International student destination choice: the influence of home campus experience on the decision to consider branch campuses

Abstract

Previous research has found that the country and institution choices of international students are greatly influenced by recommendations they receive from others who have experience of undertaking higher education overseas. For Western universities, it is of utmost importance to satisfy their international students, who can then encourage the next generation of international students to attend those same institutions. However, student satisfaction is not the only factor at play. Using a framework of 'push and pull' factors, rooted in the international student choice literature, this exploratory study investigates the determinants of destination choice of international students who decided to study at a university in the UK and examines their attitudes toward international branch campuses. The survey results and analyses suggest that overseas campuses could pose a considerable threat to home campuses in the competition for international students in the future.

Student destination choices in higher education: Exploring attitudes of Brazilian students to study in the United Kingdom

“…The above findings inform research question 1 (RQ 1) and indicate that to some extent the students in this study seem to recognise similar barriers (cost, scholarship opportunities, family ties) and benefits of study abroad (English language, experience of being abroad, work opportunities) as students in other studies (Brux and Fry, 2010;Doyle et al, 2010;Dwyer and Peters, 2004;Wilkins and Huisman, 2011). However, apart from the benefit of improving English, the participants, especially the postgraduate students in all three institutions, seem to note the benefit of the cultural experience of study abroad.…”

“…Furthermore, there is an abundance of research on international student destination choice, including factors playing a part in students making decisions where to study abroad such as personal reasons, perceived educational benefits, quality of teaching, finances, culture and social perceptions (Bodycott, 2009;Li and Bray, 2007;Maringe and Carter, 2007;Mazzarol and Soutar, 2002;Padlee, Kamaruddin and Baharun, 2010;Wilkins and Huisman, 2011). Additional to this, new factors emerge in the recent literature including social networking and consumer websites (Wilkins and Epps, 2011).…”

“…In case of international students choosing to study abroad, improving English is often quoted as one of the main reasons for their choice (Bodycott, 2009;Forsey, Broomhall and Davis, 2012;Wilkins and Huisman, 2011). In the increasingly competitive job market, foreign languages are a sought-after asset and developing languages such as English through study abroad has become one of the pull factors (Chen, 2008;Forsey, et al, 2012;Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002).…”

“…Since the second half of the 20 th century, the forces of globalisation have encouraged universities to look further afield to recruit students (Wilkins and Huisman, 2011). They have also prompted students to engage in growing student mobility.…”

Do higher education institutes communicate trust well?

“…Factors influencing student choice and preference have been discussed in the literature (e.g. Broekemier, 2002;Wilkins and Huisman, 2011;Obermeit, 2012). For instance, preference studies by Soutar and Turner (2002), and Brown Varley and Pal (2009) do not find a construct of students' trusting university communications, and while Maringe (2006) and Ivy (20100 speculate that trust might play a role in student decision making they do not follow this up.…”