Working Paper Faculty of International Business and Economics

Poznan University of Economics WP/04/2015

Swajan Das

Determinants of tertiary level students’ overseas study decision

Poznan, November 24, 2015

Determinants of tertiary level students’ overseas study decision Swajan Das Abstract: This paper aimed to identify tertiary level students’ influence factors which determine their overseas study decision. From the related literatures, this study identified 4 push factors, 14 pushull factors and 16 pull factors. Push factors determine why the students go abroad for higher education; pull factors determine where those students are likely to go; and pushull factors have both push and pull impacts. Because of having divergent influence, these factors were disseminated at six levels under push and pull categories. It is recommended for university marketers to develop customized marketing strategies when targeting students from Asian developing countries. Key words: Higher Education, International Students, Overseas Study Destination, Push Factors, Pull Factors JEL: F68, I23, M31

1. Introduction Higher education (HE) is a costly investment for students and their families and becomes more costly when universities charge tuition fees. There, taking a decision to study abroad is one of the most important and costly decisions students and their families ever take [Mazzarol 1998] because it is a lifelong capital investment for them [Srikatanyoo & Gnoth 2002]. In order to develop the marketing strategy for attracting international students at campus, thus, the university marketers need to know the target groups’ influencing factors which determine their overseas study decisions.

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Paper has been accepted for publication by Marian Gorynia. The author wishes to thank Piotr Michon, Mariusz.Szuster, Katarzyna Mroczek and Marian Gorynia for comments. Swajan Das is a Doctoral Intern at Poznan University of Economics and Business, Faculty of International Business and Economics, Department of International Competitiveness; email: [email protected]

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This paper is mainly based on literature reviews. It aims to identify the influencing factors which determine the tertiary level students’ overseas study decision. With this objective, the paper initially describes the rationales of university marketing and later on, articulates the present study methodology. Afterward, it discusses the factors which influence the students’ study abroad decision with the guideline of push, pushull and pull factors. Push factors determine why the students consider leaving their home countries for HE; pull factors determine to which destination those students are likely go; and the factors which have both push and pull influences on students’ decisions are presented as pushull factors. Finally, the paper segments these influential factors into two categories – push and pull factors and spreads them over six different levels – push factors at country and individual level and pull factors at country, city, institutional and program level. However, the findings of this study are not universal and mostly related with the students from Asian developing countries. 2. Study Background Recently, the global service sector has witnessed another significant industry - higher education [Nadiri 2006]. Presently, it contributes, in some countries, higher amounts of revenue to national economy than the respective country’s other significant exporting products [Mazzarol 1998; OECD 2013b]. However, because of its intangible nature, marketing HE to its target groups was ignored in the early days [Mazzarol 1998]. Later on, HE had been classified as a marketable service like any other service [Russell 2005; Wang 2007]. It has brought a new dimension to the higher education sector (HES) globally [Knight 2008]. Nicolescu [2009] gave a rational argument why HES can adopt marketing activities. According to him, on one hand, HE is still seen as a non-profit sector in most countries and this is why applying a marketing concept in HES does not function like it does for the business sector; on the other hand, education is a service and therefore, related service marketing concepts can apply to HES in spite of having peculiarities. Nadiri [2006] conceded a few specific reasons why universities need marketing activities. According to him, in order to I) build a good institutional image II) increase satisfaction level among its stakeholders III) gain the competitive advantage over competitors and IV) increase market share, universities need to employ

