Page 65 - Movers, Shapers, and Everything in Between: Influencers of the International Student Experience

nationality; stage of study was allowed to vary randomly across both institutions and nationality. Degrees of freedom vary across analyses due to missing data and the inclusion of the random slope for study stage. The variable undergraduate enrolment was scaled by dividing by 100 (M = 138.61, SD = 48.12), and the variable proportion undergraduate international students was scaled by multiplying by 100 (M = 19.02, SD = 8.86).
Following quantitative analysis, student comments were explored to interpret results. Comments written into the survey, which contains sections concerning the learning experience (1,446 comments), the living experience (1,384 comments), and the support offered (979 comments). Specific comments from students are included in the results to further understand quantitative findings.
reSultS
Multilevel Model of University and Student Characteristics’ Effect on Satisfaction
Overall Satisfaction
Satisfaction with the overall university experience was predicted by stage of study (F(2, 56) = 8.67, p < .001). Students in their first year were more satisfied (M = 3.27, SE = 0.02) than students in their last year (M = 3.19, SE = 0.02), t(56) = 4.02, p < .001. They were also more satisfied than students in other years M = 3.22, SE = 0.02), t(56) = 2.68, p = .01. See Table 3.4 for full results. None of the other variables were predictive of overall satisfaction.
Summative analysis of comments from the International Student Barometer (ISB) provide a means to interpret the significant findings: first year students constituted 44% of the respondents yet were responsible for only 32% of comments; other year students constituted 35% of respondents and 41% of comments; and last year students constituted 20% of the respondents and 27% of comments. Students in later stages of study supplied a disproportionately high number of comments relative to their representation in the data; this could
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Factors Impacting Satisfaction
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