INTERNATIONALSTUDENTMOBILITY:THECASEOFSTUDENTSFROMSAUDI

ARABIACOMINGTOTHEUNITEDSTATES

by

MARGARETE.LASCALA

ADissertationsubmittedtothe

GraduateSchool-Newark

Rutgers,TheStateUniversityofNewJersey

inpartialfulfillmentoftherequirements

forthedegreeof

DoctorofPhilosophy

GraduatePrograminGlobalAffairs

writtenunderthedirectionof

ProfessorArianeChebelD’Appollonia

andapprovedby

_________________________

__________________________

_________________________

__________________________

Newark,NewJersey

October,2016

Copyrightpage:

©2016

MargaretE.LaScala

ALLRIGHTSRESERVED

ii

ABSTRACTOFTHEDISSERTATION

InternationalStudentMobility:TheCaseofStudentsFromSaudiArabiaComingto

theUnitedStates

ByMARGARETE.LASCALA

DissertationDirector:ProfessorArianeChebeld’Appollonia

Studentsseekinghighereducationoutsidetheircountryoforiginisagrowing

phenomenon.TheUnitedStatesisthelargesthostnationbuthasbeenlosing

marketshareasothercountriesincreasetheireffortstorecruitinternational

students.Surprisingly,afterseveralyearsofdecline,therateofgrowthinstudents

fromSaudiArabiahassurpassedtherateofgrowthforallforeignstudentschoosing

highereducationinstitutions(HEIs)intheUnitedStatessince2006.Thehistoryof

internationaleducationintheUnitedStatesandthecurrentstateofeducationinthe

MiddleEastprovidedbackgroundforananalysisofthepoliticalfactorsthat

resultedinthechange.Thisdissertationalsoassessedthemechanismsofchoiceand

motivationsofSaudisstudentsthatledtoattendinganHEIintheUnitedStates.

Studentchoicetheory,expectancytheory,economictheoriesincludinghuman

capitaltheoryandcomparativeadvantage,studentsasconsumers,andsocial

constructssuchasintergroupcontactanddiffusionofinnovationtheorywereused

todesignsemi-structuredinterviewsamongvariousstakeholderandanonline

surveyofSaudistudentstolearnhowandwhytheychosetheHEItheycurrently

iii

attended.SaudistudentswereinfluencedintheirdecisiontostudyintheUnited

StatesbytheavailabilityofscholarshipsfromtheSaudigovernmentandbythe

implementationoftheSEVIPvisasystemthatfacilitatedtheirchoiceofcountry.In

addition,SaudistudentswereaskedabouttheirexperiencesatHEIsintheUnited

StatesandtheirattitudestowardtheUnitedStates,westernsocialandpolitical

normsandpossiblemodernizationofSaudisociety.Theseresultswerecomparedto

surveydatafromstudentswhoremainedinSaudiArabiaforhighereducation.The

comparisonshowsthatSaudistudentsintheU.S.haveamorefavorableopinionof

theUnitedStatesthanbeforestudyinghere,increasedapprovalforgreatergender

equalityandwesternvaluessuchasrespectforhumanrightsandwomen’s

educationandemployment.ThisresearchcontainsrecommendationsforHEIsthat

wanttorecruitSaudistudentsandimprovetheirintegrationintothecampus

community.

iv

Acknowledgement

Iwouldliketoexpressmydeepgratitudetomydissertationcommitteemembers

fortheirpatienceandgenerosityinsharingtheirexpertiseandwisecounsel

throughouttheentireprocessofthisendeavor.Ihavebeenfortunatenotonlyinmy

choiceofcommitteebutalsointheotherprofessionalsandprofessorsIhave

encounteredandmyfellowstudentsintheDivisionofGlobalAffairsatRutgers

University-Newark.Manyofbeenencouragingandinspirationalandembodythe

bestpossibilitiesofsuchadiversegroupofscholars.Specialthanksgoestothestaff

attheDanaLibraryfortheirassistanceinalllevelsoftheresearchandanalysis.

Theyaretheunsungheroesofthisworkandofmanyothers.

IamalsogratefultomycolleaguesattheCollegeofMountSaintVincentwho

encouragedandsupportedmyeffortstocompletethisdissertation.Theywere

instrumentalinmydecisiontopursuemydoctorateandwillinglyofferedtheir

assistancewheneverasked.

Finally,Ithankmyfamilyandfriendsfortheirforbearanceandunderstanding.I

appreciateallyourhelpandsupportwhileIwasbusyelsewhere.

v

TableofContents

ABSTRACTOFTHEDISSERTATION..................................................................................................ii

Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………………………………………iv

ListofTablesandIllustrations………………………………………………………………………………x

ChapterOne:Introduction.....................................................................................................................1

ThePuzzle................................................................................................................................................9

KeyQuestionOne:HowcanthisincreaseinthenumberofSaudistudentscoming

totheU.S.forhighereducationbeexplained?.......................................................................13

Whoaretheactorsinvolved?...................................................................................................15

Whatarethemainmotivationsoftheactors?..................................................................16

KeyQuestionTwo:Whataretheexpectedoutcomesofthisresearch?.....................19

ChapterTwo:HistoricalBackground..............................................................................................20

SectionOne:HistoryofInternationalEducationintheU.S..............................................21

TheU.S.attitudesandpoliciesregardingforeignstudents.........................................23

SectionTwo:BackgroundonSaudiArabia,Monarchism,andEducationinthe

ArabGulfStates...................................................................................................................................36

BackgroundonSaudiArabia....................................................................................................36

MonarchismorPatrimonialisminSaudiArabia..............................................................41

EducationintheArabGulfStates...........................................................................................44

ChangingAvailabilityofHigherEducationintheGulf..................................................52

ChapterThree:LiteratureReview...................................................................................................61

SectionOne:TheoreticalApproaches-HumanCapital,IntergroupContact,and

DiffusionTheory.................................................................................................................................63

vi

HumanCapitalTheory.................................................................................................................63

IntergroupContactTheory........................................................................................................70

DiffusionTheory............................................................................................................................73

SectionTwo:PoliticalTheories....................................................................................................75

NormativeTheory.........................................................................................................................75

Realism...............................................................................................................................................76

Neoliberalism..................................................................................................................................78

LiberalPluralism............................................................................................................................78

SectionThree:LiteratureontheInternationalMarketforHigherEducationand

StudentChoice-ExpectancyTheory,TheoreticalModelsofStudentChoice,

StudentsasConsumers,andRecentStudies..........................................................................80

TheInternationalMarketforHigherEducation..............................................................80

ExpectancyTheory........................................................................................................................83

ModelsofStudentChoiceTheory...........................................................................................87

StudentsasConsumers...............................................................................................................93

RecentStudies..............................................................................................................................100

Conclusion......................................................................................................................................103

ChapterFour:ResearchMethodandDesign............................................................................109

ResearchMethod.............................................................................................................................109

Introduction..................................................................................................................................109

ResearchQuestions,Hypothesis,ConceptualModel...................................................111

ResearchDesign...............................................................................................................................118

Interviews......................................................................................................................................118

vii

SurveyDesignandAdministration.....................................................................................122

StrengthsandLimitations.......................................................................................................124

ValidityandUses..............................................................................................................................126

ChapterFive:FindingsonInstitutionalActors.......................................................................127

U.SGovernment................................................................................................................................127

U.S.GovernmentMotivations................................................................................................128

U.S.GovernmentGoalsandMeans......................................................................................129

Theeventsof9/11andtheirimpactonU.S.governmentpolicyandpractices

.............................................................................................................................................................130

TheStudentVisaBacklog........................................................................................................134

SaudiArabianGovernment.........................................................................................................136

TheGovernmentofSaudiArabia’sMotivations............................................................136

SaudiGovernmentGoalsandMeans..................................................................................138

EducationPolicyinSaudiArabia.........................................................................................139

InternationalizationandtheKingAbdullahScholarshipProgram.......................142

U.S.HigherEducationInstitutionsandSupportingIndustry.......................................147

U.S.HigherEducationInstitutions(HEIs)andtheSupportingIndustry

Motivations....................................................................................................................................147

HEIsandtheSupportingIndustryGoalsandMean.....................................................149

InterviewFindingsofHEIs–EmergentConcerns........................................................150

ChapterSix:FindingsonSaudiStudents....................................................................................163

TheUndocumentedElementsoftheIncreaseinSaudiStudentsAttendingSchools

intheU.S..............................................................................................................................................164

viii

InterviewFindingsforStudentsfromSaudiArabia.........................................................165

RoleoftheSaudiGovernment,theKASPandSACM...................................................167

ObtainingVisas............................................................................................................................168

ExpectancyTheory–WhyTheU.S......................................................................................169

SocialandCulturalCapital,SocialNetworks..................................................................171

HumanCapital..............................................................................................................................174

StudentsasConsumers,WhyThisSchool........................................................................175

AttitudesabouttheU.S.............................................................................................................176

ExperiencesintheU.S...............................................................................................................178

ChangingAttitudesandViewpointsaboutGlobalNorms.........................................181

Chapter7:SurveyResults.................................................................................................................184

KeyFindings......................................................................................................................................184

TheSurveyPopulation.............................................................................................................185

KeyFindingsforResearchQuestionOne:Howcantheincreaseinthenumberof

SaudistudentscomingtotheU.S.forhighereducationbeexplained?....................188

KeyFindingsforResearchQuestionTwo:Whataretheexpectedoutcomesofthis

research?.............................................................................................................................................192

FindingsonSaudiStudents’ExperiencesattheirCurrentSchool.............................198

DiscussiononFindingsaboutSaudiStudentsintheU.S.comparedwithSaudisat

Home.....................................................................................................................................................200

Chapter8:Conclusion.........................................................................................................................208

RecommendationsforHEIsintheUnitedStates...............................................................208

SummationandFutureResearch.............................................................................................213

ix

AppendixA.........................................................................................................................................223

InterviewQuestionsforHEIs.....................................................................................................223

InterviewQuestionsforSaudiStudents................................................................................223

AppendixB..............................................................................................................................................227

QualtrixOnlineSurvey..................................................................................................................227

Bibliography...........................................................................................................................................235

x

ListofFiguresandTables

Figure1:GrowthinGlobalStudentEnrolmentfrom1975to2012 p.3

Figure2:InternationalStudentMobilityRatesofChange,GlobalandToU.S. p.5

Figure3:ChangesinSaudiStudentAttendanceatForeignHEIs p.7

Figure4:F1VisasIssuedtoSaudiStudents p.10

Figure5:SaudiStudentF1VisasasaPercentageofAllIssued p.11

Figure6:Perna(2006)ProposedConceptualModelofStudentChoice p.89

Figure7:ConceptualModelforSaudiStudentChoicetoStudyintheU.S. p.115

Figure8:GenderofRespondents p.185

Figure9:DegreesRespondentsareCurrentlySeeking p.185

Figure10:TotalNumberofYearsRespondentsLivedintheU.S. p.187

Figure11:NumberofTimesintheU.S.Beforecomingforeducation p.187

Figure12:Father’sHighestLevelofEducation p.188

Figure13:Mother’sHighestLevelofEducation p.188

Figure14:SaudiStudents’SourcesofInformation p.193

Figure15:WhatAttractedStudentstoTheirCurrentSchool p.194

Figure16:ConfidenceinFutureEmployment p.201

Figure17:ViewsonChangingGenderRoles p.202

Figure18:ViewsonWomen’sWorkandReligiousPractices p.204

Figure19:ViewsonIfSaudiCultureShouldRemainUnchanged p.205

Figure20:ViewsonSaudiCulturalSuperiority p.205

Table1:Top8HostCountriesofGloballyMobileStudents p.4

xi

Table2:IncreaseinForeignStudentPopulationsintheU.S.2006to2013 p.4

Table3:RankingofPlacesofOriginforForeignStudentscomingtotheU.S. p.6

Table4:SaudiStudentsAttendingHEIsintheUKvs.theUS p.6

Table5:NonimmigrantF-1VisasIssued,TotalsIssuedandSaudiIssued p.9

Table6:WhereDoSaudiStudentsGoToStudy,UNESCO,2012 p.12

Table7:OutcomesandSpendingForEducationinArabGulfStates p.46

Table8:ArabWorldLearningBarometer,2014Competency p.47

Table9:PIRLS(ProgressinInternationalReadingLiteracyStudy)

2010Scores p.48

Table10:TIMSSMeanScoresinMathbyGender,Grade,andYear p.49

Table11:WorldBankKnowledgeEconomyIndex(KEI) p.50

Table12:KEIBreakdownsforMENACountries,2012 p.51

Table13:U.S.UnemploymentbyEducationLevel p.66

Table14:KASPStudents,NumberofStudentsvis-à-viscategory,2011 p.137

Table15:UnemploymentinSaudiArabia p.163

Table16:MenandWomenShouldContributetoHouseholdIncome p.203

1

ChapterOne:IntroductionTherehasbeenalongtraditionofpeopletravelingfarfromtheirhomesinsearchof

knowledge.ThewanderingscholarandtheprivilegedeliteswhotooktheGrand

TourwereamongthesteadybutrelativelysmallstreamofstudentsfromSouthto

Northinpursuitofinformaleducation(deWit,2002).Whathaschangedinrecent

decadesisthefastgrowthinthenumberofdegreeseekingstudentstraveling

abroadforeducation.Studentschoosewheretostudybasedonamyriadoffactors.

Often,foreignstudentsareseekingeducationsinschoolsthathaveEnglishlanguage

programmingandofferthebestqualitycoursesbasedoninternationalreputations

andrankings.

Asamatterofforeignpolicy,highereducationandinternationalstudentmobility

arecloselyrelated.Educationalandculturalexchangesareafrequenttoolofpublic

diplomacy.TheUnitedStateshasahistoryofwelcominginternationalstudentsand

scholarstothecountryinordertopromoteAmericancultureandvalues(Lord,

1998).Todaystudentstraveltoanincreasingnumberofcountriesandingreater

numberthanever.Figure1illustratesthatglobalinternationalstudentenrollment

morethantripledfrom1.3millionin1990to4.5millionin2012.

Untilrecently,theUnitedStatesenjoyedthelargestshareofinternationalstudents.

AccordingtoIIE.org(FastFacts2015)thenumberofinternationalstudentsinthe

U.S.fellslightlyfrom2001to2007buthasgrownsteadilysincethen,reaching

974,926studentsin2014.TheUnitedStatescontinuestohostthegreatestnumber

2

ofinternationalstudentsbutitsshareofthetotalglobalnumberofinternational

studentsdeclinedfromtwentyeightpercentin2001tonineteenpercentin2012.

Table1showsthechangesinmarketshareofinternationalstudentssince2001.

3

Figure1:GrowthinGlobalStudentEnrolmentfrom1975to2012

4

Table1:Top8HostCountriesofGloballyMobileStudents

2001Worldwide:2.1million 2012Worldwide:4.3million

UnitedStates28% UnitedStates19%

UnitedKingdom11% UnitedKingdom11%

Germany9% China8%

France7% France7%

Australia4% Germany6%

Japan3% Australia6%

Spain2% Canada5%

Belgium2% Japan3%

AllOther34% AllOther35%

Source:ProjectAtlasandUNESCO,2012

Thecompetitionforinternationalstudentshasincreasedasothercountrieshave

improvedtheireducationalsystemsandbuiltstateoftheartcampusesandresearch

facilities.TheU.S.highereducationinstitutionscontinuetoseegrowthinstudents

fromChina,India,andSouthKorea.SaudiArabiaisnowalsoatopsendingcountry

totheU.S.Inthelastfiveyears,from2006/07to2012/13thetopfoursending

countrieshaveincreasedthenumberofstudentscomingtotheUnitedStatesasper

Table2:

Table2:IncreaseinForeignStudentPopulationsintheU.S.from2006to2013

SaudiArabia 465.1%

China 247.9%

India 15.4%

S.Korea 13.2%

AllCountries 40.6%

Datasource:OpenDoorSurvey2013

5

Since2006therateofincreaseinstudentsfromSaudiArabiahasfaroutpacedthe

rateofgrowthfromanyothersendingcountry.StudentsfromSaudiArabiaare

comingtotheUnitedStatesatanevengreaterratethanChinesestudents,the

largestsendingcountryforforeignstudentsglobally.Figure2isanillustrationof

thischange.

Figure2:InternationalStudentMobilityRatesofChange,GlobalandToU.S.

Datasource:OpenDoorSurvey2013

Table3showsthelistofcountriesthatsendstudentstotheU.S.rankedinorderof

size.China,India,andSouthKoreahavebeenthetopthreesendingcountriessince

2005.Thedatashowthatthereareonlyslightvariationsinplacementfromyearto

year.MovementsintherankingssuchasSaudiArabia’sareunusual.

-40

-20

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

200120022003200420052006 20072008 20092010201120122013

%

Global

China/US

India/US

S.Korea/US

Saudi/US

6

Table3:RankingofPlacesofOriginforForeignStudentscomingtotheU.S.

2012/13Rank11/1210/1109/10 08/0907/0806/0705/06

1China 1 1 1 2 2 22

2India 2 2 2 1 1 11

3SouthKorea 3 3 3 3 3 33

4SaudiArabia 4 6 7 9 9 12 N/A

5Canada 5 4 4 4 5 6 5

6Taiwan 6 5 5 6 6 5 6

7Japan 7 7 6 5 4 4 4

8Vietnam 8 8 9 8 13 20 N/A

9Mexico 9 9 9 7 7 7 7

10Turkey 10 10 10 10 8 8 8

Note:somerankingsdatadonotextendbeyond20places.Source:IIEFastFacts.

Inaddition,studentsfromSaudiArabiaarechoosingtheUnitedStatesoverany

othercountry,includingtheUnitedKingdom,whichremainsthesecondmost

populardestinationcountryforinternationalstudents.AsshowninTable4,there

hasbeenadeclineinthenumberofSaudistudentsattendingschoolsintheU.K.

Table4:SaudiStudentsAttendingHEIsintheUKvs.theUS

Source:iie.organdhesa.ac.uk

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

SaudistoUK 3405 6975 8765 8400 7930

Growth

62% 26% -4% -6%

Saudisin-US 12661 15810 22704 34139 44566

Growth%

25% 44% 50% 31%

AllSaudi 58710 78826 106095 107065 126000est

Growth% 37% 34% 35% 1% 18%

7

Figure3isagraphicalrepresentationthathighlightshowlargethisshifthasbeen.

Figure3:ChangesinSaudiStudentAttendanceatForeignHEIs

Note:AllSaudidatafrommohe.gov.saStudyAbroadScholarships.OtherData:

iie.organdhesa.ac.ukHigherEducationStatisticAgencyTable6:Top10non-EU

countriesofdomicilefor2012/13.2012/13AllSaudiextrapolatedfrommohe.gov

Figure3illustratesthatthegrowthrateforSaudistudentscomingtotheUnited

StatesisfasterthantheoverallgrowthrateforSaudistudentsseekinghigher

educationoutsideofthecountry.SaudistudentsattendanceatschoolsintheUnited

Kingdombegantoslowby2010andhasdeclinedsince2011.

8

TherewasadeclineinvisaapprovalsforallstudentsapplyingtocometotheUnited

StatesintheyearsimmediatelyafterSeptember11,2001.F-1non-immigrantvisas

aregiventooverseventyeightpercentofforeignstudentsattendinghigher

educationinstitutionsasfulltimestudents.Table5illustratesthatafter2001Saudi

studentvisaapprovalsfellfasterthanallstudentvisaapprovals.Thattrendbegan

reversingin2005.SaudistudentstodaymakeupagrowingpercentageofallF-1

visasapproved.

9

Table5:NonimmigrantF-1VisasIssued,TotalsIssuedandSaudiIssued

Year TotalF-1 SaudiF-1Saudi%ofTotal

Saudi%change

Total%change

1997 266,483 3,529 1.30% n/a n/a

1998 251,565 3,796 1.50% 7.00% -5.60%

1999 262,542 3,893 1.48% 2.60% 4.40%

2000 284,053 4,038 1.40% 3.70% 8.20%

2001 293,357 4,359 1.49% 7.70% 3.30%

2002 234,322 1,515 0.65% -65.20% -20.10%

2003 215,695 1,158 0.54% -23.40% -7.90%

2004 218,898 1,008 0.46% -13% 1.50%

2005 237,890 2,166 0.95% 114.90% 8.70%

2006 273,870 9,240 3.40% 312.20% 15.10%

2007 298,393 5,776 1.94% -37.50% 9.00%

2008 340,711 8,038 2.40% 39.20% 14.20%

2009 331,208 11,193 3.40% 39.30% -2.80%

2010 385,210 21,101 5.50% 88.50% 16.30%

2011 447,410 27,738 6.20% 31.50% 16.10%

2012 486,900 27,932 5.70% 0.70% 8.80%

2013 534,320 28,597 5.40% 2.40% 9.80%

note:dataisfiscalyearOct-Sep %Changeisyearover

year www.traval.state.gov/content/visas/

english/law-and-policy/statistics/ non-immigrants-visas.html

ThePuzzle

Somequestionsarisefromthesefacts.Howcantheoutsizedgrowthinthenumber

ofstudentsfromSaudiArabiaattendinghighereducationalinstitutions(HEIs)inthe

10

UnitedStatesbeexplained?Inapost9/11world,withextensivepublicand

governmentalfocusonnationalsecurityintheUnitedStates,thisisunexpected.

Figure4isagraphicalrepresentationthatshowstherapidriseinthenumberofF-1

visasissuestoSaudistudents.Figure5identifieshowmanySaudistudentsare

beingissuedvisascomparedtoallF1visasbeingissues.Thereboundinthe

numberofstudentsfromSaudiArabiaispuzzlinggiventhegeopoliticalrealitiesof

theUnitesStates’intensefocusonnationalsecurityandthe“WaronTerror”that

resultedinthehighestlevelsofscrutinygiventoyoungpeopleofMiddleEastern

origincomingintothecountry(Congress2004).

Figure4:F1VisasIssuedtoSaudiStudents

Source:www.travel.state.gov.content/visas/english.law-and-policy/statistics/non-

immigrant-visas.html

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

Year 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

F1VisasIssuedtoSaudiStudents

11

Figure5:SaudiStudentF1VisasasaPercentofAllVisasIssued

Source:www.travel.state.gov.cotent/visas/english.law-and-policy/statistics/non-

immigrant-visas.html

TherapidgrowthinSaudistudentscomingtotheU.S.isalsounexpectedinlightof

growingcompetitioninthemarketforinternationalstudentsandtheprobability

thatSaudistudentswouldattendhighereducationinstitutionsintheUnited

Kingdom.Todaystudentshavemorechoicesforhighereducation.Manydeveloping

countrieshaveinvestedheavilyinbuildinguniversitycampusesandimprovingthe

qualityoftheirprograms,includingofferingfulldegreestaughtinEnglish.For

example,inadditiontothegrowthintheeducationalsysteminChina,theotherGulf

Stateshavebeenrecruitingpremiernamewesternuniversitiestobuildentire

campusesorpartnerwithlocalschoolstoofferfulldegrees.Saudistudentshave

manygeographicallycloseroptionsthattheycanchoosefrom.Yet,asTable6

shows,SaudistudentsarechoosingtheU.S.infargreaternumberthanother

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

Percntage

Year

SaudiF1Visasas%ofallIssued

12

countries.Thisisparticularlyinterestinggiventheextremeculturalandpolitical

differencesbetweentheU.S.andSaudiArabia.Incontrast,theBritishwere

politicallyactiveintheregionsincetheeighteenthcenturyandtheSaudipeople

havehadcenturies-longfamiliaritywiththecultureandcustomsofpeoplefromthe

UnitedKingdom.TheU.K.isalsogeographicallymuchclosertoSaudiArabiathan

theUnitedStatesis.Itwould,therefore,beexpectedthatSaudistudentswould

showastrongpreferenceforcontinuingtheirattendanceatschoolsintheU.K.

Table6:WhereDoSaudiStudentsGoToStudy,UNESCO,2013

UnitedStates 42,651

UnitedKingdom 9,344

Australia 4,946

Canada 4,587

Jordan 3,295

UAE 1,686

Malaysia 887

NewZealand 994

France 478

Poland 466

Source:uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/International-student-flows-viz.aspx.

Note:slightvariationsexistinthedatacomparedtoiie.organdNAFSAreportsdue

todefinitionaldifferences.

GiventhislargeincreaseinSaudistudentscomingtotheU.S.itispuzzlingtoknowif

governmentpoliciesintheU.S.andinSaudiArabiahaveanimpactonwhythey

choosetheU.S.overotherdestinations.Thechoiceofschoolisamatterofinterest,

13

aswell.Saudistudentsareclusteringincertainregions.Whydotheychoosethe

institutiontheyattendandhowdotheyfareoncetheycome?Dotheyexperience

anychangesintheirattitudesandopinionsduetotheirtimeintheUnitedStates?

KeyQuestionOne:HowcanthisincreaseinthenumberofSaudistudents

comingtotheU.S.forhighereducationbeexplained?

Theworldwidedemandforhighereducationisincreasing.Sinceeducationplaysan

importantroleforbuildinghumancapital,itisaprimaryinputforeconomic

developmentandgrowth.Inadditiontomacroeconomicoutcomes,humancapital

creationcanalsoresultinbenefitsontheindividuallevel.Educationmayenhancea

person’sprofessionalabilitiesandhelpcreateinformedcitizensthatcontributetoa

bettersociety.Theneweconomytodayisaglobal,knowledgeeconomythatis

transnationalanddeeplyintegrated.Thiseconomyisdynamicandcompetitiveand

requiresaworkforcewithanalyticalskillsandtheabilitytoinnovateandadaptin

ordertosucceed.Theneedsandrewardsofparticipatingintheglobaleconomycan

explainwhatmotivatesanindividualtopursuehighereducation.

Inadditiontohumancapitalcreation,internationaleducationitselfhasbecomea

tradablecommodity,onethatfitsintomanymodelsofinternationaltradeand

marketanalysis.Theglobalmarketforeducationisgrowingasmorestudentstravel

abroadforhighereducationandschoolsanduniversitiescompetetoattractthem.

Foreignstudentsproviderevenue,helpdiversifythestudentpopulation,and

providetheuniversitieswithvaluedresearchcredentialsthatenhancetheir

14

prestigeandinternationalreputations.Thesemaybeamongthereasonsthat

universitiesandstudentsincreasinglyseekeachotherout,inordertosatisfytheir

perceivedneedsthathaveshapedtheglobaltradeineducationalservices.

Whileitisoftendifficulttoseparatepoliticsfromeconomics,ideologyandmarket

philosophy,therearesomeoverlappingandyetsomeverydifferentgoalsamong

theSaudisandtheAmericansthatmaybebehindthecurrenttrendsofbothsending

andreceivingstudentsinsuchgreatconcentration.TheU.S.governmenthasmade

greatstridesinaccommodatingSaudistudentsapplyingforvisassincetheattacks

ofSept11(Wildavsky2012).ThegovernmentofSaudiArabiasupportsstudents

throughinitiativesthatincludetheKingAbdullahScholarshipProgram(KASP).The

structureoftheprogrammay,bydesign,influenceboththedecisiontostudyabroad

andwherethestudentschoosetogo.TheconnectionbetweentheKASPandSaudi

studentsmayberelevanttounderstandingtheactionsofboththegovernmentand

thestudents,whoareincreasinglyoptingtostudyabroadinanon-Muslimcountry.