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marketing activities. He also mentioned that now universities act like any other organization. They are very much concerned about their service qualities and return on their investments. Under the governance of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), General Agreements on Trade of Services (GATS) also classified the HE as a tradable commodity [Brandenburg & Federkeil 2007]. Reasonably, HE is seen as a private good, not a public responsibility any more. Therefore, students are the customers of the HE service [Nadiri & Mayboudi 2010], in the core of academic activities and hence, one of the main sources of income for universities [Agoston & Dima 2012]. Consequently, in order to maximize the service revenue, adopting marketing strategies has turned into a predestined activity for the multi-billion dollar HE industry [Heaney & Heaney 2008]. Concurrently, within the context of economic globalization, maximizing outcomes with limited resources tendency, adopted by national governments has reformed social institutions including universities [Ivy 2001; Hemsley-Brown & Goonawardana 2007; Belanger et al. 2002; Mazzarol et al. 2003]. And seeking out a competitive strategy has prompted modern universities - not just to serve local or regional communities but an international arena [Pimpa 2003; Lockwood & Hadd 2007]. As a result, the HES has become more internationalized than before and is still expanding its outbound activities [Teichler 2004]; and it will remain as one of the prime concerns for many countries [Altbach & Knight 2007]. Now, universities are competing with each other to attract international students to their campuses [Hemsley-Brown & Goonawardana 2007; Migin et al. 2015]. Again in many countries, because of the demographical changes and their impacts, central governments are changing the respective country’s immigration policies on a regular basis and backing up the universities’ international student recruitment campaigns [Becker & Kolster 2012; Łukaszczyk 2013]. Numerous studies claimed that an institution’s historical image and its quality education are the main strengths to attract foreign students. However, the empirical study of Binsardi & Ekwulugo [2003] found that British universities are struggling to maintain the growth in international students’ enrolment compared to their counterparts, for example – United States (US) and Australia. Although the country has many historical institutions and a renowned promoting agency like British Council, according to their claim, competitors’ aggressive

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marketing strategies are leaving them behind. Thus, to attract students from both domestic and international levels, universities can and need to adopt marketing activities. And while developing the marketing strategy, university managers need to know their target groups’ influencing factors. 3. Study Methodology Students’ foreign decision making process is highly sophisticated and has three distinctive stages [Mazzarol & Soutar 2002; Srikatanyoo & Gnoth 2002; Pimpa 2003]. Primarily, students must decide to study in a foreign country; secondarily, select the host country; and finally, choose an institution. This process is linked with ‘push-pull’ factors [Mazzarol & Soutar 2002]. Making the decision to study abroad is the influence of ‘push’ factors; and selecting a country and considering an institution come under ‘pull’ factors. In their empirical study of 404 students from Indonesia, 361 students from Taiwan, 689 students from China and 152 students from India, Mazzarol & Soutar [2002] mentioned that the combination of ‘push and pull’ factors encourages students to study abroad. Push factors operate within the students’ home countries which influence them to go out of the country, whereas, pull factors operate in host countries where the students are likely to go for study. Until today, their findings still influence other researchers, although, the surveys were conducted among prospective international students almost 20 years ago (between 1996 to 2000). China and India are the top two international student contributor countries in the world; and Asia alone contributes 53% of all international students globally [OECD 2013b]. Thus, their study has a strong grounding but not universal because students from developed countries might have different preferences and behaviors than in developing countries. Since Asia contributes over half of the total international students in the global market, understanding Asian international students’ purchasing behaviors has attained a high priority in academic literature. Until now, very few studies have been conducted into understanding the overseas movement behaviors of students from African, European, North American and South American countries. This paper reviews recently published literatures, mainly after 2000, from the related field of study. The statistical information is mostly gathered from the UNESCO

