Page 15 - Movers, Shapers, and Everything in Between: Influencers of the International Student Experience

experience would be similar to that of a student pursuing a Ph.D. abroad; students’ reasons for pursuing these educational experiences would also likely be very different. It is beyond the scope of this research to examine the experiences of all international students; therefore, we consider a specific subgroup: undergraduate students studying full-time in degree-seeking programs.
internAtionAlizAtion of hiGher eduCAtion
In this research, internationalization of higher education (IoHE) is defined as “the intentional process of integrating an international, intercultural, or global dimension into the purpose, functions, and delivery of post-secondary education, to enhance the quality of education and research for all students and staff and to make a meaningful contribution to society” (de Wit, Hunter, & Coelen, 2015, p. 281). This definition reflects “a sharpening of focus from internationalization as a country’s response to globalization to a process focused on the purpose, functions, and delivery of higher education” (Leask & de Gayardon, 2021, p. 325).
While this updated definition suggests that universities have an obligation to provide some benefit to local and global society, earlier definitions did not necessarily include this idea. In an earlier definition, Knight (2003) explains internationalization of higher education as “the process of integrating an international, intercultural, or global dimension into the purpose, functions, or delivery of post-secondary education” (p. 2). Knight’s 2003 explanation, which de Wit and Hunter (2015) refer to as the most commonly used definition of IoHE, continues to focus on process rather than purpose, suggesting that a range of motives may underlie IoHE.
The meaning of internationalization changes over time: de Wit and Altbach (2021) note that “during the past half- century,internationalization in tertiary education has evolved from being a marginal activity to becoming a key aspect of the reform agenda. In the last decade of the last century, the increasing globalization and regionalization of economies and societies, combined with the
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General Introduction
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