Across the OECD countries, the internationalisation of higher education has been firmly on the policy
agenda. Between 2000 and 2011, the global number of international students more than doubled
and in 2011 there were more than 4.5 million tertiary students enrolled outside their country of
citizenship (OECD, 2013). In the Irish context, the process of internationalisation has been guided by
the Government’s Strategy for International Education, Investing in Global Relationships, from 2010
to 2015. The number of international students in Ireland increased from just over 5,000 in
2000/2001 to more than 13,000 in 2012/2013, jumping to more than 18,000 in the 2014/2015
academic year.
In the context of increasing numbers of internationally mobile students, relatively little is known
about how satisfied international students are with their study abroad and what factors determine
their satisfaction. The analysis of this topic is important in the context of the tension between the
drive to recruit international students and the practicalities of meeting international students’ needs
within both the classroom and the wider educational institution. The present study aimed to address
this gap
