Saudi International Students’ Perception about Services Provided by Victorian Universities

Naif Daifullah Alsulami

(Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia)

Abstract: Due to the rising number of male Saudi Arabian international students who choose to study in Australia, it seems important to understand their experiences as they move to a new culture and new educational system that is completely different from their own culture and educational system. This study aims to examine the experiences of male Saudi international students who are studying in Victorian universities. The study seeks to develop a better understanding of Saudi international students’ perceptions about current services available to international students and ways in which these may be improved. This qualitative research study was designed to examine the experiences of a sample of Saudi Arabian international students studying at Victorian universities in Australia. A narrative inquiry method was used to conduct semi-structured questions with the participants in a focus group interview. The main question of this study is: How can Victorian universities improve their services for international students? The findings of this study showed that overall Saudi international students are satisfied with current services and facilities that help them with their learning endeavours such as the availability of resources and references, the ability to access campus buildings 24 hours a day, the availability of workshops and study groups to help international students, going between campuses of a university for free and using technology in education. Moreover, they suggested some opinions for new services and facilities for international students such as bringing some native speaking students to help international students in class and giving international students the chance to participate in conference.

Key words: international education, international students, Saudi Arabia, Australia