Page 30 - Movers, Shapers, and Everything in Between: Influencers of the International Student Experience
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Chapter 1
ChApter overview
This thesis is composed of four empirical studies that examine the factors that influence the international student experience. Together, they paint a picture of the unique ways in which student experiences are influenced by individual, environmental, and institutional elements.
The following chapter of this thesis—chapter two—explores the role of integration in understanding satisfaction. Statistical analyses are used to examine the relationship between integration, nationality, and self-reported satisfaction among Chinese, Indian, and South Korean undergraduate international students pursuing full-time studies at universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
Chapter three continues this research by examining the factors that influence international student satisfaction. Using multilevel linear regression, it identifies how satisfaction is influenced by certain aspects of the student experience, including college reputation, size and proportion of international students, and student gender and stage of study.
Chapter four presents research on whether international students differ in their satisfaction with the academic experience at IBCs and home campuses. Results from a one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) test the hypothesis that international students studying at IBCs are less satisfied with their academic experience than international students studying at their associated home campuses.
Chapter five delves deeper into the nature of the academic experience at IBCs. It examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the academic experience at IBCs and how it has changed the relationship between the IBC and the home campus. The research was conducted using semi-structured interviews with leaders, academic staff, and students at seven IBCs in Malaysia, which were then coded and analyzed.



























































































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