The views of international students regarding university support services in Australia: A case study

This paper reports on a study aimed at developing an improved understanding of the support needs of international students. Using a case study approach at one Australian university, a three stage data collection process was adopted: interviews with key support service providers in the university, st...

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Main Authors: Roberts, P., Boldy, Duncan, Dunworth, K.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Shannon Research Press 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/39865
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author Roberts, P.
Boldy, Duncan
Dunworth, K.
author_facet Roberts, P.
Boldy, Duncan
Dunworth, K.
author_sort Roberts, P.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This paper reports on a study aimed at developing an improved understanding of the support needs of international students. Using a case study approach at one Australian university, a three stage data collection process was adopted: interviews with key support service providers in the university, student focus groups, and a large-scale survey. Emphasis was placed on identifying the issues that are significant to international students in terms of their study experience, the services they consider as valuable and the factors that contribute to take-up. The findings reveal that, while most respondents felt that the range of support services provided is appropriate, current services could be improved by offering a more student-centred service structure and delivery. Issues identified as influencing service use include the institutional culture, perceived importance and awareness of services, the quality of information provided about those services, ease of access, timeliness of service provision and cost.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 2015
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-398652017-01-30T14:37:50Z The views of international students regarding university support services in Australia: A case study Roberts, P. Boldy, Duncan Dunworth, K. This paper reports on a study aimed at developing an improved understanding of the support needs of international students. Using a case study approach at one Australian university, a three stage data collection process was adopted: interviews with key support service providers in the university, student focus groups, and a large-scale survey. Emphasis was placed on identifying the issues that are significant to international students in terms of their study experience, the services they consider as valuable and the factors that contribute to take-up. The findings reveal that, while most respondents felt that the range of support services provided is appropriate, current services could be improved by offering a more student-centred service structure and delivery. Issues identified as influencing service use include the institutional culture, perceived importance and awareness of services, the quality of information provided about those services, ease of access, timeliness of service provision and cost. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/39865 Shannon Research Press restricted
spellingShingle Roberts, P.
Boldy, Duncan
Dunworth, K.
The views of international students regarding university support services in Australia: A case study
title The views of international students regarding university support services in Australia: A case study
title_full The views of international students regarding university support services in Australia: A case study
title_fullStr The views of international students regarding university support services in Australia: A case study
title_full_unstemmed The views of international students regarding university support services in Australia: A case study
title_short The views of international students regarding university support services in Australia: A case study
title_sort views of international students regarding university support services in australia: a case study
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/39865