Communication inside a university

7/30/2019 Communication inside a university

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3IBL2, HES - University of Applied Sciences

Research Skills and Techniques

The best communication tools to reach

students


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TABLE OF CONTENT

1. INTRODUCTION. 2-3

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANISATION.. 3-4

3. COMMUNICATION (TOOLS)....................... 4-8

4. FIELD RESEARCH..

4.1RESEARCH METHOLOGY.........................................................................................................................

4.2RESEARCH RESULTS ...............................................................................................................................

5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .....................................................................................

6. APPENDIXES ................................................................................................................................


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1. IntroductionNowadays internships are immense important for students to upgrade their Curriculum vitae, to grow

professionally and having the possibility that the internship turns into a permanent position. Also

businesses internships are the key in todays economy, companies are relying increasingly on interns to

shore up the spaces where full-time jobs have been cut.12

The HES, School of Economics and Business,

is the business school of the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. It is one of the largest institutes for higher

professional education in The Netherlands with around 10,000 students. During my research it was

found that for students going on an internship it is of highly importance that they are well informed to

find the appropriate internship. Therefore, communication with the Placement office international at

the HES and the students is mainly important. Often this communication process lacks clarity,

completeness and appropriateness of level of detail. Failures to communicate are a complex issue with

multiple causes tend to lead to unnecessary problems such as confusion, frustration and is time

consuming (see research results). Miscommunication or a lack of communication is affecting students'

capacities for finding a placement. Therefore, the aim of this research is to improve the communication

between the International career centre of the HES and its students regarding internships by using the

most effective communication tools.

The main question to be answered is:

Which communication tools should the Placement office international use to improve communication

with students regarding internships?

In order to answer the main question, sub questions were set up:

How is the communication structure and what communication tools are currently used at theinternational department?

What are the current problems and possible solutions according to studentsand personnel

What communication tools are the most frequently used by students? What information regarding the internship do students want to know and through which

communication tool do they prefer to be provided of this information?

Which social media communication tools are mainly used by the international office andstudents?

1http://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/worklife/04/14/cb.why.internships.important/index.html

2http://www.collegeview.com/articles/article/college-internships
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_schoolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogeschool_van_Amsterdamhttp://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/worklife/04/14/cb.why.internships.important/index.htmlhttp://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/worklife/04/14/cb.why.internships.important/index.htmlhttp://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/worklife/04/14/cb.why.internships.important/index.htmlhttp://www.collegeview.com/articles/article/college-internshipshttp://www.collegeview.com/articles/article/college-internshipshttp://www.collegeview.com/articles/article/college-internshipshttp://www.collegeview.com/articles/article/college-internshipshttp://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/worklife/04/14/cb.why.internships.important/index.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogeschool_van_Amsterdamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_school


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2. Description of the organization The HES School of Economics and Business is the business school of the Hogeschool van Amsterdam(HvA) established in 1867 and is one of the largest institutes for higher education in the Netherlands. It

is situated in Amsterdam. The HES employs around 600 and has productive contacts with the business

world. HvA offers the HvA students its knowledge and tries to continuously renew and expand that

knowledge via lectures and knowledge platforms in the Netherlands and abroad. HVA helps students

grow into independent professionals by internships and assigning research projects. The HVA also has a

close relationship with the University of Amsterdam which creates benefits in the areas of education

and research and this close collaboration increases efficiency through knowledge exchange.

Specially designed international programmes taught in English attract yearly students from all over

Europe, USA, Canada, Mexico, Africa, Australia and Asia to complete their international business studies.All programmes are designed to meet the Dutch standard in Higher Professional Education (HBO). The

School of Economics and Business is recognized by the HBO Council and the Minister of Education of the

Netherlands, and is also recognised by a wide variety of international partners.3

International placement office

Like the HES, each of the seven schools of the HvA has an International Office. The International Office

helps incoming international students to plan their stay in the Netherlands as well as outgoing students

to plan their exchange or abroad. Before the research I was found that within the HES there are severalinternational departments: International department, International office, bureau stage en afstuderen

and the international placement office. It was quite complicated and confusing to identify the difference

and purposes of those departments, and after the interviews with the students it was found that they

also have problems to know where to go with questions about their internship. On internet it was found

that the international office is for exchange students. International offices attendants can answer

students questions about living in the Netherlands and studying at the HvA/HES but they also arrange

paper work between students and the international institutions. However, during the research I found

out that this department is not responsible for internships.4

Through the interviews (see research) it became clear that the International placement office is thedepartment that guides students from international studies at the HES to find an international

internship. It is the students task to find a placement but the International placement attendants are

there to help students with questions, to give advice, arrange the necessary paperwork and to evaluate

internships reports.

