Education Abroad Survey Report 2017 Prepared by: Tina VanderHeide, MA Research Analyst Institutional Analysis & Planning October 2017 1
Executive Summary MacEwan University baccalaureate students expressed the most interest in the following Education Abroad activities: Paid internship (4-6 weeks) Summer course abroad program (2-6 weeks) Exchange (study at a partner university for one term or one year) The top three reasons for wanting to study abroad are: Experience other cultures Understand other cultural perspectives Get a different perspective on one s field of study The countries/regions for which students expressed the highest levels of interest in exchange programs are: Western Europe UK and/or Ireland Australia and/or New Zealand The most frequently cited barriers to studying or interning abroad are: Not knowing how students would pay for it Not knowing anything about MacEwan s education abroad programs Not speaking the language Students beliefs on how much a semester abroad would cost most frequently fell within the areas up to $10,000. Most students said they would finance their educational experience through student loans and personal savings. Students prefer to learn about Education Abroad programs through: The Website Past participants/classmates Academic advisor Social Media Eighty-two percent of respondents said they did not know that there are awards to study or intern abroad. Thirty-nine percent of respondents reported that their parent/family members had studied, worked, or lived abroad. Over three-quarters of respondents said that their family supports the idea of them going abroad. 2
Introduction & Methodology MacEwan International wanted to assess student interest in studying abroad. A random sample of 2000 MacEwan University baccalaureate students 1 received an online invitation to participate in an online survey assessing student interest in education abroad activities. The survey was administered from September 26 to October 10, 2017. Two reminder emails were sent out. A total of 775 students participated, resulting in a response rate of 39%. 2 Note: percentages in tables do not always total 100% due to rounding. Findings Interest in Education Abroad Activities Respondents were asked to rate their level of interest in specified education abroad activities. Ratings were based on a 5-point scale, where 1= not at all interested and 5= very interested. The top two ratings, 4 and 5, and bottom two ratings, 1 and 2, were combined. The mean score of all responses is also presented. As Table 1 indicates, respondents expressed the most interest in a paid internship (82%), followed by a summer course abroad program (64%) and exchange (56%). Respondents were the least interested in an unpaid internship (26%). Table 1 Interest in Education Abroad Activities Please rate your level of interest in the following education abroad activities: n Not interested Interested Mean Score Exchange (study at a partner university for one term or one year) 772 21% 56% 3.60 Summer course abroad program (2-6 weeks) 771 18% 64% 3.74 Internship (4 weeks to 6 months paid) 770 6% 82% 4.25 Internship (4 weeks to 6 months unpaid) 766 50% 26% 2.65 Volunteering abroad 767 31% 41% 3.17 Study tour/field school (MacEwan-led courses abroad) 767 23% 55% 3.48 Language courses abroad (2-6 weeks) 767 37% 42% 3.07 When analyzed according to gender, female respondents were significantly more likely than males to express interest in summer course abroad programs, unpaid internships, volunteering abroad, and study tour/field school. 1 Excluding international students. 2 The margin of error is 3.14 and the confidence interval is 95%, meaning that if the survey was conducted 100 times, the data would be within +/- 3 percentage points 95% of the time. 3
Reasons for Wanting to Study Abroad Respondents were asked to rate how important specified reasons are for them to want to study abroad. Ratings were based on a 5-point scale, where 1= not at all important and 5= very important. The top two ratings, 4 and 5, and bottom two ratings, 1 and 2, were combined. The mean score of all responses is also presented. As Table 2 indicates, the most important reason for wanting to study abroad is to experience other cultures (83%), followed by wanting to understand other cultural perspectives (73%) and to get a different perspective on my field of study (72%). The least important reason for wanting to study abroad is to study at a university with a better reputation (28%). Table 2 Importance of Reasons for Wanting to Study Abroad How important are the following reasons for you to want to study abroad? n Not important Important Mean Score Experience other cultures 773 7% 83% 4.26 Understand other cultural perspectives 770 10% 73% 4.00 Get a different perspective on my field of study 772 8% 72% 4.02 Employment opportunities/networking 773 11% 68% 3.89 Become more independent 771 14% 65% 3.81 Explore yourself (figuring out who you are) 772 17% 63% 3.78 Make new friends 771 18% 54% 3.52 Learn a new language or improve language skills 770 29% 48% 3.32 Improve my chances of getting into grad/law/med school 771 40% 42% 3.01 Study at a university with a better reputation 770 44% 28% 2.71 Other 3 527 71% 14% 1.85 When analyzed according to gender, females were significantly more likely than males to cite the following reasons as important: experience other cultures (85% compared to 78%), understand other cultural perspectives (77% compared to 65%), get a different perspective on my field of study (76% compared to 64%), become more independent (68% compared to 60%), and explore yourself (67% compared to 54%). Respondents who expressed an interest in learning another language or improving language skills were asked to specify which languages. Most respondents specified more than one language. The most frequently cited languages were: French (151 responses) Spanish (149 responses) German (77 responses) Japanese (52 responses) 3 Other reasons included: travelling and a reiteration of the specified responses. 4
