitas, the college provides all international students with extensive support services to make sure that they get the best quality of education. Also, the students get customized programming under this program. This is an attempt made by the college to make sure that the students can conveniently transfer to one of the many transfer partners of the college.

At the time of the launch of the program and the partnership, it was affirmed by the institute that the international students add a lot of value to the campus and life for all the students. Navitas’ long-standing and extremely successful record in the world of international education has proved to be quite successful for the college and has brought students from all over the world to Richard Bland College.

As a part of the program, Navitas supports the broader internationalization strategy and its initiatives to expand in terms of student enrolment. It offers to the institutes a lot of its global marketing and recruitment resources including its 27 regional offices, as many as 170 recruitment staff, education counselors, and much more. Moreover, through these partnerships, the institute also gets access to prospective students from as many as 130 countries around the world. Richard Bland College is the first-ever college in Virginia to have partnered with Navitas.

Reasons for international students to attend Richard Bland College:

It is no secret that deciding where to attend college is really difficult for a student. In the case of an international student, the level of difficulty is even higher. Although in many cases, the prospect of studying thousands of miles away from home, in a different country altogether, seems really tempting, deciding on it does not turn out to be as easy as one might expect. Without proper guidance, this decision can turn into a really stressful experience.

Richard Bland College is growing in terms of prestige and reputation as a good institute. For any international student or even native student for that matter who is looking to prepare for a university transfer or higher education, an institute with transfer agreements with as many as 40 well-known and established institutes is obviously a great choice.

The college has some of the qualities that every student included in his definition of an ideal college. Some of them are:

Small className size

Small className size is probably the very first thing that an international student wishes to have at the college he attends. It is quite understandable that an international student needs and wants attention desperately. This need stems out of the fear of being new, different, and being left out. To be fair, as students, we all want the professor and faculty members to pay some extra attention to us. At Richard Bland College, this is exactly what you get. The faculty to student ratio at the college is 20:1, which is pretty low. With such a good faculty to student ratio, it is only natural that each and every student sitting in the classroom gets the kind of attention that he desires and deserves. Moreover, because of this ration, the students and professors get to know each other really well and form a relationship that proves to be really helpful during the stay in college. Also, since the size of the className is so small, it becomes really easy for students to make friends and talk to each other. From the point of view of an international student, this is a very important luxury.

Therefore, at Richard Bland College, you get comfortable right from the very first day of your arrival.

A number of student clubs

Student clubs, societies, and organizations are some of the highest contributing factors to healthy student life on campus. Moreover, in case of international students, these clubs prove to be really helpful as they serve as a tool for these students to try and initiate conversation with others. Also, because of these clubs, the life of the students on campus becomes a lot happening and exciting.

If you are someone who likes to do more than just study while being in college, then Richard Bland College is just the place for you. There are a number of student organizations that allow the student population to engage in different activities and cool events throughout the year. In these organizations and clubs, you get to meet students with the same interests, hobbies, and passions. These students later become your friends for life and it results in you having a great life on campus. By becoming a part of an organization or starting one on campus, you get to do what you love, you get to follow your passion; you teach and you learn throughout this experience. Overall, you have a great experience during your stay on campus.

A program specially dedicated to the student experience

At Richard Bland College, the administration runs a program called the ‘Exceptional Student Experience’ that has been specially designed to make sure that every student who attends the college gets a great experience. This is a new and innovative program that has been planned to advance 100% student success and on providing the right solutions to students. As part of this program, the first-year students are encouraged to take one credit hour course called ESE 101. This course focuses especially on critical thinking, communication skills, digital literacy, and leadership qualities. The program, in the past, has proven to effectively help the first-year students to improve their problem-solving skills, expressive skills, and their abilities to communicate.

Such an initiative from the college’s side is a great step that helps the students to become ready for the years that they spend on the campus. By helping the newcomers to gain good confidence and improvement in communication skills, this course makes sure that the first years or the new students make good conversations with others and form friendships.

Mentors

At Richard Bland College, every new student gets assigned a Learner Mentor. For an international student who leaves behind everything unknown and travels to a different country, having guidance is really necessary. These learner mentors act as the point of contact for the new students and assist the student’s journey in the college. Right at the orientation, all the students get assigned mentors who act as their advocate throughout life at Richard Bland College.

These mentors prove to be really helpful for the students as they help them and advise them on academics and also career coaching. Throughout the transfer process also, the mentor helps the student navigate and follow through. In this relationship between a learner mentor and student, technology also plays an important role at Richard Bland College. Through early alerts and the use of technology, the mentor can identify the best intervention in support of student success. They can also reach out to the students within a day of an alert or academic or behavioural nature for one-on-one meetings.

The mentors also help the students connect with faculty members easily. Moreover, they also help the student schedule for tutoring and to participate in campus events and fests effectively.

Placement and academic support

As soon as the students get admitted to Richard Bland College, the support teams of the college work with each and every one of them and evaluate their needs and requirements for course work, to plan for academics effectively, and to seek possibilities for development. Throughout the time that the student stays on campus, these teams monitor the growth and development of the students and whenever there is need, they recommend improvement plans for academic success and enhancement.

This is another support system that every student at Richard Bland College gets. For a native student, this might sound like a regular facility, but for an international student who arrives at the college with apprehensions, confusion, and fears, this proves to be a massive help. The students actually feel that they belong on the campus and this feeling eventually results in the students having a great time in the college.

Richard Bland College of William and Mary

A brief introduction:

Courses offered:

Global Student Success Program and collaboration with Navitas:

Reasons for international students to attend Richard Bland College:

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