3http://www.international.hva.nl/schools/schools/school-economics-and-management

4http://www.international.hva.nl/study/international-offices
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_schoolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogeschool_van_Amsterdamhttp://www.international.hva.nl/schools/schools/school-economics-and-managementhttp://www.international.hva.nl/schools/schools/school-economics-and-managementhttp://www.international.hva.nl/schools/schools/school-economics-and-managementhttp://www.international.hva.nl/study/international-officeshttp://www.international.hva.nl/study/international-officeshttp://www.international.hva.nl/study/international-officeshttp://www.international.hva.nl/study/international-officeshttp://www.international.hva.nl/schools/schools/school-economics-and-managementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogeschool_van_Amsterdamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_school


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3. Communication(tools) I did a desk research on communication and communicant tools to have a better understanding of the

importance of good communication and to know which communication tools are available and which

are adequate to reach students. Communication can be divided in external communication and internal

communication. Internal communication involves communication that exists within a company which

includes: communication between employees, communication between management and

communication between management and its employees, whereas, external communication involves

communication from the company to the outside. It is about exchanging information and messages

between an organization and other organizations, groups, or individuals outside its formal structure.

This can be communication between an organization and customers, suppliers, channel partners, media,government, general public.

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Communication between the International office and the students is considered as external

communication. However, I chose to focus on both internal and external communication because I

found information about internal communication relevant to my research as well since you can see the

International office as the management informing its employees (students) about what tasks they need

to do and to provide the students with recommendations and feedback.

The importance of good communication

In today's business environment, corporate identity and corporate communications, when viewed and

managed from a strategic perspective, can provide many organizations with a distinct competitive

advantage (Citation: John M.T. Balmer, Edmund R. Gray, (2000) "Corporate identity and corporate

communications: creating a competitive advantage",). Profit organizations are just as, if not more

committed than non-profit organizations, to ensuring that the mission and objectives set forth are

carried out. However, communication is not what it used to be, the new global economic environment,

the far-reaching changes in the mass media and the development of technology, internet and social

media are just some of the factors directly affecting communication. Since students are quick adapting

to the fast growing environment and especially the fast growing internet technology, programs and

social media, it is important for the International placement office to stay up-to-dated to reach studentsin the most effective and efficient way. 6

5http://tutor2u.net/business/gcse/people_communication_introduction.htm

6http://issuu.com/revistalatinadecomunicacion/docs/rlcs_art890en
http://tutor2u.net/business/gcse/people_communication_introduction.htmhttp://tutor2u.net/business/gcse/people_communication_introduction.htmhttp://tutor2u.net/business/gcse/people_communication_introduction.htmhttp://issuu.com/revistalatinadecomunicacion/docs/rlcs_art890enhttp://issuu.com/revistalatinadecomunicacion/docs/rlcs_art890enhttp://issuu.com/revistalatinadecomunicacion/docs/rlcs_art890enhttp://issuu.com/revistalatinadecomunicacion/docs/rlcs_art890enhttp://tutor2u.net/business/gcse/people_communication_introduction.htm


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The five most efficient and effective communication tools to reach students and its advantages and

disadvantages

1. Face to face communication

Face to face communication is the most intense and highest quality way of communicating as it allowsyou to see a persons body language, expression, tone of voice and observe his/her reactions. The main

benefit is that in this way you can listen carefully to the other person and you have immediate

interaction. This communication tool is of high importance for the International placement office since it

is fundamental to know the students wishes, about where they would like to do their internship and

what kind of internship they are looking for. It is important to use the face to face tool because not one

students situation is the same as another students situation and in this way the office attendant can

equip the student with the adequate information and recommendations. However, it takes a lot of time

and effort to arrange an appointment, transport time and the actual time you spend together. At the

same time, it compensates because students will have a lot of questions and during a face to face

conversation, which is direct interaction, students and International placement office attendants getdirect answers on all the questions. Imagine doing all this by email, sending many questions back and

forward to understand the students situation, while you could do it in a ten-minute conversation.