Inordertoaddressthisquestion,theactorsinvolvedmustbeidentifiedandtheir

mainmotivationsevaluated.TherearemainactorsontheU.S.sideaswellasthe

Saudiside.

15

Whoaretheactorsinvolved?

Areviewofinternationalhighereducationsuggestsafocusonseveralmainactors.

Therolethateachoftheseactorsplayindividuallyandinconcertwitheachother

explainmuchofthebehaviorofforeignstudentswhochoosetostudyintheU.S.

IntheUnitedStatestheyaretheU.S.Governmentthroughvariousagencies,higher

educationinstitutesthatrangefromlanguagetrainingschoolstodegreegranting

researchuniversities,andacollectionofprivateinterestgroupsthatsupport

internationaleducation.TheU.S.governmentsetspoliciesandimplements

programsthatrelatetointernationalstudents.Thehighereducationinstitutions

(HEIs)intheU.S.areinvolvedinrecruitingandservingforeignstudents.Once

foreignstudentsaregrantedavisatheHEIistheprimarysiteforforeignstudents’

experiencesintheU.S.TheHEIsaresupportedbyprivateorganizationsthatworkin

conjunctionwitheachothertopromoteinternationaleducation.Theseprivate

actorspromotestudyabroadforbothU.S.andforeignstudentsandliaisewith

Congresstoaddresspracticalandlegalchallengesfacingthehighereducation

industry.

ThecaseofstudentsfromSaudiArabiachoosingtostudyintheU.S.requiresamore

specificanalysis.InadditiontotheyoungSaudis,theprimaryactorsupporting

internationaleducationinSaudiArabiaistheSaudigovernmentthroughthe

MinistryofHigherEducation.ThegovernmentofSaudiArabiaisinvestingin

educationatalllevelsinsidethecountry.Italsoofferscitizensthefinancialsupport

16

tostudyabroad.ManystudentswholeaveSaudiArabiaforhighereducationare

fundedundertheKingAbdullahScholarshipProgram(KASP).TheMinistryof

HigherEducationisresponsibleforimplementingtheKASP.TheSaudigovernment

alsoprovidesmaterialsupportforinternationalstudentswhoareprivatelyorself-

funded.FocusingonthevariousministriesofthegovernmentofSaudiArabiacan

helpexplainthephenomenonofthelargenumberofSaudistudentsattendingHEIs

intheUnitedStates.

Whatarethemainmotivationsoftheactors?

FortheU.S.Government,wemayassumethatinternationalhighereducationisa

toolofeconomicdevelopmentandforeignpolicy.Thissuggestsseveralmotivations

thatshouldbeanalyzed.Forexample,thebenefitofspreadingU.S.cultureand

valuesthroughinternationaleducationwasoneofthemajorimperativesforre-

establishingthenon-immigrantstudentvisaprogramaftertheeventsofSept.11.

Additionally,internationaleducationisincreasinglyseenasavaluableeconomic

sectorthatprovidesjobsandincomeathome.Exposuretointernationalstudents,

alongwiththepersonalrelationshipsforged,isbelievedtohelpU.S.students

developinterculturalskillsandcompetenciesneededtomanageintheglobal

economy(Hausheer,2014).

UniversitiesandHEIsmaybeunderstoodtohavetheirownmotivations,although

thereissomeoverlapwiththeU.S.government.Universitiesandcolleges(HEIs)

supportstudentmobilitytoencouragetheinternationalizationofAmericanschools

17

andstudents.Internationalizationendeavorstocreategraduateswhoareglobal

thinkersandisaprimarygoalofHEIstoday.Also,HEIsincreasinglyrelyonthe

revenuegeneratedfromforeignstudents.Finally,HEIsseektoattractforeign

studentstofillseatsavailableincriticaldisciplines,especiallyinthesciencesand

researchprograms.ManyHEIsactivelycompeteforthebeststudentsinorderto

maintaintheirinternationalrankingsandreputations.Thesemotivations,some

idealistic,somemorepragmatic,shouldbeanalyzedinordertobetterunderstand

theroleHEIsplayininternationalstudentmobility.

ThemainmotivationsoftheSaudigovernmentpointtoacombinationofdomestic

driversaswellasinternationalconcerns.TheSaudigovernmentisusingeducation

asawaytobuildhumancapitalinordertodiversifytheeconomybeyondthe

energysector.Thegovernmentismotivatedbytheneedtoreduceunemployment

byhavingaworkforceofcapableSaudisthatcanreplacetheinternational

expatriateswhocurrentlyholdmanyofthemiddleanduppermanagement

positionsintheprivatesector.Also,theSaudigovernmentisendeavoringtochange

theperceptionofSaudisabroadsincetheeventsofSeptember11,2001,whenmany

ofthehijackerswereSaudinationals.AnotherfactormotivatingtheSaudi

governmentisarecognitionthatitneedstomodernizesocietyandencourageashift

awayfromIslamicextremism.ThisdrivetosoftentheinfluenceofWahhabism,the

conservativeformofIslampracticedinthecountry,hasbothdomesticandregional

implications.

18

ThereisnodoubtthatSaudistudentsarechoosingtostudyabroadingreater

numbersthanever.Theprimaryassumptionisthattheyanticipateeconomic

rewardsthroughenhancedjobprospectswhentheyreturn.Theanalysisshould

includewhetherSaudistudentperceivetheeducationintheU.S.tobebetterat

preparingthemforjobsintheprivatesector,whereanalyticalandcriticalthinking

skillsarerequiredtosucceed.Saudistudentmotivationsmayrelatetobuilding

humancapitalandbeinformedbysocialandculturalcapitalfactors.Thefocuson

socialandculturalcapitalmightexplainhowtheymaketheirchoicesandwhat

individualattributescontributetothedecisiontostudyintheU.S.

19

KeyQuestionTwo:Whataretheexpectedoutcomesofthisresearch?

IntryingtounderstandthisincreaseinthenumberofSaudistudentscomingthe

U.S.forhighereducationseveralissueswillbemadeclearerorpresentareasfor

futureresearch.Theoutcomesfoundcouldhaveimportantpoliticalandeconomic

implicationsforbothcountries.Also,highereducationinstitutionsmayaddress

shortcomingsintheservicestheyofferSaudistudentsinlightoftheresultsofthis

research.Studyingthisphenomenonhasprovidedexplanationsthat:

1.EstablishwhySaudistudentschoosetostudyabroad,whytheycometotheU.S.

andidentifiestheirdecision-makingmechanisms.

2.HighlighttheissuesthatSaudistudentsface,academicallyandsocially.Higher

educationinstitutionsintheUnitedStatesneedtoacttosuccessfullyintegratethese

studentsandensuretheyhaveapositiveexperiencebyaddressingtheseconcerns.

3.IdentifyhowSaudistudentsfeelabouttheUnitedStates.Willtherebealong-term

changeintherelationshipbetweentheUnitedStatesandSaudiArabiaasmoreof

theiryoungpeopleabsorbAmericancultureandvalues?Thiscouldpresentthe

basisforfutureresearch.

4.RevealwhatSaudistudentsintheUnitedStatesreportaboutchangesintheir

toleranceofothers,issuesrelatedtofamilyandgenderequality,howtheyfeelabout

lawspreventingdiscriminationandtheiropinionoftheUnitedStates.Saudi

studentswhoreturntotheircountrymaybetheimpetusforeconomicandcultural

changesthattakeplaceinthecomingyears.Changesintheseattitudesmayform

thebasisforgreaterchangeinSaudisocietyinthefuture.

20

ChapterTwo:HistoricalBackgroundThischapterwillprovidebackgroundforunderstandingthebehaviorofthevarious

stakeholders.Educationservesmanypurposes,bothpublicandprivate.This

researchconcernsaseriesofcomplexinterlinkingperspectivesandmotivations

thatrelatetoeconomic,political,social,andculturaldrivers.Theperspectivesof

eachstakeholderwereanalyzedtoshowwheretheyfitintothispuzzleofSaudi

studentscomingtotheU.S.Theparametersofthisresearchdictatedthatthe

historicalusesofhighereducationandthepoliticalmotivesofkeyactorsbe

reviewed.

SectionOnediscussesthehistoryofinternationalstudentsintheUnitedStatesand

governmentpoliciesandattitudestowardthem.TheU.S.governmenthasused

highereducationasthemeansforeconomicdevelopment.Ithasalsoused

educationandculturalexchangesastoolsforpublicdiplomacyandsoftpower.U.S.

governmentpolicytowardinternationaleducationiscloselyentwinedwithits

internationalrelationspoliciesandtheyarereviewedinthecontextofeachother.

SectionTwoconcernsthegovernmentofSaudiArabiaandthecurrentstateof

educationinthecountryandtheArabGulfStates.Historicalbackgroundanda

reviewofcurrentpoliticalimperativesshedlightontotheimpetusbehindits

currenteducationpolicy.Thesectionincludesadiscussionofthenatureof

monarchismandpatrimonialisminordertoprovidecontextualunderstandingof

thecountryandtherelationshipbetweenthegovernmentanditscitizens.This

21

relationshipisradicallydifferentfromWesternstylesofliberal,democratic,

participatorygovernment.Itreflectsamindsetandrealmofexpectationthatisin

starkcontrasttothoseofcitizensintheU.S.andtheirgovernment.

SectionOne:HistoryofInternationalEducationintheU.S.

Forcenturies,internationalstudentflowsweredirectedtowardthecentersof

higherlearninginGreece,Rome,anduniversitiesthroughoutMedievalEurope,

continuinguntilthenineteenthcenturywhentheGrandTourwasconsideredthe

capstoneofaliberaleducation.EvenAmericanstudentswentabroadtostudyat

Europe’smostprestigiousschools.BenjaminFranklinandThomasJeffersonstudied

Europeanmodelsofhighereducationandbroughtbackideastheyusedtodevelop

theAmericansystem.RelativelyfewforeignstudentscametotheU.S.untilthe

twentiethcentury.In1784,theVenezuelanrevolutionaryfigureFranciscode

MirandawasthefirstforeignstudentatYaleUniversity.FernandoBolivar,the

nephewofSimonBolivar,wastheUniversityofVirginia’sfirstLatinAmerican

studentinthe1827.ManyLatinAmericanstudentswhocametostudyintheUnited

Statesbecamepoliticallyprominentintheirhomecountriesandmaintainedclose

relationswiththeU.S.(Bevis&Lucas,2007).

ChristianmissionariesinChinabroughtWesterneducationalmethodsthatspread

throughouttheregion.BythenineteenthcenturyChinesewerethefirstsizable

cohortofforeignstudentsintheU.S.OncetheJapanesegovernmentlifteditsbanon

22

Christianityinthe1870s,missionariestherewereabletosupportstudentscoming

totheU.S.tostudy.ManyAsianstudentsreturnedhometohavesuccessfulcareers

aseducators,technicians,andengineerswithstrongviewsaboutmodernizingtheir

countries.ImmigrationlawssuchastheChineseExclusionActof1882and

increasinglycomplexandrestrictiveruleslaterimpactedtheflowofinternational

students,especiallyfromAsiancountries(Bevis&Lucas,2007).

Much,ifnotall,oftheearlysupportforforeignstudentsintheUnitedStatescame

fromprivategroups,mainlycampusbasedcosmopolitanandinternationalclubs.

Theseinformalorganizationswerestudentrunandoccasionallyaidedbya

volunteerfacultymemberwhoservedasa“foreignstudentadvisor.”Intime,the

functionofforeignstudentadvisorbecameincorporatedintothecolleges’

administrationsandservedtheimportantroleofprovidingacademiccounselto

foreignstudentsandsteeringthemaroundcomplicatedrulesandvisa

requirements,preventingmanydeportations.Anotherprivateinitiativewasthe

establishmentofinternationalhouses,formalcommunitycentersthatbrought

togetherstudentsfromallnationsinanefforttopromotegreatertoleranceand

understanding.ThefirstonewasestablishedinNewYorkCityin1928withfunds

fromJohnD.Rockefeller,Sr.andtheClevelandH.DodgeFamily,whoalsohelped

foundtheCommitteeonFriendlyRelationsAmongForeignStudents.International

HouseBerkeleywasopenedin1930.Itwasacoedhousingcomplexthatsoon

attractedstudentsfromaroundtheworld.AthirdcenterwasopenedinChicagoin

1932andtodaytheycontinuetoprovidethemodelsforcentersofinternational

23

educationandculturalexchanges.By1935,thenumberofprivategroupsinvolved

withinternationaleducationreachedoveronehundred(BevisandLucas2007).

TheU.S.attitudesandpoliciesregardingforeignstudents

TheU.S.governmenthasbeendirectlyandindirectlyinvolvedinbringingforeign

studentstothecountrysincetheearlytwentiethcenturytoservenationalinterest.

TheodoreRoosevelt’spresidencyandtheProgressiveErawasatimeofrenewed

interestinpubliceducationintheUnitedStates.Italsocoincidedwithmore

studentscomingfromLatinAmericaandareturnofChinesestudentsinthewakeof

theBoxerRebellionin1898.PresidentRooseveltwaseagertosupportthechanges

broughtonbytherebellion,encompassingbothpoliticalandeducationalreforms,

andby1912theU.S.governmentspecificallysupportedChinesestudentsbeing

givensafepassagetoAmericaandenrolledinAmericancolleges.Mostofthese

studentsheldimportantpositionsafterreturningtoChina(Bevis&Lucas,2007).

EarlyeffortstosupportinternationalstudyabroadbyAmericanscameafterWorld

WarI.ForeignstudentswerestilltheresponsibilityoftheBureauofCitizenshipand

ImmigrationServicesbutprivateorganizationsweremostactiveinpromoting

internationaleducation.TheInstituteofInternationalEducation(IIE)was

establishedin1919tosupporttwo-wayexchangeofstudentsandbeganalong

historyofprovidingdataandconductingpolicyrelatedresearchonforeignstudents

andtrendsininternationaleducation.Accordingtotheirwebsite,iie.org,itwas

24

establishedbyNobelPeacePrizewinnersNicholasMurrayButler,Presidentof

ColumbiaUniversity,andElihuRoot,formerSecretaryofState,andStephenDuggan,

Sr.,ProfessorofPoliticalScienceattheCollegeoftheCityofNewYorkandIIE'sfirst

President,topromoteunderstandingbetweennationsthroughinternational

education.

Duringthe1930stheIIEwasinstrumentalinbringingEuropeanscholarsidentified

as“atrisk”totheU.S.tolectureatAmericanuniversitiesandarrangedformany

displacedforeignscholarstocometotheUnitedStates.TheIIEfoundedthe

NationalAssociationofForeignStudentAdvisors,NAFSA,in1948tofurtherdevelop

thecapabilitiesofuniversityadministratorsinassistingthegrowingnumberof

foreignstudentsarrivinginthecountryafterWorldWarII.TheIIEremainsa

private,not-for-profitorganizationbutitadministerstheFulbrightProgramand

GilmanScholarshipProgramonbehalfoftheU.S.DepartmentofState.Additionally,

theIIEandNAFSApromotelegislationtoenablegreatereducationalandcultural

exchangesandpromoteimmigrationreformthatwillallowforeignstudentsto

remainintheU.S.aftercompletingtheirstudiesandcontributetotheU.S.economy.

SincetheendofWorldWarII,theuniversityhasbeenaninformaltoolofpublic

diplomacyandeconomicdevelopmentinfluencedbyU.S.governmentpolicy

(Critchlow2004;TheCurbCenterforArt,Enterprise,andPublicPolicyat

Vanderbiltn.d.).Successiveadministrationshavefocusedondifferinginitiativesbut

thevirtuouscircleofacademicexcellenceandgrowingforeignstudentattendance

25

attoptieruniversitiesinthecountryresultedinstrongeconomicgrowthhereanda

preferenceforAmericanstyleeducationabroad.TheU.S.governmentplayedan

essentialroleinthetypesofprogramsofferedbyuniversities,financingmajorssuch

asareastudiesandscientificresearchthateducatedU.S.studentsinsubjects

deemedofnationalinterest(Wildavsky,2012).Theseprogramsattractedtoptier

internationalscholarswho,inturn,helpedbuildthereputationforexcellence

enjoyedbymanyU.S.HEIs.

BysupportingstudentexchangeprogramstheU.S.governmentusedthe

universitiesastoolsofpublicdiplomacy.Educationalexchangeswereoneofseveral

programsinstitutedtointentionallyexposetheworldtoAmericancultureand

valuesduringWorldWarII.TheUnitedStatesInformationAgency(USIA),Voiceof

AmericaRadio(VOA),RadioFreeEurope,andtheFulbrightProgramarethebetter

knownoftheseefforts.Theprogramswereestablishedtopromotethe‘American

values’offosteringprotectionforhumanrights,democracy,andtheruleoflaw,and

advancementofeconomicsystemsthatbestservetheinterestsoftheUnitedStates

today.Thiswasmanagedthroughbroadcampaignstoinfluencepoliticaloutcomes,

promotedemocracy,andothermeanstoadvertisetotheworldthevirtuesand

superiorityofAmericancultureandbusinesspractices.Providingaccessto

Americanmusic,films,andotherformsofpopularentertainmentseemedinnocent

andnon-threatening.InvitingforeignerstostudyandteachintheUnitedStates

seemedgenerousandwelcoming,oftenagestureofgoodwilltoforeignstudents

facingdifficultcircumstances.Yet,fortheUnitedStates,thiswaspartofawider

26

agendaofpublicdiplomacytocreateafavorableviewofthecountrybeyondits

physicalborders,spreadtheidealsoffreemarketcapitalism,anddispelnegative

stereotypesaboutthecountry(O'Mara2012).

Manyoftheseprogramsstillfunctiontoday,albeitwithlessgovernmentsupport.

Still,thisisacontinuationofthesameideologyinformingU.S.publicdiplomacyafter

WorldWarII,wheninternationalinformationprogramsbecameapermanenttool

ofAmericanforeignpolicy(Lord,1998).VoiceofAmericahasbeenbroadcastingin

Englishandotherlanguagescontinuouslysince1942.Itwasoriginallyusedfor

propagandaandpsychologicallytargetedprogramsbutnowbroadcastsgeneral

newsasanindependentnewsagency.RadioFreeEuropeandRadioLibertywere

CIA-runservicescreatedintheearly1950sanddirectedtowardtheSoviet

controlledEasternblocnations.

TheFulbrightEducationalExchangeProgramgrewdirectlyoutoftheexperiencesof

WorldWarII,whenArkansasSenatorJ.WilliamFulbrightproposedaplanforthe

rebuildingofEuropean-Americanuniversityexchangeprograms.Basedonhisown

experiencesatOxfordasaRhodesscholar,Fulbrightbelievedsharingknowledge

andculturalunderstandingwasthebestwaytopreventfuturewars.Today,the

programfundsstudentsfromtheUnitedStatesandsixtyothercountries,

establishingabroadswathofAmericaninfluenceonforeignstudentsfromevery

regionintheworld(BevisandLucas2007).Thenumberofforeignstudentscoming

totheU.S.continuestoincreaseeveryyear.

27

Duringthe1950’sand1960’smanyoftheseUSIAprogramswerepartofalarger

campaignofdisinformationandmanipulation.Theeducationprogramsserveda

differentpurpose;theywerethetoolsforU.S.diplomacy.Theseprogramsincluded

educationalexchanges,culturalandartisticexhibitsandtours,foreignspeakers,and

buildinglibraries.Someoftheseinformalprogramsbeganasearlyasthe1930sin

responsetoGermanactivitiesinLatinAmerica.Amajorexchangeagreementwas

enteredintobetweentheU.S.andtheSovietUnionwiththesigningofthe

“AgreementbetweentheUnitedStatesofAmericanandtheUnionofSovietSocialist

RepublicsonExchangesintheCultural,Technical,andEducationalFields”on

January27,1958(Critchlow2004).Theseexchangescomprisedmorethanjust

popularcultureandtourism.Alsoincludewereprogramsencompassingscience

andtechnology,agriculture,medicineandpublichealth,andscholarlyresearch,

givingeachsidetheopportunitytoshowhowadvanceditwasandpromotetheir

successestotheother.Whiletherewereopponentsofthisagreementonboththe

AmericanandSovietsides,thegeneralreceptiontotheAmericanvisitorsand

exhibitorsinSovietcountrieswasextremelybeneficialtotheU.S.TheAmerican

exhibitsgarneredagreatamountofpublicinterestandattractedlargecrowdsof

peopleinterestedintheAmericanwayoflife.

Critchlow(2004)andLord(1998)provideanexcellenthistoryoftheearlyandpost

ColdWaryearsoftheUnitedStatesInformationAgency(USIA).Theirwork,along

withKelley(2005),detailshowtheColdWarwasshapedandpossiblyendeddueto

28

theeffectsoftheseprograms.Manyscholarsseeaconnectionbetweentheworkof

theUSIAduringtheColdWarandthefalloftheBerlinWallin1989anddismantling

oftheSovietUnionshortlythereafter(Kelley,2005).Yet,theU.S.government’s

attitudetowardstheseculturalexchangeandinformationprogramsgrewmore

dismissiveafterWorldWarIIandtheywereslowlydefundedastheyfelloutof

favorbythe1970s.Lord(1998)pointsoutthattheNixonAdministration,in

particular,hadalessideologicalviewofforeignpolicythanprevious

administrations,preferringtreatiesandimprovedcommercialtiestopublic

diplomacy,thenewtermforwhatusedtobecalledpropaganda.

RightafterWorldWarII,withtheonsetoftheColdWar,governmentsupportfor

theUSIAanditsprogramsbegantowanebuttheFulbrightProgramswerethe

exception.TheycametobevaluedasanantidotetotheColdWarandaneffective

toolagainstanti-AmericanpropagandacomingfromtheSoviets.Bythe1950s,the

valueofforeignstudentsfordiplomaticpurposeswasfullyrecognized.“DwightD.

Eisenhower(1957),underwhoseleadershipColdWarpropagandaprograms

reachedtheirhighestpoint,remindedagroupofforeignstudentvisitorstothe

WhiteHousethat“whenyougohomeyouhaveacertainresponsibilitytomake

known,aswidelyasyoucan,whatareyourimpressionsofanothercountryinwhich

youhavebeenprivilegedtoliveforthistime.”“(O’Mara2012,p.592).

The1970swereatimeofdramaticchangeintheUnitedStates.Theeconomywasin

deepdisarray,withbothhighunemploymentandrampantinflation.The

29

demographicsinAmericawerealsochanging.Immigrationreforminthe1960sled

tothecountrybecomingmuchlesswhiteandEuropeanandincreasinglyAsianand

brown-skinned.Foreignstudents,increasinglycomingfromAsiancountries,were

viewedwithsuspicionsincemanytookadvantageofthenewquotasandstayedon

aftercompletingtheireducations.Inaddition,accordingtoO’Mara(2012),bythe

1970s,universitieshadstartedtolooktowardforeignstudenttofillseatsinscience

andengineeringprogramsthatwerenolongersoughtafterbyAmericanstudents.

Muchoftheuniversities’researchfromthistimewaslatercommercializedthrough

public-privatepartnershipsandformedthebasisofthemodernknowledge

economy.Itwasalsothepathtosuccessandwealthformanyforeignstudents.

This,inturn,createdpoliticalconcernsthatU.S.studentswerefallingbehind.Other

foreignstudentsreturnedtotheircountriesandtransformedtheirhomecountries’

economiesintocompetitiveindustrialproducers.Bythe1980s,manyofthese

developingcountrieswereparticipantsintheglobaleconomicgrowthofthelatter

partofthetwentiethcentury.

UnderRonaldReagan,theUSIAwasrevivedbyhischoiceofleaders,Hollywood

impresarioCharlesWick,andFrankShakespeare,abroadcastingindustryexecutive.

TogethertheyhelpeddisseminateReagan’smessagetoaudiencesbehindtheIron

Curtainthatfedintothediscontentofthepeoplethereaboutthelackoflegitimacy

oftherulingcommunistelites.ReaganhelpedrestoretheUSIAtoitsformerluster

andreengagethewarofanti-Sovietpropaganda.AsLord(1998)pointsout,itis

difficulttoascertainexactlyhowmuchimpactthishadbut,byusingmodern

30

methodsofresearchandpollingtechniquestoassesstheireffectiveness,itseems

thattheseprogramsdidhaverealworldeffects.Kelley(2005)suggeststhatthe

culturalandeducationalexchangeswithinfluentialpeopleinsidetheSovietsystem

overtheyearsalsoplayedapartinthefalloftheCommunists,byexposingthemto

ideasandalternativetoolsofstatecraft.TheirtimewithWesternersshowedthem

plausiblewaystoeliminateafailingleadershipthatwasresponsibleforthe

moribundstateofthenation’seconomyandsociety.Reaganbelievedthat

governmentsfoundedontherespectforindividuallibertywouldbemorepeaceful

andlessaggressiveintheirforeignpolicythanauthoritarianstates(Doyle,1986).

HisannouncementbeforetheBritishParliamentinJuneof1982ofa“campaignfor

democraticdevelopment”(Doyle1986,p.1151)wasinkeepingwiththerestoration

oftheUSIAandeffortstousepropagandaandotherformsofpoliticaldiplomacy

againsttheSoviets.

Fewprogramsareusedforsuchobviouspropagandatoday.TheUSIAwas

subsequentlyabsorbedintotheStateDepartment,anditscommitmenttopublic

diplomacyisnowacorefunctionoftheStateDepartment’sroleinU.S.foreign

relations.TheVOAstillexistsasanindependent,non-commercialenterprisethat

providesnewsinforty-fivelanguagesaroundtheworld.DirectoroftheVOA,David

Ensor,suggeststhattheabilitytofunctionoutsidethecommercialrealmiswhat

allowsittoprovidethemostimportant,mostwidelyreadnews.Globally,its

audiencesaremuchlargerthanCNNorABCnews.VOA’smarketsarenotchosen

basedonprofitability;theyarebasedonplacestheywanttoreach.TheVOAisnot

31

anAmericanequivalentoftheBBC,itisthe“internationalstatebroadcasterofthe

UnitedStates”thatattemptstotellpeopleallovertheworldwhatWashington

thinksaboutevents(Ensor,2014).

TheAmericanpublicislargelyunawareofU.S.diplomaticeffortsabroad.Yet,they

areawareofinternationalpublicopinionpollsthathaveturnednegativesincethe

UnitedStatesinvadedIraqin2003andthesubsequent“waronterror”that

continuestoday(Fullerton,2005).By2003,severalmajorinternationalpolls,Pew,

Gallop,andZogbyallshowedglobalattitudestowardU.S.foreignpolicyturning

sharplynegative,onlyafewshortyearsafterSept.11,whentheU.S.wasseenina

significantlymorefavorablelight.Theparticularironyofthesenegativeviewsis

theycamefromthesamepollsthatalsoshowedhowpeopleoverwhelming

reportedthattheylikedAmericanculturalofferingsbutnotAmerica.Theabilityto

disconnectAmericanforeignpolicyfromAmericancultureisonethatmanysecurity

analystsconsiderapositiveforthecountryandisenhancedbyinternational

educationalprograms(Fullerton,2005).

TheshiftinU.S.economicpolicytowardgreaterderegulationandtherising

importanceofbasiceducationgloballyledtoanothershiftforforeignstudents.

AccordingtoO’Mara(2012),thiswastheimpetusformoreforeignstudents

choosingtostudybusinessoverengineeringandscience.By2009,business

administrationwasthemostpopularareaofstudy.Politicalconcernsaboutforeign

studentstakingopportunitiesawayfromAmericans,andpotentiallyharmingU.S.

