As universities across Africa navigate shifting global mobility patterns, tighter resources and increasing expectations around internationalisation, understanding the lived experience of international students has become more important than ever. At Rhodes University in South Africa, this challenge prompted a strategic decision to participate in the International Student Barometer (ISB), becoming the first institution in the region to do so, and leading the way in the international student experience in African universities.
For Rhodes, the ISB offered more than a survey tool. It provided an opportunity to place international student experience firmly on the institutional agenda, informed by robust benchmarking and grounded in students’ own voices. Orla Quinlan, Director of Global Engagement at Rhodes University, explains,
“The International Student Barometer (ISB) has proven to be a very helpful tool to better understand and enhance the experience of international students. International students are integrated into the broader student services framework at Rhodes University to foster a more inclusive environment. The specific data gathered through the ISB enables us to identify opportunities to enhance support for international students, ensuring that we address their unique needs, while continuing to promote a cohesive university experience. Ultimately, the ISB not only enables monitoring of international student satisfaction but also assists with fostering an enriching and supportive environment that benefits all students.”
A strategic moment for internationalisation
Rhodes’ decision to participate in the ISB was shaped by a convergence of sector-wide and institutional factors. South Africa’s first national Policy Framework on Internationalisation, promulgated in 2019–2020, signalled a new phase in which universities would increasingly be expected to articulate, implement and report on their internationalisation strategies. At the same time, the COVID‑19 pandemic had disrupted international student mobility, contributing to a decline in inbound international enrolments across the country. The implementation aspect of the Policy Framework is starting to received more attention from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET).
“I felt this was an opportune moment to shine a spotlight on the international element of the university.”
Participation in the ISB aligned well with this timing. Rather than focusing on rankings or reputational metrics, the ISB offered qualitative insight into how international students experience life and study at Rhodes, and how that experience compares globally.
“This kind of assessment is about the qualitative experience of your students,” Orla notes. “That made it more attractive. It’s not about ranking performance, but about asking: what is it actually like to be a student here?”
Why Rhodes stepped forward
As a small, research‑intensive university located in a close‑knit campus town, Rhodes has long emphasised the academic and cultural value of international students. Internationalisation is embedded in the institution’s ethos and institutional development plan, even as it operates within a resource‑constrained environment.
“I suppose my entire raison d’être in the university is to promote comprehensive internationalisation,” says Orla. “That’s not only international students, but internationalising institutional culture as a whole. I don’t see internationalisation and a strong local focus as mutually exclusive – I think they’re very compatible. I push “internationalisation at home” on campus for those who don’t get to travel, drawing on the international students who come here, and then represent Rhodes University and the academic opportunities and experiences on offer here.
The ISB appealed precisely because it brought an external, comparative lens into that work. “It’s one thing to run your own internal surveys,” Orla reflects, “but having that added dimension of comparison is really valuable. It gives you confidence where you’re doing well, and it also helps you identify areas where you might need to look a bit closer.”
The International Student Barometer (ISB) is the world’s largest international student experience survey of enrolled students. It provides universities with independent, globally benchmarked intelligence into the international student experience across the entire student lifecycle. By combining institution-specific feedback with comparable global data, the ISB enables universities to identify strengths, diagnose areas for improvement, and make evidence-based decisions that enhance satisfaction, retention, and international competitiveness.
Strong engagement from students
Despite running the survey later in the academic year, traditionally a challenging period for engagement, Rhodes achieved an exceptional response rate of 49%, more than double the global ISB benchmark of around 20%.
Orla attributes this to a combination of institutional culture and deliberate engagement strategies. “We really pitched this as your opportunity to have your voice heard as international students to the students,” she explains. “We made it clear this was an investment specifically for them.”
Consistent communication, support from international student representatives, and peer‑to‑peer advocacy all played a role, as did a modest incentive to participate in the survey.
Underlying this, however, is a strong relationship between the university and its international student community. Rhodes operates a decentralised service model, with international students integrated into mainstream services while receiving targeted support around areas such as visas, medical aid and immigration-related issues.
“We have a good relationship with our international students as an office,” Orla says. “We work very closely with Home Affairs, and a lot of effort goes into making sure students’ academic lives aren’t disrupted by visa challenges. I think that trust translates into responsiveness.”
Insights that matter institutionally
The ISB findings provided reassurance as well as reflection points. Overall satisfaction among international students at Rhodes aligned with the global benchmark, while perceptions of value for money exceeded the benchmark by nine percentage points – a notable result in an increasingly cost‑conscious global market.
|
Institutional highlights:
|
“Even from just first glancing through the report, I remember thinking: we’re not doing too bad overall,” Orla says. “That’s a very nice thing to be able to share internally, especially in a Global South context where there is curiosity about how you’re matching up internationally.”
Importantly, the insights are not seen as relevant only to international students. “Honestly, much of what might be identified is probably speaking to the experience of all our students,” Orla observes. “It gives us an external perspective that’s useful for broader internal conversations.”
Rhodes plans to use the ISB findings to inform senior management discussions and to support evidence‑based reporting against its own internationalisation strategy, in line with national policy expectations.
Lessons for other African universities
Orla is realistic about the pressures facing universities across the continent, particularly their financial constraints. “There will always be questions about whether something new is a good investment relative to other choices,” she says. “That’s the environment in which we’re constantly operating.”
However, she believes that tools like the ISB can play a valuable role when aligned clearly to institutional priorities. “Once people hear about something and see that it genuinely helps them understand and promote their institution, there are definitely people who are open to experimenting.”
Ultimately, Rhodes’ experience suggests that listening systematically to international students, and situating that feedback within a global context, can strengthen not just internationalisation strategies, but the overall student experience.
As Orla puts it: “This helps reinforce the kind of environment we’re trying to create for our students. It’s about understanding how that experience is landing, and using that insight to keep improving.”