Page 77 - Movers, Shapers, and Everything in Between: Influencers of the International Student Experience

with the institution associated with their studies,” including the teaching and learning processes.
Various studies have looked at the satisfaction of students studying at IBCs, as well as the factors that influence it. While some studies show that students are generally satisfied with the teaching and learning at the IBCs where they study (Ahmad, 2015; Pieper & Beall, 2014), there is also evidence that students may have difficulty adapting to the teaching methods at the IBC, which are intended to be similar to those of the home university (Kelly & Tak, 1998; Wang, 2008; Pimpa, 2009; Heffernan et al., 2010; Prowse & Goddard, 2010; Marginson, 2011; O’Mahoney, 2014). For example, a study by Ahmad (2015) of students at IBCs in Malaysia found that satisfaction would be improved if course content was more geared toward the Asian/Malaysian context.
Other research notes that IBC students sometimes have low satisfaction with the campus facilities and environment, stemming from a perceived difference between the IBC and the home university (Ramsden, 1979; Miliszewska & Sztendur, 2012). A study analyzing a sample of over two hundred students enrolled at IBCs in Qatar found that students’ perceptions of service quality are lower than their expectations (Bhuian, 2016). These findings support the notion that simply replicating the home institutions’ model of education in the distinct context of the IBC may not be sufficient to ensure the satisfaction of the students enrolled, as perceptions and expectations play a role.
Ensuring that the same academic quality exists at both IBC and home campus is a top priority for institutions engaged in TNE, and a number of studies offer evidence both for and against this being the case (Wilkins, 2020; Hodson & Thomas, 2001; Coleman, 2003; Castle & Kelly, 2004; Craft, 2004; Cheung, 2006; Blackmur, 2007; Edwards, Crosling, & Edwards, 2010; Lim, 2010; Smith, 2010). There are many motivations for studying at an IBC, including (but not limited to) institution and academic reputations, marketability of the degree, and similarity of education systems (Ahmad & Buchanan, 2017), and prospective
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Satisfaction at IBCs and Home Campuses
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