32

companiesastheytooktheirknowledgehomewiththem,recededasglobal

economicgrowthprovidedU.S.producerswithgreatermarketshareandincreasing

economicpower.Also,scienceandengineeringprogramsatU.S.HEIsstillrelied

heavilyonforeignstudents,asdidmuchofSiliconValleyandotherhightechnology

industries.

Thecurrent“waronterror”placestheUnitedStatesinadifficultsituation,one

unlikepreviousconflicts.AccordingtoCritchlow(2004)“TheColdWaradversary

wasanideologythathadbeenhijackedbyastate.Today’sadversaryisanideology

hijackedfromareligionbypoliticalandreligiousextremists.Inbothcasesthe

UnitedStates,astheleadingWesterndemocracy,hashadtofacehostilityenhanced

bytheadversary’smanipulationofotherpeople’sculturalandethnicdifferences.”

(p.75).WiththeperceivedsuccessofusingsoftdiplomacytoendtheColdWar

therearecallstorestoretheuseofpublicdiplomacyasawaytoengagepeople

culturallyinthefightagainstthisnewthreat.

TheeventsofSeptember11,2001hadanimmediateimpactoninternational

studentmobility,especiallyforstudentscomingfromSaudiArabia.Fifteenofthe

nineteenhijackersresponsiblefortheattackson9/11camefromSaudiArabia,

somereportedlyonstudentvisas.Visaapprovalsimmediatelyfellthenextyear,

2002,bytwentypercentforallapplicantsbutvisaapprovalsforstudentsfrom

SaudiArabiafellbysixtyfivepercentandcontinuedtodeclineuntil2005.Alarge-

scalereversalbeganafter2005.Beginningin2006,approvalsforstudentsfrom

33

SaudiArabiaoutpacedtheapprovalrateforallstudentsbeingissuedF-1non-

immigrantstudentvisas(IIE.org).ThisturnaroundwastheresultofavisitinApril

2005byKingAbdullahtotheUnitedStates.Alengthyjointstatementwasissued

betweentheKingandPresidentGeorgeW.Bushreaffirmingtheimportanceofthe

twocountries’relationshipandspecificallyincludingimprovededucational

exchangesasoneofthesharedintereststobuildupon.Thestatementreiteratedthe

listofgeopoliticalimperativesthatbothcountrieswereinagreementon,

particularlyrelatedtothegrowingthreatthatanuclearIranwouldmeanforthe

region(WeeklyCompilationofPresidentialDocuments,2005).TheneedfortheUS

tomaintainagoodrelationshipwithSaudiArabiaopenedthedoorforSaudi

studentstoagainentertheU.S.andpursuedegreesatU.S.collegesanduniversities.

Intheyearssince9/11,theCongressmovedforwardontheissueofstudentvisas,

attemptingtoaddressagrowingbacklogofapplicationsthatwasharmingthe

highereducationindustryintheU.S.Theresultwastheestablishmentofthe

electronicmonitoringsystems,SEVISandnewprotocolsthatestablishedclearinter-

agencycoordinationpolicies,somethingthatwaslackinginthedaysbefore9/11.

Congressionaltestimonypointedfrequentlytothelongheldnotionthateducation

andculturalexchangeswereimportanttoolsofpublicdiplomacy(U.S.Congress

2001;U.S.Congress2003;U.S.Congress2004;U.S.Congress2008).Thetestimony

reiteratedagainandagainthattheseexchangeshadbeentheideologicalmeansof

spreadingAmericancultureandvaluessinceWorldWarIIandwereidentifiedas

34

successfulusesofAmerica’ssoftpower,theintangiblevalueassociatedwiththeU.S.

statusintheworldasfreeanddemocratic.

Softpowermaybemoreeffectivethanmilitarymightindefeatinganideological

threatbutitmaybehardtomakeupforyearsofneglect.Critchlow(2004)says

therewascauseforconcernabouttheseverecutsinfundingforpublicdiplomacy

aftertheColdWartocountriesintheIslamicworld,especiallythepoorestoneslike

Indonesia.DatafromtheU.S.AdvisoryCommissiononPublicDiplomacyshowed

thatfrom1995to2001thenumberofacademicandculturalexchangesfellfrom

45,000to29,000.Critchlow(2004)believesthatremindingtheArabsoftheir

historyasthemosttechnologicallyadvanced,multicultural,intellectuallyfree,

tolerantnationsonlyafewcenturiesagowouldopenthedoorformorediscussion

ofAmericanvalues.Henotedthatusingtheseexchangeprogramswasanapproach

thatworkedwellagainsttheSoviets.Hesuggeststhatitwouldworkinthispartof

theworld,too.

Theslowdownintherateofgrowthforvisaapprovalswasalsorelatedtotheheavy

investmentsineducationmadebymanydevelopingcountries.Studentshada

greaternumberofeducationalopportunitiesintheirowncountryinnearby

countries.Yet,O’Mara(2012)notedthatadegreefromaU.S.schoolwasstillthe

mosthighlyvalued.U.S.schoolsbegantoaggressivelyrecruitforeignstudentsand

somehaveestablishedfullbranchcampusesinothercountriesorglobal

partnershipswithexistingschools.Somenationalgovernmentshaveactively

35

soughtoutforeignuniversitiestocreateprogramsforthem.ManyGulfState

countrieshavedonethisbutneitherIndianorSaudiArabiahaschosentoimport

foreigneducationintotheircountries.Thebranchcampusmodelislessthana

decadeoldandthelong-termimpactisstilltobedetermined(Walters,2012).

Internationalstudiesprogramsarevaluedforthebroaderlong-termbenefitsthey

providethecountry.Whileitmaynotbepoliticallycorrecttoopenlyadmirethe

U.S.,manyforeignleaderseducatedherewerechangedbecauseoftheirtimeinthe

country.PresidentObamaconcludedhis2010NationalSecurityStrategypaperby

sayingthatwemustwelcomemoreforeignexchangestudentstotheU.S.becauseof

thedeeptiesthatareforgedwiththemandtheirhomelands,andbecauseofthe

benefitsofincreasedunderstandingandappreciationofAmericancultureabroad.

Thiswillstrengtheneducationandbuildthenation’shumancapital.Hiswordsecho

thoseofawidecoalitionofpeople,includingdozensofmembersofCongress,top-

levelpractitionersfromthehighereducationindustry,andU.S.businessleaders

(Nye2005;Obama2010;Reimers2013).

36

SectionTwo:BackgroundonSaudiArabia,Monarchism,andEducationinthe

ArabGulfStates

BackgroundonSaudiArabia

SaudiArabiaisahereditorymonarchywithapopuationofnearly29millionpeople

(data.worldbank.org).AccordingtoCIAWorldFactbook,nearlyhalfthepopulation

isundertheageof25.TherulerofthecountryisKingSalmanbinAbdulazizal

Saud,whoascendedtothethroneonthedeathofhishalf-brother,KingAbdullahbin

AbdulazizalSaudinJanuary,2015.SaudiArabiahasbeendescribedasafamily-

corporatistmonarchythatissupportedbyagroupofnationaleliteswhoprovide

theprimarybaseofsupportfortheking.Itistheonlycountrytodaythatisnamed

afteritsfounder,AbdulazizAlSaud(Lockhard,2005).AsthebirthplaceofIslamitis

thecenteroftheMuslimword.Thekingisbothareligiousleaderandatemporal

ruler.Accordingtoprotocol,thereligioustitleofGuardianoftheTwoHolyShrines

takesprecendenceoverhisroyaltitleandappearsonallofficialgovernment

documents(Whitaker,2011).Outsideoftheestablishmentin1992ofthe

ConsultativeCouncil,orMajlisal-Shura,a150memberbodyappointedbytheKing

toservefouryearterms,thereisnootherformalpoliticalparticipationinthe

country(Nolan2011).ElectionsannouncedbytheCouncilofMinistersinOctober

2003foronethirdoftheseatsontheMajlishavenotyetbeenheld.Womenwere

grantedtherighttovotein2011butthefirstelectionstheywereeligibletovotein

37

didnotoccuruntillatein2015.

SaudiArabiawasofficiallyformedin1932whenAbdul-AzizAlSaudconqueredthe

varioustribesintheArabianPeninsula,includingthetwoholysites,Meccaand

Medina.ThecountrywasnamedtheKingdomofSaudiArabia,anIslamicstatewith

ArabicasitsnationallanguageandtheHolyQur’anasitsconstitution.The

populationconsistsofamajorityofSunniMuslims,estimatedbetween85-95%of

thecountry.TheremainderistheShi’iteminority,estimatedbetween5-15%ofthe

country.TheShiaaresociallyandgeographicallyisolatedfromthelargerSunni

societyandareasourceofgrowingunrestintheEasternProvince,thecenterofthe

country’soilproduction(Nolan2011).

SaudiArabiaistheworld’slargestproducerofoilandthemostpowerfulmemberof

OPEC.Ithasbetweenonefifthandonequarteroftheknownoilreservesandthe

sixthlargestknownreservesofnaturalgas(CentralIntelligenceAgency).In

additiontoexportingoil,theSaudisarealsoknownforexportingIslam.They

observeanultraorthodoxinterpretationknownasWahhabismandsincethe1980s

havefundededucationandcharitableinstitutionsthroughoutthelargerMuslim

world,encouragingthis“mostcorrect”versionofthefaith(Whitaker2011).Its

originsinSaudiArabiadatetotheallianceintheearly18thcenturybetween

MohammadbinSaudandaMuslimscholar,MohammadbinAbdulWahhab,inan

efforttoreturntoapurerformofIslam(HistoryofSaudiArabia,2015).Theulama,

orreligiousscholars,haveenjoyedoutsizedinfluencesincethen.Thishistorical

38

allianceexiststodayandisassociatedbymanypeopleoutsideofthecountrywith

spreadingIslamicextremismandthelackofsocialmodernizationwithinSaudi

Arabia.

AgainstthebackdropoftheArabSpringandtheglobalwaronterror,theSaudi

governmenthashadtomeetsecuritychallengesbothnearandwithinitsborders.

ManyofthecallstojihadintheregiontracedtheirrootstoSaudiexportsof

Wahhabism.SaudijihadistswhofoughtagainsttheSovietsinAfghanistanreturned

homeonlyto“reinterpretWahhabireligioustraditionsandbrandtheSaudiregime

askafir,orblasphemous,thusignitingtheflamesofjihadintheirownhomeland.”

(Al-Rasheed2010,p.276).SaudiKingAbdullahrecognizedtheneedtoenlistthe

helpofsocietyinordertofightextremism,hopingtomodernizethecountrywithout

posinganyrealchallengestotheleadership.Educationpolicywasoneofthetargets

forreform,includingtheKingAbdullahScholarshipProgram(KASP),whichnow

sendsover185,000youngSaudisabroadforhighereducation(SaudiAmerican

BusinessCouncil,2014).

TheSaudimonarchhasemergedrelativelyunscathedfromtheArabSpringand

turmoilintheregion.PoliticalanalystssaythatthesystemofmonarchyinSaudi,

withalargefamilywithdeeplyvestedinterests,remainsantagonistictodemocratic

reformandprovidesadeepbaseofsupportforpreservingthestatusquo.One

obviousreasonforthecurrentstabilityinthecountrycomesfromthelargeincrease

inpublicspending,especiallyinpreviouslyunderserveddistricts,thatisquelling

39

dissent(Menaldo,2012).Inmuchoftheregion,themonarchshavesurvived

becauseofthealignmentoftheelites,inthiscasemainlymembersoftheSaudiroyal

familyandtheircohorts,withthemonarchicpoliticalculture.Thisfostersboth

legitimacyandgeneratesalevelofsupportfromthemajorityofthecitizenry

(Menaldo2012).Thenewking,Salman,gavecashpaymentsandgrantstoallSaudi

citizensandpublicorganizationsinhonorofhiscoronationtotalling$32billion.

“Saudirulershavelongusedthewealththatcomesfrombeingtheworld’stopoil

exportertolavishbenefitsontheirpeople,andmanySaudisdescriberoyallargess

aspartofafamily-likesocialcontractbetweenrulersandloyalcitizens.”(Hubbard,

2015).Themonarchyremainspopularinthecountryandwillaslongasjobsand

largesscontinuetoflow.

Thekingistakingriskystepsintryingtoreformeducation.TheKASPisproviding

fundingfornearlytwohundredthousandstudentstoattendcollegeoutsideofthe

country.InsidethecountrytheMinistryofHigherEducationisusingperipheral

institutionstosetupacademiccities,internationalpartnershipsandothermeans

thatallowthemtoenactcontroversialeductionreforms.Inaddition,theSaudi

regimeisparticipatingininternationalstandardsassessmentstoprovidearationale

forreforms.Saudistudentshaveperformedpoorlycomparedtootherdeveloping

nationsonthesetests,allowingthegovernmenttoinstitutecurricularreforms

despitetheobjectionsofthereligiousestablishment(Nolan2011;ClaryandKarlin

2011).Inwhatmayprovetobethebiggestgamble,theKASPisseenawayto

transformyoungSaudisintoWesterneducatedentrprenuerswhoareculturally

40

moremoderate.“Saudieducationofficalshavemadeclearthatthescholarship

programmeisnotdesignedtosimplyeducate,buttotransformtheSaudipopulace.”

(ClaryandKarlin2011,p.17).Theramificationsofthismaynotbefullyunderstood

foragenerationormore.

CantheSaudigovernmentresolvetheissuesofthecountrybychangingtheculture

ofitsyouth?Cultureisnotimmutableandthereisreadyevidencethatcultures,asa

constituentpartofacivilization,dochangeinthefaceofpoliticalandeconomic

developments.ThefindingoftwoseparatevaluessurveysamongtheyouthofSaudi

Arabiain2003and2005confirmthis.Inthewakeofthe2003U.S.invasionofIraq

therewasadeclinefrom33%to23%intheattitudethatdemocracyisabetterform

ofgovernmentthanothers(Moaddel,2010).Inrecentyears,attitudestoward

genderequalityhaveshiftedforward,withmorerespondentsagreeingthathigher

educationshouldbemadeavailableforwomen.Also,thesurveysshowthatSaudis

haveloweraveragemosqueattendancethanothercountriesandhavelowratesof

reportingthatreligiousfaithisahighlyimportantqualityforchildren.Thismaybe

areactiontothestrictauthoritarianismofthereligiousestablishmentbutitpoints

tostateofreadinesstoacceptmoresecularreformandlessadherencetoWahhabist

religiousdoctrine(Moaddel,2010).ItmayturnoutthattheKASPandtheSaudi

government’sattemptstoreformeducationasawaytodealwithsocialand

economicproblemsfacedbythecountryarewelltimed.

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MonarchismorPatrimonialisminSaudiArabia

InordertobetterunderstandSaudiArabia,itsgovernmentanditspeople,itis

necessarytounderstandthefundamentalmindsetofthecountryandtheregion.

Whymostoftheworld’shereditary,non-constitutionalmonarchiesexistintheArab

worldcouldbebetterunderstoodbyexaminingthenatureofpatrimonialism.Itisa

termintroducedbyMaxWebertoexplainthehowthisformofdespotismoccurred

morefrequentlyintheOrient.Weber,whilenotwellknowforhisconceptsof

patrimonialism,wroteaboutthesocialfactorsthatresultedinadifferentmindset

thatledtoacceptingthistypeofgoverningsystem.Weber,tohiscredit,didnot

offersimpleexplanationstothishistoricallycomplicatedphenomena.Yet,his

observationsaboutthesocialandhistoricalvariablesatplaycanbesynthesizedinto

aframeworkforbetterunderstandinghowtheEastandWestrealizedverydifferent

rationalizationsoflife.AccordingtoWeber,theOrientwasmorehighlyattuned

withreligiousandmysticalsensibilitiesthantheirWesterncounterparts.TheWest

wasmoreempiricallydrivenandtookamorescientificapproachtolife.This

differenceisevidencedintheart,scientificinquiry,politics,andlawsthatWeber

consideredtherepresentativefeaturesofacivilzation’sculture.

WeberbelievedthatOrientalsocietiesweresofundamentallydifferentfrom

Westernsocietiesthattheylackedthemindsetneededfordevelopment,modernity

andcapitalism(Curtis,2009).FactorsthatwerepresentinWesterntraditions,some

identifiedasprotestantismandpuritanism,wereabsentintheOrient.Weber

42

believedthiswastheexplanationforthedifferenceinsocialandeconomic

outcomesbetweenthetwoworlds.TheOrienthadadifferentreligion,

psychologicalattitudes,beliefsystemsthatincludedancestorworshipandfilial

piety,socialsystemsincludingcastes,noorganizedjudiciary,anddictatorial,

despotic,andpatrimonialpoliticalsystems(Curtis2009,p.268).Thesedifferent

underlyingfeaturesandtraditionsledtopatrimonialismintheOrientversusstates

basedonconstitutions,ruleoflaw,theseparationofpowers,andlegitimacyinthe

useofforcewithlimitationsontheexerciseofpower.TheOrientaldespot

demandedunconditionalloyaltyandcompliancefromhisofficials,muchlikethe

Saudikingtodayreliesontheloyaltyofthefamilytomaintaincontrol.Inreturnthe

interestsofthatgroupareserved.

ThestabilityoftheSaudimonarchydepends,inlargedegree,onthissystemof

loyaltyandpatrimony,whichissupportedbythereligiouscredentialsthatcome

fromthemonarchy’spactwiththeulama,theWahhabischolars(Whitaker,2011).

AccordingtoWeber,thepatrimonialrulercaredaboutmaintainingthegoodwillof

thepeople.“Heappearedintheguiseoftheprotectorofthepeopleagainst

privilegedstatusgroupsandtheguardianofthewelfareofhissubject;heclaimedto

benotthewarriorkingbutthegoodking,“thefatherofhispeople.””(Curtis2009,

p.281).ThebenevolenceoftheSaudikingisenhancedbycountry’soilwealth,which

allowsforgovernmentspendingwithoutcommensuretaxation.This,andthe

monarchy’sreligiouscredentials,providetheSaudikingwithalargemeasureof

legitmacy(Whitaker,2011).

43

Still,thesystemofgovernmentinSaudiArabiaismanipulatedbyarchaic

interpretationsofreligionandmaysoonproveunsustainableifthedemographic

challengestheyfacedonotgetadequatelyaddressed.Inexplainingthehigh

unemploymentrateinthecountrywhereSaudismakeupeightypercentofthe

publicsectorbuthavefewjobsintheprivatesector,theeducationsystemis

identifiedasoneofthemainculprits.TheSaudigovernmentfacesthedaunting

challengeofpoliticalandsocialresistancetotransformingeducation.Untilitshifts

fromlaxstandards,rotelearning,andheavyemphasisonreligioussubjects,the

countrywillremaindependentonexpatriateworkersandSaudiswillremaineither

unemployedoremployedinsubsidizedjobs(NiblockandMalik2007).

Thenotionoflegitimacyasthesourceofmonarchicresilienceisarecurringtheme

inmuchofthecurrentliteratureontheMiddleEastNorthAfricancountrieswith

hereditaryrulers.Incountrieswithauthoritarianrule,oftenthestatesecurity

apparatusfunctionstomaintainpoliticalcontrol.Incontrast,manytraditional

hereditaryrulersmaintaintheirpowerbasedontherespectandperceived

legitimacyoftheirrule.“Amongthefundamentallessonstobelearnedfromthe

struggleofmonarchicsurvivalelsewherewouldbetheneedtoturnthemonarchy

fromaruleoffearintoasymbolofrespectandnationalunity.”(Kuhnhardt2012,p.

61).KingAbdullah,untilhisdeathinJanuary2015,washeldinhighesteembythe

people.Whileviewedasareformer,heenjoyedwidespreadpopularsupportofhis

effortstoreduceextremismathomeandestablishSaudiArabiaasaninfluential

44

leaderintheregion.Hisbestlegacymaybethathewasabletomaintainbothsocial

andpoliticalstabilityduringtheseturbulenttimes(Muftah.org2012).

Contemporarymonarchs’authorityisbasedontraditionalacceptanceandthe

abilitytoprojectthemselvesasbenevoltentsymbolsofnationalunity(Kuhnhardt,

2012).TheSaudikingnotonlyhaspopularpoliticalsupport,healsoenjoysreligious

authoritythroughouttheMuslimworldandisasourceofculturalprideforall

Saudis.

EducationintheArabGulfStates

Theeventsof9/11broughtextensiveworldfocusontheeducationalsystemsin

GulfStates,critiquingtheirinstitutionsasarchaic,academicallyinadequate,

ideologicallydriventoencourageintolerancefortheWestandfeedinganti-US

terroristsentiment.Thisdescriptiondoesnotrecognizethenatureofthe

discussionstakingplaceonthelocallevelatthattime,wheneducationalreformwas

alreadyidentifiedasaninternalmatterofhighlevelconcern(Rugh2002).Most

countriesintheGulfhadalreadyrecognizedtheneedtoexpandtheirsystems.By

2001therehadbeensignificantnationalprogressinaccesstoeducationas

measuredbyschoolenrollmentandliteracyratesamongbothmalesandfemales.

Theproblemswerenowofamoresophisticatednature.Businessleadersexpressed

theirconcernthatuniversitygraduateswereunpreparedforworkintheprivate

sectorandtheprimaryeducationsystemreliedextensivelyonrotelearningin

45

schoolsthathadnoobjectiveassessmentcriteriaandlittlesupervisionover

curriculum(Davidson&Smith,2008).

UNdatashowsthattheGulfStateshavebeenmoresuccessfulthatothercountries

intheregioninachievingimprovementsinliteracyratesandmeaneducational

levelsofyearsofschooling.TheWorldBankreviewedthelastfourdecadesof

investmentineducationintheMENAregionandacknowledgedthesignificant

gains,whichwereimpressivesincemostnationaleducationalsystemswereonly

implementedduringthe1950sand1960s.Thefollowingchartisacomparisonof

GulfStateseducationspendingandoutcomestoOECDcountries.

46

Table7:OutcomesandSpendingForEducationinArabGulfStates

Source:arab-hdr.orgHumanDevelopmentDatafortheArabStates

OECDdataincludedforcomparison.

TheOECDArabHDRdataofeducationmeasuresshowedimprovementsforboth

menandwomenandtherewereotherpositiveeconomicoutcomesassociatedwith

education.Theregionexperiencedperiodsofrapideconomicgrowth,measurable

improvementsinproductivityandhumancapital,lowerfertilityrates,andother

socialindicatorsthatshowedimprovementaseducationexpendituresgrew.Despite

47

theoutsizedcommitmenttospendingforeducationalreforminthelastdecades,

manyoftheconcernsfrom2001remain.Themeasureofyearsofeducational

attainmentremainlowrelativetodevelopedcountriesandthegapbetween

educationalattainmentandoutcomescontinuestomanifestitselfinlowscoreson

internationaltests.Tables8through10identifycurrentoutcomesintheGulfStates.

Table8:ArabWorldLearningBarometer,2014Competency

Primary

Learning

Secondary

Learning

%OfChildren

WhoAreNot

Learningin

PrimarySchool

%OfChildren

WhoAreNot

Learningin

SecondarySchool

Region 56% 48%

SaudiArabia 40% 53%

Kuwait 70% N/A

Bahrain 33% 47%

Qatar 42.5% 51.6%

UAE 36% 31.3%

Source:brookings.edu2014ArabWorldLearningBarometer

Table8presentstestresultsbasedonminimumcompetencythresh-holdsfor

readingandmath.Thepoorshowingsindicatethataccessandattendancearenot

enoughtoimproveperformanceandknowledgeacquisition.TheRegioncomprises

48

13Arabcountrieswithavailabledata.Notwithstandingareasofconflictsuchas

Syria,IraqandthePalestinianTerritories,thetestscoresimplythateventhemore

stablecountries,wherespendingoneducationasapercentageoftotalgovernment

spendingisbothlargeandgrowing,manystudentsarenotreceivingthe

foundationalknowledgerequiredtomeetthegoalofbuildingaknowledgesociety.

Table9:PIRLS(ProgressinInternationalReadingLiteracyStudy)2010

Scores

US–556 SaudiArabia–430 UAE–439

Finland–568 Qatar–425 Oman–391

Source:timssandpirls.bc.eduPIRLS2011InternationalResultsinReading

ThePIRLSisaninternationalliteracytestgiventochildrenwith4yearsof

schooling.Thescorerangeis0-1000.PIRLScenter-pointis500.Forty-nine

countriesparticipated.2010wasthefirstyearforSaudiArabiaandtheotherGulf

countries.AlltheArabparticipantswerewellbelowthemeanandthecountry

averagesweresignificantlylowerthanthecenter-pointofthePIRLSscale.

Table10showsTIMSStestdata.TIMSSisTrendsinInternationalMathematicsand

ScienceStudy.LikePIRLS,itwasdevelopedandisimplementedbythe

InternationalAssociationforEvaluationofEducationalAchievement(IEA)and

publishedbytheNationalCenterforEducationalStatistics,U.S.Departmentof

Education(nces.ed.gov.)Thetestscoresindicateamixedpictureofachievementin

thoseGulfStatesthatparticipateintheprogram.Thereisimprovementinthe

scores,especiallyforSaudiArabiaandQatarbutallscoresremainsignificantly

49

belowthosefortheU.S.andSingapore,asrepresentativeadvancedcountries.

Singaporescoredthehighestanddataisincludedforcomparisonpurposes

Table10:TIMSSMeanScoresinMathbyGender,Grade,andYear

2003 2003 2007 2007 2007 2007 2011 2011 2011 2011

Gr8 Gr4 Gr8 Gr4 Gr8

F M F M F M F M F M

Saudi 326 336 341 319 418 402 401 387

Oman 417 385 399 344 398 372 397 334

Qatar 307 285 325 288 420 407 414 404

UAE 452 438 461 461 438 430 464 447

Bahrain 414 382 440 432 431 388

Kuwait 297 333 297 364 342 358 323

US 502 507 526 532 507 510 536 545 508 511

Singap 611 601 596 603 600 586 608 604 615 607

Source:TIMSSInternationalStudentAchievementinMathematicsReports(2003,

2007,2011)

Timmssandpirls.bc.edu/timss2011/downloads/T11_IR_M_Chapter1.pdf

The2008WorldBankreport,TheRoadNotTraveled:EducationReformintheMiddle

EastandNorthAfrica,wasaneconomicanalysisoftheinvestmentsthesenations

havemadeineducation.Oneissuethereporthighlightedwasthefailureto

coordinateeducationwiththeneedsoftheeconomy,therebynotproducinga

workforcepreparedforthenew,globalizedeconomy.Theentireregionremains

economicallyunderdevelopedandeducationalreformsneedtobemore

comprehensiveifthegapistoclose.Inparticular,alignmentbetweenthelabor

50

marketsandtheprivatesectorremainedinsufficient.Also,theeducationalsystem

hasyettoproducemeasurableresultsintermsofhigherinternationalrankingson

theWorldBank’sKnowledgeEconomyIndex(KEI)(DavidsonandSmith2008).

