Student experience experts group meeting. Tuesday 17 October 2023.

1. International students’ digital experience:
understanding and mitigating ‘digital shocks’
October 2023
Elizabeth Newall, senior sector specialist (digital transformation)
Sarah Knight, head of learning and teaching transformation (HE)
Tabetha Newman and Mike Gulliver, consultant researchers, Timmus Research Ltd

2. Do you work in a HEP? If so, please take a minute to
answer six questions
https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/isdx2/isdx2-experts-meeting-equitable-access

3. Presentation on ISDX Phase 2 findings
• Why collect this data and research methods
• Whose voices are represented?
• Use of digital in home country
• On-course digital experience
• A focus on online behaviours
• Digital shocks in the wider learning experience
• Digital shocks in the living experience
• Activity: providing international students with equitable access to digital teaching and
learning
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4. Why collect this data?
• We wanted to gather student voice data to better understand issues from their
perspective
• In the UK, the learning and living experience is no longer distinct from digital
• Given the pervasive nature of technology, now vital to consider digital experiences,
expectations and assumptions of students travelling to the UK to study in order to
deliver optimal – and equitable – experience
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5. Research methods
• Anonymous online survey across 14 HEPs
• Focus groups in 10 sites across 9 HEPs; one
London and home campus
• Reassurance to international students that
feedback was anonymous
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6. Whose voices are represented?
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7. Who we asked (1)
• Survey N=2,064 responses, focus groups N=150 students
• 80% data from PGT international students
• Most participants were from Asia or Africa
• Fewer Chinese students in our research than national cohort
• Significant differences in digital use data between sub-areas of Asia, notably Indian
Subcontinent versus East Asia, hence we separated Asia into sub-regions in report
• Most common home countries in our data were India (26% survey) and Nigeria (20% survey)
• 33% said English was first language (significant variation by home area: 73% African, 22%
Indian subcontinent, 5% East Asian)
• Age: One third aged 30+
• Gender: 60% female, 40% male
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8. Who we asked (2)
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• Many international students were mature students
(starting PGT aged 25+) and had previously held
careers relevant to their current course, and had
significant experience they hoped to share
• We met people who in their home country were
architects, GPs, accountants …
• Those who were in their early 20s often had a
history of academic excellence
• International students are intelligent people who are
investing money to further themselves. Half
attended fee-paying (private) schools prior to
coming to the UK. This comes with expectations
relating to what quality education looks like

9. Who we asked (3)
• Differences between international student cohort in Russell Group v other institutions
participating in this research
• Russell Group institutions were catering for an international student cohort in their early 20s in
age, who had commonly travelled from East Asia or the Indian Subcontinent
• In comparison, non-Russell Group institutions were catering predominantly for an older
international student cohort who had predominantly travelled from countries across the Indian
Subcontinent and Africa
• Each HEP is different, and the composition of their international student cohort can change
year on year, e.g. one institution went from 7% of international students from Nigeria to over
30% in a two-year period
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10. Use of digital in home country
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11. Analysis identified 4 digital infrastructure groups
• Infrastructure questions: access to reliable Wi-Fi, use of
VLEs and frequency of use of digital in teaching and learning
by self and teachers, home country frequency of power cuts
• Multivariate analysis identified students fitted into four
clusters of similar answers
• We looked to find how these best associated with student
home country / home global area information
• Groups of students with similar infrastructure experiences:
1. African countries
2. Indian subcontinent countries
3. South America and ‘Asia: Other’ countries
4. East Asia, Middle East, European and North American
countries
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-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
-6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8

12. Home country infrastructure and TEL differences
 A third (34%) of students from G4 felt their access to reliable Wi-Fi in
their home country was better than in the UK compared to 3% from
G1
 57% of G1 international students were used to daily power cuts in
comparison with 17% in G2, 6% in G3 and 5% in G4
 On average, students across all groups used digital daily to
support their learning, hence their individual practice was similar, but
more students from G1 (African countries) did so with a backdrop that
involved frequent power cuts and less access to reliable Wi-Fi
 G1 students told us they often relied on mobile data rather than Wi-Fi
and had secondary power sources: good examples of ‘difference’
rather than ‘deficit’
 These groups could help HEPs better understand and support their
international student cohort, but these are trends – there are students
in all groups who have experienced all levels
Deficit
Difference
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13. On-course digital experience
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14. Most international students are happy with the digital
 Most students were positive about their exposure to technology-enabled learning (TEL),
notably their access to a wide range of digital resources, online libraries, and recorded
lectures
 Most international students are using AI to support their learning (translation, grammar
checks, scoping ideas, writing code), and want guidance on effective and
legal/appropriate practice
 They often struggle with practical issues (authentication, access to university systems
outside the UK (pre-arrival, during vacation periods), lecturers with unfamiliar accents,
lack of subtitled recorded lectures)
 Some international students do not expect access to reliable, high-speed Wi-Fi; it is
important to explain that Eduroam is available, and where Wi-Fi can be commonly
accessed free of charge off-campus (otherwise high mobile data costs incurred)
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15. Digital shocks
• For many, there had been some initial challenges (‘digital shocks’) whilst they transitioned into
the ways/expectations of technology-enabled learning as it is commonly used within UK higher
education
• International students often needed support at course start to navigate and understand how,
when and why to use digital
• International students need to understand what digital is university-provided, what is licensed
from other suppliers and so comes with restrictions, what they will continue to have access to
after course … providing a one-page overview map can help
• To gain equitable access to learning goals, some international students need wider additional
support to develop their digital skills
• Consideration should also be given to how additional language needs may drive digital
inequality (paying for access to Grammarly, ChatGPT Plus etc to create work they think is the
most appropriate academic English to obtain high marks)
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16. A focus on online behaviours
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17. Online behaviour comfort levels
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 We asked international students
whether they felt comfortable posting
comments in the chat, raising a hand to
speak, joining in with small group
discussions, using live polls, or turning
on their webcam
 Posting comments was the most
preferred behaviour, turning on webcam
was least
35%
40%
49%
57%
72%
Turning my webcam on
Using live polls
Joining in with small group
discussions
Raising my hand to request to speak
Posting comments in the chat
Comfort levels for five online behaviours

