International student experience in Australia

Ensuring students have the right level of support and resources can contribute to their academic, social and cultural success. It can also directly influence their overall institutional satisfaction and whether they would recommend their institution to prospective applicants.

This paper investigates the experience of international university students in Australia with respect to arrival, learning, living and support services. It is based on previous research by Ammigan and Jones (2018), and uses data from the International Student Barometer (ISB), to examine the relationship between student satisfaction and institutional recommendation for over 21,000 international students at 34 Australian institutions.

It provides guidance for university administrators and support staff on how to adjust and improve resources and services for international students, which can be an important component for enhancing institutional recruitment and retention strategies.

Suggested Citation

Ammigan, R. & Langton, D (2018). The International student experience in Australia: Implications for administrators and student support
staff. International Education Association of Australia (IEAA). Retrieved from www.ieaa.org.au.

About the Authors

• Ravichandran Ammigan, PhD, is the Executive Director for International Services at the University of Delaware, USA.
• Debra Langton is Convener of IEAA’s Student Life Network and a Partner with the Lygon Group, Australia.

The authors wish to acknowledge Dr Rahul Choudaha and Dr Davina Potts for their work in reviewing this paper, and to thank i-graduate for
making data available for this study. This paper was funded by the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA) and published in
November 2018.