International Student Survey Project: Summary of Preliminary findings

With such a rapidly expanding pool of Internet users, a growing number of social science
researchers have begun to take seriously the potential for the Internet as a tool for conducting
scientific research. The ASU International Student Survey research project employed the emergent
Internet survey methodologies to the task of studying international students at Arizona State
University (roughly 7% of total enrollment). This project attempted to identify key determinants in
the students’ decision to stay or return after completion of study in the United States, and
influence of such factors as a healthy labor market, the existence of social support networks, and
eventual plans to settle in the U.S.

Table 1- Percentage of International Student in Total ASU Student Enrollment

YEAR 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2000
Undergraduate International 2.7 3.0 3.5 3.8 3.8 3.6 3.5
Graduate International 12.2 13.5 13.0 12.3 13.4 15.1 17.3
Total Percentage 5.0 5.7 6.0 5.9 6.1 6.3 6.7
International
Source: Arizona State University Data Warehouse Statistic

International and Foreign-born Students

International students currently account for roughly 7% of the total student enrollment at

Arizona State University [Table 1]. Noteworthy is the percentage of international students in the

graduate enrollment (17% of total). At both the graduate and undergraduate levels, the majority of

international students are concentrated within business and engineering programs [Table 2]. For

purposes of this study and keeping in-line with reporting by the International Student Office at

Arizona State University, international students have been defined as all foreign-born students not

currently holding or having applied for permanent resident visas. Thus, included as international

students are F-1, F-2 and J-1, J-2 student visa holders as well as a small minority of H-1 work and
other temporary visas categories. Foreign-born residents are then defined as permanent residents

who have not become naturalized citizens. Excluded from this sample for pragmatic reasons are

foreign-born citizens. While over 140 countries are represented at ASU, the majority of

international students are from India, China, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan [Table 3]. Foreign-

born resident students are more likely to be from Mexico, Vietnam, Canada, China or India.

Table 2 - Enrollment of International Students by College, 1999

College Undergraduate Graduate
Business 31.2% 13.0%
Engineering 25.6% 48.7%
Liberal Arts 22.0% 17.4%
All Others Disciplines Combined 21.2% 20.9%
Source: Arizona State University Data Warehouse Statistics

With the exception of the high proportions of Canadian and Mexican students (mostly permanent

residents), the population of international students at ASU is consistent with UNESCO data.

According to that indicates nine of the top ten sending nations are located in Asian, including

China, Japan, India, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Stay rates,

including students who transition from F-1 student visas to H-1 or M-1 working visas after

completion of studies as well as visa overstays, among Asian students are relatively high. A

National Science Foundation (NSF) report, citing Michael Finn of the Oak Ridge Institute for

Science and Education, shows the science and engineering Ph.D. recipients from China, Taiwan,

Korea and India have the highest stay rates ranging from 23% to 50% (NSF 1998a). Meanwhile,

the NSF also reports that the percentage of immigrants is highest in fields with favorable labor

market conditions, such as engineering and the computer sciences. Stay rates were lowest in the

social sciences (with the exception of economics) and the life science (NSF 1998b).
 Table 3 - Percent of Foreign Students by Visa and Country, 2001
Country International Students Permanent Residents Total
India 23.0 5.0 17.4
China 13.1 5.3 10.7
S. Korea 6.2 3.8 5.4
Japan 6.0 1.2 4.5
Taiwan 4.7 3.0 4.2
Canada 4.5 8.2 5.6
Mexico 4.0 16.3 7.8
Indonesia 3.0 0.5 2.2
Saudi Arabia 2.1 0.1 1.4
Pakistan 1.7 0.8 1.4
U.K. 1.2 4.2 2.1
Philippines 0.3 3.1 1.1
Vietnam 0.2 8.6 2.8
Iran 0.2 3.0 1.0
Totals 70.2 63.1 67.6

Following these findings, a central goal of this project is to identify the key determinants in the

students’ decision to stay or return after completion of study in the United States and to discover

the influence of such factors as a healthy labor market, the existence of social support networks,

choice of majors and initial plans to settle in the U.S. Previous studies on international students

have primarily focused on the difficulties of acculturation, cultural shock, reinterpretation of

cultural cues, and the other more familiar concepts of transcultural analysis (Selby et al. 1966;

Hayashi 1997). Additionally, various studies have focused on analysis of the academic performance

of foreign students and have ignored this group as potential long-term migrants (Fejgin 1995;

Watanabe 1995; Helmke and Schrader 1999). Yet, few studies have looked into the determinants

of the choice of migrating permanently to the U.S. or returning home and the degree to which

labor market demand affects the students’ choice of major and career.

The Internet questionnaire employed thus covers five significant areas: basic demographic

information, students’ major concerns in their choice of major, future plans for academic study

and career aspirations in the U.S. and finally questions that explore the existence of social support

networks that facilitate the transition to permanent settlement in the U.S. Foreign-born permanent
residents are also included in the sample to provide a control group and to look at students who

may be transitioning from a temporary status to become fully integrated into American society.

This report concentrates on the methodology employed, the problems and concerns that arose

from incorporating Internet technology as a survey technique, and a short preliminary review of

the demographic characteristics of the respondents to the survey.

