EXPRESSIONS

Graduate School Matters

A Working Paper

The tremendous increase of foreign nationals studying in the Philippines would undoubtedly make this country the center for higher education in Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines - East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA). From more than 26,000 in July 2010 (Aning, 2011), it rose to 41,443 in 2011 and to 47,478 in January 2012 (Tubeza, 2013). According to 2014 – 2017 data, in higher education alone, there were 47,307 foreigners enrolled. Majority of them, 17,583 were South Koreans, 14,138 were Indians, 4,401 were Chinese, 3,918 were Japanese, 3,083 were Iranians, 2,592 were Indonesians, and 1,592 were Americans (Buchiblo, 2019).

The presence of internationally mobile students (IMS) in the country contributed much to the diversity and internationalization of the schools where they enrolled. Once they are in their campuses, they and their local classmates share with each other their culture which eventually lead to mutual understanding and appreciation of cultural differences; thereby, promoting ample coexistence (Les Elfis International, 2019). Moreover, they positively influenced the student population and the campuses on many different levels such as academic prestige and financial revenue (Wu, et al., 2015) brought about by their funds spent for accommodation, consumer behaviors, and lifestyle preferences which fuel the existing businesses in the locality (Kusek, 2017).

IMS are curious of their countries of destination; its environment, its people, the cost of living, and the academics and social events they would possibly be engaging. Thinking of these excites them to enroll in a university of their chosen country. To satisfy their curiosity, Astute Career Counselling Academy (2018), encourage them to study in the Philippines. They stated that the country has several advantages compared to other countries. It has one of the best education systems in Asia with tough curricula and competent faculty members who were trained in the US or in other first-world countries and in the best universities in the country. Aside from being among the top in English language proficiency in Asia, it also has hospitable people and an open and safe environment.

Inbound IMS in the Philippines got various reasons of studying in the country. A French guy, Brun (2015) for instance, decided to come after seeing photos, stories, and articles about the country. After living here for two months, he exclaimed to have made the right choice. The kindness he received and the diversity of life style he enjoyed made him say so. Another, the Chinese Xiao (2018) said that aside from the cost of living, Filipinos are good in English and that they can communicate effectively with him. Killingley and Ilieva (2015) of the British Council cited that Pearson’s Business English Index has ranked the Philippines as the top country for Business English. Defendi (2020), on the other hand, chose this country because a lot of his Indian countrymen are studying here and that here, they need not to learn the local language unlike in other countries. These three are just among the thousands of internationally mobile students who chose to study in the country.

The contribution to the internationalization of higher education institutions in all facets is undeniable. They had been here for more a number of trimesters now, hence; they got enough experience to describe how they are living as a student in this country. Their feedbacks are helpful to educational managers, particularly in designing strategies in attracting more and retaining internationally mobile students until graduation and eventually tapping the best of them for fields that need their finished profession. This research will then be conducted for this purpose.