Table11:WorldBankKnowledgeEconomyIndex(KEI)

Country 2012Rank 2012KEI 2000Rank 2000KEI 1995Rank 1995KEI

Sweden 1 9.43 1 9.65 4 9.45

US 12 8.77 4 9.28 1 9.53

UAE 42 6.94 48 6.05 46 6.39

Bahrain 43 6.94 41 6.85 36 6.97

Oman 47 6.14 65 5.28 65 5.34

Saudi 50 5.96 76 4.6 78 5.02

Qatar 54 5.84 49 6.01 54 5.86

Kuwait 64 5.33 46 6.16 57 5.71

Source:info.worldbank.org/etools/kam2/KAM_page5.asp

(KEIandKIIndexes)

TheKEIassesseseconomicperformance,governanceandruleoflaw,innovation

systems,education,labormarkets,andInternetconnectivity,usingover83

variablestocreatefoursub-indexes.Rankingsareonascaleof1(lowest)through

10(highest.)Thesesub-indexesrepresentthefourpillarsoftheknowledge

economy:theeconomicincentivesregime(EIR),theinnovationsregimewhichlooks

specificallyatjournalarticlespublishedandpatentsgranted,theeducationpillar

whichincludesenrollmentdataandtestscores,andtheinformationand

communicationtechnologypillar(ICT)thatmeasuresinternetuseandtelephone

51

andcomputerpenetration.OnlyBahrainscoresinthetoptenofanyofthesepillars,

rankingnumberonegloballyforinternetusageof820computersper1000people.

ThefollowingtableprovidesthespecificbreakdownsfortheMENAregion.

Table12:KEIBreakdownsforMENACountries,2012

Country KEI KEI EIR EIR Innov Innov Educ Educ ICT ICT

2012 2000 2012 2000 2012 2000 2012 2000 2012 2000

UAE 6.94 6.05 6.5 7.51 6.6 4.32 5.8 4.44 8.88 7.92

Bahrain 6.9 6.85 6.69 7.45 4.61 6.37 6.78 6.34 9.54 7.26

Oman 6.14 5.28 6.96 7.51 5.88 4.25 5.23 4.22 6.49 5.12

Saudi

Arabia 5.96 4.6 5.68 4.4 4.14 4.24 5.65 4.28 8.37 5.49

Qatar 5.84 6.01 6.87 6.64 6.42 5.51 3.41 4.85 6.65 7.05

Kuwait 5.33 6.16 5.86 7 5.22 5.38 3.7 5.17 6.53 7.09

MENA

Region 4.74 5.16 5.41 5.41 6.14 6.44 3.48 3.8 3.92 4.97

Source:info.worldbank.org/etools/kam2/KAM_page5.asp

Abriefanalysisofthechartidentifiessomenoteworthytrends.WhilebothSaudi

ArabiaandtheU.A.E.sawimprovementsintheKEI,thisreflectsoverallimproved

nationaloutcomes.Adetailedreviewshowsimportantdifferences.Bothnations

improvedinEIR,economicincentivesregimeandinstitutionalregime,yetthe

Saudislaggedconsiderablyininnovation,themeasureofpatentsissues,royalties,

andscientificandtechnicaljournalarticlespublished.Thisisthetruest

internationalmeasureofadvancedinnovativeactivityandrepresentsoutputof

knowledgeproduction.Theabilitytointegrateexistingknowledgeandmake

meaningfulcontributionsisafundamentalrequirementforsucceedinginthe

52

advancedglobaleconomy.Itisthebasisformostentrepreneurialactivitytoday,

especiallyinthefieldsofscienceandtechnologywheretheSaudigovernmenthas

placedsomuchemphasis.TheconcernsvoicedbyArabbusinessleadersafull

decadeagothattheArabeducationsystemwasnotproducinggraduateswiththe

skillsneededtoworkintheprivatesector,asectortodaythatcompetesinan

increasinglyentrepreneurialglobaleconomy,remainunresolvedtoday(Rugh

2002).

ChangingAvailabilityofHigherEducationintheGulf

Theearliesteffortstodevelopaneducationsystemwerepredicatedontheneedsof

thepre-petroleumeconomyandwereshapedbyIslamandexposuretoforeign

expatriates.Britishpoliticalinterestsintheregiondatebacktothe1820swhen

theirconcernoveraccesstotraderoutestoIndialedthemtoforcethevarious

sheikdomstosignagreementsofunderstanding,givingtheBritishdefactocontrol

overmuchoftheregion.Thislasteduntil1971,whenformalindependencewas

fullygrantedtothelastcountriesunderBritishprotection,andtheU.A.E.was

formed(Davidson2008).

Theeducationsysteminplacetodayisconsideredahybridofnativeand

internationalapproaches.OncetheBritishformallywithdrew,thefirstministriesof

educationwereestablishedinBahrain,Qatar,andthenewlycreatedU.A.E.Thefirst

53

problemidentifiedbytheministrieswastheneedtoeducatelocalcitizensto

becometeachersinlocalschools.Alatersourceofdemandcamefromtheoil

industry,whereprivatesectorjobsgrowthatalllevelspresentedbothopportunities

andchallengesfortheGulfStates.Notonlywasitimportanttocreateenough

schoolstoenrollbothmaleandfemalechildren,thelowlevelsofadultliteracyhad

tobeaddressed.Thepreviouslyerraticattemptsatnationalpubliceducationwere

replacedbysystemsofincreasinglysecularschoolsacrossmostoftheGulf,notably

includingaccessforgirls.Whilesomecountrieshadpreviouslyincludedgirlsinthe

primaryeducationsystemiteventuallybecamethenormacrosstheentireGulf.

Bahrainfirstopenedschoolsforgirlsin1919butSaudiArabia,Qatar,andSharjah

didnotuntilthe1950s(Ridge2014).Accesstohighereducationforwomenwas

alsodelayedinmanyArabGulfStates.

Today,theGulfStatesareallattemptingtobroadentheireconomicbasebybuilding

aknowledgeeconomy,onethatextendstheenergysectorbeyondresource

extractiontothedevelopmentofadownstreamindustrial,highervalueadded

energysector.Theyarealsotryingtocreateamoresophisticatedservicesectorand

capitalizeontheexistingregionalwealthtobetterdeveloptheirownfinancial

sector(Walters,2012).NotalloftheGulfStateshaveoilwealthtosupporttheir

economies.BahrainandDubai,forexample,havehadtotakedifferentapproaches

toeducationinordertocreatedaworkforcethatfunctionedoutsidethepetroleum

industry.Educationreformisakeystepinadvancingthisprocessandeachofthe

54

Gulfcountrieshastakenadifferentapproachinitseffortstoimprovethehigher

educationsystem.

TherehavebeenschoolsofhighereducationintheGulffornearly50years.The

UniversityofBahrainwasestablishedin1968,QatarUniversityin1973,andOman’s

SultanQaboosUniversitywasestablishedin1968.Originallyopenedtomenonly,

theseschoolsnowacceptwomenstudents.KingSaudUniversitywasopenedin

Riyadh,SaudiArabiain1975.Theregionincludesbothprivateandgovernment

establishedcollegesanduniversities.Today,manyschoolsfollowtheAmerican

semesterandcredithoursystemanduseEnglishasthemainlanguageof

instruction.TheAmericanUniversityofSharjah,theDubaiAmericanUniversity,

andZayidUniversityofAbuDhabiallfollowtheAmericansystem(Ridge,2014).

TheoptionsforhighereducationstudyforstudentsintheGulfhavebroadened

considerableinthelasttwodecades.Prominentbrandnameuniversitieshave

establishedfullbranchcampusesinsomecountries.Localschoolsarepartnering

withforeignuniversitiestocreatejointdegreeprograms,sometimesusingthe

foreignschool’snameintheprogram,suchasUOWD,UniversityofWollongongin

Dubai.Thesecrossborderendeavorsareatypeofforeignoutpostthatencompassa

widerangeofofferings,fromfulldegreegrantingprogramswithinanexistinglocal

universitytopostgraduateresearchcentersinspecializedfields(Kinser2012).

55

Thevastmajorityoftheseinternationalprogramsbeganenrollingstudentinthe

pastfewyears,tovaryingsuccess.Theyarenotwithoutcontroversyathome,

whereconcernhasbeenraisedaboutquality,fundingsources,academicfreedom,

andmaintainingbrandintegrity.Notallhavebeensuccessfulandinsomecases

onlyextensivefundingbythehostnationalgovernmenthasconvincedthebiggest

nameschoolstotaketheriskandinvestthetimeandexpertiseneededtodevelopa

successfulacademicinstitutionthatmeetsglobalstandardsinsuchaforeign

environment(ICEFMonitor2013,Jaschik2009).

Thelistofinternationalschoolsnowofferingsometypeofhands-onprogramthat

leadstoadegreeoranacademiccredentialawardedbyaforeignprovideris

constantlychanging(Cross-BorderEducationResearchTeam,2015).Areviewof

thelistshowsthedifferentapproachestakenbyeachoftheGulfStates,somein

responsetothefinancialabilityofthegovernmentstoendowthembutothersasa

reflectionoftheindividualcountry’sownneedsandculturalandpoliticalissues.

Bahraincurrentlyhasonlytwoforeignschools,theoutcomeoftherecentturmoil

there.NYITrecentlyrelocateditscampustoDohafromManamaandthepresident

oftheEdinburghbasedRoyalCollegeofSurgeonshasresignedinprotest,leaving

theschool’sfutureinBahrainuncertain.Kuwaithasonlytwoforeignschools,one

anAustralianliberalartscollegeandtheothertheKuwaitMaastrichBusiness

School.Dubai,QatarandtheU.A.E.havetakenadifferentapproach,workingwith

foreignschoolstouseoutsideexpertisetoimprovetheirdomesticofferings.

56

Today,theU.A.E.isthelargesthostofbranchcampusesofanynationintheworld,

hostingthirty-threeasofJanuary2015,includingFrance’sINSEADandSorbonne

UniversityandNewYorkUniversity(Cross-BorderEducationResearchTeam,

2015).TheU.A.E.includesDubai,AbuDhabi,Sharjah,andRasalKhaima.Notallof

theforeignschooloperatorsintheregionarebigbrandnames.Thegovernmentof

theU.A.E.licensesinternationalinstitutionsthroughtheCommissionforAcademic

Accreditation,theCAA.Thepurposeistomonitorqualityofinstructionand

operationsforbothpubliclyfundedandprivateschoolsandprograms,whether

domesticorinternational.Problemsinthepasthaveshownthattheopportunityto

selleducationalserviceshasnotalwaysbroughtincapableproviders.

DubaihastakenadifferentapproachthanKuwaitandSaudiArabiabyestablishing

twoacademicfreezones.TheDubaiKnowledgeVillagewasestablishedin2003asa

tax-free,100%foreignownededucationalandbusinessfacilityforprofessional

trainingandlearningsupportservices.TheDubaiAcademicCityistoutedasthe

onlyfreezoneforhighereducationintheworld.Itguaranteesfirstclassfacilitiesin

itsadvertisementsandeasyvisaaccessforthoseenteringwiththepurposeof

workingatorattendingprogramsthere.Bothacademiczonesincludeuniversities

thathavebeenlicensedbytheCAAandaccreditedbytheKHDA,theKnowledge

HumanDevelopmentAuthority,aDubaibasedregulatoryagencydedicatedto

highereducation.

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Schoolsinbothzonescanoperatewithoutanygovernmentinterventionon

conditionthattheyapplythesamestandardsinDubaiastheydointheirhome

countryandtheyusethesamesyllabi.Bothzonesarehosttosomeoftheworld’s

premieruniversities,includingAustralianUniversityofWollongong,CityUniversity

ofLondon’sCassBusinessSchool,LondonSchoolofBusiness,ManchesterBusiness

School,andU.S.RochesterInstituteofTechnology.EdinburghbasedHeriot-Watt

Universityhasover3,500studentsatitsDubaicampusstudyingbusiness,

constructionmanagement,andengineering.Togetherthezoneshosttwenty

internationaluniversitiesfromadozencountries.

EducationCityinDoha,QatarisasimilarideatotheDubaifreezones,wherebranch

campusesarelocatedandoperateincooperationwithresearchorganizationsand

privatebusiness.TherearesixAmericanuniversitiesinsideEducationCity,each

offeringdifferentspecializationsforundergraduatetopost-graduatestudy.Texas

A&MUniversityfocusesonengineering,particularlyinpetroleumrelatedfields.

VirginiaCommonwealthoffersstudyinfinearts,Weill-CornellMedicalCollege

offersafullDoctorofMedicinedegree,andCarnegieMellonoffersbusinessdegrees.

GeorgetownUniversitySchoolofForeignServiceoffersabachelor’sdegreein

ForeignServiceandNorthwesternUniversityoffersdegreesinjournalismand

communications.HECParisoffersexecutivelevelbusinesstrainingandUniversity

CollegeLondonprovidesstudyinartsconservationandarchaeology.Within

EducationCity,aspartoftheQatarFoundationforEducation,Sciences,and

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CommunityDevelopment,therearesciencecentersandresearchfacilities,amedia

center,andnewlyopenedteachinghospital.

Thereisnodoubtthatthisbranchcampussystemisexperiencinggrowingpains.

Someschoolsfailedtomeetenrollmenttargetsandclosedtheirdoors.Other

schoolssawstudentsoptingtostudyattheschool’shomecampusratherthan

payingthesametuitionandfeesintheirowncountry.Yet,by2009,itwasreported

thatforeignuniversitiesintheGulfhadenrolledover30,000students.Also,thecost

ofbuildingthesefacilitiesishigh.EducationCityinDohawasbuiltatacostofUS$1

billionwithanadditionalUS$8billionspentonbuildingtheteachinghospital,a

centrallibrary,andtheQatarScienceandTechnologyPark(Lord2008).

QatarfacesasimilardilemmaastheotherGulfStates,theneedtodiversityits

economyandeducateitsownpopulationtoreplacethelargeprofessional

expatriateclassthatitstillreliesontorunthecountry.Theforeignschoolsin

EducationCityareexpectedtoenrollexplicitnumbersofQatarisbutonlyafterthe

Qatarismeettheacademicqualificationsandotherrequirementsoftheschool.The

Qatarigovernmentrecognizedtheneedtosupplementlowerschooleducationin

ordertomeettheenrollmenttargetsoftheincominginstitutions.In2001,the

AcademicBridgeProgramwasestablishedtopreparestudentstoqualifyfor

admissiontoforeignschools.SomeschoolsinsideEducationCityhavedeveloped

theirown,similarinitiativesinordertogetenoughqualifyingQatarisenrolled

(Witte2010).

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TheinternationalbranchcampusmodelimplementedacrosstheGulfhasnotbeen

replicatedinSaudiArabia.AccordingtoC-BERT’s2015list,thereiscurrentlyonly

oneforeignschoolbranchcampusintheentirecountry,AlgonquinCollege,a

Canadianschoolofferingtwo-yeardegreesinelectricalormechanicalengineering.

Asoflate2013theMOHEwasconsideringapplicationsfromdozensofforeign

institutionstoopenbranchesbuttheconditionsthattheSaudigovernmentis

imposingmightultimatelykeepmanyschoolsfromchoosingtooperateinsidethe

country.TheSaudigovernmentisrequiringthat,notonlymusttheschoolshavetop

qualifiedfacultystaffingtheschools,theymustalsoteachIslamicStudiesandthe

Arabiclanguage.Theseconditions,plustherequirementthataSaudinationalbe

appointedasdeanmeanfew,ifany,Westernuniversitieswillbewillingorableto

satisfytheMOHE(Jawhar2013).

TheinternationalbranchcampussystemintheUAEandQatarisstilltoonewto

producemeaningfulresults.AlookbackattheKEIdatadoesshowsome

improvementfrom2000to2012intheinnovationpillar,themeasureofoutputfor

patentsandpublishedscientificjournalarticles,wherebothcountriesscoreabove

theregionalaverage.Yet,the“importingofeducation”isnotauniversallyadmired

modelforeducationalreform.Criticschargethatequatingeducationwithjob

trainingcomesattheexpenseofvaluingeducationforitsbroadersocialvalueandis

doomedtofail.Inotherwords,simplyimportingschoolsandtheircurriculumwill

notcreateaknowledgeeconomyoraddresstheculturalfactorsthatneedtobe

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changedoracknowledgedinordertosupportorpromoteentrepreneurialimpulses

andmotivatepeopletobecomeinnovators.Somecriticscomparetheentire

endeavortobuyinganoutdatedproductbasedonwhatisalreadyknownandonly

proventoworkelsewhere.Theycontendthatacountrywillremainboth

subservienttotheWestandultimatelyleftbehindifitdoesn’ttakethesteps

necessarytodevelopitsownindigenousknowledge(Donn2010).

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ChapterThree:LiteratureReview

Thepreviouschapterprovidedhistoricalbackgroundontheusesofeducationfor

politicalpurposes,thepoliciespursuedbythegovernments,andthecurrentstateof

educationintheGulfStates.Itservesasapreludetothisliteraturereview,which

beginswithatheoreticalanalysisoftheroleofeducationinpublicpolicy.In

additiontoevaluatingpublicactors,thereisextensiveliteratureonprivateactors,

includingstudentsandhighereducationinstitutions.Manytheoreticalapproaches

havebeenusedtoexplorestudentchoiceinattendingcollege.Thisfieldofstudy

hasevolvedinrecentyears,reflectingtheacknowledgedcomplexityoftheissue.It

offeredusefulmethodologicalinsightintohowbesttoresearchthequestionsthat

relatetothelargeincreaseinSaudistudentsattendingschoolsintheU.S.

SectionOnereviewsthetheoreticalapproachestounderstandingthesocietaluses

forhighereducation.Incertaincases,suchasbuildinghumancapital,therearealso

private,individualmotivationsforattainingeducation.Thissectionincludesthe

literatureonhumancapitaltheory,intergroupcontacttheory,anddiffusiontheory

asmotivationsforgovernmentpoliciestowardhighereducationandthe

internationalizationofeducation.Humancapitaltheoryalsoappliestoindividuals

astheyattempttoimprovetheirskillsandproductivityinthelaborforce.

SectionTwoisabriefreviewofpoliticaltheorythatcanbeappliedtotheU.S.

governmentandtheSaudigovernment’sactionsinrelationtoeducationpolicy.For

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theUnitedStates,differentadministrationshaveviewedinternationaleducation

throughvariouslenses,ultimatelyrecognizingitscontributiontoachievinglong-

termpolicygoals.TheSaudigovernmentisalsousinghighereducationforbroader

politicalpurposes,notjusttoimprovedomesticoutcomes.Itisnoteworthythat

evenacountrywithsucharadicallydifferentpoliticalsystemfromtheWestcould

shareperspectivesandusetheinternationalizationofeducationtomeetthegoalsof

greaterglobalintegration.

SectionThreeisareviewoftheliteratureabouttheinternationalmarketforhigher

educationandstudentchoicetoattendcollege.Mostoftheresearchconducted

relatestothechoicetoattendcollegebutrecentscholarshipconcernsthechoiceto

studyabroad.Expectancytheorywasmostwidelyusedtounderstandtheeconomic

andsociologicalvariablesassociatedwithstudentchoicetoattendcollege.Recent

studiesnowalsouseintegratedtheoreticalapproachestoevaluatingstudentchoice

toattendcollege.Manyofthesemodelsareapplicabletostudentswhochooseto

studyabroadandcanbeadaptedtothepopulationofSaudistudentswhochooseto

studyintheU.S.Thissectionalsoreviewedtheavailablestudiesthatexamine

studentsfromSaudiArabiaandotherGulfStates.

Beyondtheprimarydecisionwhetherornottoattendcollege,attentionhasbeen

paidtoevaluatinghighereducationasaservicesectorproductwherestudentare

consumersanduniversitiesareserviceprovidersinacompetitivemarketthatrelies

onpsychographicvariablestoexplainstudentchoice.Whilethereisasmallbodyof

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thisliteratureavailable,thenotionofbrandingandimagehavegainedinrelevance

asmoreschoolsareactingtoincreaseglobalnamerecognitionandpursue

accreditationsthatprovideperceptionsofqualityandenhancedinternational

standing.Theseeffortshavethepotentialtosignificantlyimpactstudentchoiceand

representanewapproachbymanyHEIstowardstudentrecruitment.

SectionOne:TheoreticalApproaches-HumanCapital,IntergroupContact,

andDiffusionTheory

HumanCapitalTheory

Humancapitalisdefinedastheknowledgeandskillspossessedbytheworkforce.It

drivestheproductivecapacityofaneconomy(SchillerandHill2014;M.Paulsen

2001).Humancapitaltheorypredictsthatindividualswillinvestineducation

becausetheyrationallyanticipatethatthelifetimebenefitswillbegreaterthanthe

expectedcosts.Ineconomicterms,theopportunitycostsincludelossofleisure

time,foregoneearnings,andfinancialoutlaysforeducation.Thebenefitsofhigher

educationgobeyondhigherlifetimeearnings.Theyalsoincludeenriched

intellectuallifeandcareerexperiences,greatersocialstatus,betterhealthoutcomes,

andreducedriskofunemployment(Becker,1962).

Highereducationhasbeencreditedwithimprovinglifeoutcomesforindividuals

andtheircommunities.AristotleandPlatobelievedthateducationwascriticalto

thewellbeingofsociety(Villoutreix,2013).Today,itisviewedasapublicgoodthat

spillsovertogeneratesocialandeconomicbenefitsforthecommunityandbeyond.

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Economically,aneducatedworkforceismoreproductive,entrepreneurial,and

generateshigherincome.Researchcontinuestosupportthenotionthateducation

improvessocietaloutcomesintermsofhigherearningsandincreasedeconomic

activity(Perna,2006).Inadditiontojobsandtaxes,thepersonalinvestmentin

highereducationisassociatedwithlowerlevelsofcrime,reducedcostsfortaxpayer

fundedwelfareprograms,greaterlevelsofcivicengagementandinvolvement,and

improvementsinknowledgecreationandtechnology(Bowen1997;Carnevaleand

Desrochers2003;FatimaandPaulsen2004;LeslieandBrinkman1988).Also,

intergenerationalbenefitsexistthatidentifyimprovedoutcomesforfuture

generationsrelatedtohighereducation(Baum&Payea,2004).Evenimprovedlife

expectancyandbetteroverallhealthoutcomesareassociatedwithincreased

education(Villoutreix,2013).

Becker(1993)identifiedthelong-termbenefitsofeducationonwealth

accumulation.Usingcensusdataandapplyingaformulafordiscountingthesumof

thefutureearningsstreambasedonincomeearned,Beckercreatedage-wealth

profilesfor1939malecollege,highschool,andelementaryschoolgraduates.He

showedhowthewealthprofilesofskilledworkersroseatafargreaterrateandfor

longerthanthoseoflesser-educatedworkers.Wealthpeakedatapproximatelyage

39fortheentiregroup,atwhichtimethecollegegraduatehadmorethantwicethe

wealthoftheelementaryschoolgraduate.Beckerattributedthistoinvestmentin

humancapital.Interestingly,thewealthprofilesinthenineteenthcenturypeaked

atage20.Beckersuggestedthatthereasonforthisextensionwasbecausepeople

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witheducationstendedtoworkinsaferprofessionsandtheinvestmentsmadein

educationandtrainingbroughtdownthemortalityratefortheentireworkforce,

bothskilledandunskilled.Thisisanotherbenefitofinvestinginhumancapital,one

thatisrelevanttodevelopingcountriesthatdonothaveaworkforceendowedwith

theaccumulatedknowledgethatcomeswithexperience.

Thewealtheffectmaybeevengreatertoday.ThepaygapintheU.S.between

peoplewithbachelor’sdegreesandthosewithoutadegree,eveniftheyhave

attendedcollegeiswiderthanever.Hourlyearningsin2013forthosewitha

degreewere98%higherthatthosewithoutone,upfrom89%higherin2008.The

paygapwas85%higherin2003andonly64%higherinthe1980s.Oneeconomist

showsthattheactualcostofnotgettingacollegedegreeisalossofover$500,000

inlifetimeearnings(Leonhardt2014).DavidLeonhardt,ananalyticaljournalistwho

writesaboutgovernmentpolicyandeconomics,pointstoa2001studythatshowed

howacollegedegreewasbeneficialeveninjobsthatdidnotrequireone.

“Constructionworkers,policeofficers,plumbers,retailsalespeopleandsecretaries,

amongothers,makesignificantlymorewithadegreethanwithoutone.Why?

Educationhelpspeopledohigher-skilledwork,getjobswithbetter-paying

companiesoropentheirownbusinesses.”(Leonhardt2011).

Theimpactonunemploymentisalsosignificant.TheBureauofLaborStatistics

breaksdowntheemploymentstatusofthecivilianpopulation25yearsandoverby

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educationalattainment.Table13showsthedifferenceinunemploymentlevelsfor

variouslevelsofeducation.

Table13:U.S.UnemploymentbyEducationLevel

UnemploymentRates December2013 December2014

OverallRate 6.7% 5.6%

HighSchoolOnly 7.0% 5.3%

SomeCollege/Associates 6.1% 4.9%

Bachelor’sDegree 3.4% 2.9%

Source:U.S.DepartmentofLaborBureauofLaborStatistics

TableA-4.Employmentstatusofthecivilianpopulation25yearsandoverby

educationalattainment

UnemploymentrelatingtotheGreatRecessionpeakedat10.1%inOctober2009.

Thecorrelationbetweeneducationlevelandunemploymentbecameincreasingly

apparentfromthattime.Peoplewithbachelor’sdegreeshadconsistentlylower

unemploymentratethanthosewithlesseducation.Inparticular,theproblemof

longtermunemploymentwasaexacerbatedbybothlabormobilityandskilllevel.

Thedatarevealedthatworkerswithlesseducationandlowerskillsexperienced

moreacuteandpersistentunemployment(Reich,2010).

Humancapitaltheorywouldpredictbetteremploymentoutcomesforindividuals

whoinvestinhighereducation.Aseconomicactors,studentsfromSaudiArabiaare

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consumersofhighereducationandarethebeneficiariesoftheirgovernment’s

investmentinthemasagentsofhumancapital.Thisinvestmentisbasedonthe

starklyhigherunemploymentrateofSaudisintheirowncountry.Asmentioned

earlier,thetheoreticalliteratureonhumancapitalpositsthatthecreationofhuman

capitalinfluencesfuturenationalincomethroughtheinvestingofresourcesin

people(Becker,1962).Thegovernmentinvestmentcomplementsindividualsuseof

educationasapersonalinvestmenttoimprovetheirownemployment

opportunitiesandincomepotential.

Relatedstudiesusinghumancapitaltheoryshowthateducationandtraininghavea

positiveimpactongrowthandnationalprosperity(Autor2014;BaumandPayea

2004;Bowen1997;Perna2006).Yet,thisanalysisistoosimplistic.TheBecker

studies(1962)donotprivilegeschoolbasedacquisitionofknowledgeoverskills

acquiredandperfectedwhileonthejob,inamannersimilartoaninternfurther

developingtheskillslearnedwhileinmedicalschool.Humancapitalacquisitioncan

occurinsettingsthatarenotwhollyacademicandmayhaveasmuchefficacyin

creatingaknowledgeable,skilledworkforce.