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Institute for Statistics (UIS). The nature of this study, thus, limits the scope and makes the findings mostly a historical generalization. Moreover, the discussed factors in this paper are treated from the individual’s perspective. One crucial aspect, the means of financing overseas studies, is not discussed in this paper upon the assumption that students who (want to) go abroad for tertiary level education are able to bear the related expenses. Although understanding the correlation between classes of well-off family and choices of destination country is important for developing the university marketing strategy for international students, it requires empirical survey among current international students in different countries. Furthermore, the government (both home and host country) scholarships which motivate many students to consider the overseas HE or influence them to consider the scholarship offering countries only are not discussed in this paper. Many influential factors have both ‘push’ and ‘pull’ impacts on students’ study abroad decision. For example, the immigration policy - migration desire after graduation in a developed country can push many students out of their home countries and pull to a destination which has such (easy) immigration policy. In this study, thus, the author has proposed a new term, pushull factor, for categorizing the dual-influence factors separately from the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors. Figure 1 shows the push, pushull and pull factors which influence the students’ overseas movement behaviors and table 1 presents their constituent factors in details. 4. Tertiary Level Students’ Influential Factors 4.1 Students’ Home Country Circumstances A country’s HES often suffer from adverse political and socio-economical circumstances [Mazzarol & Soutar 2002]. For example, Sri Lanka’s public universities are not able to meet local demand. In 2012, Sri Lanka’s University Grant Commission (UGC) reported that 79% of all eligible students did not enter into country’s HE institutions [Liyanage 2013]. Although, the country has around 30 degree awarding private institutions but the government does not recognize them as HE institutions [EIU 2013; Liyanage 2013].

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Push Factors  

Home country barriers Career prospectus

Pushull Factors     

Overseas Study Decision

Media Language Family and friends Immigration Labor market

Pull Factors   

Country and city Institution Study program

Figure 1: Influential factors for students’ overseas study decision Source: Own work The scenario is the same in Nepal as in Sri Lanka. The country has no legal framework to establish private HE institutions [EIU 2013]. In Bangladesh, the government allows and supports students to perform political activities at public universities [Khaleduzzaman 2014]. It often creates chaos and universities remain closed for days. As a result, students need a longer time to finish their education than the usual academic years. The Bangladeshi government also lacks the human resources required to control private universities and the quality of education still remains highly questionable [Habibulah et al. 2012]. Furthermore, as a part of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), primary and secondary education sectors have got higher priorities than HES to central governments and as well as to external donors in all South Asian countries in recent years [EIU 2013]. Consequently, HES lapsed to a low priority in the government’s development agendas. Not only in South Asia but also in other underdeveloped and developing countries around the world have similar situations [Naidoo 2007]. Another example is China. As of 2006, 47% of all Chinese students who were seeking admission at universities either had to discontinue their higher studies or go abroad because of Chinese universities’ limited capacities [Wang 2007]. In

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addition to these, the unavailability of desired study programs is also a common phenomenon. The empirical studies of Mazzarol & Soutar [2002], Maringe & Carter [2007] and Yang [2007] found a similar influential factor among Chinese, Taiwanese, Indonesian, Indian and African students. For well-to-do families, thus, sending their children abroad for tertiary level education becomes the foremost solution. The movement of Canadian students towards US universities is also influenced by the unavailability of desired programs at home universities [McCarthy et al. 2012]. 4.2 Personal Reasons Tertiary level students’ outbound movements are also influenced by their own preferences and family, relatives and others’ recommendations. For example, they often have a perception that foreign education is better than the local ones [Mazzarol & Soutar 2002; Yang 2007; Bodycott 2009]. They think prospective employers would value a foreign degree more than local ones as the potential employees would have international experiences [Cubillo et al. 2006; Baruch et al. 2007; O’Brien et al. 2007]. The recent revolution of the internet has made the information simplistically attainable from anywhere in the world. Now, developing countries are about to close the information gap with developed countries. The availability of information is increasing students’ global awareness and growing their interests in different cultures [Maringe & Carter 2007]. Western entertainment media, mainly Hollywood and British movies and television programs, are gaining global dominance and students are becoming influenced by it. In their studies, Mazzarol & Soutar [2002] and Rudd et al. [2012] found that students like to go abroad for tertiary education because they want to experience western cultures. The empirical study of Foster [2014] found that many Brazilian students choose British universities because of having a chance to explore the regional and national culture of the United Kingdom (UK). Like Mazzarol & Soutar [2002] and Rudd et al. [2012], although Yang’s [2007] study was conducted among the Chinese students, they preferred experiencing foreign lifestyle than gaining only the experience of western cultures. Thus, it is better to say that international students from developing countries are influenced by a potential foreign country’s developed culture and life style. Students from

