doi: 10.5191/jiaee.2018.25108College of Agricultural, Food, and Life Sciences International Education: Students’Preferred Location of Travel and Perceptions of Benefits and Barriers

摘要

The University of Arkansas has a campus-wide goal of 25 percent of students participating in aninternational program prior to graduation. This created concern because only three percent ofDale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences (Bumpers College) studentsparticipated in an international program prior to 2012. For five years, the Bumpers CollegeInternational Programs Office (IPO) has assessed students to determine their perceived benefits,barriers, and needs in an effort to design international programs of interest and increase studentparticipation. In this study, Bumpers College students were surveyed to determine perceivedbenefits and barriers to participating in an international program and identify the countries ofinterest in visiting. Instruments were administered via paper form to 1,165 students enrolled inlarge section courses in fall 2016. Using a six-point Likert-type scale, students’ believedinternational program participation “looks good on a resume” with a mean of 5.46 (SD = 0.77).The least important statement was “increased employability” with a mean of 4.92 (SD = 1.00).Students slightly agreed or agreed to all questionnaire benefit statements. The barrier statement“costs too high” was identified as the most important with a mean of 4.79 (SD = 1.12). The leastimportant statement was “an international program will not have an impact on my futurecareer” with a mean of 2.12 (SD = 1.21). About 72% of students were willing to participate inan international experience in a European country. Recommendations for practice and researchare discussed and identified limitations are provided.