Evaluating international students' perceptions of higher education performance based on four factors: Culture, language, pedagogy and university support

This thesis is an investigation into what international students think, feel, and believe about their educational experiences at Southern Illinois University. Using both quantitative data and qualitative interviews with international students at SIU the research identified four primary areas of concern to the international student's community. These four areas are language, pedagogy/curriculum, culture and university support. According to the research international students have experienced problems and difficulties in these four areas. The thesis reviews literature about these four areas and looks at what experts say university administrations can do to reform existing programs to better meet the needs and concerns of their students. The research conducted twenty in-depth interviews with international students and highlights both their concerns and recommendations for improvements. The Appendix lists the results of a broad based Likert scale survey administered to over 100 international students at SIU-Carbondale.