Supporting International Students after an Academic Warning

Telling a student with an academic warning to “visit the international office” is not the end of support. The task is to understand the difficulty, connect departmental advice with appropriate learning or specialist support, and confirm participation and the next academic plan. Every handover should reveal the next action.

A warning notice is the beginning

A notice, an appointment, a referral, attendance and completion are different states. Combining them as “counselling guidance completed” hides where a student stops progressing.

Do not assume that every international student’s difficulty is Korean proficiency. Check assignment understanding, course choices, learning habits and practical pressures. A shared tracker normally needs the support purpose and status, rather than a detailed account of private discussions.

Soongsil’s published referral example

Soongsil University’s summer 2026 notice separated first-stage departmental counselling from second-stage specialist support. Departmental counselling was the default for international students, with first-stage assignment to the international office possible for language difficulties. Learning and counselling teams provided specialist routes.

The example separates communication support, academic planning and specialist work. It describes that semester’s operation.

A handover table proposed by GEA

This is GEA’s proposed handover example. Share only the information each receiving office needs.

Stage	Record	Completion point
Identify the case	Semester, academic status, notification	Eligibility confirmed
Initial consultation	Owner, appointment, support purpose	Student met and route decided
Referral	Receiving office, request date, action needed	Receipt acknowledged
Participation	Booked, attended or completed	Programme requirements checked
Academic action	Course plan and required decision	Appropriate approval
Follow-up	Review date and owner	Next action assigned

A referral that has been sent is not an appointment that has been booked. A student who cannot be reached, one who reschedules, and one awaiting academic implementation need different follow-up.

Write a request that can be acted on

Instead of “please counsel this student,” state the task: for example, help with managing assignment deadlines, followed by confirmation of receipt and participation status. Detailed diagnoses and private discussion notes do not belong in a broadly shared tracker.

Tell the student who will contact them, whether they must book, and what to prepare. If language assistance is needed, agree the points to clarify and check understanding. A partner’s general advice does not replace departmental course counselling.

Keep participation and academic outcomes separate

Build a next-semester plan under the university’s rules: course choices, support participation and the next meeting. Count programme participation separately from retention or grade changes.

KEDI’s higher-education statistical categories distinguish foreign enrolled students from foreign student attrition. An internal support table should likewise avoid treating attendance at counselling as continued enrolment. Fix the semester and observation date when reporting and exclude private counselling narratives.

To discuss cooperation with GEA, describe the student group, current departmental/international/specialist routes and stages where cases repeatedly wait. This helps define the work and the feedback each handover requires.

Related guides

Sources

Sources checked: 24 October 2026.

Discuss university cooperation