Summary of Preliminary Findings

Country of Origin Percentage N College Percentage N
India 23.3 211 Engineering 40.9 371
China 13.2 120 Business 17.6 160
Mexico 5.1 46 Liberal Arts 15.0 136
Canada 4.0 36 Other 26.5 240
Japan 3.6 33
Taiwan 3.1 28 Major Changed
Other 47.7 433 Changed 13.0 118
100.0 907 Not changed 87.0 789

Gender Marital Status

Male 62.2 564 Married 23.6 214
Female 34.7 315 Single 70.9 643
Widowed/
Missing 3.1 28 Divorce/ Separated 1.2 11
Missing 4.3 39
Age
16-19 7.7 70 Length of Living in USA
20-29 68.2 619 1-2 yr 45.0 408
30-39 17.6 160 3-4 yr 22.2 201
40 and above 2.4 22 5-6 yr 29.3 266
Missing 4 36 Missing 3.5 32

Residency Trips Home Country* 1.9 (2.7)

International 85.2 773
Resident 14.8 134 Family
Family in USA 56.7 514
N o Family in
Level USA 43.3 393
Undergraduate 29.4 267
Master 41.5 376 Follow-up
Doctor 21.2 192 Yes 53.1 482
Other 7.9 72 No 41.5 376
Missing 5.4 49

* Mean and standard deviation are provided for Trips to Home Country
Summary of Preliminary Findings

The countries of origin among respondents basically reflect the overall picture of the international

students enrolled in Arizona State University. Students from India comprise the largest

international student body (23.3%, n= 211) of all respondents. Following Indian students are

Chinese (13.2%), Mexican (5.1%), Canadian (4.0%), and Japanese (3.6%). Male students are almost

twice as many as female students, however it is unclear whether male students are over sampled, as

the gender composition of the international student body is unknown. Most of the respondents

are international students holding F or J visas. Permanent residents account for only 14.8% of

respondents.

Immigration policy favors workers that most needed in the United States. Foreign students,

planning eventually to live and work in here are predicted to select majors that train them for

occupations in those sectors of the economy with the most need. This study expects that

international students will be more likely to change college majors to meet the market needs when

compared with permanent residents. As shown in Figure 5, international students (24.6%) have a

higher rate of changing majors than students who are permanent residents (11.0%).

30%
24.6%
25%
20%
15% 11.0%
10%
5%
0%
Foreign-born Residents International Students
Person Chi-square = 18.75, df = 1, significant at p<.01

Figure 1 - Change of College Major by Status

Among the respondents in the study, students from engineering field account for the biggest

sample, followed by business (17.6%), and liberal arts (15.0%) [Figure 6]. 87% of the respondents

indicated that they have not changed their major fields of study since their arrival in the United

States, while 13% have changed. Generally, a business major does not require strong specific

knowledge background and will also lead to more job opportunities and higher pay when

compared to humanities majors. It is expected that students will more likely to shift to business

majors than other majors. Just as what we expected, students in Business College have the highest

percentage in changing college majors, with 18.1% respondents reporting change of major after

they came to the United States. Respondents from the Engineering College reported the lowest

percentage in changing majors. Although engineering majors will also lead to higher pay and more

job opportunities, they usually require specific knowledge backgrounds. Therefore, students in

engineering college are less likely to come from a different field of study. When accounting for

colleges [Figure 7], the difference between international students and permanent residents in

regard to changing college majors still exist (chi-square = 11.27. df= 3).

20% 18.1%
18%
16% 14.2%
14% 13.2%

12%
10.0%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
Business Engineering Liberal Arts Other

Figure 2 -Changes of Major by College

It is expected that having families in the United States will reduce the social tie with one’s country

of origin. In this case, students who have family members in the United States will be less likely to

make trips back to home country compared to students who have no family here. However, in the

present study, no significant difference was found regarding number of trips to home country

between these two groups. The same results were found after controlling for length of stay.

35
31.1
30

25 24.0
21.4
19.4
20
17.0

15 13.2
11.0
10
7.1

0
Foreign-born Residents International Students
Person Chi-square = 11.27, df = 3, significant at p<.001

Business Engineer Liberal Art Other

Figure 3 - Percent Changing Majors by College and Status

 7

6 5.8

5
4.3

4
3.3

3 2.8
2.4
1.9
2

0.9
1 0.6

0.0
0
Widowed/Divorced Married Single
Marital Status

1-2 years 3-4 years 5-6 years

Figure 4 - Trips to Home Country by Marital Status and Years in U.S

Marital status is another important factor that may affect the number of trips to the home country.

People who are divorced, widowed, or separated reported the highest number of trips back to

home country even after controlling for length of living in the United States [Figure 8]. Married

students have the second highest number of return trips. This may be due to spouse residing in

their home country. Additionally, students of marrying age are also more likely to have higher

incomes and thus more means for travel. Single students make the fewest number of trips to the

home country.
5 4.3

3.4
4

3 2.3 2.3

1
0.6 0.7

0
No Family in USA Family In USA
Family

1-2 years 3-4 years 5-6 years

Figure 5 - Trips to Home Country by Family and Length of Stay

STEPHEN SILLS & CHUNYAN SONG

ISS PROJECT DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
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