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developed countries, for example – American students, also intend to go abroad for experiencing other cultures and increasing their global awareness [Stroud 2010]. Baruch et al. [2007], Hazen & Alberts [2006], Mazzarol & Soutar [2002] and Yang’s [2007] study found that students’ migration desire after graduation often influence them to go abroad. Additionally, students usually get a chance to work in many developed countries while studying. It also motivates many students to go abroad for studying. Furthermore, parents, friends and relatives’ encouragements and recommendations also influence students to go abroad [Mazzarol & Soutar 2002]. For Chinese students, these influential groups play an important role for taking decision to study abroad (for details, also read section number 4.6). 4.3 Country Image Mazzarol & Soutar [2002] highly emphasized on media influence which creates awareness about a country among students. According to them, film industry, media and news agencies, for example, have been working as a mediator for US and, thus, creating a positive country image and attracting international students at its universities. Srikatanyoo & Gnoth [2002] claimed that an institution’s country image works as the main influential factor in the process of students’ destination choice. According to them, a positive (negative) country image creates a positive (negative) belief towards an institution and its programs among the students. They also claimed that country image and institutional image are interlinked. Like the country, a successful brand can change its country image through aggressive marketing activities. However, the quality of an institution’s particular program may vary from year to year, class to class, student to student, lecturer to lecturer and so on, but the country image, as per their claim, can substitute while evaluating a program of an unknown institution. Now, international students are more pragmatic than before. Sometimes they even compromise with different risk factors, for example – racism, discrimination, vulnerable institutional power et cetera which effect a country’s international image, while considering a country, a city or an institution, although these factors got into prime considerations in Singh et al. [2014], Mazzarol & Soutar [2002], Cubillo et al. [2006], Yang [2007] and Maringe& Carter’s [2007] studies. For example, when comparing the country image of Poland and Czech Republic

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with Ukraine, both the European Union (EU) member states possess better image than Ukraine. Yet Ukraine managed to attract almost 10 and 16 times more students from India (Ukraine 2,516, Poland 252 and Czech 155) and 8 and 23 times more students from China (Ukraine 4,341, Poland 549 and Czech 188) in 2012 than Poland and Czech Republic respectively [UIS 2015]. But the scenario was different in 2013. Ukraine experienced a significant drop in Chinese students’ enrolment (3,180) but a positive growth in Indian students’ enrolment (2627) [UIS 2015]. The recent development in information and communication technology makes students able to verify any information through different sources. Thus, the principal countries, namely – US, UK, Australia and Canada, are losing their dominance to other emerging countries like France, Germany or Japan and sometimes, surprisingly, to countries like Ukraine and Bulgaria. For example, US hosted 23% of all international students in 2000 but it dropped to 17% in 2011 [OECD 2013b]. In addition to Srikatanyoo & Gnoth’s [2002] claim of country image, Cubillo et al. [2006] claimed that students’ purchase intentions are also influenced by city image [Rudd et al. 2012]. They argued that the city is the environment where the service would be produced and consumed. The physical environment in a city holds the facilities that are required while studying. However, sometimes, it is difficult to distinguish factors at city level from country level, especially, when the country is small. Thus, the same factor can equally apply to both city and country level. 4.4 Immigration Policy A country’s immigration policy plays an important role in attracting international students. In their empirical study on Chinese students’ decision making process for UK business schools, Rudd et al. [2012] found that getting the UK visa is much easier for Chinese students in comparison with other countries. This factor motivates them to consider British universities at first place. Another study by Chen [2007] found that many students from East-Asian countries, especially Chinese students, chose Canada over US because obtaining Canadian visa was easier for them than US visa. Because of having minimum visa requirements and simple visa