2. E-mail

Email is a popular communication tool, which is commonly used among students to reach teachers or

HES management, because it is fast, cheap and easy to explain yourself in written words (see research).

For the International placement office this could and is currently used to answer quick, simple questions

that students have, but also to inform students about general information such as information sessions.

However, the International placement office should take care with this communication tool as it doesnot eliminate the need for face to face communication, especially for sensitive subjects, performance

reviews or bad news. Information such as news about approval or non-approval on a students

placement company should be discussed face to face, as well as internship reports that are not sufficient

graded because both situations need further explanation. An in-person meeting or a telephone or video

conference (for example via Skype when students are abroad) will allow the kind of immediate

interaction that prevents a problem from becoming even more serious and emotionally charged.7

3. Information session

An Information Session could be used in the form of a presentation given by an attendant of theInternational placement office to provide students with details about the various options for internships,

the requirements for the placement companies and support offered by the HES. The benefits of an

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http://rps.hva.nl:2488/docview/231414698/fulltextPDF/135E818BBEC21F57E0D/26?accountid=130632
http://rps.hva.nl:2488/docview/231414698/fulltextPDF/135E818BBEC21F57E0D/26?accountid=130632http://rps.hva.nl:2488/docview/231414698/fulltextPDF/135E818BBEC21F57E0D/26?accountid=130632http://rps.hva.nl:2488/docview/231414698/fulltextPDF/135E818BBEC21F57E0D/26?accountid=130632


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Information Session are varied

One of the advantages of information sessions is that it saves time. That may be hard to believe in a

culture where people have come to think of meetings as a waste of time. An effective meeting or

information session, however, is just the opposite. Just imagine how long it would take to get a group of,

say, 30 students to inform about general information they need to know for their internship and resolve

conflict or confusion if you had to approach each one separately. As wonderful as email is, it isn't a

substitute for face-time when face-time is needed.8

More benefits of an information session:

Alignment: Rather than students spending hours reading through email chains and finding information

on intranet and clarifying meaning, information sessions and meetings are often the most effective

means to ensure alignment.

Socializing:The briefsocializingbefore or after the defined meeting or information session time can be

an important factor in student engagement: students can share their experience and maybe even give

each other advice.

Awareness: Issues that are not formally relayed in written communications have a tendency be

uncovered during meetings/information sessions. The back-and-forth dialogue may create awareness to

risks and issues otherwise not defined. For example the International placement attendant can notice

certain information that students want to know, or problems students run into during their search.

Development: Professional development often occurs in meetings and information sessions, as students

are challenged to speak up to the presenter and class mates to develop communication skills, character

and quick thinking.

Direct interaction: Students have the possibility to ask questions, these question could be helpful for

other students as well, which decrease the questions via email to the attendant after worth. 9

A disadvantage of information session or meeting is that there is a possibility of information overload in

a meeting/information session if there are items discussed that students already read on intranet, in the

internship manual or heard by fellow students. Another problem is unnecessary repetition of old

information from previous meetings/information sessions which makes meetings pointless.

The nice thing about a meeting/information session is that every member sees the person they are

interacting with. However, not every student is participative in meetings/information sessions because

they think it is a waste of time and they might prefer information online so they can decide when they

have time to read it and can read it back whenever they need to know something or when they forgot

certain points.10

8http://www.ehow.com/list_6531505_benefits-effective-meetings.html

9http://modernservantleader.com/servant-leadership/5-tips-for-great-meetings-and-the-hidden-benefits/

