An exploration of the relationship of awareness and use of student services to sense of belonging, overall satisfaction with institution, and intent to persist to degree completion among international students

Using Tinto’s model of student departure (1993) as a conceptual framework, this quantitative study examined institutional and behavioral variables that may have a relationship to international student persistence. The results indicated that intent to persist to degree completion can be predicted by awareness and use of student services, sense of belonging, and overall satisfaction with institution. Additionally, this study found that international undergraduate males have a significantly lower sense of belonging than domestic undergraduate males. This study also found that international students have a higher use of student services than domestic students; however, the services used differ somewhat for each group. Finally, this study found that Chinese and Indian students have a higher sense of belonging and a lower level of interaction with domestic students than all other international students. The findings of this study have practical implications for higher education researchers and administrators seeking to improve outcomes for international students.