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application procedure, recently, South Korea is also becoming a popular study destination among Asian students too [Jon et al. 2014]. Another important factor is working facilities during the study period. Studying in a foreign country is more expensive for students from under-developed or developing countries in comparison with their home countries. Thus, students often want to work while studying [Mazzarol & Soutar 2002; OECD 2013b; He & Banham 2011]. Additionally, students’ future migration tendency after graduation is also a prime factor [OECD 2013b; Mazzarol & Soutar 2002; Bodycott 2009; Rudd et al. 2012; Yang 2007; Rudd et al. 2012; Hazen & Alberts 2006; Alberts & Hazen 2005; He & Banham 2011]. They prefer to settle down in developed countries after completing their studies rather than returning to their home countries. Thus, having a better immigration policy can attract more international students to a country. In response to these factors, countries like UK issues (limited hours) work permit on student visa, Norway and Finland amended their naturalization laws for international students recently and Canada offers permanent residence for international (doctorate) students after graduation [OECD 2013b]. 4.5 Geographical Proximity and Historical Linkage1 Different studies found that a country’s geographical proximity influence students’ decision making process [Mazzarol & Soutar 2002; Bodycott 2009; Singh et al. 2014; Mpinganjira 2011; Jon et al. 2014]. It is because of the countries’ cultural closeness, minimum travelling distance and/or almost similar climates and environments. For example, in 2012, Japan hosted more Chinese students (96,592 students) than Australia (87,497) and UK (76,913) [UIS 2015]. Korea also hosted a significant number of Chinese students (43,698) – much higher than France (26,479) and Canada (26,238) [UIS 2015]. Bulgaria’s attractiveness among Turkish students is also an example of such influence (5,015 out of 51,487 outbound Turkish students) [UIS 2015]. The scenario is also similar for students from developed countries. For example, in 2012, the US hosted 57% of all Canadian outbound students in 2012 [UIS 2015]. In addition to that, a country’s historical (mainly political and economical) linkage with a students’ home country influences students’ decision [OECD 2013a; Baruch et al. 2007]. Many 1

The actual statistics are much higher than the presented ones under this section because UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) does not include students whose study period is less than an academic year.

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under-developed or developing countries still bear the legacy of foreign supremacy. Thus, students’ preceding generations become the influential groups (for detail, also read 4.6). For example, Russia is still an attractive study destination among the outgoing students from many post Soviet countries (Kazakhstan – 69%, Kyrgyzstan – 47%, Uzbekistan – 41%, Ukraine - 25% and Turkmenistan – 25% of all out going students in 2012) [UIS 2015]. The popularity of British universities among South Asian students also come from their long colonial history (Pakistan – 23%, Bangladesh – 17%, India – 16% of all outgoing students in 2012), so does the American and French popularity among the Vietnamese students (28% and 10% of all outgoing students in 2012 respectively) [UIS 2015]. 4.6 Parental Influence and Others’ Recommendations Students may choose a particular study program at an institution in a city or country but parents are the ones who bear the costs. Thus, their influence is also an influential factor [Maringe & Carter 2007]. Mazzarol & Soutar [2002] found that many students wanted to study in US but their parents let them consider Australia only. Parents are always concerned about children’s safety and their prosperous future [Mazzarol & Soutar 2002]. Bodycott [2009] found that Chinese parents even want to participate in educational fairs and talk with university representatives personally for securing their children’s future. The parents are also influenced by their past experiences that might have gathered through studying or visiting in a country or by simply hearing stories from their parents (for detail, also read section number 4.5). These experiences presumably make the parents to think that a particular destination will be suitable for their children’s future education. Recommendations from relatives, friends or social links also influence the students’ decision making process [Mazzarol & Soutar 2002; Maringe & Carter 2007; Yang 2007; Bodycott 2009; Rudd et al. 2012; Pimpa 2001; O’Brien et al. 2007]. Sometimes, it is the only influential factor to choose a particular host country. Bodycott [2009] found that for both students and parents, friends and relatives’ recommendations along with educational fairs are most influential factors in order to decide on a foreign study destination (for detail, also read section number 4.8). Rudd et al. [2012] found that half of his interviewees considered friends’ recommendation while making their decision, whereas, only one third of the respondents

