Are you an international student studying at the University of Manitoba?

My name is Jonathan Worae and I am a Graduate student at the department of Sociology and Criminology. My advisor is Dr. Jason Edgerton. I am conducting an MA thesis on the topic; A Descriptive Survey Study of International Students’ Experiences Studying at the University of Manitoba: Motivations, Challenges, Coping Strategies and Supports.

In this study, international students are invited to participate in an online survey that seeks to find out the experiences of international students studying at the University of Manitoba. Your responses are very significant because they stand a chance to inform policies and frameworks on how to improve the well- being of international students in Canada, and at the University of Manitoba.

Only international students studying at the University of Manitoba who are currently residing in Winnipeg, or have resided in Winnipeg at some point during their studies at U of M, are asked to participate.

The link to this survey if you choose to participate, can be found here; https://cssrp.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_efcD1KxT3b12Pu5

The survey is estimated to take 10-15 minutes to complete. It can be done on a laptop, tablet or smart phone. The survey is designed in such a way that your name will not be asked. Your responses will be anonymous and used only for study purposes, aggregated data will be used in my Master’s thesis and possibly in academic journal articles. Also, an executive summary of the study will be prepared for the vice-provost office.

Your participation is voluntary and you can choose to withdraw at any time or skip any question you do not want to answer. As the data will be anonymous (your responses cannot be linked to your name) we will not be able to withdraw your data after it has been submitted.

Other information is available on the online survey. The study has been approved by PSREB (Psychology and Sociology Research Ethics Board) at the University of Manitoba. If you have any concerns or complaints about this project you may contact the Human Ethics Coordinator (HEC) at 204-474-7122 or at humanethics@umanitoba.ca.

If you have questions about this study, kindly contact Jonathan Worae (principal investigator) on 204-333-6728 or email at woraej@myumanitoba.ca . Should you choose to participate and would like to see a summary of the preliminary results of the study, you can also email me at the above address. I will email send out the summary report to those who requested it by the beginning of December, 2020.

Sincerely, Jonathan Worae, MA candidate. Department of Sociology and Criminology. University of Manitoba.