Therearemultipletypesofhumancapitalwhichinterconnecttocreatecompetitive

advantagethatissectororindustryspecific(Ployhart,VanIddekingeandMackenzie

Jr.2011.)Generichumancapitalreferstopersonalbehavior(effort)andcognitive

ability,orlearningthatprovidesthefoundationforcreatingunitspecifichuman

capital.Unitspecifichumancapitalisformedthroughadvancedtrainingand

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experienceandiscrucialtocreatingsustainedcompetitiveadvantage.Bothtypes

interconnectinacausalsequencethatleadtoeconomicgrowth.Yet,under-

employmentisassignificantaprobleminGulfStateeconomies,asishigh

unemploymentofcollegegraduates.Onestudyanalyzedtheunder-utilizationof

humancapitalinSaudiArabiaandOman.Itfoundthatthelackofeffectivehuman

resourcespracticesandpoororganizationaldesignresultedinineffectiveutilization

mechanisms,meaningthatinternalhierarchiesandinflexiblemanagementstyles

ledtowastingtheabilitiesofeducatedworkers.Quantitativeincreasesinemployee

qualificationshavenotbeenmetbyequalimprovementsinproductivitybecauseof

lowlevelsofpower-influencesharingindecisionmaking,littlecompatibility

betweenareasofexpertiseandjobrequirementsandtherelianceonseniority

ratherthancompetenceasthebasisforadvancement(Al-Yahya2010.)Withmany

SaudistudentsstudyingbusinessadministrationintheU.S.itispossiblethatthese

problemswillbebetteraddressedastheyimplementadvancedmanagement

techniques.Itisalsoimportanttorecognizethatworkplacelearningmaybeasvalid

asourceofskillsacquisitionasaclassroom(Becker1962).AsmoreSaudistudents

returnhomeandentertheworkforce,thecombinationofformallearningand

workplaceexperiencemayresultinameasurableimpactonproductivityasthey

risetomanagementlevelpositionswithintheprivatesector.

Humancapitalisalsofosteredbythecreativeinterconnectivitydevelopedby

studyingtheliberalarts.ThefundamentaldifferencebetweentheU.S.systemof

highereducationandothersisthefocusontheliberalartsasthefoundationto

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developcriticalthinkingskills.ItisnotablethatevenstudentswhoattendtheU.S.

MilitaryAcademyatWestPointwillreadShakespeareandstudyliteratureasacore

requirementbeforegraduatingwithaBachelorofSciencedegree.Accordingtothe

website,usma.edu,“WestPoint'sAcademicProgramservesasafoundationforthe

developmentofcriticalthinkingandcreativeproblem-solvingskills.Itincludesa

substantivesetoffullyintegratedcorecoursesthat,together,providean

appropriatebalancebetweentechnicaltopicsandthehumanities.”

Innovationandentrepreneurshipareassociatedwiththeabilitytotakethebasic

economicfactorsofproductionandorganizetheminawaytocreatenewgoodsand

services,orimproveonexistingones.Itistheengineofeconomicgrowthand

development.Non-linearthinkingishowthisoccurs.Eveninindustriesthatone

wouldassociatewithaspecificfieldofexpertisethevalueoftheliberalartsis

recognized.AccordingtoLazloBlock,theheadofhiringatthetechnologyfirm

Google,inresponsetothequestionaboutwhethertheliberalartswerenecessary

forundergraduateeducation,hisanswerwasunequivocal.

“Theyare“phenomenallyimportant,”hesaid,especiallywhenyoucombine themwithotherdisciplines.Tenyearsagobehavioraleconomicswasrarely referenced.But[then]youapplysocialsciencetoeconomicsandsuddenly there’sthiswholenewfield.Ithinkalotabouthowthemostinteresting thingsarehappeningattheintersectionoftwofields.Topursuethat,you needexpertiseinbothfields.Youhavetounderstandeconomicsand psychologyorstatisticsandphysics[and]bringthemtogether.Youneed somepeoplewhoareholisticthinkersandhaveliberalartsbackgroundsand somewhoaredeepfunctionalexperts.Buildingthatbalanceishard,but that’swhereyouendupbuildinggreatsocieties,greatorganizations.” (Freidman,2014).

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Highereducationhasmanyoutcomesfortheindividualandforsociety.Forthe

individual,KenistonandGerzon(1972)observethat:

“Thecollegeexperiencehasademonstrablyliberalizingeffectonmoststudents:collegeattendancetendstoincreaseopenmindedness,aperspectivalviewoftruth,theindividualizationofmoraljudgments, psychologicalautonomy,andindependence;itdecreasesdogmatism,authoritarianism,intolerance,conformity,conventionalism,dependency,and soon…Itdeliberatelychallengesstudentstoreexamineassumptions,convictions,andworldviewsthattheypreviouslytookforgranted…Inthelastdecade,Americanhighereducationhasvisiblyhelpedproducemillionsofstudentwhodonotaccepttheirsocietywithoutquestion.(p.66)”

Inadditiontoimpartingtraitsandskillsthatwillenablestudentstofunction

effectivelyonapracticallevel,orwithsomedegreeofcompetency,Bowen(1997)

identifiedpersonalself-discoveryasoneofthelessappreciatedfunctionsofhigher

education.Thisprocessisasvaluabletosocietyasitistothestudent,revealingthe

bestplaceforaperson’sinterestandtalentstobeutilizedbythecommunityandfor

themtohaveameaningfullife.

IntergroupContactTheory

Bowen(1997)alsopointstoevidencethatclearlysuggestshowmuchcollege

increasestoleranceandtheabilityofpeopletounderstandandcommunicatewith

others.GordonAllportwasthefirsttoproposeintergroupcontactasaneffective

waytoreduceracialprejudiceintheU.S.(Allport,1954).Allportbelievedthat

prejudiceandintergroupconflictcouldbereducedandsocialrelationsimproved

throughcontactamongmembersofdifferentethnicgroups.Itisthebasisformuch

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oftheoperationalactivityinglobalgovernanceorganizationssuchasUNESCO

(Everett,2013).Itisfoundtobeeffectiveevenatlowlevelsofcontact,regardlessof

thetargetgroup,agegroup,orcontactsetting.Increasedcontactsbetweenethnic

groupsarenegativelycorrelatedwithprejudice(Crisp,Stathi,Turner,&Husnu,

2008).“Indeed,theroleofcontactinreducingprejudiceisnowsowelldocumented

thatitjustifiesbeingreferredtoasintergroupcontacttheory.”(Everett2013,p.2).

Inaseminalwork,Pettigrewetal.(2011)conductedameta-analysiswith515

studiestoidentifymorespecificallytheimpactofintergroupcontactongroupsof

peopledefinedasdifferentfromeachother.Thecontacteffectssuchasgreater

levelsoftrust,forgiveness,andempathyweregeneralizableamongmorethanjust

ethnicgroups.Theywerefoundtoalsoapplytodiversepopulationsincluding

homosexuals,disabledpersonsandthementallyill,andacrossnationalities,

genders,andagegroups.Thispositiveimpactremainedevenincasesofindirect

contactthroughmassmediaandsecondarycontactthroughfriendsandsocial

networks(Pettigrew,Tropp,Wagner,&Christ,2011).Thisisafollowupworkto

Pettigrew(1998),whereheaddressedtheconcernthatAllport’shypothesesfailed

toprovidethemechanism,orcausalsequenceforhowthiscontactshouldoccurand

lackedanexplanationforgeneralizingtheimpactofcontactbeyondimmediate

groups.Pettigrew’sresultssuggestedthatoptimalintergroupcontactrequiredtime

andopportunityforgroupparticipantstointeractmeaningfullybeforethebenefits

weregeneralizedtooutofgroupmembersandtheopportunitytointeractina

positivemannerwascriticaltosuccessfuloutcomes.

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Contacttheoryisusefulinexplaininghowpeoplelosetheirfearandintoleranceof

othersastheyhavemorepositiveinteractionsamongthemselves.Fulbrightsaw

sharingknowledgeandculturalunderstandingasthebestwaytopreventfuture

wars.Thispracticalapplicationofcontacttheorywasimplementedafulldecade

beforeAllport’shypothesiswerepublishedbutitreflectsthesamefundamental

beliefincreatingculturalcompetenceandtolerancethroughsharedexperiences

(Allport1954;Pettigrew1998;Pettigrew,Tropp,etal.2011).DenmanandHilal

(2011)believethatSaudiArabiaisincreasingitsstudentmobilityinorderimprove

itsimageandtoundothefearfulperceptionsofSaudiArabiaanditspeoplebecause

ofOsamabinLaden,themastermindof9/11,andWesterndistrustofanything

MiddleEastern.

Intergroupcontactshouldn’tbetakentomeanthatitisthesolutiontoallconflicts.

Notallintergroupcontactreducesprejudice,especially,forexample,inthecaseof

threatsoruninvitedcontact(Pettigrew,Tropp,Wagner,&Christ,2011).Thisshould

notbeamajorconcernforSaudiandU.S.studentsinacollegecampusenvironment,

wherestudentswillinglyattendafterapplyingandbeingacceptedbytheinstitution.

Nearly75percentofallSaudistudentsarestudyingtoobtainabachelor’sdegree

and95percentbeginwithafullyearofEnglishlanguagetraining.Someofthese

studentswillspendfiveyearsorlongeraspartofanacademiccommunity,onethat

will,hopefully,acttosupportthemandwelcomethemasmembersofthestudent

body.

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Onelastdiscussionabouttheapplicationofcontacttheorytohighereducation

relatestocitizenshipintheglobalpublicsphere.Theacceleratedpaceofvirtually

everyactivityamongpeopleacrossbordershascreatedanincreasingly

interdependentworld.ThereisconcernthattheU.S.islaggingincreatingtheglobal

skillsincollegegraduatescomparedtoothernations(Reimers,2013).Student

diversityhasbeenshowntobeavaluabletoolfordevelopinginterculturalskills.

Caruana(2014)showedthatinterculturalsensitivitywasdevelopedandheightened

frominternationaltravel,studyorwork.Itwasprerequisiteforglobalcitizenship

andfundamentaltoparticipatingfullyintheworldbeyondyourownborders.“The

diversityofthestudentbodyonuniversitycampusesprovidesarichsourceoflived

experienceinculturalboundary-crossingthecouldbeharnessedasaresourcein

promotinginterculturalunderstanding,and,inturn,developinggraduatesasglobal

citizens.”(Caruana2014,p.86).ForeignstudentsintheU.S.currentlycompriseonly

fourpercentofthetotalstudentbody.Theirvalueasagentsofgrowingglobal

competencyforU.S.studentsiswellestablishedandisanimportantbenefitforU.S.

HEIsandtheeconomy.

DiffusionTheory

Diffusionisthespreadingofinnovation,andinthiscase,thespreadingofvaluesand

ideas.ItisdefinedbyEverettRogersas“theprocessbywhichaninnovationis

communicatedthroughcertainchannelsovertimeamongthemembersofasocial

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system.It’saspecialtypeofcommunication,inthatthemessagesareconcerned

withnewideas.”(Rogers1995,p.5).Rogersidentifesthechannelsormechanisms

bywhichthesemessagesareconveyedandideasareadopted.Diffusiontheoryhas

beenappliedtostudiesabouthowbesttoadoptWestern-styleeducationalmodels

intheArabianGulf(G-Mrabet,2012).Thefindingsofthestudiesimpliedthatusing

Roger’sguidingprinciplesfordissemminatingnewideasshowedtherewasa

qualitativeimprovementineducationaloutcomesandthereweresocialchanges

thatwerethedirectresultofextensiveexposuretoWesternlifestylesandculture.

Whilecontacttheoryisusefulinexplaininghowpeoplelosetheirfearand

intoleranceofothersastheyhavemorepositiveinteractionsamongthemselves,

diffusiontheoryisusefulinexplaininghowSaudistudentswouldabsorbtheculture

andvaluesoftheU.S.fromtheirtimehere.Expertsagreethatthenearuniversal

adoptionofU.S.businessschoolcurriculumhascontributedtothedominanceofthe

globalcapitalistmarketsystem.Aspredictedbydiffusiontheory,notonlywere

Americanculturalvaluesimpartedandbusinessmethodstaughttoforeignstudents

hereandabroad,theothereconomicgainsofforeignstudentsfortheU.S.werealso

significant,asthecommercializationofmuchuniversityresearchtheyhelped

producebecamethebasisfortheU.S.’sleadingpositionintheknowledgeeconomy

today(O'Mara,2012).

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SectionTwo:PoliticalTheories

ThepoliticaluseofinternationaleducationbytheU.S.hasalreadybeendescribed

butthetheoreticalapproachestoviewingthepoliciesoftheU.S.governmentand

theSaudigovernmentareexploredhere.

NormativeTheory

Inthe1960s,PresidentKennedyextendedtheoutreachoftheFulbrightPrograms

beyondEuropeandAsiatospecificallytargetstudentsandscholarsfromcountries

newlyemergingfromcolonialruleandthoseidentifiedasmostatriskoffalling

underSovietinfluence.Internationaleducationwasbeingusedtohelpbuild

democraticsocietiesinplaceswheretherewasnone,ortherewaslittleexperience

ofdemocraticselfrule(BevisandLucas2007).

Transnationalactorscanbeinfluencedbynormsthatexistintheinternational

community.ScholarsofinternationalrelationstheoryasfarbackasAristotleand

Platounderstoodthatnormativeissueshavebeencentraltothestudyofpolitics

(Finnemore&Sikkink,1998).Normsarestandardsofbehaviordeemed

appropriateforanactorbasedontheiridentity.Normsrefertobehaviorsthat

regulate,orderorconstrainbehavior.Internationalnormsplayaroleinpolitical

change,oftenbeginningasanationalordomesticconcernthatbuildsand

transcendsnationalborderstobecomeinfluentalinothercountries.Intime,the

normbecomesinternalizedsothatitseemsnaturalandunquestioned.Thenormof

women’ssuffrageisoftencitedasaglobalnormthatgrewoutofadomestic

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imperative,anironicexampleinthiscase,giventhelackoflegalrightsforwomenin

SaudiArabia.FinnemoreandSikkinkdevelopedathreestagelifecycletoexplain

howanorm’sevolutiondependedontheactorsinvolvedandtheirattitudestoward

enhancingtheirinternationallegitimationandimprovingtheirdiplomaticstatus.

Byinvitingstudentsandscholarsfromcountriesthathadlittleexposureto

democraticinstitutionsandmarketeconomies,Kennedywasofferingmorethan

academictraining.HewasexposingthemtoWesternvaluesandinstitutionsthat

mightbereplicatedintheirowncountries,particularyoncetheywereawareof

theirnormativevalueintheinternationalarena.StudentsfromSaudiArabiamay

absorbthenormativevaluesoftheU.S.andotherwesternizedculturesbecauseof

theirtimestudyingthere.TheSaudisfaceachallengeoftryingtobecomemoreat

onewiththeglobalcommunity,onewhereinstitutionsarelargelybasedonWestern

norms,whilepreservingtheirownculturalidentity.Yet,theseculturalbarriers

needtobemoderatedifthecountryistoovercomeitsowneconomicandpolitical

problems(Denman,2011).

Realism

Inthe1970s,theNixonadministrationhadmovedawayfromthepolicyofwinning

heartsandminds,eventhoughtheVietnamWardamagedthecountry’simage

abroad.SoftdiplomacywasdismissedinfavorofthehardcorerealismofSecretary

ofStateHenryKissingerandthemilitaryestablishment.RealismcametotheU.S.in

the1930swithHansMorgenthau,oneofthemostinfluentialscholarsin

internationalrelations.Realismpositsthattheglobalsystemisoneofanarchy,

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wherestatesactsolelytopursuetheirowninterests.Inaworldthatisbrutish,

competitive,andhostile,poweroverothersistheonlywaytosurviveandtobest

servetheinterestofthestate.Powerwasviewedasmilitarymighteventhoughin

Morgenthau’sviewitcouldmeanmorethanjustmilitarypower;itcouldalsobein

theformofothertypesofinfluence,orsoftpower.(Morgenthau1948;Thompson

1951;Baldwin1979).Morgenthau’scontentionwasthatthematerialaspectof

powerismilitarymightbutitwasactuallylesssignificantthanthemoresubtle

psychologicalpowertoinfluenceothersbasedonnationalcharacter,morale,and

qualityofgovernance(Pashakhanlou,2009).

Inthe1970s,inadditiontofightingthewarinVietnam,theU.S.governmentwasin

theprocessofamajoreconomictransformationawayfromthegoldstandard

towardaderegulated,freemarketeconomy.DétentewithChinawasavitalstepfor

theNixonAdministrationinopeningtheworldeconomytotrade.Moreimportantly,

NixonsawendingtheembargowithChinaandnormalizingrelationsasthewayto

reshapethebalanceofpowerintheColdWar(Cohen,2007).NixonandKissinger

viewededucationasavaluabletoolforexposingtheChinesetohowanopenmarket

economyworkedandproducedhighstandardsofliving.Thebeliefinthelink

betweendemocracyandfreemarketcapitalismdominatedU.S.foreignpolicysince

theendofWorldWarII.ChinesestudentslearnedAmericanstylebusinesspractices

and,stilltoday,anM.B.A.fromaU.S.universityishighlyprizedinChina.Détente

withChinaservedtheinterestofU.S.companieswhoyearnedforaccesstoforeign

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marketsandtheU.S.governmentwhosawfreemarketcapitalismasastrong

weaponagainsttheSovietsandthespreadofcommunism.

Neoliberalism

RobertKeohaneisaprominentneoliberalwhopositsthatcooperativebehavior

betweengovernmentsandinstitutionscanresultinjointlyprofitablearrangements

andcompromise(Keohane1984;KeohaneandNye1977).Neoliberalsseeawide

rangeofintereststhatcanbeservedbycooperationbetweenstates,fromthe

sharingofnormstotheformationofliberalregimesandotherinstitutionsthat

inspirepeacefulcoexistence.AstheNixonAdministrationuseddiplomacytobuild

therelationshipwithChina,therelationshipbetweentheUnitedStatesandSaudi

Arabiahasbeenstrengthenedbythecurrentopennessineducation(Nye,2005).It

hasrequiredsomeskillfulcompromiseonthepartoftheU.S.governmentinthe

wakeoftheSeptember11attacksandtheneverending“WaronTerror”butithas

servedthelargerinterestsofthenationandmayhaveapositiveimpactfortheU.S.

intheentireregion.

LiberalPluralism

LiberalpluralismmaybetheobjectiveoftheKingandotherreformmindedpeople

insidethecountry.Whilenotlookingtofullyoverturnthepoliticalsystemand

culturevalueswithinthecountrythereisaneedforanewconceptionofhowSaudi

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Arabiafitsintotheworldbodypolitc.LiberalpluralismasdescribedbyRaymond

Aronistheabilityofpeopletolivemeaningfullivesbasedontheirown

understandingofvaluewithinasystemofinstitutionsthatenablesocietyto

function(Galston2002.)InAron’sviewsocietycanbeopenandtolerantwithout

privilegingonesetofvaluesoveranother(Muller,2006).Aronwasclassifiedasa

realistbutsawstates’behaviorasreflectingmanyfactors,noneofwhichshouldbe

deemedmoreimportanttheother(Echikson,1983).“Intheabsenceofasimple

formulatopredictstategoals,thebestonecoulddoasathinker,diplomator

strategististoattemptanunderstandingofstateaimsandmotivesonthebest

availableevidence.”(Griffiths,Roach,&Solomon,2009).

TheshiftingU.S.governmentpolicyregardinginternationaleducationfromtheend

ofWorldWarItothepresentcanbeviewedasresponsestochanginghistoricaland

economicfactorsandevolvingmoralconsiderationsandattitudes.Educationaland

culturalexchangesallowedbothsidestogainabetterunderstandingofother

people’svaluesandnationalpsyche.ItalsogaveoutsidersalookintotheAmerican

wayoflife,theproductofafreemarket,democraticsystemthatofferedabetter

alternativethancommunismandSoviet-styleauthoritarianism.TheSaudi

governmentmaybeseekingthesamething,abroader-mindedsocietythattolerates

otherpeople’svaluesandculturesinalessorthodoxmanner,awayfromonethat

oftenleadstoextremistrhetoricandbehaviorthatplacesthecountryoutsidethe

realmofinfluentialactorsontheworldstage.Inacountrythatstillbeheadspeople

inpublicforwhatothernationsviewasminoroffences,theglobalviewthatSaudi

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ArabiaasbarbaricandideologicallyextremeinterfereswiththeSaudigovernment’s

effortstoasserttheirroleinmaintainingstabilityandsecurityintheregion(Obaid

2013;Drennan2015).

SectionThree:LiteratureontheInternationalMarketforHigherEducation

andStudentChoice-ExpectancyTheory,TheoreticalModelsofStudentChoice,

StudentsasConsumers,andRecentStudies

TheInternationalMarketforHigherEducation

Highereducationhasbecomeaninternationalcommodityinrecentyears.Nearly

4.5millionstudentsarestudyinginaforeigncountryduringthe2013/14academic

year.TheU.S.isthelargesthostofgloballymobilecollegeanduniversitystudents.

IthostsnearlytwiceasmanyastheUnitedKingdom,thesecondmostpopularhost

destination(IIEOpenDoors2014).InternationaleducationisoneoftheUnited

States’largestexports.NAFSAreportedthatinternationalstudentscontributed

$26.8billiontotheU.S.economyduringthe2013/14schoolyears.Thisisan8.5

percentincreasefromlastyearandassociatedwiththecreationofover340,000

jobs.Theeducationsectorisveryimportanttomanysmallcommunitiesandisa

matterofconcernforpoliticiansandcommunitiesthatseejobgrowthdirectly

relatedtoforeignstudents(BrookingsInteractive,2014).

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TheU.S.enjoysalargepercentageoftheoverallSaudistudentpopulationthat

studiesoutsideofthecountry.ThisgrowingcontingentofSaudistudentsisin

contrasttotheglobaltrendforinternationalstudentsinthelasttenyears.NAFSA

identifiedseveralpressuresfacingAmericanschoolsinFebruary,2012thatare

makingitlesslikelythattheU.S.willseethetypeofgrowthininternational

studentsithasseeninthepast.Whiletheglobalnumberofstudentstravellingfrom

theirhomecountryforhighereducationcontinuestoincrease,thenumberof

countriesnowestablishingprogramsisgrowingandschoolsaroundtheworldare

activelyrecruitingforeignstudents.OthercountriesareprovidingEnglishlanguage

programsandhaveinvestedheavilyintechcentersandfacilities,thusdrawinga

greatershareofstudentsfromnearbycountries.TheU.S.NationalScienceBoard

tracksresearchcapacityaroundtheworldandnotesthatglobalcapacityandquality

haveincreased,ashasthecompetitionforthebeststudentsandscholars.This

increaseinthesupplyofhighereducationledtotheU.S.shareofthemarketfalling

fromtwentyeightpercentin2000tonineteenpercentby2012,asituationthatmay

notchangesoon.

Manycountriesareformingcross-borderpartnershipstobecomeregional

providersofhighereducation,especiallyinresearch-orientedprograms.TheSaudis

andotherGulfStateshavespentbillionsofdollarsontheirownuniversitiesand

researchfacilities,includingofferingincentivestobusinessestoenterpartnerships

withtheseresearchlabs.SeveralGulfStateshaveimportedfullbranchcampuses

andbroughtinpartnerschoolsfromothercountriestoimprovethelocalcapacityto

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educatestudentsforthenewhighlytechnical,increasinglyintegratedglobal

economy.CurrentlyChina,SouthKorea,Mexico,Russia,Taiwan,Thailand,andBrazil

areeachactivelytryingtorecruitstudentsandscholarstohelpthemimprovetheir

owneducationsystems.

Thegrowthinthenumberofinternationalstudentsandthedestinationsthey

chooseistrackedcloselybymanyaffiliatedorganizations.Thisinformationisused

byHEIstounderstandinternationalstudentchoiceandhelpthemmarkettheir

schoolsinthemosteffectivemanner.Today,foreignstudentsareseeking

educationsinplacesthathaveEnglishlanguageprogrammingandofferthebest

qualitycoursesbasedoninternationalreputationandrankings.Englishlanguage

programsandbusinessarethemostcommonareasofstudybutmanystudents

attendadvanced-levelgraduateprogramsintheSTEMsubjects.IntheU.S.

internationalstudentsarecrucialtofillingtheseresearch-orientedprograms

becausetherearecurrentlynotenoughAmericanstudentspursuingdegreesin

thesefields.Americanschoolsalsoprizeinternationalstudentsbecausethey

exposedomesticstudentstootherculturesandbetterpreparethemtosucceedin

theglobaleconomy.

China’srecentefforttodevelopitsownhighereducationalsystemhasresultedinit

becomingasupplierofinternationaleducation,notjustacountrythatsendsits

surplusstudentsabroad.ThisisshapingdemandintheAsiaPacificregion.The

WallStreetJournalAsia(Kwaak2013)reportsthatSouthKoreanstudentsare

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increasinglychoosingtostudyinChinanearlyasoftenastheychoosetheU.S.While

learninginEnglishisstillhighlyvaluedbystudents,businessesinSouthKoreaare

interestedinhiringstudentswithChineselanguageskillsanddirectexperiencein

China.Thegrowingcompetitionforinternationalstudentsmakesitimperativethat

theU.S.schoolsdomoretounderstandwhatbringsstudentstothiscountryandto

capitalizeontheirstrengthsandweaknesses.

ExpectancyTheory

Theliteratureonstudents’intenttostudyabroadfallsintoseveraltheoretical

categories:economicexplanations,sociologicalpredictors,andculturaltheories.

Muchoftherecentscholarshipusesmultidisciplinarytheoreticalapproachesand

mixedmethodologiestotrytounderstandwhatmotivatesstudentstostudyabroad

andhowtheychoosewheretogo.Earlierresearchusedstudentchoiceand

expectancytheoriestoexplainwhystudentschoosetoattendcollege.Morerecent

usagesofthesetheorieshavebeenextendedtoresearchstudent’swillingnessto

studyabroad.

Expectancytheorystatesthatapersonwillexpendefforttowardsomethingthat

mayberiskyordifficultiftherewardshavevalueforthem(VroomV.,1964).

BrooksandBetz(1990)usedVroom’sexpectancytheorytoexplainthemotivational

componentofcareerpreferencesforcollegestudents.Vroom’stheoryexplained

thatcareerchoicewasafunctionofbothhowattractiveacareerwasandhowlikely

theyweretoattainit.

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Sanchez,FornerinoandZhang(2006)usedexpectancytheorytoevaluatethe

relationshipbetweenmotivationstostudyabroadandintentinthreedifferent

groups.TheysurveyedbusinessstudentsinFrance,China,andtheU.S.abouttheir

motivationsandintentionstostudyabroad.Theresultsshowedinteresting

variationsthattheyattributedtonationalculturalperceptionsofthevalueofstudy

abroad.Forexample,Chinesestudentsshowedamuchstrongerintentiontostudy

abroadthantheFrenchorU.Sstudents.Theauthorssuggestedthatthelackof

availabilityofqualityhighereducationinChinaandthecareeropportunitiesthat

areaffordedtothosewithaforeigndegreedifferedfromthereasonofU.S.students,

whichwastohavenewexperiencesorbecauseitwasarequirementoftheirschool.

BothFrenchandU.S.studentsfelttheyhadsufficientaccesstoqualityeducationand

careeropportunitiesintheirhomecountry.Hackney,Boggs,andBorozan(2012)

alsoconductedresearchusingexpectancytheoryonbusinessstudentstoidentify

thewillingnesstostudyabroad.Thewillingnesstostudyabroadservedasa

precursortogoingandisassociatedwithperceivedpersonalandprofessional

benefits.Theyidentifiedcertainpersonalitytraitssuchasconfidenceandlanguage

abilitiesthatgavecluestohowsuccessfulastudentbelievedtheywouldbe,in

keepingwithVroom’sideasaboutattainment.

