The experiences and outcomes of domestic and international students at four Canadian universities

Abstract

Most studies of international students have focused on their adaptation to host societies. By way of contrast, this article deals with the academic and social experiences of international and domestic students in four Canadian universities and, consistent with the ‘college impact model’, examines the relationship between experiences and objectively measured and self‐assessed outcomes. In general, it is found that international students are as involved in campus activities as domestic students; however, they lack particularly the academic support enjoyed by domestic students. Moreover, the scores of international students on both objectively measured and self‐assessed outcomes are lower than those of domestic students. Regression analyses reveal that the amounts of variance in outcomes explained by variables in the college impact model are lower for international than for domestic students. For both groups of students, however, academic experiences explain more of the variance in self‐assessed than in objectively measured outcomes. In addition to variables in the college impact model, value is added to various outcomes by mere attendance at particular universities.