The Internationalisation of Higher Education: History
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Ismail Hussein Amzat
,
Hakeem Alade Najimdeen
,
Lynne M. Walters
,
Byabazaire Yusuf
,
Nena Padilla-Valdez

The number of international students enrolled in tertiary education outside their home countries has increased significantly. This enrollment increment is due to the global demand for higher education, the perceived value of studying at prestigious or highly ranked higher institutions abroad, and better employment opportunities in the home or host country after graduation. Host countries reap economic and workforce benefits from the presence of international students in their universities. Because of this, many countries are now attempting to attract international students through academic promotion, quality education, common culture, and by forming social and diplomatic relationships. Their higher education institutions adopt various strategies in response to globalisation and internationalisation, a signal that there have been profound structural and social initiatives as educational providers have invested in sustaining global relevance and survival. 

  • higher education
  • sustainability
  • international student
  • student mobility

1. Quality Management, Service in Higher Institution, International Student Satisfaction: A Global Perspective

Quality has always been a major challenge for authors and researchers to define. After long debates and arguments, some agreed that quality could be primarily standards-driven by focusing on meeting a predefined set of standards or meeting some specifications and requirements to achieve the highest benchmarks in the pursuit of excellence. Others perceive quality as primarily stakeholder-driven, in this case, being accountable to the public through a transformative learning experience service that will benefit employers and students [1]. In sum, quality service or service quality can be perceived as meeting and exceeding set service standards, assuming accountability, and providing a service that will enrich customers’ experience and satisfaction.
However, service quality and management have been studied for decades. The study by [2] was one of the earliest. The researchers investigated the application of quality service in the bank sector, proposing five tangible factors: responsiveness, assurance, reliability, and empathy [3]. Since then, many studies have used these dimensions to measure service quality in different sectors.
Research on higher education service quality has recently increased due to global university rankings, student mobility, and diversity. Furthermore, quality management is considered a core value in satisfying organisational customers. Higher educational institutions have been compelled to draft strategies to ensure survival in a new globalised environment ([4], 2018). Moreover, the belief from the early 1980s and through the 1990s that high-quality services resulted in tangible benefits in profits, market share, and cost savings is increasingly evident in organisational practices [5][6]. Quality management aims to address and satisfy customer concerns [7]. Therefore, in higher educational institutions, student satisfaction is one of the utmost obligations for administrators. The expectations force universities to perform better and develop strategies for quality teaching, academic research, leadership, and management [8].
Total quality management is reported to lead university leadership and management to achieve their desired goals regarding continuous quality improvement in higher education, the core of which is student satisfaction [9]. Studies have been conducted on student satisfaction and educational quality concerning higher educational services provided by different universities around the globe. Ref. [10] argued that universities should improve their services and increase student satisfaction to retain and attract students. Ref. [11] studied the expectations and perceptions of overseas students towards service quality of higher education institutions in Scotland using a survey of 200 postgraduate and undergraduate overseas students from China and Taiwan studying at Glasgow, Strathclyde, Stirling, West of Scotland (UWS), and Glasgow Caledonian Universities. They found a perceptual gap between students’ expectations and their actual experiences of the education services delivered to them.
Achieving international student satisfaction is paramount for student mobility. Many studies have reported on how the service quality of educational institutions significantly impacts student satisfaction across many countries. These findings have led many institutions around the world to establish courses/programs in English to expose students to diversity and obtain intercultural skills. Across Southeast Asia, Thailand is seen as a good example of creating international programs to attract international students, and the number of enrolled has increased from 71,204 in 2013 to 144,065 in 2018 [12]. Similarly, Indonesia offers scholarships and English programs to attract more international students [13].
Taiwan has experienced an annual increase in international students applying to its universities and has seen this as an opportunity to expand its educational options. Universities in Taiwan have improved their services while realising the cruciality of student choice [14]. Moslehpour et al. found that service quality was the most significant variable influencing student satisfaction, which, in turn, strongly affected institutional reputation. International student satisfaction was reported to mediate between the academic and nonacademic aspects of service quality and institutional reputation.
Ref. [15] showed the importance of universities’ quality service and international student satisfaction in the United States. The study reported that nonacademically related services, specifically the components of reliability, empathy, and tangibles, were highly valued by international students and predicted their overall satisfaction.
Internationalisation practices have improved in China, and China has become one of the global destinations for international students to study. Ref. [16], who studied international student satisfaction in China, found that female international students were less satisfied with the service than males, but in general, international students reported higher satisfaction, especially with teaching services and learning resources. However, they reported discrimination, prejudice, verbal insults, physical assault, and hostility against international students. They said they were prone to discrimination on and off campus [17], cited by [18]. However, new studies on international students in China are needed to investigate whether the mistreatments still exist, given the changing world situation.
Singapore also has witnessed a high rate of international student mobility, and the number of international students studying at higher institutions has increased tremendously, from 9000 in 1997 to 75,000 in 2014. Ref. [19] found a strong correlation between university service quality and international satisfaction. In light of this, university quality management is essential for quality assurance for higher institutions. Good service and management are considered strategies to stimulate student mobility and achieve satisfaction. Moreover, quality service can be seen as a trust factor between management and students. To stay competitive in the student mobility market, universities worldwide should constantly improve their services to achieve quality education.