10http://www.exforsys.com/career-center/meeting-management/disadvantages-of-meetings.html
http://www.ehow.com/list_6531505_benefits-effective-meetings.htmlhttp://www.ehow.com/list_6531505_benefits-effective-meetings.htmlhttp://www.ehow.com/list_6531505_benefits-effective-meetings.htmlhttp://modernservantleader.com/servant-leadership/5-tips-for-great-meetings-and-the-hidden-benefits/http://modernservantleader.com/servant-leadership/5-tips-for-great-meetings-and-the-hidden-benefits/http://modernservantleader.com/servant-leadership/5-tips-for-great-meetings-and-the-hidden-benefits/http://www.exforsys.com/career-center/meeting-management/disadvantages-of-meetings.htmlhttp://www.exforsys.com/career-center/meeting-management/disadvantages-of-meetings.htmlhttp://www.exforsys.com/career-center/meeting-management/disadvantages-of-meetings.htmlhttp://www.exforsys.com/career-center/meeting-management/disadvantages-of-meetings.htmlhttp://modernservantleader.com/servant-leadership/5-tips-for-great-meetings-and-the-hidden-benefits/http://www.ehow.com/list_6531505_benefits-effective-meetings.html


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4. Online communication tools

The last years the need for cheap, easy, quick and flexible communication tools has grown, as more

students work from distant or different locations. The types of experiences made possible by online

communication tools give not only professionals benefits but it is also very useful for students. It givesstudents opportunities to learn in non-traditional ways. Debate, dialog, demonstration, conversation,

and other means for exploring the many sides of a topic, such as internship, are all natural ways to

interact using online tools.

Online communication tools may be direct interaction or not; based in text, audio or video; and enable

one-to-one, one-to-many or many-to-many communications. Many may be used either from a

computer or an Internet-enabled mobile phone, and some can be used from almost any mobile phone.11

Using online tools to facilitate writing, collaboration, and discussion requires attention to the planning

and structure of these activities in order for them to be successful. In addition, it is important to match

the proper tool to these online activities. It is important that the International placement officeidentifies the necessary information students need and what online communication tool suits the best

to that certain information.

There are two online communication tools; asynchronous tools and synchronous tools. Asynchronous

tools are the ones with no direct interaction, if a post is read and replied later, such as the general

information the International placement department already has posted for students on Intranet. The

most used asynchronous tool is e-mail, which I already mentioned before but others are bulletin boards,

newsgroups, blogs and wikis. It can support several strategies such as; cooperative learning, shared

tasks, peer review and comment, student led discussions and inquiry/problem based learning through

using online discussion tools.

Synchronous tools are tools that have direct interaction with one and other. It has become very popular

over the past six years. For students to interact with faculty, chat tools are common used. It can be

helpful to answer fast the questions students have, and it is easier for students to approach an

International placement attendant through a chat because of the direct interaction. The tools can be

created for existing groups or for example for classes. Chat forums can also be set up for students to be

able to ask other students for online help or assistant.

The disadvantages for these online tools are that it requires time for both students and employees of

the International placement office to get used to the different systems. Besides, it needs to be kept up-

11

http://wp.nmc.org/horizon-k12-2009/chapters/online-communication-tools/
http://wp.nmc.org/horizon-k12-2009/chapters/online-communication-tools/http://wp.nmc.org/horizon-k12-2009/chapters/online-communication-tools/http://wp.nmc.org/horizon-k12-2009/chapters/online-communication-tools/


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to-dated at all times since the internet is a fast changing environment.12

5. Social media

Social media is the act of creating and posting content in the following environments; online, mobile orvirtual. The words that best describes social media are; connecting, interacting, speaking, listening,

collaborating, building, information sharing and learning. The success behind social media is creating

easily a giant network with those that you can identify as friends or followers and the possibility of the

content or information you want to share, thereby making it the act of being social online. Social media

is also a medium, a communication tool; it is very possible to foster an exchange of information a give

and take. The ease and speed with which social media enables individuals to create and distribute

content make it one of the most powerful mediums of our time.

Social media has substantially changed the way organizations, communities, and individuals

communicate it is no longer only the process in which we consume but up and down communication.The International department could use this communication tool such as: Twitter, Facebook, Hyves to

post the newest updates regarding internships, which could include country information, for example if

a country gets negative travel advice, or when a country is discouraged due to political issues or high

unemployment rates. As well it could be used for student interaction where students can find each

other to share experience or give each other advice. The newest vacancies could be posted on the social

media pages of the International placement office as well, in this way students could find immediately

the newest vacancies. A specific Facebook communication tool that I would like to mention is

BranchOut. BranchOut is a Facebook application designed for finding jobs, networking professionally,

and recruiting employees. In this way companies can find the HES and post available vacancies on the

HES Facebook page.

