What do Chinese students expect of higher education abroad in post-pandemic period?

• In Event: Examining the Experiences of International Students

Proposal

Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted international student mobility. With both changing push and pull factors shaping Chinese students’ college choice abroad, it is important to revisit the understanding of Chinese students’ perceptions of higher education abroad. Using the T-P-C-V (Task, Pain, Concern, and Value) model, this mixed-methods study investigates the study aboard expectations of mainland Chinese students and their parents. The study’s findings will help universities address international students’ needs and strengthens the retention and enrollment rate in the post-pandemic period.

Introduction
The global pandemic, COVID-19, has significantly impacted international student mobility. Although the global mobility has taken a significant setback, Mainland China remains a critical source of international students for higher education institutions (HEIs). According to 2021 Open Doors data, China has 372,532 students (51 % of the total international population) are studying in the US. The influx of Chinese students has contributed to HEIs academically, financially, and culturally (Hanassab & Tidwell, 2002; Cooper, 2017).

However, due to China’s dynamic zero-COVID policy and strategies to tackle infections, Chinese students have faced unique challenges when considering to study abroad. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Chinese government has issued multiple international travel restrictions, tracking border closures, entry or exit bans, visa restrictions, and flight suspensions. The conflict between paying high tuition fees and not being able to fully enjoy the services offered by universities is making Chinese students rethink the value of a Western degree (Pan, 2020). In addition, tensions between China and the Western world, especially the US, have also affected the study abroad sector. All these uncertainties are reframing pull factors shaping Chinese students’ college choices.

Moreover, two recent policies in China have changed push factors regarding students’ college plans. First, since July 2021, Chinese authorities have introduced a set of guidelines to ease the burden of excessive homework and off-campus tutoring for students, in which new tutoring institutions are no longer permitted. This policy may change the high-stress Gaokao (college entrance exam) track in China. Second, since May 2022, Chinese authorities have reformed the college entrance policy to allow more students to access Chinese HEIs. As a result, some Chinese students may not have to study abroad to avoid a competitive track and gain access to higher education.

With both changing push and pull factors in Chinese students’ college choice abroad, it is imperative for us to reframe and reinvent our understanding of Chinese students’ expectation and concerns of higher education abroad. This study contributes to the growing body of research by investigating mainland Chinese students’ and parents’ latest expectations of higher education abroad. The study’s findings will help universities address international students’ needs and strengthens the retention and enrollment rate in the post-pandemic period.

Theoretical Framework
This study is informed by the push-pull theory of international student mobility and employed a T-P-C-V model to examine Chinese students’ need and expectations of higher education abroad. The T-P-C-V model refers to Task, Pain, Concern, and Value. This model stems from design thinking, which is associated with prescriptions for the innovation of products and services within business and social contexts (Brown, 2008; Dorst, 2012). The T-P-C-V model is widely used in order to precisely capture customers’ needs, pains, and concerns, then to create product/service that meets customers’ demands and expectations. Marginson (2020) predicted that student mobility would soon shift to buyer’s market where incoming students are scarce and competition to recruit is more intense. Considering higher education abroad as a service, international students can be viewed as consumers who pay high tuition fees to purchase the service. From this perspective, it is necessary to use T-P-C-V model to gain deep understanding of international students’ need and then improve current higher education service product.

Methodology
The overarching research question in this paper is: What do Chinese students expect of higher education abroad in post-pandemic period? To comprehensively answer this question, the perspectives of both students and parents on higher education expectation will be explored, using a mixed-methods approach.

First, we will conduct in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Chinese high school students and their parents in Beijing to understand their perceptions of higher education aboard. Simultaneously, we will conduct an intensive document review on US HEIs’ support provisions. Then, we will use a Likert-scale survey to capture Chinese students and parents’ evaluations of these HEIs’ support.

Preliminary Findings
The preliminary finding from the pilot study conducted in October 2021 indicates that despite various concerns caused by COVID-19, Chinese students still want to study abroad for higher education for three main reasons.

First, some students still want to avoid the competitive Gaokao track and have no choice by to study abroad, therefore, the pandemic has limited influence on them. While some students prefer to study in international branch campuses, most of them desire to physically study abroad to gain foreign social and cultural experiences. Thus, they have a strong willingness to go abroad. Second, perceptions of high-quality education and lived experience abroad are still the main pull factors. Yet worries about host countries’ health and safety measures as well as US-China political tension may significantly influence students’ college choice. Third, friendly messages sent from US/Canada HEIs may greatly alleviate students’ concerns of studying abroad. These positive messages may be effectively delivered to Chinese students through Chinese student alumni and currently enrolled students and student organizations.

More nuanced aspects of Chinese students’ expectations will be further explored and analyzed in the next stages of the study.

Significance
Informed by the push-pull theory of international student mobility and the T-P-C-V model in design thinking, the study sheds light on the expectations of Chinese students regarding study abroad post COVID pandemic. With a deeper understanding of students’ expectations, the study suggests what should be done by HEIs to meet the needs of international students—a focus relevant with the 2023 CIES conference’s theme: Improving Education for a More Equitable World, specifically its Sub-Theme III on school systems’ improvement of learning and teaching post COVID.

Authors

• Anke Li, Beijing Union University

• Chi Nguyen, University of Arizona