What if international student success wasn’t treated as a standalone service—but as an integrated part of academic advising, career development, and community-building?

In this episode of Beyond the Quadcast, we sit down with two campus leaders who did exactly that—transforming international student support from a transactional process into a holistic, measurable, and deeply human success model.

You’ll hear how Syracuse University created a first-of-its-kind role dedicated solely to international student success, embedded directly within academic advising. You’ll learn why traditional silos fail international students, how career development must begin in the very first semester, and why peer mentoring is one of the highest-impact, lowest-cost retention strategies available.

This conversation goes beyond theory. Our guests share:

• How they rebuilt international support from scratch using five strategic pillars

• Why integrating academic and career advising dramatically improves retention

• How AI tools are now scaling resume development and mock interviews

• What international students really worry about before arriving on campus

• How communication platforms like WhatsApp and WeChat changed engagement

• Why not all 4.0 students make the best mentors—and what really does

• How advising can function as teaching, with real learning outcomes

• What low-budget campuses can implement immediately

• And how data—not anecdotes—must guide retention strategy

For institutional leaders navigating enrollment pressures, global recruitment, staff burnout, and student disengagement, this episode offers a replicable roadmap grounded in results—not buzzwords.

Whether you lead Student Affairs, International Programs, Academic Advising, HR, Institutional Research, or Enrollment Strategy, this episode provides a practical blueprint for building belonging at scale.