The disadvantage of social media are that it is time consuming since it needs to stay up-dated to

maintain your network and it takes a while to create a big network and awareness among students

about the possibilities social media could have for professional objectives. Moreover, not all students

might be positive about connecting through social media with their institute, worrying about their

privacy.13

Quality has its price. There are benefits and costs to all these communication tools. It is important to

weight carefully both the benefit and the cost as you plan how you will employ all the available

communication tools. Effective communication results in shared understanding of whats most

important.

12http://www.cites.illinois.edu/reference/pedagogy/communication/communication4.html

13Book: Perspectives on Social Media Marketing by B. Bonin Bough and Stephanie Agresta (2011)

ISBN:9781435456525
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebookhttp://www.cites.illinois.edu/reference/pedagogy/communication/communication4.htmlhttp://www.cites.illinois.edu/reference/pedagogy/communication/communication4.htmlhttp://www.cites.illinois.edu/reference/pedagogy/communication/communication4.htmlhttp://rps.hva.nl:2061/SearchResults.aspx?qdom=author&scol=%7ball%7d&qstr=B.%20Bonin%20Boughhttp://rps.hva.nl:2061/SearchResults.aspx?qdom=author&scol=%7ball%7d&qstr=Stephanie%20Agrestahttp://rps.hva.nl:2061/SearchResults.aspx?qdom=author&scol=%7ball%7d&qstr=Stephanie%20Agrestahttp://rps.hva.nl:2061/SearchResults.aspx?qdom=author&scol=%7ball%7d&qstr=B.%20Bonin%20Boughhttp://www.cites.illinois.edu/reference/pedagogy/communication/communication4.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook


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Book; Becoming a Resonant Leader by Goleman and Boyatzis (2008, p. 138) provide six social qualities

that exist within communication and what communication tool best can be used in several situations:

The Goleman and Boyatzis Social Qualities Imperatives With Best Communication Channel

1. Empathy Knowing what motivates otherpeople, even those from

different backgrounds and

having sensitivity to others

needs.

So for the International

placement office to know whatmotivates students to search

for an internship in a certain

country or area, and to find out

their needs, it should use face

to face communication.

Use a Face-to-Face Channel.

2. Atonement Listening attentively, thinkingabout how others might feel,

and being attuned with the

moods of others.

To get a clear picture of the

situation where the students

are in and to find their fears,

doubts or uncertainties, the

International placement should

use face to face

communication.

Use a Face-to-Face Channel

3. Organizationalawareness

Appreciating the culture and

values of the department or

organization and understanding

the social networks.

For the student to understand

the HES culture, values and

rules and especially the

projects or improvements that

Use newsletters, flyers, and

emails


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the International placement

department currently is

working on, the International

placement office should use

newsletters or emails. This is

also a good way to inform the

students about the new social

networks the department is

using.

4. Influence Having the ability to persuadeothers by engaging them in

discussions and appealing to

their self-interests or gaining

the support of key people

For the International placement

office to get the students to

interact directly and to ask

questions which answers on it

might be interesting for other

students as well, as well as

sharing their experience. The

International placement office

should use information

sessions.

Use Small Groups,

Meetings/information sessions

and the Telephone.

5. Developing others Investing time and energy incoaching, mentoring, and

developing the skills of others

and providing feedback that is

helpful to their professional

development.

For the International

department it is important to

use face to face communication

to give students

recommendations on the

progress of the search for an

internship and to provide

feedback after their internship

on their internship report for

Use a Face-to-Face Channel.


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professional development.

6. Inspiration Articulating a compellingvision to build group pride,

foster a positive emotional

tone, bringing out the best in

people, soliciting input from

everyone on the team,

supporting all team members,

and encouraging cooperation.

To ensure that the mission and

objectives set forth are carried

out by the students in an

effective and efficient way and

to ensure encouraging

cooperation of the

International placement office,

the International placement

office should use all above

mentioned channels to reach

students.

Use all channels.

14

14Book; Becoming a Resonant Leader by Goleman and Boyatzis (2008, p. 138)


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4 Field research

4.1 Research methodology

In order to answer the secondary questions and to solve the research problem, there is a general

strategy needed with an overall structure for the procedures. There has to be a description of how the

information is conducted, and which methods to use.