Relyea,CocciaraandStuddard(2008)foundthattheperceivedvalence,orvalue,

wasanimportantmotivatingfactorforstudentstoengageinaninternational

experience.Manyresearchersagreeonasetofuniversalvaluessharedbypeople

acrossmostnationalities.Whatdiffersistherelativeimportancethatpeopleplace

onthesevalues.ScholarssuchasHofstede(2001),Rokeach(1999),Schwartz

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(1999),andZhang(2001)studiedthewaynationalculturedictatedhowasociety

organizeditselftosolveproblemsandmeetitsneeds.Valuesystemsinformed

theseresponsesandresultedinthecreationofinstitutionsthatgaveacommunity

itsparticularcharacter.Zhang(2001),forexample,foundthatChinesewomen’s

purchasingbehaviorwassignificantlymoreinfluencedbyChinesevaluesthanby

westernvalues.AccordingtoSchwartz(1999),nationalvalueswerereflectedin

sociallyapprovedgoals,asrealizedinlocalideasofsuccess,justice,freedom,social

orderorstatus,andtradition.Studentssoughteducationforpersonalenrichment

butalsoinaccordancewithsociallyconstructednotionsofvalue.Manystudents

confirmedtheystudiedabroadinexpectationofimprovedcareeroptions,asan

opportunitytolearnaforeignlanguage,toengageinuniversitysponsored

internshipprograms,toexperiencelifeinanothercountry,curiosity,orforpersonal

enjoyment.Allofthereasonsreflectvaluesandexpectationsthatareinformedby

localandnationalviews.

Findlow(2007)appliedexpectancytheorytoexplainhowwomeninArabGulf

countrieswereusinghighereducationtoattainsocialstatusandeconomic

autonomyandtobringonlarger,morepervasivesocialtransformation.Incontrast

tomanycountriesintheMiddleEastandNorthAfricaandeventootherGulfStates,

womeninSaudiArabiafaceextensivelegalandculturalbarrierstoemployment.

ThisisasubtlereminderthattheMiddleEastisasizeableregionwithnoonesetof

rulesthatapplytowomenandonewheretheforcesofglobalizationarepushing

againstdeeplyheldculturalpatternsandbeliefsystems.“Innoareahastheforceof

traditionbeenfeltmorestronglyandtheeffectofglobalizationbeenmoreapparent

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thatthatofthestatusandrolesofwomen.ThepositionofwomenintheArabworld,

inparticular,isneitheruniformnorstatic.”(Kirdar2007,p.39).

TheshifttoglobalintegrationwithinSaudiArabiaistakingplaceinsmallstepsbut

isencouragedbythegovernment’sviewstowardeconomicdevelopment,changing

socialattitudesamongthepeopleandpracticalnecessity.Mostwesternerssee

Saudiattitudestowardswomenasarchaicandbasedonpatriarchicsystemsthat

holdnorelevanceinamodernworld.Thetreatmentofwomenisapopular

barometerformeasuringchangeinSaudiArabiaandtheinternationalperceptions

remainnegative.Yet,thereisevidencethatattitudesinSaudiareshiftingandthere

arenewopportunitiesforwomentoexperiencepersonalandprofessional

fulfillmentaccordingtomodernstandards.TodaywomeninSaudiArabiaareable

toattendco-edclassesattheKingAbdullahUniversityforScienceandTechnology

outsideofJeddah.NearlyonequarterofallKASPstudentsarewomen,many

travelingontheirown,withoutamalefamilymemberasachaperone(LeBaron,

2013).Thehighcostofhousingmeansasecondincomeisanecessityandaworking

spouseacceptableinthecurrenteconomicclimate.“Morethananything,changeis

comingthrougheconomics.“Fewermenarehappytocomehometotheirwifewith

herfeetup,”saysKhalidal-Khudair,founderofGlowork,acompanythatrunsa

websitetoconnectwomenandemployers.”(TheEconomist,2014).

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ModelsofStudentChoiceTheory

Earlystudiesusedsociologicalfactorstopredictstudentchoicetoattendcollege.

Hearn(1984)used1975surveydatafromalarge,nationallyrepresentativesample

ofcollegefreshmantoevaluatewhichsocioeconomicfactorsinfluencecollege

choice.Theanalysisidentifiedracialandotherincomerelatedfactorsas

determinantsofchoiceofcollegedestination.Italsoidentifiedtheimportanceof

students’perceptions,parentalinfluenceandreputationofschoolsassignificant

determinantsofchoiceofcollege.HosslerandGallagher(1987)elavuatedathree

phasemodelofcollegechoicebeginningwiththepredispositionorwillingnessto

attendcollege,particularyasitrelatedtoSESvariablesandthenconsideredthe

methodforchoosingaschoolbasedonhowtheygettheirinformation.Thefinal

phasewasthechoice,oftenfacilitatedbyoutreach,or‘courtship’(Hossler&

Gallagher,1987),onthepartoftheinstitution.Thepolicyimplicationsofthestudy

identifiedthesearchphaseasthebestwayforinstitutionstoreachstudentsand

increaseattendanceatcollege.

Thetheoreticalfoundationsoftheresearchofcollegeaccessandchoicehave

changedsincethe1990s.Previousliteraturereviewsshowedafocusonsociological

oreconomicapproaches(Paulsen,1990)whilethemorerecentresearchnow

includessocialandculturalcapitalasdriversforstudentchoice.Asthenumberof

studentstravelingabroadforeducationhasincreased,sotoohasthebodyof

literaturethatexaminesthefactorsthatinfluencethedecisiontostudyabroadand

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themechanismsofchoiceforwherestudentsgo.Perna(2006)providedanupdate

totheolderliteraturereviewstoidentifythenewscholarshipthathasemergedin

thelasttwodecades.

Increasingly,theliteratureonstudentchoicereliesonconceptualmodelsthatdraw

onmultipletheoreticalperspectivesandmethodologies(Toncar,ReidandAnderson

2006;Hackney,BoggsandBorozan2012).Perna(2006)proposedaconceptual

modelusingstudentchoicetheorythatincorporatedbotheconomicvariablesand

sociologicalapproachesbecauseneitherapproachaloneprovidedsufficient

understandingforstudentchoiceacrossdifferentgroups.ThePerna(2006)model

ofcollegechoiceincorporatedelementsofhumancapitaltheory,expectancytheory,

andculturalandsocialcapitaltheorytoexplainstudentchoiceinattendingcollege.

Theseelementswerelaterintegratedintotheproposedconceptualmodelof

studentchoicethatfutureresearchersreliedon.Figure6isthePerna(2006)

model.Itrepresentsacomprehensiveapproachtoevaluatinginfluenceona

student’schoicetoattendcollege.

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Figure6:Perna(2006)ProposedConceptualModelofStudentChoice

ThePerna(2006)modelofstudentcollegechoicewasdevelopedinanattemptto

explaintheenrollmentgapbetweenlowandhighincomestudents,evenafterthe

passageofTitleIVoftheHigherEducationActof1965ledtolargeincreasesin

financialaidtolowerincomefamilies.Themodelproposesfourlayers,orcontexts,

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eachreflectingtheimpactsofthemajorstakeholdersoneachother.Themodel

beginswithanoutermostorfourthlayerthatmeasuresdemographicvariables,

economiccharacteristics,andpublicpolicycharacteristics.ThislevelusesSESdata

thatwouldnotbeavailableforSaudistudentsbuttherearepublicpoliciesinplace

intheU.S.andSaudiArabiathatareinfluencingstudentchoicetoattendcollege.

Layerthreeevaluatestheimpactofschoolsmarketingandrecruitmentpractices,

location,andinstitutionalcharacteristics.QSTopUniversities(2014)reportedthat

websitesandsocialmediawereincreasinglyimportantsourcesofinformationfor

internationalstudents.Theycitedastudythatshowedtherewereglobal

differencesinhowimportanttheInternetwasandhowstudentsusedit.The

importanceofsocialmediadifferedbyagegroupandregionbutprospective

studentsfrequentlyreportedthatsocialmediawasaprimaryinformationsourceto

compareandchoosebetweenuniversities.

ThesecondlayerofthePerna(2006)modelidentifiesthefeaturesandservicesthat

localcommunitiesprovidetostudentsandthebarriersimposedthatinterferewith

enrollingincollege.Therehasbeenasignificantincreaseintheavailabilityof

highereducationinSaudiArabia.Thegovernmenthasinvestedheavilyineducation

atalllevelsthroughoutthecountry,includingpreviouslyunderservedprovinces.It

ispossiblethatSaudistudents’choicetostudyabroadrelatestothequalityofthe

educationinthecountry.TheU.S.isadisproportionatelyfrequentdestinationfor

Saudis.AccesstofundingfromtheKASPprogramisthemajorsourceofmaterial

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supportandadeeperlookintoqualificationsforcandidacywillidentifybarriers

Saudistudentsfaceattheindividuallevel.

ThecentralorinnermostlayerofthePerna(2006)modelconcernstheindividual’s

habitus.Habitusreferstoaperson’sinternalizedsystemofthoughtsandbeliefs

thatcanonlybeunderstoodinthecontextoftheirsocialenvironment.Habitusis

closelyidentifiedwiththeearliestconceptionsofsocialandculturalcapitalas

developedbyPierreBourdieu.Bourdieu’sethnographicfieldworkinAlgeriainthe

1950sledhimtoseehowsocialandeconomicrelationshipswerebasedonpower,

domination,class,andsocialinequalities.Theserelationshipsledtotheunequal

distributionofallkindsofgoodsandservices,somematerial,someintheformsof

capitalorsocialpower.Salisbury,etal(2009)expandedonthenotionofhabitusas

theinternalmindsetthatdictatestheexpectations,tastes,andpreferencesthat

camefromlivedexperience.Thislivedexperiencewasthemanifestationofsocial

interactionsasdeterminedbygender,race,class,andpowerrelationsandservedas

muchtoinformchoiceasitdidtoconstrainit.Schultheis(2009)definedthehabitus

asasetofdispositionsandtendenciesthatledapersontoactinwaystheydeemed

possibleorpreferableforthembasedontheirattitudesandaspirations.Inthe

contextofthePerna(2006)model,thehabitusinformedstudentchoicetoattend

collegeandcanbeanalyzedasaninfluenceonforeignstudentswhochoosetostudy

intheU.S.

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Withintherealmofunderstandinghabitusareexpectancytheory,humancapital

investmenttheory,andsocialandculturalcapitaltheory.Socialandculturalcapital

theoryoutlinetheimportanceofsocialnetworksandconnectionsandpersonal

attributesthatincludelanguageskills,culturalknowledgeandmannerismsin

decidingwhetherornottoenrollincollege(Portes1998;Granovetter1973).Social

capitalisespeciallyvalidwhenitprovidesnon-materialassistancewiththecollege

choiceprocess.Socialcapitalcanalsobeunderstoodintermsofparental

involvementincollegeenrollment(PernaandTitus2005).Maternalinfluenceplays

aparticularlystrongroleinfemaleparticipationinhighereducationinArabGulf

States.Forexample,mothersintheU.A.E.,evenoneswithlowlevelsofeducation

see“adegreeasaformofinsurance–againsthavingtomarry,againstnotfindinga

husband,againstdivorce,orhusbandsgettingnewwives.“(Findlow2007,p.68).

Socialcapitaltheoryhasbeenappliedtoimmigrationdecisionsandtherolethat

socialnetworkscanplayinsuccessfulintegrationintoacommunity(Putnam2001;

2007).Thisroleoffacilitatingintegrationintoacommunityisimportantforforeign

studentswhendecidingwhetherornottostudyabroad.

Theuseofculturalcapitalparametersrelatestoearlierresearchonitsvalidityin

informingstudentchoice.McDonough(1997)showedthatculturalcapitalwas

positivelyassociatedwithSESfactors.Culturalcapitalreferstolanguageskillsand

culturalknowledgethatallowapersontoproceedalongachosenpath.Pernaand

Titus(2004)andHossler(1999)usedparents’educationalattainmentasaproxyfor

culturalcapitaltoshowitwasapositivepredictorofstudentchoiceoutcomes.

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SeveralelementsofthePerna(2006)modelhavebeenusedtostudywhy

internationalstudentschoosetostudyabroad.Waters(2006)focusedonthe

marketforinternationaleducationandthepreferenceespeciallyamongChinese

studentstostudyabroadtoacquireaWesterneducation.Studentchoicetheory

wasusedtoexplainhowlocalculturalinterpretationsaboutthesocialstatus

attainedbygoingtoanoverseasschoolswereimplicatedinthechoiceofwhereto

study.Theoverseas‘credential’wasmorethanjustfashionable,itrelatedto

employerpreferenceandalumniconnectionsforstudentsfromEastandSoutheast

Asiancountries.Salisbury,Umbach,Paulsen,andPascarella(2009)usedstudent

choicetheoryandthePerna(2006)conceptualmodeltofurtherexplorehuman

capitaltheoryasaneconomicexplanationforcollegechoice.Theycombineditwith

sociologicalfeaturesthatexploredhowinformationwasgatheredtotryandidentify

themechanismsofcollegechoice.Salisbury,etal.usedportionsofstudentchoice

theorytoidentifyhowdifferentSESvariablesinteractedwithsocialcapitalto

predictwhetherastudentwouldstudyabroad.

StudentsasConsumers

Beyondmodelsofstudentchoicethatevaluatetheeconomicandsociologicalfactors

thatinformthedecisiontoattendcollege,thereisrecentliteraturethatframesthe

issuesinvolvingwhereindividualschoosetoattendcollegeandhowtheyselecta

majorcourseofstudywhichusesthelanguageofmarketliberalizationtotreat

studentsasconsumersofhighereducation.Notonlyhaveuniversitiesbegunto

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lookatstudentsascustomers,evengovernmententitiesareusingtherationaleof

thefreemarkettoconsiderstudents,asthebeneficiariesofpubicsectorspending,

clientswhobehaveasrationalconsumerswhenchoosingtoattendagivenHEI

(SungandYang2008,TavaresandCardoso2013.)Thenormsandvaluesofthefree

marketarebeingusedtoevaluatepublicspendingonhighereducation,evenmore

soinrecentyearswheneconomicuncertaintyhasleftmanyquestioningthe

economicrelevanceofhighereducation.Metricsofefficiency,accountability,and

qualityassessments,moreusuallyassociatedwithprivatesectorinitiatives,are

beingappliedtopubliceducation.Inthatregard,studentshavebecomecustomers

anduniversitiesarenowserviceproviders(TavaresandCardoso2013.)

Themeldingofnotionsaboutpersonalfreedomandrationalchoiceareconverging

withtheviewthatHEIsneedtobeentreprenuerialandbusiness-likeiftheyhopeto

survive.Theconceptionsofthepurposeofhighereducationhavechangeditboth

politicallyandadministrativelyfromamerepublicgoodtoanindustrythat

functionstomeetthedemandsofthelabormarketswhilegeneratingitsown

revenuesthroughthecreationandprivatisationofknowledge(OlssenandPeters

2005.)Examiningstudentsasconsumersofaservicebeingprovidedina

competitivemarketopensupthefieldofstudentchoicetonowevaluatethemin

otherways.Theneedtounderstandhowtobestattractandretainstudentsinthe

increasinglycompetitvehighereducationmarkethasbroughtneweffortsto

determinetheconsumerbehavioraspectsofstudents.Theoreticalapproaches

basedonsocialpsychologyarebeingusedtobetterunderstandattitudes,

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perceptions,andmechanismsofchoiceforstudentstoday(KumarandKumar

2013.)

Muchofthisliteraturebuildsonclassicaleconomicsandtheoriesofhumancapital

aspositedbyBecker(1962,1993)andutilitymaximizingbehaviorthatconsidered

personalpreferences(HosslerandGallagher1987;Paulsen1990)butthese

previousapproacheshavefallenshortinansweringdeeperquestionsabout

individualchoicebeyondtheprimarydecisiontoattendcollege.Forexample,recent

workhaschallengedtheideathatstudentsactinafullyrationalmannerwhen

choosingaschoolandchoosingacollegemajor(Menon,SaitiandSocratous2007.)

Inmanycasesstudentsdonotfitthedescriptionofinformationseekers,a

prerequisiteforbehavingasarationalconsumerintheneoclassicalconceptionof

thefreemarket.Thepropensitytoseekinformationormakeobjectivedecisions

aboutwheretoattendcollegeorwhattostudyissuprisinglylow(Tavaresand

Cardoso2013;Menon,SaitiandSocratous2007.)Forexample,inexaminingwhat

factorsinfluencestudentstochoosebusinessmajors,itwasshownthatsocialimage

andfamily,schoolscounselors,andprofessorsweresignificantfactorsinstudent

choice(KumarandKumar2013.)Studieshaveshownthatthedecisionsmadeby

collegestudentsarenotpurelybasedoncost/benefitanalysisandutility

maxization.Often,preferencesareshapedbysocialisationprocessesand

evaluationsofquality(TavaresandCardoso2013.)Thisisasmallsampleofthe

issuesemerginginresponsetothechangingperceptionsabouthighereducation

andamovementawayfrompurelyeconomicrationalizationsforstudentchoice.

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Oneofthemostdifficultthingstoreconcileinthecurrentliteratureisthevariation

interminologyandabstractnatureofthestudiedpsychologicalinfluencesthat

makeevaluationdifficulttomeasure.“Thedifferentperspectivesadoptedinthese

approacheshavenotallowedfortheoperationalizationandmeasurementofthe

concept,whichhasinturnresultedintheabsenceofrelevantempiricalwork.”

(Menon,SaitiandSocratous2007,p.712.)Whatmostofthisresearchhasin

commonistheuseofestablishedtheoreticalapproacheswithinthedisciplineof

socialpsychologyasthebasisforunderstandinghumanbehaviorforthepurposes

ofmarketinggoodsandservices.GordonAllport,thepsychologistknowforhiswork

oncontacttheory,definessocialpsychologyasadisciplinethatappliesscientific

methodstoevaluatesocialinfluences,attitudes,andperceptions(Kendra)These

ideasarenowbeingappliedtothechoicesmadeinhighereducation(Kumarand

Kumar2013;Menon,SaitiandSocratous2007;SungandYang2008.)

Onethemethatrecursinvaryingdiscussionsistherelationshipbetweenstudent

commitmentandinstitutionalimage.Ghoshetal.(2001)foundastronglink

betweenstudenttrust,definedas“thedegreetowhichastudentiswillingtorelyon

orhavefaithandconfidenceinthecollegetotakeappropriatestepsthatbenefithim

andhelphimachievehislearningandcareerobjectives”(p.324),andenhanced

institutionalprestige.Thisenhancedprestige,inturn,wasassociatedwith

increasedenrolment,greaterstudentretention,andstrongerlevelsofalumni

donations.Trust,asitislinkedtostudentcommitment,isbasedonastudent’s

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personalexperienceaswellastheirincomingperceptionsabouttheschool.While

theresultsmaynotbeimmediatelyapparent,greaterspendinginareasthat

promotetrustareincreasinglyimportantasthemarketforstudentsbecomesmore

competitive.“Whiletrustbuildsincrementallyandrequiresalong-termstrategic

plan,distrustinacollegeislikelytohaveamoredramatic"catastrophic"effectby

reducingqualityperceptionsandbyincreasingmarketingcostssignificantly.”

(Ghosh,WhippieandBryan2001,p.323.)AccordingtoGhoshetal.,ignoringthe

trustneedsofstudentswillhavelongtermnegativerepercussions.

Acomprehensivemodelofuniversityimageasitrelatestostudents’supportive

attitudes,anearrelationtostudents’commitmentandidentificationwithan

institution,buildsonthenotionofcorporateimage(SungandYang2008.)Inthe

fieldofpublicrelationstheimportanceofcorporateimageandreputationiswell

studied.Afavorableimageisshowntobeacompetitiveadvantage.Asapublic

relationsconstruct,Sung(2008)attemptedtoevaluatethisintherealmofthe

servicesector,universitiesinparticular.Today,universitiesarespendingheavilyto

createabrandimage,bothtoimprovetheirprestigeandgeneralperceptionsof

quality.Thevalueofthebrandisseenasrelatingtogreaterstudentcommitment,

buildinglongtermrelationshipswithstudents,andgreaterwordofmoutheffects.

Studieshaveshownthatimagemattersevenmorewhenyouhavelittleornodirect

experiencewithaschool.Asmentionedearlier,thereisalackofconsistencyin

existingstudiesintermsofwhichvariablesarestudiedandhowtheyaremeasured,

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yet,basedontheexistingliterature,SungandYangidentifiedfourkeyareasto

analyzestudentsasconsumersinthecompetitivearenaofhighereducation.

Image,thefirstkeyareatheyidentified,sometimesreferredtoasreputationor

corporateidentity,referstotheviewthataparticularpersonholdsabout

something.Itisfurthercomplicatedbythepersonalnatureoftheseviews,thus

organizationsmustevaluatetheirimageforeverytargetgrouptheyhopetoserve.

Itisadifficultvariabletomeasurebecauseserviceimageslackclearlymeasurable

attributesandbecauseitisimpactedbytheemotionalexperiencesofthose

attendingaparticularschool.Thisemotionalattachmentisbuiltwhenstudentsfeel

valued,orconnectedtotheinstitutionandisstrategictoolthatHEIscanuseto

attractstudents,recruitfaculty,andattractdonationsandgrants(SungandYang

2008,p.361.)Inadditiontoimage,theSung(2008)modelincludedbrand

personality,thehumancharacteristicsassociatedwithabrand,andperceived

externalprestige,mostcommonlytheresultofthirdpartyevaluationstoexamine

students’supportiveattitudes.

Ratherthancallingittrust,SungandYangtreatedstudents’supportasloyalty.

Consumerloyaltyisassociatedwithsatisfactionofservicequality.Forstudentsthis

ismeasuredasperceptionsofoneness,securityandbelonging,trust,abeliefinthe

valuesoftheorganizationandasenseofcommunitybothduringtheirtimeatthe

universityandafter.Thefindingsofthestudyshowedasignificantrelationship

betweenthethreemainconstructsbutthestrongestfactor,particularlyfor

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freshman,wasexternalprestige.Fornewstudents,theperceptionofhowother’s

viewedtheuniversitytheywereattendingwasthemostsignificantdeterminantof

theirlevelofcommitmenttotheschool.Thefindingssuggestthatimproving

perceivedexternalprestigethroughspendingtoincreasevisibilityandbrandimage

and,inparticular,workingtoimproveinternationalrankings,maybethebestway

anHEIcanmarketitselftoday,bothathomeandabroad.

Inconclusion,thelimitedliteraturethatappliestheconceptsofcorporatebranding

andimagingtouniversitiesasserviceproviderspointstostudents’preentryimage

ofaparticularinstitutionandperceivedexternalprestigeasbeingsignificant

determinantsintheirchoicetoattendandformanattachmentorbecome

committedtoaninstitution.Preentryimagesareformedthroughcontactwith

schoolofficials,recruiters,websites,andothersources,mostlikelyfriends,family,

andotheracquaintencesthatprovidewordofmouthchannelsofinformation.

Universityimagechangesinresponsetoaperson’semotionalexperiencewiththat

institution,post-entry.It,likeperceivedexternalprestige,isanindividual-level

variablebasedonaperson’sownvaluesystemandassessmentofhowother’sview

theschool(SungandYang2008,p.366.)Theresearchpointstothecorrelation

betweeninstitutionalimage,students’trustintheinstitution,andtheresulting

commitmentstudentshavetowardaninstitutionasaninterlinkedsetoffactorsthat

bothengenderandreinforcetherationaleofconsumerchoiceinhighereducation.

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RecentStudies

TherearepreviousstudiesthatexaminestudentsfromSaudiArabiaandotherArab

GulfStates.“BridgingtheGap–ButHow:YoungVoicesfromtheKingdomofSaudi

Arabia”wasconductedbyEditSchlafferfromWomenwithoutBorders,withUlrich

Kropiunigg,andFawziahal-Bakr.PublishedinJanuary2010,thestudysurveyed

4,500maleandfemalestudentsinSaudiArabiafrom2006to2008.The

researchersundertooktheprojectwiththeexplicitunderstandingthateducation

willbeadrivingforceforsocialchangewithinthecountry.Thesurveycovered

attitudesinfourteenareas,highlightingagreementamongrespondentsthat

educationwasaprerequisitetohavingacareerandbothmenandwomenhadthe

righttoeducationunderIslamiclaw.Notsurprisingly,giventhehighrateof

unemploymentamongcollegegraduates,bothgendersexpresseduncertaintyabout

findingjobsaftergraduation.Questionsabouttheperceivedqualityofeducation

andpreparednessforworkintheprivatesectorrevealeddeepconcernsstudents

hadaboutenteringtheworkforceandestablishingthemselvesintheircareers.

Onsocialissuesstudentswereveryconservative,confirmingthatIslamicvalues

remainedimportantandsupportingtheviewamongstudentsthatSaudiculture

wassuperiortoallothersintheworldbutshouldchangetoincorporatemore

modernviews.Thesurveyshowedthatwhiletherewasmajorityapprovalfor

greaterequalityforwomen,67%ofwomenand85%ofmenapprovedofthe

statementthatawoman’spriorityshouldbecaringforthefamily.Yet,85%ofall

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surveyrespondentswantedbothafamilyandacareer.Thesurveyreviewed

attitudestowardengagementwiththeWest,concernsabouthowSaudiculturewas

perceivedabroad,interestinpoliticalparticipationwithinSaudiArabia,and

expectationsabouttheevolutionofwomen’srights.Manyaspectsofthissurveyare

directlyapplicabletoresearchonSaudistudentsattendingschoolsintheU.S.It

waspossibletoasksomeofthesesamequestionsandusethisstudyasacontrolto

comparestudentswhostudyabroadwithoneswhostayathome.

“WillingnesstoStudyAbroad:AnExaminationofKuwaitiStudents”byKaylee

Hackney,DavidBoggs,YunusKathawalaandJohnHayesisfroma2014paperthat

surveyedKuwaitistudentsintheirhomecountrytoidentifythepersonalskillsand

perceivedbenefitsassociatedwithwillingnesstostudyabroad.Demandforhigher

educationinKuwaithasexceededavailableplacementsatKuwaitUniversitysince

1990,resultinginasizeableincreaseinstudyabroadbyKuwaitis.Theauthorsused

expectancytheoryandstudentchoicetheorytocreateasurveyofstudentsatone

privateKuwaitiuniversityin2011.Therewere135usableresponses,mostlyfrom

businessmajorsandacrossallclasses,fromfreshmantograduatestudents.Results

identifiedthewillingnesstostudyabroadifapersonhadafriendorfamilymember

withinternationalexperience,theimportanceofforeignlanguageability,the

preferencesforanurbanlocation,andstrongpreferencetostudyabroadwith

others,ratherthanalone.ThepoliticalandculturalsimilaritybetweenSaudiArabia

andKuwaitmakethisstudyrelevanttothisresearch.

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“ExperiencesofMaleSaudiArabianInternationalStudentsintheUnitedStates”isa

studyconductedbyMollyElizabethHeyninadissertationsubmittedtoWestern

MichiganUniversityinJune2013.Thisisaqualitativestudyofninemalestudents

fromSaudiArabiaintheU.S.fortwoyearsorlonger.Itassessedtheparticipants’

beforeandafterperceptionsoftheU.S.,problemstheyencounteredintheirdaily

lives,barrierstosocialintegration,andchangestotheirpersonalvaluesandbeliefs.