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mentioned their family’s help while deciding on a foreign study destination. Nyaupane et al. [2011] also found that students’ close friends who live in foreign countries have the highest influence on them than other factors to choose an overseas study destination. Students like to go to the same foreign destination where their friends live because their presences attach the students psychologically with those destinations. 4.7 Importance of Language Globally, it is seen that international students primarily tend to choose an English speaking country or at least where the medium of instruction is in English [Yang 2007; Bodycott 2009; OECD 2013b]. Because of the media influences, for most students, English is an easier language to learn than others. Again, some students choose to study abroad because of having a chance to improve their English language proficiency [Eder et al. 2010; Foster 2014]. This is why, Australia, Canada, UK and US together hosted 41% of all international students in 2011 [OECD 2013a; OECD 2013b]. As a result, now, universities from non-English speaking countries are offering study programs in English too. 4.8 Institutional Image An institution’s image plays an important role to attract students from other countries [Mazzarol & Soutar 2002; Cubillo et al. 2006; Yang 2007; Maringe & Carter 2007; Bodycott 2009; Rudd et al. 2012; Migin et al. 2015; Chen 2007; Foster 2014; Lee 2014; O’Brien et al. 2007; Mpinganjira 2011]. Students always count on an institution’s national and international reputation and quality of its programs. High profile teaching staffs increase an institution’s reputation and reflect the quality of education. Recently, national and world rankings of universities are also influencing students’ decision. They also count on the number of programs offered by a university in English, their directions of specialization and offered courses for each specialization. Since students perceive that a foreign degree would have a positive impact on their future career, they carefully consider a program’s suitability to their domestic labor market. Recognizing students’ home country qualifications is an influential factor too. Additionally, an institution’s easy admission procedures have positive impacts on students. International cooperation or partnership with students’ known institutions increases a university’s awareness. Thus, for many universities,

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one of the objectives of creating partnership with foreign institutions is becoming business driven [Ayoubi & Al-Habaibeh 2006]. Beside these, other conveniences like scholarship offers, modern library facilities, onsite accommodation possibilities, technological facilities and availability of information about the university on the internet are also associated with an institution’s image. However, it is an argumentative issue because as per Srikatanyoo & Gnoth’s [2002] claim, a country’s image can compensate an unknown institution’s image and its education quality (for detail, also read section number 4.3). Eder et al. [2010] also found their respondents to value more the reputation of a host country than an institution. Moreover, Bodycott’s (2009) empirical study on mainland Chinese students and their parents found that educational exhibitions/fairs influence them highly while taking the decision on a foreign study destination. For both students and parents, these fairs are the primary source of information about an institution. Parents also personally attend various seminars and interact with institutions’ representatives for sourcing information. These have a direct influence on both parents and students to decide on a foreign study destination. Thus, an institutional image may not always be necessary to attract foreign students if an institution can directly interact with prospective students and their parents [Maringe & Carter 2007]. Universities also pull students through marketing various activities [Chen 2007]. Sometimes, alumni also bring students to an institution through word-of-mouth promotion [Mazzarol & Soutar 2002; O’Brien et al. 2007]. Apart from these, the country image or the institutional image always may not be the influential factors for many students from developing countries. For example, the before mentioned example of Ukrainian HE’s popularity (under section number 4.3) among the Chinese and Indian students over the Polish and Czech HEs proves that although both the nations have better country image by being EU member states and by having some of the oldest universities in Europe within each country.

