Page 89 - Movers, Shapers, and Everything in Between: Influencers of the International Student Experience
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Beyond the differences in academic satisfaction found between international students enrolled at home campuses and IBCs, the study found that academic engagement is affected by at which university the international student is enrolled, regardless of whether they are enrolled at a home campus or an IBC. While factors such as institutional prestige/reputation may partly underlie this finding, previous studies provide actionable ideas for how to increase engagement. For example, long-term student satisfaction and performance is higher among international students who participated in a first year ‘transition workshop’ (Peat, Dalziel, & Grant, 2001), and foundation and first year programs set the stage for international students’ “academic empowerment”, helping them with the acculturation process, academic preparedness, and managing their studies (Lee, 2017). Viewed within the lens of Astin’s Student Involvement Theory, ensuring that academic programs put the student at the center of the learning process and foster involvement may help foster academic engagement.
limitAtionS And ConCluSion
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Satisfaction at IBCs and Home Campuses
  This study is not without limitations. First, because it draws on a convenience sampling technique, based on universities that opt in to administer the ISB survey, sampling bias is a limitation. Universities that take part in the ISB may differ somewhat in their characteristics from universities that do not take part in the ISB. In particular, universities that take part in this survey may have budget allocated to endeavors designed to understand and improve the international student experience. These universities perhaps have a.) more resources; b.) more international students; and/or c.) more focus on student experience than universities that do not take part in the ISB. All these factors could mean that the experience of international students at universities in this sample is not representative of the experience of international students at all universities.
 A second limitation is in the instrument used: the International Student Barometer (ISB). While comprehensive, there are aspects of the student experience not measured by the ISB, which covers only
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