About This Book

The goal of this OER is to support newcomers to Canada who are entering college institutions. When international students come to Canada, they must learn not only the new content for their particular program but also new behaviours, such as studying in a new language, adapting to new customs, and communicating in new ways. This OER is designed to provide newcomer students with the skills and strategies they will need to adapt successfully and fully integrate into the Canadian college system.

This book takes on a multiple-perspective approach to college success. It has the following goals:

• respond to the needs of a diverse student population, including English language learners, students from diverse cultural backgrounds, mature students, and students who are 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual, and other ways individuals express their gender and sexuality outside heteronormativity and the gender binary), neurodiverse and/or disabled;^[1]
• help newcomers increase self-awareness regarding how their own backgrounds, expectations, and experiences may be different from those in Canada and reflect on how to adapt their behaviour in order to succeed in the Canadian college environment;
• help newcomers gain an understanding of the complex ways the Indigenous experience is intertwined into the fabric of Canadian society and realize the important of truth and reconciliation and anti-racism.

Thank you

This book was made better by the following Red River College Polytechnic staff who reviewed content, helped with copyright questions, and shared resources. We thank you for your time and energy.

• Ebony Novakowski, Copyright Officer
• Jocelyne Olson, Instructor, Math, Science and Communication
• Ginger Arnold, Instructor, School of Indigenous Education

Thank you to Carleigh Friesen who found a way for this project to become a reality. We are also grateful to Carley McDougall and DawnDena Gordon from Campus Manitoba for the OER Development Grant. Thank you to Brae Koop for the wonderful art she designed for the cover of this OER.

Note: This version is current to December 21, 2023.