Sino-Tibetan (48 responses: 24 Mandarin, 15 Chinese, and 9 Cantonese) Italian (47 responses) Korean (27 responses) Arabic (18 responses) Russian (17 responses) Swedish (15 responses) Ukrainian (11 responses) Dutch (9 responses) Portuguese (8 responses) Other languages that were cited included: Norwegian (4), Polish (4), Punjabi (3), Finnish (2), Gaelic (2), Greek (2), Hebrew (2), Hungarian (2), Tagalog (2), Urdu (2), and Vietnamese (2). Singularly cited languages included: Afrikaans, Amharic, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Farsi, Hangul, Icelandic, Khmer, Maori, Romanian, Swahili, Thai and Turkish. Interest in Exchange Programs in Various Countries/Regions Respondents were asked to rate their level of interest in exchange programs in various countries/regions. Ratings were based on a 5-point scale, where 1= not at all interested and 5= very interested. The top two ratings, 4 and 5, and bottom two ratings, 1 and 2, were combined. The mean score of all responses is also presented. As indicated in Table 3, the top three countries/regions that respondents expressed interest in were Western Europe (78%), UK and/or Ireland (74%), and Australia and/or New Zealand (74%). 5
Table 3 Interest in Exchange Programs by Countries/Regions Please rate your level of interest in the following countries/regions: n Not interested Interested Mean Score Western Europe 749 9% 78% 4.12 UK and/or Ireland 751 11% 74% 4.07 Australia and/or New Zealand 747 11% 74% 4.07 Eastern Europe 751 17% 62% 3.72 Mediterranean 747 20% 62% 3.66 Scandinavia (including Finland) 749 22% 57% 3.58 Greenland and/or Iceland 748 29% 51% 3.34 Japan, Korea 746 36% 47% 3.16 South America 745 40% 36% 2.88 Central Asia 744 42% 33% 2.84 Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia 750 46% 33% 2.78 South Africa 746 44% 32% 2.76 USA 750 47% 32% 2.74 Central America 744 47% 27% 2.64 Russia and/or Ukraine 745 53% 27% 2.57 North Africa 744 54% 22% 2.45 Africa (other) 720 55% 23% 2.44 China 744 59% 23% 2.40 Mexico 746 58% 18% 2.32 India 745 63% 21% 2.28 Middle East 745 64% 18% 2.20 Females were more likely than males to express interest in all countries/regions except for China and Japan (and they were equally as likely as males to express a lack of interest in the Middle East). Barriers to Studying or Interning Abroad Respondents were asked to identify what they consider to be barriers to studying or interning abroad. As indicated in Table 4, respondents most frequently indicated that they don t know how they would pay for it (88%). Almost three-quarters of respondents indicated that they did not know anything about MacEwan s education abroad programs (72%). There were also concerns expressed about not speaking the language (66%) and worrying that it may delay my graduation (56%). 6
Table 4 Barriers to studying or interning abroad What do you consider to be barriers to studying or interning abroad? n Yes No I don t know how I would pay for it 766 88% 12% I don t know anything about MacEwan s education abroad programs 757 72% 28% I don t speak the language 762 66% 34% It may delay my graduation 764 56% 44% I think I will have problems transferring credit 761 54% 47% I have family obligations (e.g., I have family members to support) 761 37% 62% I don t want to leave my friends 762 32% 68% There isn t an education abroad program that is suitable for my academic program 755 32% 68% I m not comfortable living in another country 759 19% 81% My family doesn t think studying abroad is a good idea 760 18% 82% Gender differences occurred for the barriers I think I will have problems transferring credit (58% among females and 44% among males) and I don t know how I would pay for it (90% among females, compared to 83% among males). How much money do you think a semester abroad cost beyond what you pay to study at MacEwan? Respondents feedback regarding the cost of a semester abroad varied considerably, and ranged from $1000 to $100,000. The most frequently cited responses were: didn t know or were not sure (31 comments) $10,000 (29 comments) more than $10,000 (29 comments) Several respondents cited other dollar figures, including: $5000 (25 comments), $2000 (17 comments), $3000 (16 comments), $4000 (15 comments), $1000 (12 comments), $6000 (10 comments), $8000 (10 comments), and $7000 (8 comments). Some respondents said, a lot (9 comments), double (9 comments), the same (7 comments), triple (5 comments), depends (3 comments), and too much (2 comments). Financing International Experience Respondents were asked to indicate how they would finance their international experience. As Figure 1 indicates, the most frequently cited source of financing respondents international experience is student loans (69%), followed by personal savings (65%). Forty-one percent said their family would be a source of financing, while 5% cited band funding and 6% cited other sources. 4 4 Other sources included: scholarships (30%), employment income (18%), grants/bursaries (16%), bank loans (16%), don t know or can t (4%), and other (including lottery and selling a kidney 12%). 7