Thisisaveryrecentstudy.Itisbasedoninterviewsanditidentifiespersonal

concernsofSaudimalesstudyingintheU.S.thatarerelevanttothisresearch.The

limitationsarethemaleonlypopulationandsmallgroupbutthisstudyprovidesa

usefulstartingpointtolearnaboutsomeoftheintimateconcernsthatSaudi

studentsface.

Noneofthesestudiesaskedstudentsabouttheimpactthatgovernmentpolicieshad

ontheirdecisionsrelatingstudyabroad.TheHeyndissertationdetailsearlier

researchonSaudiinternationalstudentsthatidentifiedthesourcesofacademic

difficultytheyencountered,adjustmentproblems,values-conflicts,andtheir

satisfactionwiththeireducationalandsocialexperiencesatcollege.Itisusefulto

seepreviousstudiesaboutthispopulationbutthecanonissmallandoutdated.

ThereisnoresearchabouttheevolutionofSaudistudent'sattitudes,especiallyfor

studentswhostudyabroad.TheWomenWithoutBorderssurveyaskedquestions

aboutshiftingattitudesbutonlyofstudentsinSaudischools.Saudistudentsinthe

U.S.areevenmorelikelytomoderatetheirviewsaboutreligiousandculturalnorms

andacceleratetherateofsocialandeconomicchangewhentheyreturnhome.

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Conclusion

ReviewingtheliteratureonthehistoricalnarrativeoftheU.S.government’suseof

highereducationforpoliticalpurposes,includingitsuseasatoolforinternational

diplomacyhelpsexplainwhythegovernmentworkedtoreopenthedoorstoforeign

students,includingSaudis,afterSept.11.Theavailableliteratureonthe

governmentofSaudiArabia’splanstoimprovebotheconomicoutcomesandreduce

politicaltensionsinsidethecountryshowwhytheyarespendingheavilyon

educationandhavemadeinternationalizationanewpriority.Therearelimitations

ontheavailabilityofdataforSaudiArabia.Theliteratureavailableisbasedon

informationprovidedbythegovernmentandnotsubjecttoexternalreview.There

isnofreepressinthecountryandpoliticallysensitivetopicsarenotsanctionedfor

reviewbythegovernment.Still,someindependentsourcesareavailableanditis

possibletodevelopanunderstandingofthebroadermotivationsoftheSaudi

government.Thereisnoliteratureshowingaclearlinkbetweenthepoliciesofthe

SaudigovernmentandSaudistudents’choicetostudyintheU.S.Inaddition,there

isnoliteratureconfirmingthattheprerogativesoftheSaudigovernmentarebeing

metthroughtheirpoliciesregardinginternationalizationofhighereducation.

Theliteratureonstudentchoiceprovidesusefulcontributionstoevaluatingwhya

persondecidestopursuehighereducationand,byextension,whytheyopttostudy

abroad.Muchofthetheoreticalworkdoneearliercanbemodifiedtostudythe

populationofSaudistudentsattendingHEIsintheU.S.Therewasnocurrent

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researchonSaudistudentswhochoosetostudyabroad.Inparticular,therewasno

researchonwhytheyarechoosingtostudyintheU.S.andwhatisbehindthelarge

increasesince2006.ThethreerecentstudiesonstudentsfromtheMiddleEast

providesomeinsightintothevaluesandexpectationsforobtaininghigher

education.TheyprovidedausefulstartingpointtofurtherexplorewhySaudi

studentsarechoosingtostudyintheU.S.andwhatimpactthatishavingonthem.

Forexample,noneofthesestudiesaskedstudentsabouttheinfluencethat

governmentpolicieshadontheirdecisionsrelatingstudyabroad.

TheHeyndissertationprovidessomeinsightintothelifeexperiencesofasmall

numberofSaudimenstudyingintheU.S.Thelimitationsofthisstudyareobvious:

thesmallnumberofsubjects,malesonly,andtheexperienceofstudentsatonlyone

school.IttellsnothingabouthowandwhytheychosetostudyintheU.S.oratthat

school.Itprovidesverylimitedresearchabouttheevolutionofattitudesofstudents

whostudyabroad.TheWomenWithoutBorderssurveyoffersafleetingglanceat

thelevelsofdiscontentwithintheSaudieducationsystem.Itprovidesonlyafew

cluesastowhySaudismaychoosetostudyabroad.Inaddition,itshowsa

willingnesstomodernizesocietywithoutoverturningtheculturalorderbytaking

stepstowardmeaningfulgenderequalityandenactingsocialreformsthatwilllikely

playoutintheeconomyfirst.Buildinguponthisresearchhasshownhowstudy

abroadimpactsstudents’attitudes.

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ThepreviousliteraturedidnotreviewexpectationsofSaudistudentsforobtaining

aneducationoutsideofthecountry.Modelsofstudentchoicebasedonexpectancy

theoryhavestrongvalidityinexplainingSaudistudents’attendanceatU.S.HEIs.

Expectancytheory,atitsheart,isaneconomicanalysisoftherationaleforattaining

education.Itviewsstudentsasrationalactorswhoseekeducationbasedonthe

perceivedvalueorbenefits.ThiswasausefulapproachtoevaluatingSaudistudents’

behavior.ItcontributedtoexplanationsaboutwhytheychoosetostudyintheU.S.

basedontheexpectedvalenceofaneducationfromanAmericanHEIcomparedto

anotherHEI.SaudiwomenwhostudyintheU.S.mayrepresentanacuteexampleof

expectancyandrisktaking.Manyaregettingeducationsinadvanceof

opportunitiestofindmeaningfulemploymentathome.Littlewasknownabout

SaudiwomenattendingforeignHEIs.

Applyingcontacttheory,itcouldbesuggestedthatSaudistudents,ifwellintegrated

intoacampuscommunity,willhaveboththetimeandappropriateenvironmentto

interactmeaningfullywiththeirU.S.counterparts,resultinginareductionofbias

andprejudiceonbothsides.Humancapitaltheoryanddiffusiontheoryalsooffer

notionsoftheimpactthatstudyabroadcouldhaveonanindividualandothers.

Togetherthesethreetheoriescouldbeappliedtostudyingthephenomenonofsuch

alargeincreaseinstudentsfromacountrythatissodifferentfromtheU.S.

Researchthatevaluatestheliklihoodofattendingcollegeorstudyingabroadhas

identifiedarangeofpredictorsandthemorerecentworkreflectsthecomplex

interplayofsocial,political,andculturalfactors,aswellaseconomicmotivations.In

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manycases,thereseachonlypartiallyappliestoSaudistudentschoosingtocometo

theU.S.Forexample,studiesusinghumancapitaltheoryproposethatfinancial

resourcesandfamilyincomewillcorrelatewithastudent’slikelihoodofchoosingto

attendcollege.ThesevariablesdonotrelatetoSaudistudentsintheU.S.sincethey

areeitherKASPstudentsorhaveprovensufficientpersonalwealthtoreceiveavisa

tostudyintheU.S.However,CabrereandLaNasa(2001)andPlankandJordan

(2001)showapositiverelationshipbetweenparents’educationandoccupationand

attendanceatfour-yearschoolsandchoosingtostudyforabachelor’sdegreerather

thananassociate’sdegree.ParentaleductionisoftenusedasasubstituteforSES

variables(McDonough1997;PernaandTitus2004)andisapplicabletoSaudi

studentchoiceinstudyingabroad.Parentalandfamilyinfluenceareexpectedto

playasignificantroleinSaudistudents’choices.

Also,humancapitaltheoryextendsbeyondparentalinfluencetoincludeextended

socialnetworksthatprovideotherkindsofsupportimplicatedinmigration

decisions.ItisarelevantcomparisontoSaudistudentschoosingtospendseveral

yearsataU.S.HEI,albeitwiththeintentiontoreturntotheirhomecountryupon

completingtheirstudies.Understandingtheimpactthatsocialnetworkshaveon

SaudistudentchoiceisimportantforHEIsthatwanttoincreasetheirSaudistudent

populationsandmonitortheirexperiencesinordertoensurefutureenrolment.

Perna(2006)identifiedliteraturethatusedexpectedfinancialcostsfortuitionand

foregoneearnings,gender,andraceasindependentvariables.Thesevariablesare

lessapplicabletothispopulationforseveralreasons.MostSaudistudentscomingto

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theU.S.arefinanciallysupportedbytheKASPorothergovernmentprograms.Also,

whilegenderisnotunimportant,inacountrywherethelegalandsocialrightsof

womenaresounlikethoseintheU.S.,thediscussionofthisissueandresearch

protocolsarenotapplicabletothemoregeneralquestionsbeingasked.TheKASPis

availabletobothmalesandfemalesandcurrentlytwenty-fivepercentofall

scholarshipsrecipientsarewomen.Raceisalsonotanapplicablevariablebecause

theKASPisavailabletoallSaudis,whetherSunniorShi’a.Therearelimited

demographicdataavailableonthereligiousbreakdownwithinthecountry.The

SaudigovernmentdoesnotpublishspecificcensusdataonSunniandShi’a

populationswithinthecountry.

Theexpectednon-monetarybenefitsofhighereducationhaverarelybeen

consideredinresearchonstudentchoice.Thispresentsaninterestingopportunity

forthisresearchproject.Thisistheoreticallyrelatedtoculturalcapitalandthe

acquisitionofsocialcapital.Forwomenthebenefitofhighereducationwas

identifiedasimprovedsocialstatus(Findlow2007).Non-monetarybenefitscan

representclearlyidentifiableimprovementsforqualityoflifesuchashavinghealth

insurance,lessliklihoodofsmoking,orgreaterliklihoodofvoting.ForSaudi

studentsthetimetheyspendintheU.S.couldresultinchangestomeasurements

thatconstitutegoodcitizenshiporpersonalfulfillment.Forexample,attitudes

abouthealth,socialwelfare,humanrights,andtheroleofgovernmentcouldbe

measuredtoshowchanges.Astudentcouldsimplybeaskedabouthowthese

attitudeshavechangedduringtheirtimeintheU.S.withoutplacingvalue

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judgementsonthem.Interviewdatamayprovidedinsightintooperationalizingthis

aspectofhighereducation.Othernon-monetarybenefitsareincreasedtolerance,

bettercommunicationabilitieswithpeoplefromothercultures,andpersonal

benefitsrelatedtoselfdiscoveryandhappiness(Allport1954;Bowen1997;

KenistonandGerzon1972).

Insummary,manyaspectsofthepreviousresearchwereappliedtostudyingthe

populationofSaudistudentsattendingHEIsintheU.S.ThePerna(2006)modelis

themostcomprehensivetheoreticalapproachtoevaluatingstudentchoice.Anew

modelthatwasanadjustedversionofthePerna(2006)modelprovideda

theoreticalframeworkforevaluatingtheimpactthatthedifferentkeyactorshave

onSaudistudentchoicetostudyabroadandparticularly,tostudyintheU.S.Under

thisframeworktheexpectednon-monetarybenefitswereevaluated.Inthefuture,

thesemayprovetobethemoreimportantoutcomesofthissocialexperimentonthe

partoftheU.S.andSaudigovernments.

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ChapterFour:ResearchMethodandDesign

ResearchMethod

Introduction

ThepurposeofthisdissertationistounderstandthefactorsthatinfluenceSaudi

students’choicetostudyathighereducationinstitutions(HEIs)intheU.S.,identify

theissuestheyface,andassesswhatimpacttheexperiencehadontheirattitudes

andvalues.Saudisareanunderstudiedpopulationofforeignstudentscomingtothe

U.S.Thereislittlespecificunderstandingofwhytheychoosetostudyabroad,how

theychoosetheschoolstheyattend,whattheirlonger-termaspirationsare,and

howtheyfeeltheirexperienceshavechangedthem.Thisisparticularlyinteresting

forfemalestudentswhocomprisetwenty-fivepercentofthetotalKASPrecipients

andhavefewercareeropportunitiesthanmalesduetorestrictionsonthetypesof

jobswomenmaylegallyhold.Also,theU.S.andSaudigovernmentsbothpublicly

statethattheyhopetoencouragegreaterunderstandingbetweenthecountriesand

fosterdeeperties.Thegeneralassumptionisthattheexposurewouldhavepositive

resultsbutthereisnodataconfirmingattitudinalshiftsineithercountry’s

population.

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Thisstudyisbasedonmixedmethodologicalcomponents.Interviewsandanalysis

ofpublicdiscourseareausefulfirststagebecauseoftheexploratorynatureofthis

project.AsurveyinstrumentwasusedtogatherdataabouttheSaudistudent

populationintheU.S.Theresearchcomponentwasfacilitatedbyidentifyingsources

ofinformationandinterviewandsurveysubjects,andthenapplyingatheoretical

frameworktoexplorethekeyresearchquestionsandformulatetheresearch

hypotheses.Amodelofstudentchoicethatintegrateseconomicsandsociological

constructsprovidedamorecompleteunderstandingofSaudistudentschoicesand

theirexperiencesintheU.S.

Thisstudyusedamixedmethodsapproachtobetterunderstandthereasonforthe

largeincreaseinthenumberofstudentscomingtotheUnitedStatesfromSaudi

Arabia,andhowthesestudentshavechangedduetotheirtimehere.Whilethe

notionofcombiningquantitativeandqualitativemethodsinstudyisnolonger

considerednovel,aproperdefinitionofferssubstanceandcredibilitytoitsuse.

“Mixedmethodsresearchisaresearchdesignwithphilosophicalassumptionsaswellasmethodsofinquiry.Asamethodology,itinvolvesphilosophicalassumptionsthatguidethedirectionofthecollectionandanalysisofthemixtureofqualitativeandquantitativeapproachesinmanyphasesoftheresearchprocess.Asamethod,itfocusesoncollecting,analyzing,andmixingbothquantitativeandqualitativedatainasinglestudyorseriesofstudies.Itscentralpremiseisthattheuseofquantitativeandqualitativeapproaches,incombination,providesabetterunderstandingofresearchproblemsthaneitherapproachalone.”(Creswell&PlanoClark2007,p.5)Thisdefinitionhastheadvantageofhighlightingthevalueofusingmethodsthat

collectwordsincombinationwithmethodsthatcollectdatainnumericalform

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withinonetheoreticalframeworktoprovideamoregeneralizedunderstandingof

certainquestions(CreswellandPlanoClark,DesigningandConductingMixed

MethodsResearch2011.)Thereasonforusingamixedmethodologytostudythis

questioncanbeidentifiedaccordingtothetypologydevelopedbyGreene,Caracelli,

andGraham(1989)asdevelopment,initiation,andtriangulation.Inthisresearch,

theuseofinterviewsasaqualitativeapproachwasinaidofdevelopingthesurvey

instrument.Thequalitativeelementswereusedtoinitiateordiscoverperspectives

ofstakeholdersandformulatequestions.Triangulationseekstoallowcorroboration

offindingsfromonemethodtoanother(Greene,CaracelliandGraham1989.)

ResearchQuestions,Hypothesis,ConceptualModel

Thepresentresearchattemptstoanswerkeyquestionsthatexplaintheincreasein

thenumberofstudentsfromSaudiArabiastudyingintheUnitedStates,howthose

studentsmaketheirchoices,andhowtheyareimpactedbytheirexperiencesinthe

UnitedStates.Therolesofgovernments,Saudistudents,andHEIswerestudiedto

generatethefollowinghypotheses.

ResearchQuestionOneaskshowcantheincreaseinthenumberofSaudistudents

comingtotheU.S.forhighereducationbeexplained?Thefollowinghypothesiswere

predictedandtested:

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H1:SaudistudentsareinfluencedintheirchoicetostudyintheUnitedStatesbythe

availabilityofscholarshipsfromtheSaudigovernmentandbytheaccessibilityof

studentvisastotheUnitedStates.

H2:SaudistudentsperceivethathighereducationintheUnitedStatesisbetterthan

inothercountries.

H3:SaudistudentsperceivethatadegreefromaU.S.schoolwillenhancetheir

employmentprospectsbetterthanadegreefromaschoolinSaudiArabia.

ResearchQuestionTwoasksaboutexpectedoutcomesofthisstudy.Thisstudy

identifiedmotivationsofSaudistudentstostudyintheU.S.andtheirmechanismsof

choice.Hypothesis4and5considerthesestatements:

H4:Saudistudents’primarysourceofinformationaboutwheretostudyintheU.S.

isfamilyandsocialnetworks.

H5:Saudistudentsareinfluencedintheirchoicebyaschool’sreputation,rankings,

orhowwellknownitisinSaudiArabia.

ThisstudyreviewedattitudesofSaudistudentstowardtheUnitedStatesandhow

SaudistudentshavechangedsincecomingtotheU.S.intermsofpersonaltolerance,

familyandgenderissues,andopennesstoculturalchange.Saudistudents

experiencelittleinteractionwithnon-Muslimsorpeoplefromotherracesbefore

comingtotheUnitedStates.Therearestrictlyenforcedrulesanddeeplyheldsocial

viewsregardingfamilyandgenderrelationsinSaudiArabiainstarkcontrastto

thoseheldbypeopleintheUnitedStates.ThiscontrastpresentsachallengetoSaudi

studentswhomustreconciletheirownbeliefsystemwiththesocialnormsthat

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prevailintheUnitedStates.ThefollowinghypothesespredictthatSaudistudents

willchangeafterlivingintheUnitedStates.

H6:SaudistudentshaveamorefavorableopinionoftheU.S.thanwhentheylivedin

SaudiArabia.

H7:SaudistudentsintheU.S.aremoretolerantofpeoplefromotherculturesand

religionsafterlivingintheUnitedStates.

H8:SaudistudentsintheU.S.agreethatchanginggenderrolesofmenandwomen

inSaudiArabiaarepartofapositiveglobaltrendtowardincreasedgenderequality.

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ConceptualModel

Basedontheliteraturereviewonstudentchoiceandinordertoaddressthe

parametersoftheresearchquestionsitwasappropriatetoidentifyatheoretical

frameworkthatconsideredtheinfluenceofeachoftheprimaryactorsonSaudi

studentsasanorganizingprincipleforthisresearch.Perna(2006)notedthat

quantitativestudiesofstudentchoicetoattendcollegearemorecommonthan

qualitativeresearch.Themostcomplexworkusedmultilevelmodelingtoinclude

thestate,students,andparentalinvolvementalongwithotherformsofsocialand

culturalcapital.Yet,qualitativestudieshaveprovedusefulforgainingdeeper

insightaboutparticulargroupsorunderstandinghowspecificcontextinforms

studentchoice.Perna(2006)suggestedthatqualitativestudiesofstudentchoiceare

betterdesignedwhenbasedonquantitativeresearch,oftenbecausesomuchofit

usednationaldataandincreasedtheexternalvalidityofthework.Yet,inthecaseof

apopulationwithsolittlepreviousstudy,theuseofbothtechniquesisappropriate.

Figure7istheconceptualmodelforevaluatingthetypeanddegreeofinfluence

eachofthestakeholdershasonSaudistudentsintheU.S.Itisamodificationofthe

Perna(2006)proposedconceptualmodelofstudentchoice(seep.64)usedto

explaintheenrollmentgapbetweenlowandhigherincomestudents.Several

elementsofthatmodelarenotapplicabletoSaudistudentswhohavealreadymade

thechoicetoattendcollegebutotherelementswereusedtocreateatheoretical

frameworktofurtherexplainSaudistudentchoices.

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Figure7:ConceptualModelforSaudiStudentChoicetoStudyintheU.S.

ThisconceptualmodelforSaudistudentchoicetostudyintheU.S.comprisesthree

levels,eachonerelatingtoaspecifictypeofcontextualinfluenceonstudentchoice.

LeveloneconsidersU.SandSaudigovernmentpublicpolicy.TheU.S.government

hasadoptednewrulesandmeasuresthatmakeiteasierforSaudistudentstoget

studentvisastocometotheU.S.TheSaudigovernmentisfundingstudyat

preapprovedschoolsandforcertainareasofstudy.TheSaudigovernmentisalso

limitingthenumberofstudentsitwillprovidescholarshipstoatanyoneschoolin

anattempttohavethemintegrateintothelargerpopulation,inkeepingwithboth

contacttheoryanddiffusiontheory.Thismodelallowedforassessmentofthe

impactthatgovernmentpolicyhadonSaudistudents’choiceofwheretostudy,

SaudiStudentHabitasDemographicsSocialCapitalCulturalCapitalHumanCapital

U.S.HigherEducationInstitutionsProductDifferentiationMethodsofOutreach

InstitutionalCharacteristics

PublicPolicyofU.S.andSaudiGovernment

EducationforPublicDiplomacySoftPower

ContactTheoryDiffusionofInnovationTheory

CollegeChoice

116

includingprovidingSaudistudentsamanageableprocessforobtainingavisato

studyintheUnitedStates.

LeveltwoconcernstheimpacttheU.S.HEIshaveindeterminingchoiceofSaudi

students.StudiesshowthatstudentschooseHEIsintheU.S.becausetheyoffera

differenteducationthanothercountries,especiallySaudiArabia.Thisresearch

questionedthemotivationsofSaudistudentsandwhatmechanismsSaudistudents

useinchoosingwheretostudy.Theresponseswerederivedfromstudents’

expectationsabouthowaU.S.educationwillimpacttheircareerandfuture

opportunities.Also,HEIsreachstudentsthroughvariousmarketingchannels,

includingonlinesources,printmedia,andforeignstudentadvisors.Thisresearch

exploredtheimpactthesemethodshadonstudentchoice.Existingstudiesshow

thatthewaystudentsobtaintheirinformationisimportantandhasradically

changedinrecentyears(QSTopUniversities2014.)Anecdotalevidencesuggests

thatfactorsimpactingstudent’sexperiences,includinghowwelltheirreligious

needsaremet,maybeimportant(Perez-Pena2012.)DatafromtheIIEand

Brookingsshowpreferencesforschoolsinmetropolitanareasandcertainstatesbut

thatmaybeonthebasisofhavingafamilymemberorfriendalreadyinattendance

atthatHEI.ThisresearchconfirmstherolethatsocialnetworksplayinwhereSaudi

studentschoosetostudyintheUnitedStates.

Thethirdlevelisthemostindividual.Thisresearchexploredstudent’saccessto

formsofsocialcapitalandculturalcapitalthatcorrelatewithcollegechoiceasthey

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relatetohabitus,thevaluesandexpectationsthatarecommontoaparticularsocial

group.Variablesassociatedwithexpectancytheory,humancapitalinvestment

theory,andsocialandculturalcapitaltheorieswereusedtounderstandhowfactors

relatedtotheindividual’slifepredictschoolchoice.Socialcapitalreferstothe

influencethatparentsandwidersocialnetworksplayinchoosingtostudyabroad

andwheretogo.Socialandculturalcapitaltheoryoutlinetheimportanceofsocial

networksandconnectionsandpersonalattributesthatincludeculturalknowledge

andmannerismsindecidingwhetherornottoenrollincollege(Portes1998;

Granovetter1973.)Manystudiesaboutsocialcapitalandstudentchoiceidentify

SESvariablesassignificantpredictors.SESdataforSaudiArabiaisnotwidely

availablesotherewouldbenoabilitytoplacesuchinformationintomeaningful

contextforanalysis.Inkeepingwithpreviousresearchthatusedparental

involvementasaproxyforSESdata,demographicdatacollectedincludedparental

attitudesandeducationlevels.

Culturalcapitalisthemostpersonalassessmentofinfluencesonstudentchoice.It

viewspersonaltoolsthatincludelanguageabilities,beliefinthelikelihoodof

accomplishingsomething,opennesstoideas,andexposuretoforeignersthrough

travelorinteractionwithexpatriatesaspredictorsincollegechoiceandchoiceto

studyabroad(Hackney,etal.2014.)Saudistudentswereaskedaboutprevious

traveloutsidethecountryasaproxyforculturalcapital.

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ResearchDesign

Qualitativeandquantativeresearchisoftenconductedasacyclewhenresearching

newsocialproblemsorthosewhereaninitialphaseofexplorationisnecessaryto

determinekeyvariablesandconstructotherresearchinstruments(RemlerandVan

Ryzin2011.)Thiswasafirststudytoexaminethispopulationofstudentsinthe

UnitedStates.Usingmixedmethodsallowedtheresearchertocarefullyidentify

whichfactorswereimportanttostakeholdersandassesshowbesttoorganizethe

researchandapplyacomprehensivetheoreticalframework.Qualitativeinterviews

alowedfortheexplorationofthepopulationofSaudistudentsintheUnitedStates

andthepreparationofasurveyinstrumentthatwasadministeredonlinetoSaudi

studentsacrosstheentireU.S.

Interviews

Nineteensemi-structuredinterviewswereconductedwithelevenSaudistudents

andeightadministratorsatHEIsinthelocalNewYork/NewJerseyarea.Thereare

manyHEIsintheimmediateareathatoperateindiversesettings,suchasurban,

suburban,publicorprivateschools,therefore,arepresentativesamplingofHEI

experiencewaspossible.Theadministratorsinterviewedworkedwithinternational

studentsinavarietyofcapacities,fromacademicadvisementtovisacompliance

andlivingarrangements.Theyrepresentedabroadsamplingoftheeffortsputforth

byschoolstoprovidenecessarysupportsforgrowinginternationalstudent

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populations.ManyworkeddirectlywithstudentsfromMiddleEasterncountries

andhadfamiliaritywithstudentsfromSaudiArabia.ChainsamplingofSaudi

studentsofferedanrangeofstudentinterviewsbasedongender,levelofstudy,and

geographicaldispersionthatfacilitatedthedevelopofthesurveyinstrument.

Severalinterviewswithstudentswereconductedinpublicmeetingplacesincluding

cafesandcoffeeshops.Otherswereconductedoverthetelephone.Allinterviews

withschooladministratorswereconductedintheirofficesattheirrespective

school.

Allparticipantswereinformedthattheirnames,thenameoftheirschoolandany

personalinformationandanswerswouldremainconfidential.Participantswere

providedaninterviewconsentformwithaudiorecordingapprovedbytheRutgers

UniversityIRBtosignandonetokeepfortheirpersonalrecords.Theconsentform

identifiedthattheinterviewswereconfidential,allpersonalinformationwouldbe

removedupontranscriptionandacodednumberassignedtotheinterviewthat

wouldbestoredseparatelyinapassword-protectedcomputer.Furthermore,no

personalidentifierswouldbeusedinthedissertationincludingtheirname,school

oranyotherinformationthatwouldreasonablyleadtoidentification.Contact

informationfortheprimaryresearcherandfacultyadvisorwasprovided.The

interviewsrangedfromtwentyminutestolongerthanninetyminutesinseveral

cases.AllinterviewswereconductedinEnglish.WhilemanySaudistudentshave

strongEnglishlanguageskills,someofthoseinterviewedwerenewlyarrivedand

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onlybeginningtheirlanguagestudiesbeforemovingontotheiracademicstudies.In

onecaseastudentwasinterviewedthroughaninterpreter.

InterviewquestionsofadministratorsatHEIswerepreparedbasedonanalysisof

currentliteraturepublishedbyindustryadvocatesandjournalsdedicatedto

internationalhighereducation.Thesepublicationsfocusedonmarketingefforts,

problemsandconcerns,financialbenefitsassociatedwithinternationalstudents,

andongoingeffortstointegrateandmonitorinternationalstudents’experienceson

campus.