Firstly, there had to be thought of a problem. Since I am searching for an internship placement for next

semester myself, I found that we were not informed well about our placement what left me with a lot of

questions and insecurities. Therefore, I conducted the research problem to find out which

communication tools the Placement office international could use or improve the communication with

the students regarding internships.

Secondly, through desk research secondary data is collected about internal and external communication

and data about communication tools. A lot of questions arose, and out of this I made the sub questions.

To answer the secondary questions, qualitative and quantitative research is used. Qualitative research is

conducted at the HES through two interviews: The first one with Mr Bos, the Interim Placement

Coordinator for students of international studies at the HES; and another interview with Mr van

Louvezijn the internship coordinator for Dutch studies at the HES. Although the research is about the

communication tools to reach the students of the international studies at the HES regarding internship, I

have chosen to interview the coordinator of the Dutch studies as well to see how they reach students

and to find out if their approach is effective. Both interviews were meant to get more depth insight in

the communication system of the internship offices and to find out what communication tools are used,

but also to find out their opinion about the current system and communication tools, if they are satisfied

with the results, and if not, what they suggest to improve and which communication tools they think

would be the most effective ones.

Furthermore, I conducted a questionaire for students of the international studies at the HES who are

supposed to start their internship next school year, to find out their opinion about the way that theinternship department provide them of information and also to find out what communication tools they

currently use the most and why they choose for those communication tools. However, during the

interviews with the Placement coordinators for the international studies and the Dutch studies, it was

found that students from the International studies have not or barely been informed about their

internship yet because of reorganisation. Therefore, after I had interviewed 25 students, I have chosen

to not continue the quantitative research, which was nevertheless very difficult to get 100 students of


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an international study at the HES to fill in the questionaire that I had conducted. In addition, I conducted

a focus group of students because I found out that indepth interviews with a focus group would give me

more accurate information on what communication tools they use the most and why they chose for

those communication tools. Apart from that, I wanted to know what information is important for

students to receive regarding their internship to find out in this way which communication tools would

be the most appropiate tool for that specific requiered information.

4.2 Research Results

Qualitative research: the Interviews

In the research I wanted to analyse the communication system of the placement office for international

students e.g.: what communication tools they currently use to reach students, how often, the reason

why they chose those tools and when they start informing students. The same I wanted to know from

the placement office for the Dutch studies to compare it with the placement office for international

students and maybe even find suggestions on how to improve communication at the placement office

for international students through the experience of the placement office of the Dutch studies.

I organized two meetings to interview both departments. First I met with Mr Bos, the Interim Placement

coordinator for students of international studies at the HES and secondly I met with the placement

coordinator for Dutch studies, Mr van Leuvezijn. While I was trying to arrange a meeting with the right

person for my research it was confusing what the right desk/department was to contact: International

department, international office, bureau stage en afstuderen, or International Placement office.

Therefore, I added an extra question to my questionnaire to start with. For the questionnaire and the

complete outcome of both interviews, please see Appendix I.

Conclusion of both interviews

According to Mr Louvezijn, there is a good communication between Bureau stage en afstuderen and its

students of Dutch studies through: face to face communication, intranet, handed out manuals and the

most commonly used communication tool, email. In contrast there is only little communication between

the International Placement office and its students, the little communication that took place was

through email and the available internship manual had been posted on Intranet. This means that email

and intranet are their currently used communication tools and according to Mr Bos, this is not sufficient

enough, that is why students will be informed soon through an information session about theirinternship. In the near future they will unite with Bureau stage en afstuderen and the international

office to become: the International Career Centre. That would be a good opportunity for the Placement

office to follow the same communication structure as Bureau stages en afstuderen is already using right

now. Mr Bos thinks that email is the most common used communication tool by students but also within

their own department. Other communication tools that Mr Bos thinks that could be used to reach

students within the International Career Centre (ICC) will be: face to face through information sessions


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and internship fairs at the HES. Those two communication tools are important according to Mr Bos since

many students just do not read the manual and in this way the students can directly ask questions which

might be interesting for other students to hear as well. The ICC will keep on using email as their most

important communication tool because he thinks email will stay one of the most important

communication tools in professional life for a long time: it is a quick, efficient and cheap way of

communication. Moreover, the ICC does not want to stay behind in the modern society and therefore

will start using blogs and social media to reach students. Both Placement Coordinators believe it will be

a good idea to communicate with students through social media because it is an immense popular

communication tool among students.