18. Online behaviours – home global area
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 American students were more likely to feel comfortable turning on their webcam
than other international student groups
 Students from African and Indian Subcontinent countries were more likely to feel
comfortable raising a hand to speak than those from other global areas
 East Asian students had a preference to not engage in any forms of online
interaction other than posting comments in the chat

19. Online behaviours – gender, age and first language
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 Gender: Female international students were less likely to feel comfortable
turning on their webcam or raising a hand to talk than males
 Age: Older international students were more comfortable raising a hand to
talk than younger students, but less comfortable using live polls
 First language: Those for whom English was a second language were less
likely to feel comfortable raising a hand to speak

20. Digital shocks in the wider learning
experience
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21. ‘Good digital’ isn’t enough for a good learning experience
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 Most international students were very happy with the digital resources provided on
course, and very much appreciated access to a diversity of resources and texts
 However, many hadn’t appreciated how much self-directed and independent learning
would be involved
 They often expected more face-to-face teaching, more access to their lecturers for
one-to-one chats, and more opportunities for group discussion and debate with course
peers than they received on course
 Several international students had very high expectations regarding access to
teaching staff

22. Two-way dialogue, grade boundaries and parental pressure
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 Current digital practice was predominantly experienced as one-way (directed to an
individual student) and transactional. International students were keen to discuss their
prior experiences with peers and teaching staff; they wanted to experience benefits
associated with being here in-person
 UK HE grade boundaries are often very different to those in other countries and could
create significant shock and anxiety for students used to getting high marks (80%+)
 Often, international students are funded by their parents who can place significant
pressure on them to ‘do well’ and without managing expectations, current UK marking
schemes do not make students look good back home
 International students seek clear guidance about how to improve to improve their
grade in future assessments

23. Digital shocks in the living experience
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24. Living in the UK is a highly digitised experience
• Many students were, once reassured about anonymity, quite negative about some aspects
of their ‘UK experience’: conversations about digital often moved to how digitised the UK is,
and then to where this has caused difficulties or worries
• Healthcare: most international students regarded UK healthcare quality to be below that in
their home country experience
• Banking: many international students spent months trying to open a UK bank account,
causing significant stress at course start
• Accommodation: students didn’t know where to look online to find accommodation, with
several resorting to having to rent expensive Airbnb rents or moving long distances from
campus
• Other issues in a digitised UK landscape: travel timetables, booking transport, finding
community
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25. Summary and recommendations
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• The composition of international students in the UK is changing
• Many students from emerging markets such as African and Indian subcontinent
countries have accessed and used technology in very different ways to many
domestic or European students and this can create significant digital and cultural
shocks when coming to study and live in the UK
• International students may require additional support in order to gain equitable access
to the learning experience
• Staying curious about potential differences can be more useful than considering UK
HE as ‘the best way’ and aiming to reduce perceived deficits
• Whilst our focus has been on international students, many of our recommendations
are of potential benefit to domestic students too

26. Top five recommendations
1. Manage expectations. Provide clear information about (a) how technology will be used
on course, (b) what additional support is provided for broader digital skills, (c) the
importance of self-directed study in UK HE, (d) typical grade boundaries, and (e) how
to expect to use technology in day-to-day life both on and off-campus. Institutions may
want to consider offering differential support to international students based on their
digital experiences prior to arriving in the UK (four infrastructure groups?)
2. Provide international students with an overview of university digital systems and how
they interact, and facilitate access from abroad
3. Ensure all recorded lectures have clear, high-quality audio and captions that are
checked to ensure critical subject-related terminology is captioned as intended
4. Design teaching and learning activities to cater for a diversity of digital experience and
comfort levels, and support international students to learn new digital skills
5. Ensure that the digital experience support requirements of international students on
transition to UK HE are reflected in institutional strategies on-course, including those
relating to business planning, digital transformation, teaching and learning, and EDI
Pre-arrival
Arrival
Strategic thinking
On course

27. Activity: Providing international students with
equitable access to digital teaching and learning
• Prompt list on table
• Pick one to discuss as a group
• Provide your feedback via this Padlet (supports briefing paper)
• Add answers to other topics if you have them
• 10 minutes for groups to feed back to room at the end
• Padlet will remain open until tomorrow afternoon

28. Prompts
1. Where do current (digital) teaching and learning practices make it easier or harder for
international students to engage?
2. How do you support international students to progress from familiar to less familiar
digital resources and behaviours?
3. How do you foster an exchange of international experience within the curriculum and
what role can digital technologies play?
4. How do you sensitise domestic and international students to differences in digital
experiences and expectations within the learning community?
5. How can awareness of digital differences contribute to student employability?
6. How could you use international students’ experiences and expectations of digital
practice as a way to embed internationalisation into the wider curriculum?