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Table 1: Influential factors for students’ overseas study decision in details Influential Factors

Constituent Influential Factors

Home country barriers

Political and economical conditions

Country’s adverse political and economical conditions push students to go abroad for their higher education

Entry barriers at home universities

High entry barriers at local institutions push students out of their home countries for tertiary level education

Unavailability of desired program

Unavailability of desired study program(s) at local universities push students out of their home countries

Career prospectus

Future career prospects

Students perceive that international qualification is better than local education and will bring them a prosperous career in future

Media

International awareness

Media increase the students’ global awareness which motivates them to go abroad for higher studies

Developed culture

Media create the global awareness of a country’s culture and lifestyle. Many students go abroad for studying because they want to experience the respective country’s rich culture. Similarly, a country’s rich culture attracts foreign students

International recognition

Reputation of a country’s higher education influences the students’ decisions while considering the respective country as their foreign study destination. Media enable them to check a country’s academic reputation though different sources

Academic reputation

A particular institution’s academic reputation spreads through the media and increases its attractiveness among foreign students

Foreign language skill

Many students like to develop their foreign language skill, mainly English, by studying in the respective teaching and instruction medium in a foreign country

English language

Presence of English language in a country makes the destination attractive to foreign students

English programs

An institution’s wide range of programs offered in English makes the institution attractive to foreign students

Language

Description

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Table 1 continues Family and Friends

Immigration Policy

Labor Market

Country and City

Family and friends’ recommendation

Family and friends influence tertiary level students to go abroad and to choose a particular study destination

Presence of relatives and friends

Presence of relatives or friends in a foreign country makes the destination known to students and consider it while deciding on a foreign study destination

Migration desire

Many students (want to) go abroad for higher studies because they want to settle down in the respective country after graduation

Migration possibility

Having migration possibility in a country after graduation makes the destination attractive to foreign students

Immigration process

Foreign students are influenced by a country’s immigration process. Easy immigration process makes a country popular among foreign students

Working Desire

Many students (want to) go abroad for higher studies because they want to work and earn money while studying

Working possibility

Possibility of working while studying in a city or country make the destination attractive to foreign students

Living cost

Having low living cost in a city or country makes the destination attractive to foreign students

Safety and security

High safety and security like low or no racism and discrimination increase an overseas destination’s attractiveness to foreign students

Educational atmosphere

International atmosphere and educational environments can bring foreign students in a city

Geographical proximity

Short distance to a country or city from the students’ home countries makes the overseas destination popular among them

Historical relation

A country’s historical relation with the students’ home countries can attract students to its institutions

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Table 1 continues Institution

High profile teaching staff

High profile teaching staffs ensure the quality of education of an institution. It increases the attractiveness of the respective institution to foreign students

Ranking position

An institution’s academic ranking at national and international levels attract foreign students at its campus

Scholarship offer

Offering scholarship to foreign students increase an institution’s recognition

International partnership Partnership and cooperation with foreign universities increase an institution’s recognition to the foreign students

Study Program

Alumni influence

Alumni can bring international students through recommendation

Facilities

An institution’s modern library, onsite accommodation and technological facilities increase the institution’s attractiveness and bring foreign students to its campus

Marketing activities

Participating in educational fairs abroad and other overseas marketing activities create and increase an institution’s association with its potential target groups

Job market suitability

Job market suitability in students’ home countries increases the demand of a particular program of an overseas institution

Tuition fees

Low tuition fee increases a program’s attractiveness to the foreign students

Specialization and courses

Wide range of specialization and courses increase a programs’ attractiveness to the foreign students

Admission process

Simple admission procedure and acknowledging foreign qualifications increase a program’s attractiveness to foreign students