The Quantitative research: questionnaire with students

I conducted a questionnaire to find out which communication tools students at the HES use the most in

their professional career, if they think the placement office is using the right communication tools and

what they would suggest to be the best communication tool to reach students.

The outcomes on this questionnaire showed, as Mr Bos already mentioned, that there have been little

communication with students as only a few students said they received information regarding their

internship and when I asked them to describe the communication between them and the placement

office, all surveyed students answered with: very bad. Through the focus group I want to find out what

information they received and what information the students would like to receive. Besides, I would like

to know through what communication tool they have been informed since almost all of the students

answered that the placement office used the right communication tool. Interesting was that all of the

students mentioned that email is their most frequently used communication tool in their professional

career. The HES account is frequently used, almost all of the questioned students said they check their

HES email account daily, and another quite significant part of the students receive their HES email

directly on their mobile phone and only a few of the students read their email on the HES account once

a week. Face to face also seemed highly valued among students: when I asked through which

communication tools students preferred to be informed about their internship, almost half of the

students answered that they wanted to be informed through email. Slightly less students preferred to

be informed face to face. The answers on the questionnaire can be found in frequency tables in

Appendix III.

During the quantitative research I found out that the most important information I needed was not to

be found in the answers on the questionnaire questions but a focus group would be necessary. I wanted

to find out which communication tool they use the most and especially WHY they choose this tool. You

could use several different kinds of communication tools for different types of information you want to

pass on. Therefore, it is important to find out what specific information students need and want to know

to be able to start their search for an internship, to find out which communication tools it requires. For

this reason I chose to conduct a focus group of 9 students of an international study at the HES.


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The Qualitative research: Focus group of nine IBL students (age 21-25 years)

After I interviewed this focus group, some generally found results became clear. First of all, it could be

concluded that the overall communication between the Placement office and the students is not as it

ought to be. Secondly, students prefer a combination of communication tools, but which ones that

depends on the kind of information it concerns. However, they prefer the basic communication tools

HES is working with already, because students are familiar with the system. They also think it will not be

a good idea to use too many communication tools, neither social media, to prevent the communication

system from becoming to unclear and confusing.

I have chosen for a focus group to create interaction between the students to gather as much

information as possible in that way. In order to easily explain all the results thoroughly of the focus

group, every question is discussed shortly in Appendix IV. The conclusion of the focus group outcome

will be explained in the following paragraph.

All students, except for one, are supposed to start their internship the next semester, in September

2012. Two out of nine students said they had been informed, but they were a little hesitant with their

answer so I asked why. They explained the reason was because they only received some information:

one student found the internship manual on Intranet by himself; and the other student had been to the

company fair at the HES. The manual that the one student had found was on the Intranet. The other

students received an email from Ms. Hazelhof that there was a company fair and on that fair one of the

students received face to face information. Little shocking was the fact that none of the questioned

students knew where to go for questions about their internship or where to find information. None of

the students know who their internship coordinator is, while in three months their internship should be

arranged and papers should be signed, according to Mr Bos. The students were very disappointed as

well about this fact. One student even thought that the desk at the international office on the fourth

floor would be the place where he would go if they have questions, the same office where they went for

questions about their exchange.

The HVA email is found to be used most frequently. When the students have questions regarding their

internship the students explained that they would use email first for main questions such as finding out

about the requirements her placement company should meet according to the guidelines of the HES.

However, as soon as there are several options with different companies they prefer to make an

appointment with the placement coordinator to discuss it.

The students mentioned: E-mail, social media, Intranet, internship manual, information lectures in class

and face to face appointment with the internship department as tools that would be helpful to provide

them of information. It depends on the kind of information to decide what communication tool would

be the best tool. Nevertheless, email and face to face meetings with the placement coordinator would


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work the best for the questioned students.

