Predicting Effects of University Service Quality and Internet Use Motives Towards Study Abroad Students’ Depression

Abstract

AbstractThe number of students participating in study abroad programs has been increasing for the past decades. In Taiwan, the rising number of incoming study abroad students have also helped in augmenting the oversupply of higher education. However, it is reported that within study abroad situations culture shock does happens. In the current study, it is assumed that the internet has already created a highly connected society. Hence, study abroad depression should be minimized. In addition, with the current drive for the advancement of service quality within higher education, these perceived positive interactions between the school and students should be able to further lessen study abroad related difficulties. With the trend of knowledge management within university institutional research, the collection and understanding of data with regards to study abroad students is quite important for future policy recommendations. To further understand these assumptions, information from a total of 665 study abroad students in Taiwan are surveyed. Service quality (SERVQUAL), the Study Abroad Internet Use Motives Survey (IUM), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) were used to collect the information. Results show that IUM factors online habits and online facilitation, and the SERVQUAL factors tangibles and reliability are able to predict study abroad students’ depression. In essence, for study abroad to become successful universities should make use of such tools and provide the appropriate adjustments within their service provisions.KeywordsCulture shockInstitutional researchStudent recruitmentSurvey questionnaireSERVQUAL