Source: Own work

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4.9 Study Costs Most studies found that tuition fees and other costs like living expenses and travel costs are among the most important influential pull factors for students while deciding on a foreign destination [Mazzarol & Soutar 2002; Binsardi & Ekwulugo 2003; Yang 2007; Maringe & Carter 2007; Bodycott 2009; Rudd et al. 2012; OECD 2013b; Migin et al. 2015; Naidoo 2007; Foster 2014; Singh et al. 2014; O’Brien et al. 2007; Mpinganjira 2011; Jon et al. 2014]. In most countries, international students pay higher tuition fees than local students [OECD 2013b]. Most universities (both public and private) see international students as their additional source of revenue and so, keep increasing tuition fees each year. Thus, students always look for a country where tuition fees and other expenses are low or have no tuition fees at all. The Before mentioned attractiveness of Ukrainian universities can be the example again. The recent Swedish example comes into the forefront also. Because of imposing tuition fees for foreign students in 2011, Sweden experienced almost 60% decline in student enrolment from countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland [OECD 2013b]. Binsardi & Ekwulugo [2003] also found that British universities are struggling to attract foreign students compared to their past because of the country’ high tuitions fees. They pointed out that low tuition fees can restrain this fall. However, in spite of having high tuition fees and other costs in UK, US or Australia, these countries are still attractive among students because of having many financial supports and scholarship opportunities and also working possibilities during the study period [OECD 2013b]. 5. Conclusion Students from different countries have different needs and preferences. Thus, the influential factors, for example, for Indian students are distinct from Chinese or Korean students. Individual preferences also differ from student to student. And country or city image have different meanings to different students. Moreover, high quality education can make an institution attractive but other factors may influence the destination negatively. A country with lower tuition fees and other costs can make the destination more attractive than others. However, strong labor market can compensate for high costs within a country. Additionally, future migration possibilities can influence the students’ decision despite having high costs in a country. A country’s historical linkage can make a country popular among students from its former

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associated countries too. English is the predominant instructive language for tertiary education; therefore, it benefits the English speaking countries in attracting international students. From the related literatures, this study has identified 4 push factors, 14 pushull factors and 16 pull factors which are presented in table 1. Push factors determine why the students go abroad for higher education; pull factors determine where those students are likely to go; and pushull factors have both push and pull impacts. All of these influential factors have divergent influences on students’ foreign study decision at different levels. Thus, they can be segmented into two categories and then disseminated at six levels, for example – push factors at a) country and b) individual level and pull factors at a) country b) city c) institution and d) program level. Figure 2 presents the list of the categorized and disseminated influential factors. However, these factors or the levels are not presented in any particular order.

Overseas Study Decision

Country Level Adverse conditions Entry barriers Program lacking

Country Level Recognition English Language Cost of living Immigration Working possibility Migration Culture Safety and security Family and friends Proximity Historical relation

Pull Factors

Push Factors

Individual Level Awareness Family and friends Career prospects Migration desire Working desire Cultural experience Language skill

Institution Level Reputation Teaching staff English program Ranking position Scholarship offer Foreign partnership Alumni Modern library Accommodation Technological facility Marketing activity

City Level Atmosphere Living Cost Working possibility Safety and security Family and friends

Figure 2: Determinants of students’ overseas study decision Source: Own work 18

Program Level Suitability Tuition fees Specialization Courses Admission Foreign degree

At present, almost 4.5 million students enroll in tertiary level education outside their home country [OECD 2013b]. This figure is expected to double by 2020. However, the global market has become highly competitive despite having a short history. Now, the students are better informed than ever and information is getting cross-checked through different media. Thus, to prove itself the most attractive one, a university marketer needs to develop customized marketing strategies by understanding different target groups’ influential factors differently because the same influencing factors are not applicable for all students. Again, one factor can be linked with other factors and influence the students at different levels. It is also recommended to consider previous country studies while developing the university marketing strategies. Due to the absence of sufficient research works on students from Africa, Europe, North and South America, the identified influencing factors are not universal and mostly applicable for students from Asian developing countries only. In order to increase this study’ credential for students from developing countries, it is recommended to conduct studies on African and South American international students and incorporate the relevant findings; and for making this study more universal, additionally, it is also recommended to incorporate the findings from studies on tertiary level students’ overseas movement behavior from developed countries.

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