Edutourism : International Student’s Decision Making Process In Selecting A Host University In Malaysia

Abstract

This paper proposes a theoretical model that integrates the different groups of factors which influences the decision making process of international students in selecting a university of study in Malaysia. The design / methodology that was adopted involves presention of hypothetical model which shows the choice of Malaysian university as an independent variable dependent on four factors: institutional reputation; financial factor, degree of internalisation of university; and social / geographical link. The consideration, whether conscious or unconscious on the part of the  prospective international student, will determine the final choice made by these students in selecting a university of study in Malaysia. The limitations of this study stem from the nature of the study itself. Being a preliminary study, it aims to integrate the factors identified in the existing literature. Thus, future research on the subject will examine the existing relationships among the aforementioned factors. In particular, it will give and analyse the weight of each factor on the university choice intention of the international students, and the relative importance of each element for the factor it belongs to. Therefore, determining the relative importance of each element and factor would constitute an important source of information for future work in international edutourism studies. Since, there are few studies which try to tackle the decision making process of the prospective international student on choice of university in Malaysia from an integrated point of view. This paper contributes to bridging that gap.

Keywords: Edutourism, Decision Making, Higher education, International Student,and University