Influential Determinants of International Students’ Satisfaction in Higher Education
Nureezan Daud1, Noor Azman Ali2, Amer Hamzah Jantan3
1Nureezan Daud, Faculty of Economics and Management, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia.
2Noor Azman Ali, Department of Management and Marketing, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia.
3Amer Hamzah Jantan, Department of Management and Marketing, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia.
Manuscript received on 11 October 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 20 October 2019 | Manuscript Published on 02 November 2019 | PP: 589-597 | Volume-8 Issue-2S11 September 2019 | Retrieval Number: B10910982S1119/2019©BEIESP | DOI: 10.35940/ijrte.B1091.0982S1119
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: It has been argued that international students’ satisfaction level is crucial in measuring HEIs performance in the globalized higher education market. However, as satisfaction level is hard to define because it is based on students’ perception and experience, there is a need for HEIs to continually investigate and identify the factors that contribute to students’ satisfaction. Hence, this study seeks to identify the influential determinants of international students’ satisfaction in higher education and to examine the relationships between perception, costs, reputation, lecturers’ expertise, learning environment, facilities and course structure towards international students’ satisfaction. A total of 281 international postgraduate students at public HEI in Malaysia participated in this study. Data of this study was to examine using the Multiple Regression Analysis. Results of the study revealed learning environment factor as the most influential determinant of international students’ satisfaction. Results also proved that except for costs and reputation, other service quality factors namely, perception, lecturers’ expertise, facilities, learning environment, and course structure were found to influence international students’ satisfaction significantly. This study provides insights to HEIs to better design their internationalization strategies and bridge the academic gap by highlighting the importance of continuously improving the learning environment in HEIs to increase international students’ satisfaction.
Keywords: Higher Education, Internationalization, Internationalization Strategy, International Student, Service Quality, Student’s Satisfaction.
Scope of the Article: Smart Learning and Innovative Education Systems