What seemed to be the most important information students would like to know, is what requirements

companies must meet to be approved as a valid internship by the HES or what positions students could

occupy, this would make searching for an internship a lot easier. They think the best communication

tool for this would be in a document on Intranet or handed out in a manual. The students agreed that it

would be the best if they would be informed first about the basic information such as: who their

placement coordinator is; where the office of the placement coordinator is; and how to reach him, but

also; before what date their internship should be arranged at least, and the exact duration of an

internship. All students agreed that this basic information should be given first and the best

communication tool for that, according to the students, would be face to face, by an information session

in class for example. As the students already mentioned, for more detailed information that applies to

their personal situation, they prefer a face to face meeting with the placement coordinator.

Students chose for an information session in class because in this way there is direct interaction and

they are able to get answers to their questions directly. This is obviously not necessary to do this one by

one since the basic information students need to know is similar for all students and the answers to the

questions students have, might be interesting to know for others as well. The reason for choosing the

Intranet or a manual as a communication tool for the requirements and positions students may choose

to occupy, is that they can read it whenever they want and both are good ways to pass on detailed

information. They chose for a face to face meeting with their placement coordinator to be the right

communication tool at the moment they would have questions about the companies they have found,

because they will need specific information at that moment on their own personal situation and they

prefer direct interaction over email. They chose email as the appropriate tool for the moments they will

have small or a few questions, because making a face to face appointment would take too much time.

Although the students think social media is so important nowadays and although they use it a lot and

daily, they still think it would not be the right communication tool to communicate with students

regarding internships. They prefer the communication tools mentioned before which are the best know

communication tools at the HES in general, because they are afraid that if too many different

communication tools are adapted, students will lose overview of where to find what information.

All the answers of the focus group questions answered the sub questions and give a good indication of

what the students expect of the placement office, what information they need and which

communication tool they prefer, most use and why they choose these. The Recommendations and the

answer to the main question will be given in the next chapter.


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5 Conclusion and recommendations

Which communication tools should the Placement office international use to improve communication

with students regarding internships?

At the beginning of the research it became clear that the communication between the International

placement office and the students is very weak, students are not informed about the internship

procedure and do not know where to go for their questions or doubts. The current communication tools

used in the International offices is email, intranet and the International office planned to provide

students with an information session soon. Email is the most commonly used communication tool

among students because it is fast, cheap and easy to explain yourself in written words. Therefore, it is

recommended to use email as the main communication tool to reach students and as a communication

tool for students to reach the International office attendants in case students have doubts or questions.

First of all, it is important to introduce students to the International Placement office and equip the

students with the basic information regarding internships. An Information Session could be used in the

form of a presentation given by an attendant of the International placement office to provide students

with details about the various options for internships, the requirements for the placement companies

and support offered by the HES. In this way the basic information reaches a large audience in once and

students are able to ask questions after or during an information session, which might be interesting for

other students as well. Besides, information sessions are often the most effective means to ensure

alignment, rather than students spending a lot of time reading through the manual, emails or spending

time on figuring out the available information on intranet. The information session is good opportunity

to hand out a hard copy of the placement manual, so that students could read back information that is

discussed during the session at any time. During the information session the attendant should explain

the students that several vacancies are to be found on the intranet but as well the office hours in which

students can make an appointment with their coordinator in case they have questions or when they

would like to arrange the paperwork for their placement etc. This personal face to face meeting should

not be eliminated since it is the most intense and highest quality way of communicating and it allows

the attendant to picture perfectly the students situation and wishes regarding their internship and

provide the student with direct support and advice.

Although students are adapting to the fast changing environment and the new way of communicating

via internet and social media, they prefer to keep the basic communication tools instead of too many

new communication tools. Therefore, students are not enthusiastic about the International placement

office using social media. Due to the fact that the International placement office is reorganizing and in

the near future it will unite with Bureau stage en afstuderen and the international office to become: the

International Career Centre, it is recommended to implement the above mentioned basic

communication tools to create first a clear and simple communication basis until the communication

structure is smooth and improved before starting to explore and use social media.


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I believe that the implementations of the above mentioned recommendations and the use of the above

mentioned communication tools will enable the International placement office to improve the

communication with students regarding internships. Through the use of effective communication and

communication tools, particularly, understanding the far-reaching changes in communication through

development of technology, internet and social media, and knowing which communication tools

students use the most and prefer for school issues, the International placement office will be able to

provide students of good support during their search for an internship.

Communication inside a university

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