Determinants of Vietnamese international student satisfaction in Taiwan universities

Abstract

This paper aims to explore factors impacting Vietnamese international students’ satisfaction in Taiwan universities. The study was based on a process design of two sub-studies. Study 1 was qualitative research with focus group discussion, and open-ended survey questions were applied to explore essential factors of Vietnamese international students’ perception of their satisfaction. Study 2 was a quantitative study in 20 Taiwan universities, in which 192 Vietnamese students participated to answer the formal questionnaires. In this Study 2, a statistical procedure was employed to analyze the data. The findings from Study 1 indicated that instructor, learning material and facility, dormitory services, and extracurricular activity constitute Vietnamese international students’ satisfaction in Taiwan universities. Findings from Study 2 showed that Vietnamese students are satisfied with these factors. While instructor, dormitory service, and extracurricular activity were considered strong predictors of these students’ satisfaction, learning material and facility were relatively low. Also, it found that scholarship-sponsored students had lower satisfaction than self-supporting students. These findings could provide theoretical and practical implication as it addresses the lack of research on international students’ satisfaction with universities in host countries. Also, practitioners could find interesting points from this paper to design marketing strategies for international student recruitment.