2. Internationalisation of Higher Education and Student Mobility: A Global Context

Since the middle of the last century, the internationalisation of tertiary education has moved from a single activity to a major aspect of college and university reform and is considered one of the major impacts of the 21st century on higher education [20]. The evolution of internationalisation in tertiary education is due to increasing globalisation [21][22] and the regionalisation of economies and societies as the growth of the knowledge economy. Mobility is referred to as “internationalisation abroad,” which is the key aspect of the internationalisation of tertiary reform [23][24][25]. After the World Wars, security-driven international cooperation and exchange between the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom gave birth to international education among those countries. European countries joined the internationalisation of higher education by initiating research projects, scholarships, and flagship institutions that encourage student and staff exchanges.
In the 1980s, internationalisation was used for income generation in the United Kingdom, which recruited international students to study at British universities. The United States, Australia, and Canada followed suit, using internationalisation activity as a commercial model [25]. Over the past 30 years, student mobility, scholars, and programs have manifested internationalisation in higher education, and reputation and branding have contributed to the paradigm shift from cooperation to competition. As a result, international education became a commodity, an industry, and a source for generating revenue, reputation, and soft power [23].
Due to the economic globalisation that has spread to many nations, the internationalisation of higher education has undergone many changes. Australia and China have shown an interest in internationalising their higher education system. It started with federal Minister John Dawkins in the late 1980s/early 1990s in Australia. China began the process when the country joined the WTO in 2001. Both countries have invested in the internationalisation of higher education, but each has a different aim in its implementation.
For Australia, this investment is expected to improve the economy by expanding the country’s international education industry, developing transnational higher education, and recruiting more international students. In contrast, China expects to produce advanced technology and knowledge through overseas graduates and collaboration with international partners to run the universities. Transnational higher education is also expected to strengthen national development to enhance soft power worldwide while building world-class universities, increasing international student enrollment, and constructing more Confucius Institutes [26].
Other countries have also invested in transnational education. In Japan and Singapore, internationalisation is mainly used as a way to remain competitive in this century’s global knowledge-based economy [27]. Indonesia has also jumped on the wagon by intensifying its internationalisation, adding international student mobility to its universities’ assessment in 2017. The aim was to reap financial benefits through international student tuition fees and to boost tourism. Following in their footsteps, the Philippines and Vietnam have improved their educational system and services by establishing partnerships with global universities to attract more international students [13].
According to [28], more than six million international students are studying in different higher education institutions worldwide, with 976,853 international students studying in the United States, 509,160 in Australia, and 489,019 in the United Kingdom. In pursuit of better and more reputable universities, 341,751 American university students were reported studying abroad in 2017–2018 [18], and 378,340 students from the United Kingdom were enrolled at overseas higher institutions from 2015 to 2017 [26][29].
The internationalisation of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Malaysia and worldwide has been growing [30]. As such, there is tough competition, as every institution aims to become one of the premier choices for international students. Higher education Institutions (HEIs) in Malaysia and other countries have used different types of assessments to improve their service quality. Well-developed quality assessment systems can provide HEIs with valuable insights to improve quality service while justifying resource allocations [31]. Well-managed quality services could be essential to attracting students and generating income [32].

This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/su15086643

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