1. Mark G. Darby Doctoral Student in Educational Leadership California State University, San Bernardino

2. Overview Statement of Problem Purpose of the Study Research Questions Literature Review Methodology Design

3. Statement of Problem US hosts the most international students globally (Lee, 2010) Recent years show more countries closing that gap (She & Wotherspoon, 2013; Wit, Ferencz, & Rumbley, 2013) Understand decision-making factors for study abroad selection Increasing numbers of higher education institutions

4. Purpose of the Study The objective of the study is to understand the personal reasons and factors associated with international students choosing to study abroad in the United States of America, and more specifically at California State University, San Bernardino.

5. Research Questions How do international student applicants describe and explain why they selected CSU, San Bernardino? How do financial considerations play a part in why an international student selected CSU, San Bernardino? How do family members, friends, or agents play a role in an international student’s decision to study at CSU, San Bernardino? How does academic program availability play into an international student’s decision to study at CSUSB? How does geographic location play into the decision-making process of an international student deciding to study at CSUSB?

6. Literature Review Internationalization Diversify student body, curriculum development, opportunities for new innovation and reform efforts (Ardakani et al., 2011; Rizvi, 2006) Become an economic reason (Altbach & Knight, 2007; Haigh, 2008; Rizvi, 2006; Stromquist, 2007) Branch campuses (Altbach & Knight, 2007; Paul, 2009) Build relationships between nations (Gracel-Ávila, 2005; Haigh, 2008) Developing countries joining in (Stromquist, 2007)

7. Literature Review Push-pull Theory Push factors-factors that “push” students out of their home country (Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002) Pull factors-factors that “pull” students to a host country (Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002) Decline in US, incline in other countries (i.e., Canada and the UK) (She & Wotherspoon, 2013; Wit, Ferencz, & Rumbley, 2013) Visa issues after 9/11 (Wit et al., 2013) $24.7 billion to US economy (Institute of International Education Open Doors Special Report: Economic Impact of International Students, 2014)

8. Literature Review Capital Parental educational attainment directly correlates to student educational attainment (Gripsrud, Hovden, & Moe, 2011) Variations in parental involvement between mothers and fathers (Sheng, 2012) UK students seeing it as an adventure (Waters & Brooks, 2010) Parental political affiliation as it relates to children’s educational opportunities (Wu, 2008)

9. Literature Review Figure 1.2, Retrieved from IIE Open Doors “Fast Facts” 2013

10. Methodology Design Mixed methods (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007) Quantitative Online Questionnaire Descriptive statistics and attitudinal responses Qualitative Case Study Interviews Open-ended questioning

11. Methodology Design Sample Selection CSU, San Bernardino international students Single study Quantitative and qualitative data (Creswell, 1994; Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007) 1,000+ potential participant pool (quantitative portion) Purposive sampling for interviews (qualitative portion) Undergraduate and graduate students Non-discriminatory of gender, program of study, country of citizenship, age

12. Methodology Design Data Collection Modified questionnaire of Mazzarol’s (1996) instrument Demographic information and attitudinal items 7 demographic questions 31 attitudinal items Likert scale, 7-point scale (importance and agreement) Electronic format Interviews Six open-ended questions Voice recorded

13. Methodology Design Data Analysis SPSS Mean, median, mode Regression analysis Atlas.ti Themes Coding Triangulation

14. Methodology Design Limitations Only San Bernardino campus participants for interviews All questionnaires and interviews will be in English Limited response rate (47 currently) What is a sufficient response rate? Difficulty with interviews (4 currently) Wanted 15, what is a sufficient number?