Figure 1. Financing International Experience Student loans Personal Savings 65 69 Family 41 % respondents Other Band Funding 6 5 0 20 40 60 80 Ways to Learn about Education Abroad Programs Respondents were asked to rate the importance of various ways of learning about education abroad programs. Ratings were based on a 5-point scale, where 1= not at all important and 5= very important. The top two ratings, 4 and 5, and bottom two ratings, 1 and 2, were combined. The mean score of all responses is also presented. The website was cited as the most important way of learning about education abroad programs (71%), followed by past participants/classmates (65%), an academic advisor (61%), and social media (60%). Table 5 Importance of Ways to Learn about Education Abroad Programs Please rate the level of importance of each of the following as a way of learning about education abroad programs: n Not important Important Mean Score Website 767 11% 71% 3.97 Past participants/classmates 767 15% 65% 3.78 Academic advisor 763 18% 61% 3.68 Social Media 766 17% 60% 3.67 Info sessions 762 15% 58% 3.70 My professor 765 21% 55% 3.53 Classroom presentations 768 18% 53% 3.54 Posters 766 32% 38% 3.09 Newsletters 763 33% 38% 3.07 Other 5 341 86% 4% 1.42 Females were more likely than males to rate social media as an important way to learn about Education Abroad activities (64% compared to 50%). 5 Other included: emails, study abroad fair, family members, relationships with other universities, pamphlets, Netflix documentaries, and scholarship incentives. 8
Award Awareness and Family Support Respondents were asked if they are aware of awards to study or intern abroad, whether any family members studied, worked, or lived abroad, and if their families are supportive of the idea of them going abroad. The results are presented in Table 6. Table 6 Award Awareness and Family Support n Yes No Do you know that there are awards to study or intern abroad? 769 19% 82% Have your parent/family members studied, worked, or lived abroad? 769 39% 62% Does your family support the idea of you going abroad? 768 78% 22% The vast majority (82%) of respondents are not aware that there are awards to study or intern abroad. Thirty-nine percent of respondents indicated that their parents/family studied, worked, or lived abroad. Over three-quarters (78%) of respondents said that their family supports the idea of them going abroad. Demographics As indicated in Table 7, 69% of respondents were female, and 58% are Faculty of Arts and Science students. Table 7 Demographics* Gender n % Male 244 32% Female 531 69% Faculty or School Faculty of Arts and Science 445 58% Faculty of Fine arts & Communications 51 7% Faculty of Health & Community Studies 28 4% Faculty of Nursing 90 12% School of Business 161 21% Academic Program Bachelor of Communication Studies 28 4% Bachelor of Arts 250 32% Bachelor of Child & Youth Care 18 2% Bachelor of Commerce 161 21% Bachelor of Science 195 25% Bachelor of Science in Nursing 90 12% Bachelor of Social Work 10 1% Bachelor of Music in Jazz & Contemporary Popular Music 23 3% 9
*Note: The respondents are representative of the MacEwan population within 1-3% for Faculty or School, and within 10% regarding gender (survey participants included 10% more female respondents than females in the MacEwan population and 10% fewer males than males in the MacEwan population). Who Has Studied Abroad? Ten percent of respondents (75 students) reported that they have studied abroad. There were no differences based on gender, but as Table 8 indicates, respondents from the Faculty of Health & Community Studies (25%), in particular, those from the Bachelor of Child & Youth Care (28%) and Bachelor of Social Work (20%) programs were more likely to have studied abroad. Table 8 Have you ever studied abroad? Gender n % Yes Male 531 10% Female 243 10% Faculty or School Faculty of Arts and Science 444 9% Faculty of Fine arts & Communications 51 10% Faculty of Health & Community Studies 28 25% Faculty of Nursing 90 10% School of Business 161 9% Academic Program Bachelor of Communication Studies 28 11% Bachelor of Arts 249 8% Bachelor of Child & Youth Care 18 28% Bachelor of Commerce 161 9% Bachelor of Science 195 10% Bachelor of Science in Nursing 90 10% Bachelor of Social Work 10 20% Bachelor of Music in Jazz & Contemporary Popular Music 23 9% Comments Respondents were given the opportunity to provide comments. Ninety-one respondents provided feedback. 6 The most frequent type of comment was an expression of interest in education abroad activities (47 comments). For example, one respondent said, Everyone should take the chance and experience to study abroad, even at least once in their lives. Another said, Studying abroad is a potential once in a life time experience that one can use to enhance their knowledge and life. Others took the opportunity to reiterate barriers to 6 Some respondents expressed more than one theme in their comments. 10
education abroad activities (33 comments). Barriers mentioned included financial, family commitments, medical issues, and concern about not receiving credit for courses taken abroad. Eleven respondents commented that there is a need for more information about education abroad activities, and recommended that MacEwan promote education abroad activities more heavily on their social media networks and via word of mouth. Six respondents commented on the positive experiences they had with education abroad activities and three respondents said they had no interest in education abroad activities. 11