InterviewquestionspreparedforSaudistudentsweredesignedinaccordancewith

Figure7,theconceptualmodelforSaudistudentchoicetostudyintheU.S.In

additiontodemographicquestions,studentsweredirectedtoanswerquestionsthat

relatetogovernmentinfluence,mechanismsofchoice,socialandculturalcapital,

humancapitaldevelopment,andtheimpactofstudyingintheU.S.ontheirattitudes

andvalues.TheRutgersUniversityInternalReviewBoardapprovedallquestions

showninAppendixA.

Theinterviewsweredigitallyrecorded,transcribed,andthencodedusingNvivo

qualitativeanalysissoftware.AccordingtoRemlerandVanRyzin(2011)codingis

theprocessoftaggingorsortingtext,inthiscaseinterviewconversations,intoa

seriesofvariablesorotherstrandsthatfacilitateitsinterpretation.Codingsoftware

suchasNvivooffertheopportunitytoapplyquantitativemethodstoqualitative

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databutinthiscasethesoftwarewasusedtoorganizetheinterviewresponsesand

identifyoverlappingareasofconcernamongstudentsandschooladministrators.

Forexample,newareasofconcernemergedfromtheinterviews,including

problemswithacademicpreparationandplagiarism.Also,schoolofficialsreporta

lackofavailableassessmenttoolsthatallowsthemtounderstandifstudents’

personalandnon-academicneedsweremetthroughexistingprograms.Many

expresseduncertaintyabouthowtointegratestudentsfromSaudiArabiaintothe

campuscommunity.

Thecodingalsohighlightedseverallinguisticandrhetoricalpatternsspecificto

Saudistudentsthatwereusedwhenpreparingtheonlinesurvey.Forexample,most

literatureonhighereducationintheUnitedStatesreferstotheliberalartscore

requirementsasthefoundationoftheeducationalsystem.Saudistudents

universallyusedtheterm“generaleducationcourses”torefertotheclassesthey

wererequiredtotakeinordertosatisfytherequirementsoftheirdegree,nomatter

whattheirmajor.Thislanguagemirrorsthediscourseintheliteratureprovidedto

SaudistudentsfromSACMastheadministratoroftheKingAbdullahScholarship

ProgrambutisnotcommonlyusedbystudentsoradministratorsintheUnited

States.ThecommonreferenceintheU.S.isliberalartscourses.Theinterviewsand

analysisusingNvivoprovidedvaluableinsightintotheissuesthatSaudistudents

facedandtheassociatedpatternsofspeechthattheywouldrecognizewhentaking

thesurvey.

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SurveyDesignandAdministration

Thisresearchisadescriptiveexplorationaboutthepopulationofstudentsfrom

SaudiArabiawhochosetostudyintheUnitedStates.Theuseofanonlinesurvey

providedtheopportunitytoreachstudentsatalllevelsofstudyacrosstheentire

country.Therewerenopriorsurveysonthistopicbutportionsofthesurvey

attemptedtoreplicatequestionsaskedofSaudistudentsattendinguniversityin

SaudiArabiaandquestionsusedfortheWorldValuesSurvey.Thosesurveyswere

administeredinArabicandweredoneinperson.Notallrespondentstothose

surveyshaveacounterpartinthepopulationofSaudistudentsattendingschoolsin

theU.S.,whichincludesstudentsstudyingEnglishinpreparationofpursuingan

academicdegree.Still,itisusefultousequestionsfromthesepublishedsurveysto

providebenchmarkscomparingstudents’attitudesindifferentsettings.

ThesurveywaspreparedusingQualtricsSurveySoftware.Thesurveyconsistedof

24closedendedquestions.Thefirsttwoquestionsaskstudentstoconfirmthey

consenttoparticipateinthesurveyandthattheyareSaudistudentscurrentlyliving

andstudyingintheU.S.Applyingsurveylogicallowedfornegativerespondersto

thesequestiontoautomaticallyexitthesurveyandreducethenumberofnon-

usablesurveys.Questionsthreeandfourprovidedlistsofchoicesofinformation

sourcesandschoolfeaturesthatattractedstudents.Theselistswerederivedfrom

interviewresultsanddiscourseanalysisfromallstakeholdersandorganizedinto

individualquestionsforsimplicityandorganizationalclarity.Choiceswere

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randomizedtoprovideadifferentorderforeachrespondentandpreventover-

responsesforthefirstfewchoices.Questionsfivethroughtenaskstudentsto

evaluatetheirperceptionsabouteffortstheircurrentschoolmakestoaddresstheir

needs.ManySaudistudentscometotheU.S.asEnglishlanguagelearnersandattend

aseriesofotherschoolsbeforereturningtoSaudiArabia.Specificcarewastaken

whenwordingthesequestionstohighlightthatonlythecurrentschoolthestudent

isattendingisbeingevaluated.Studentswereprovidedthreesimplechoices

indicatingtheythinkitisenough,theywishtheschoolwouldoffermore,orno

opinion.

Questionseleventhroughfifteenaskstudentstorespondtostatementsabouttheir

experiences,theirfutureexpectations,andopinionsabouttolerance,theUnited

States,andchangingthecultureinSaudiArabia.Questionfifteenisacompositeof

severalquestionsaskedinthe“BridgingtheGap”surveyandtheWorldValues

SurveySaudiArabia2003.InconsiderationthatthissurveywasgiveninEnglishto

apopulationthatspeaksArabicasitsprimarylanguage,respondentswereoffered

choicesthatreflectedagreementasfollows:stronglyagree,agree,neitheragreeor

disagree,disagree,andstronglydisagree.Theremainingquestionsaskedabout

individualcharacteristicsincludinggender,degreebeingsought,amountof

previoustraveloutsideofSaudiArabiaandparentaleducationalattainment.Care

wastakentoofferanequalnumberofpositiveandnegativeresponsesandnotto

overburdenthesurveyrespondentswithcomplicatedlanguageoranexcessive

numberofquestions.OverallquestiondesignwasimprovedwiththehelpofFowler

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(1995)andRemlerandVanRyzin(2011)inordertoimprovequestionclarity,avoid

ambiguity,andimprovetheefficiencyofthesurvey.Pretestingofthesurveywas

doneamongSaudistudentswhowereinterviewedtoconfirmthequestionswere

clear,thelanguagewasunambiguous,andthelengthofthesurveywasnotan

imposition.Studentcommentswereincorporatedandfinaladjustmentsmade.

ThesurveywaslaunchedinDecember2015.(AppendixB)Studentgroupsat

universitiesacrosstheUnitedStatesweresentemailsaskingSaudistudent

memberstoparticipateinthesurvey.Theemailscontainedanexplanationofthe

study,theconsentformapprovedbytheRutgersUniversityIRBandananonymous

surveylinkthatcouldbesharedwithotherSaudistudents.Over450emailswere

sendandapproximately25SaudiStudentOrganizationslistedontheSACMwebsite

wereapproachedthroughFacebookand175Saudistudentorganizationswere

contactedonTwitter.ThesurveywasclosedonFebruary15,2016with262

completedsurveys.

StrengthsandLimitations

Researchintoanytopicisimpactedbytheavailabilityandreliabilityofinformation.

Thisresearchhasbeenhelpedbytheavailabilityofpublicrecordsandpeer

reviewedpapersinpublishedjournals.Thereareextensivepublicmaterials

concerningU.S.governmentattitudesaboutforeignstudentsthatofferinsightinto

thepoliticalandeconomicmotivationsoftheU.S.government.Theyconsistof

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congressionaltestimony,U.S.governmentpolicypapers,interviews,etc.Published

studiesbyindependentresearchorganizationsoftenincludeddataobtained

throughFreedomofInformationActapplications.Theavailabilityofprimarysource

documentsaswellasextensivesecondarysourceshavecontributedtothisresearch

byallowingforthedevelopmentofthehistoricalnarrativethatinformsthepresent

caseofSaudistudentsintheUnitedStates.

TheSaudigovernmentismorechallengingbecauseofthelackoftransparencyand

limitationsonjournalistswritingaboutthecountry.ThegovernmentofSaudi

Arabiapublishesinformationonofficialgovernmentwebsitesanddataisavailable

frominstitutionalorganizationssuchasUNESCOandtheCIA.Inaddition,theSaudi

ArabiaCulturalMission(SACM)inWashington,D.C.isasourceofinsightabouttheir

roleinsupportingSaudistudentsintheU.S.SACMmonitorsstudentsoncethey

arriveintheU.S.andconstitutestheformallinkbetweenthestudentsandtheir

homecountrywhilelivingabroad.ManypublicationsfromtheSaudiArabian

MinistryofHigherEducationareinArabicandareavailableinEnglishtranslation.

Othersourcesofinformation,includingsurveysofstudentsandcitizensinSaudi

ArabiaweredoneinArabicandlatertranslatedtoEnglishforpublication.Research

onanytopicconcerningSaudiArabiaislimitedbythelackofpublicinformationand

thelackofindependentpolicyanalysisfromacountrywithanauthoritariansystem

ofgovernmentthatallowsforlimitedpublicdissent.

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ValidityandUses

SomeofthefindingsarecomparablewithpublisheddatafromNAFSAaboutbroad

categorizationstoshowvalidity,includinghowstudentsgatherinformationand

respondtooutreacheffortsbyHEIs.Otherresultsarecomparabletothelargein-

countrystudyofSaudistudentattitudesconductedbyWomenwithoutBorders

publishedin2011.Themorefinelydetailedinformationprovidedfromthis

researchisavaluablecomponentofthestudy.Forexample,somefindingsare

usefulforHEIswhohopetorecruitmoreSaudistudents.Otherfindingsmay

indicateiftheintentionsoftheKASPprogramarebeingmet.Thisaspectofthe

researchmaynotbeimmediatelyapparentsinceSaudistudentsareonlybeginning

toreturntothecountryandentertheworkforce.Also,anymoderationinsocial

attitudeswillbeborneoutoverdecades,ifatall.Thisresearchpresentsanearly

stageinassessingiftheSaudigovernment’seconomicandsocialgoalsare

successfullymet.

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ChapterFive:FindingsonInstitutionalActorsThischapterwillfocusontheinstitutionalactorsinvolvedinforeignstudent

mobilityintheUnitedStates.Theexplanatorydimensionsofthisresearchwill

includethekeyactors’mainmotivations,examinedaseconomic,political,and

ideological.Theirgoalsandthemeansbywhichtheycarrythemoutwillalsobe

reviewed.Interviewresultsuncoveredspecificareasofconcernthatshapedthe

actionsofhighereducationinstitutions.TheseinstitutionalactorsaretheU.S.

government,thegovernmentofSaudiArabiaasthespecificinstitutionpromoting

studyabroadtotheU.S.bytheirstudents,andU.S.HigherEducationInstitutions

(HEIs)andthesupportingindustry,whichconsistsoforganizationssuchasIIE,

NAFSA,OBHE,andBrookingsInstitute.

U.SGovernment

U.S.governmentdepartmentsandagenciesinvolvedinthisdiscussionaretheU.S.

Congress,theDepartmentofStatewhichincludestheconsularofficesabroad,SEVIS,

theStudentandExchangeVisitorInformationSystemaspartofSEVIP,theStudent

andExchangeVisitorProgram,theDepartmentofHomelandSecurity(DHS),

ImmigrationsandCustomsEnforcementAgency(ICE),andtheU.S.Borderand

CustomsServicewhichcoordinateswiththeDepartmentofStateatthepointof

entryintothecountry.ThePresidentoftheUnitedStatesandCongresshavebeen

participantsinshapingU.S.lawsandprogramsforforeignstudentscomingtothe

U.S.andhowtheyaresupervised.Eachoftheseactorsisresponsibleforprotecting

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nationalsecurityandfightingterrorismwhilekeepingthedoorsopento

internationalstudentsandpromotinginternationaleducationasapolicytool.

U.S.GovernmentMotivations

TheU.S.governmentactivelysupportsforeignstudentscomingtothecountryfor

highereducation.Economically,highereducationisoneofthecountry’slargest

exports.NAFSA(2014)reportedthatinternationalstudentscontributed$26.8

billiontotheU.S.economyinthe2013/2014schoolyear.Thiswasan8.5percent

increasefromlastyearand,accordingtotheBrookingsInstitute,resultedinthe

creationofover340,000jobs.In2015,NAFSAreportedtheamountroseto$30.5

billionandinternationalstudentssupportedmorethan373,000jobsinthe2014-15

schoolyear(NAFSA:AssociationofInternationalEducators2015.)Theeconomic

contributionofforeignstudentsissurprisinglylarge.Asacomparison,themovie

industryintheU.S.grossed$11.1billionindomesticticketsalesin2015(YearlyBox

OfficeResults),underscoringtheeconomicsignificanceoftheindustry.

TheU.S.governmentuseshighereducationforideologicalreasons.Sincetheendof

WorldWarIIandthebeginningoftheColdWartheU.S.hasusededucationboth

hereandabroadasawaytospreadAmericanvaluesandculture.Manyforeign

leaderstodaycitetheirtimestudyingabroadasshapingtheirvaluesandinfluencing

theirpolicydecisions.Congressidentifiedthisasoneoftheimperativesforre-

establishingthenon-immigrantstudentvisaprogramafter9/11.

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TheothermotivationforU.S.governmentactionstowardSaudistudentsispolitical.

SaudiArabiaistheU.S.’smostsignificantallyintheArabianGulf.SaudiArabia’soil

wealthandpositionasthelargestproducerinOPECisthebasisfortheU.S.-Saudi

relationship,oneofthemostimportantrelationshipsfortheU.S.intheMiddleEast.

InrecognitionoftheimportanceofthisrelationshiptheU.S.governmentadjusted

itsvisapolicyattherequestofKingAbdullahin2005.

U.S.GovernmentGoalsandMeans

FortheU.S.Government,thegoalofsupportingforeignstudentscomingtotheU.S.

servesaneconomicpurpose;itfurtherenhancesourownhumancapital

development.Long-termexposuretointernationalstudentshelpsU.S.students

developtheinterculturalskillsneededtosuccessfullyoperateintheglobal

economy.Itprovidesthebasisformanyinternationalexchangesandimproved

traderelations.Thepersonalrelationshipsthatforeignstudentsbuildserveasthe

basisforincreasedfuturecommercialandpoliticalexchanges.Anothergoalrelates

tothecurrentanti-AmericansentimentcausedbytheU.S.waronterror.After9/11

andtheU.S.invasionofIraq,theU.S.lostmuchofitsgoodreputationintheregion.

RebuildingtrustandgoodwillintheMiddleEastisasteptowardsreestablishingthe

UnitedStates’cultural,political,andeconomicinfluenceinworldaffairs.

Themeansforaccomplishingthesegoalswastheeasingofvisarestrictionsin2005

toclearthebacklogofstudents,particularlyfromSaudiArabia.Thisispartofa

largervisionformaintainingstrongtieswithothercountriesbutstudentsfrom

SaudiArabiahavebecomeanincreasinglylargesegmentofthepopulationof

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foreignstudentscomingtotheU.S.TheImmigrationandCustomsEnforcement

AgencyoftheU.S.DepartmentofHomelandSecurityimplementedandoverseesthe

StudentExchangeandVisitorProgram(SEVIP)thatprovidedamechanismfor

issuingandtrackingnonimmigrantvisastostudentsandtheirdependentswho

cometotheU.S.Thissystemwasimplementedinthewakeoftherealizationsofthe

originsoffifteenofthenineteenperpetratorsofthe9/11attacksthatwereinthe

U.S.onstudentvisas.SEVIS,thecomputerizedsystemthatschoolsandstudents

mustnowuse,wasimplementedbeginningin2005to“trackandmonitorschools;

exchangevisitorprograms;andF,MandJnonimmigrantswhiletheyvisitthe

UnitedStatesandparticipateintheU.S.educationsystem.”(U.S.Immigrationsand

CustomsEnforcement,2016)SEVISisusedbytheU.S.governmenttoensurethat

foreignstudentsarehereforeducationalpurposesandarecomplyingfullywiththe

termsoftheirvisas.

Theeventsof9/11andtheirimpactonU.S.governmentpolicyandpractices

TheinitialreportthattwooftheidentifiedhijackerswereintheUnitedStateson

studentvisaimmediatelycausedwidespreadcondemnationoftheprogramthat

allowedthementryintothecountry.Readingthetestimonyfromthosefirst

hearingsisinformativeandsomewhatshocking.Itwouldbemanymonthsbefore

thevisastatusofthevarioushijackerswasknown.Itisdifficulttobelievethatthere

wassuchalackofcapacitytomonitorincomingstudentsandthenlearnthatmany

previouslyproposedsystemsformonitoringstudentvisaholderswerenever

implemented.Inaddition,thetestimonyshowedtherewasnocooperationamong

agenciesaboutpeoplewhoremainedunaccountedfor.

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Theseearlyhearingsalsofocusedonthefactthatfifteenofthenineteenalleged

perpetratorswereofSaudiArabianorigin.TheSaudistudentpopulationcame

underseverescrutinyinthefollowingyears,andallinternationalstudentsfaced

increasedscreening.Thelackofaccurateorfinelydetailedinformationintheearly

daysaftertheattacksputaspotlightonasystemthatwaseasilymanipulatedand

hadfew,ifany,crediblecontrols.OneoftheSaudihijackerswasimmediately

identifiedasintheUnitedStatesonastudentvisa.Hehadoverstayedandwasnot

attendingclasses.ThiswouldhavebeenfoundiftheSEVISnotificationsystemthat

wasauthorizedbutneverfundedorimplementedhadbeenoperational.Thiswas

thecaseofalessonnotlearned;oneoftheconvictedterroristsfromthe1993

bombingoftheWorldTradeCentercameinonastudentvisa.He,too,haddropped

outofschoolandwasnevertrackedbythegovernmentfordeportation.

Theinitialhearingshighlightedthatlittlewasknownaboutthecriteriausedforvisa

approvals.OnlythreepercentofSaudivisaapplicationswereturneddownbyU.S.

consularofficersinthatcountryin2000and2001,anextremelylownumber.Yet,at

thattime,nearlytwentyfivepercentofallU.S.visaseekersworldwideweredenied

visasbyothercountries.TheStateDepartmentofficialsmaintainedthatSaudi

Arabiawasalowfraudcountry,thus,documentationpresentedwasassumed

legitimate.Also,moststudentswereabletoprovideevidenceofpersonalfinancial

resourcessotheywerenotlikelytoseekworkwhilehereinviolationoftheirvisas.

Noadditionalscrutinywasapplied.Studentsfrompoorercountriesweremore

regularlydeniedvisas(U.S.Congress,2008).

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TheconclusionamongthemembersofCongresswasunequivocalthatnational

securitywasthesingularpriority,paramounttoeducationalandculturalexchange.

Sincetherewasnosystemtotrackstudentsanddeportthem,theywouldbekept

outofthecountry.Asix-monthmoratoriumontheissuanceofvisaswasproposed,

whichcouldbeextendedifneeded.Additionalactionwasproposedtocoordinate

theimplementationofSEVIS,thecomputerizedstudentdatabase,withINSand

otherStateDepartmentofficials.Therewasconcernaboutthemoratoriumfrom

Congressionalmemberswhosestateshadlargepopulationsofforeignstudents,in

particularCalifornia.Thelossofrevenuefrominternationalstudentswas

mentionedatthattimebutnotwidelydiscussed.

AreadingofthecongressionalrecordsfromOctober2001tothepresentshowsa

similargroupofthemesandconcernsexpressedamongthestakeholders.The

testimoniespresentedandthebillsputforwardinitiallyhadtodowiththehuge

backlogofstudentvisasandtheproblemshighereducationinstitutions(HEIs)had

inimplementingSEVIS,thedatabasetheywereresponsibleforregularlyupdating

witheveryacceptedforeignstudent’sstatus.BySeptember2002therestrictionson

studentvisaswascausingwidespreadconcernatthoseschoolswithlargenumbers

ofinternationalstudentsinthemiddleoftheirstudiesthere.Manyforeignstudents

wereunabletoreenterthecountryafter9/11tofinishtheirdegrees(U.S.Congress,

2004).

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Moreimportantly,thefalloffininternationalstudentscreatedotherrealproblems,

suchasthelackofmastersanddoctorallevelcandidatesinmanyadvanced

programsintheSTEMsubjects,andthelossofrevenuetodestinationschoolsand

theircommunitiesfrominternationalstudents.Thevisadelayswereencouraging

thebeststudentsandscholarstochooseprogramsinothercountries.These

concernswerefrequentlyvoicedbymembersofCongressandmembersoftheHEI

community,butoftendeliveredaspartofawiderconversationonthenational

importanceofeducationalexchangeswithforeignstudentsandthelong-term

impactonforeignstudentswhoreturnhomeimbuedwithdeepknowledgeabout

Americaanditsvalues.Asoneuniversitypresidentaftertheothertestified,thelist

ofnamesofforeignleadersandtheiradvisorswhoattendedschoolsintheU.S.is

long.TheserelationshipsarevitaltotheU.S.nationalinterestsinthelongrun.

EvenColinPowellwasfrequentlyreferencedasastrongadvocateforinternational

educationasawaytodisseminatethevaluesofdemocracyandpromotelong-term

linksbetweeninstitutionsandpeoplehereandabroad(U.S.Congress,2004).

Otherconcernsaboutthevisabacklogrelatedtotheincreasinglycompetitive

marketforinternationaleducation.Capturingforeignheartsandmindsthrough

crossculturalexchangeisimportantbutsoisenticingthebestengineeringstudents

tochooseHEIsintheUnitedStatesoverChina,Canada,andagrowinglistof

countriesofferingprogramsinEnglishandwithstateoftheartresearchfacilities.

Therewerecallstoconcretelyaddressthevisabacklog,whichhadreachedacritical

stageby2005(Wildavsky2010).Today,themostrecentchallengefacingHEIs

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relatestogeneralimmigrationissuesintheU.S.,wherethetopscience,math,and

engineeringstudentscanonlystayforshortperiodsaftergraduating,thereforenot

contributingtothelongtermgrowthoftheU.S.economy.Inaddition,the

opportunitytoremainintheU.S.upongraduationandhavelong-termresident

statusmightserveasstrongincentiveforthebeststudentstochoosetheU.S.over

anothercountry.This,alongwithincreasingcompetitionfromothercountries,has

reducedtheU.S.shareofinternationalstudentsfromtwentythreepercentin2000

tosixteenpercentby2012(Choudaha,2014).

TheStudentVisaBacklog

InMarch2003,atacongressionalhearingentitled“Dealingwithforeignstudents

andscholarsinaageofterrorism:visabacklogs,”RepresentativeNickSmithof

Michigannotedthatinthedayssince9/11welearnedthatthenineteenterrorists

receivedatotaloftwentythreevisasatfivedifferentposts,includingstudentvisas.

AccordingtoSmith,“Evenmoretelling,sixmonthsaftertheterroristattacks,

approvalnoticesforstudentvisaswereissuedfortwoofthehijackers,Mohammed

AttaandMarwanAl-Shehhi.”Inotherwords,howcouldthisstillbehappening?

Smith’scommentshighlightedtherealitiesthatcreatingasystemtoprevent

terroristsfromcominginasstudentswasadauntingchallengethatthenationhad

notyetmet.Inaddition,itwasclearthatstudentsfromSaudiArabiaremaineda

seriousconcern.

ThenumberofstudentsapprovedforvisastoentertheU.S.comingfromSaudi

Arabiafelltoatrickle.ThereisnoavailabledataforthenumberofSaudistudent

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visadenialsbutthenumberofapprovalsforallstudentsworldwidefelland

approvalsforSaudistudentscomingtotheU.S.fellmostacutely.

ThisproblemwasaddresseddirectlybytheKingofSaudiArabiaduringhisApril,

2005visittoWashington,D.C.(WeeklyCompilationofPresidentialDocuments,

2005).PresidentBushreleasedajointstatementwithSaudiKingAbdullah.In

additiontotheverylonglistofstrategicintereststheU.S.shareswithSaudiArabia,

includingoil,Iraq,thenon-proliferationofnuclearweaponsintheregion,the

Palestinianissue,andU.S.supportforSaudimembershipintheWTO,therewas

specificmentionoftheneedtoexpandculturalandeducationalexchanges.Within

monthsofthismeetingasecondconsularofficewasopenedinSaudiArabiato

enablepotentialvisaapplicantstohavetheirnewlyrequiredinterviewsinamore

timelyfashionandbyearly2006thebacklogwasbeingaddressed.Thecurrentrate

ofgrowthforSaudistudentsbeinggrantedF-1visasisfasterthantherateofgrowth

forallstudentsbeinggrantedvisas.Today,nearlyhalfofallSaudiswhoattend

schoolsoutsideofthecountrychoosetostudyintheUnitedStates.

TheSaudigovernmentwasnottheonlygrouppressingtheU.S.forsomevisarelief.

AccordingtoBloombergNewstheindiscriminantapplicationofthenewsecurity

ruleswashurtingschoolsalloverthecountry,especiallythosewithprogramsin

technologythatreliedheavilyonforeignstudents.By2006theStatedepartment

hadcreatedfivehundredandfifteenmoreconsularjobs,trainedstaffed,and

automatedmanyofitssystemstobettercoordinatewithothergovernmentagencies

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(BloombergBusinessweekTechnology,2006).Theresultswereevidentinthe

reductionofthebacklogandincreaseinthenumberofforeignstudentsstudyingin

theU.S.

SaudiArabianGovernment

KingSalman,theMinistryofHigherEducation(MOHE)whichwasestablishedin

1975tooverseemattersregardinghighereducation,andthevariousSACM,Saudi

ArabianCulturalMinistriesaroundtheworldaredirectlyinvolvedinthemovement

andsupervisionofstudentsabroad.TheDeputyMinistryforScholarshipAffairs

managestheKASP,theKingAbdullahScholarshipProgram.TheGeneral

AdministrationofPlanningundertheMOHEiscurrentlyimplementingthe

government’splanstoexpandthenumberofschoolsandupdatethecountry’s

curriculum.Italsopublishescomprehensivereportsonthestatusoftheprograms,

includinghighereducationinsideSaudiArabiaandtheKASP.

TheGovernmentofSaudiArabia’sMotivations

ThegovernmentofSaudiArabiafacesalonglistofchallenges,someduetodomestic

socialconditions,othersrelatingtothepoliticalturmoilintheregion.Thedeathof

KingAbdullahbinAbdulaziz,onJanuary23,2015,addstothesechallenges.Amain

motivationoftheSaudigovernmentiseconomic.SaudiArabiahasayouthbulge

withmorethansixtypercentofthepopulationundertheageofthirty.

Unemploymentisaconsiderableproblem,evenamongcollegegraduates.

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ThedatainTable14showscontinuedunderemploymentofSaudisintheirown

country.TheIMFanticipatescontinuedeconomicgrowthinthecountryrelatedto

theenergysectorbutconfirmsthatthereisaneedtoimprovethecompetitiveness

ofworkersintheprivatesectorandreformthelabormarkets.Jobcreationinthe

privatesectorremainsasignificantchallenge.

Table14:UnemploymentinSaudiArabia

OverallRate SaudiCitizenRate

1999 4percent 8percent

2001 4percent 8percent

2003 5percent 10percent

2005 6percent 12percent

2007 5percent 11percent

2009 5percent 10percent

2011 5percent 12percent

2013 6percent 12percent

2014 5.5percent 11.5percent

Source:IMFCountryReportNo.13/229July2013andIMFCountryReportNo.

14/292September2014

Theeconomicconcernsofhighunemploymentandrisinglivingcostsarefueling

politicalproblems.Thereisgrowingdiscontentinsidethecountryoverthelackof

economicopportunitiesandthereispressuretoaddresstherestrictionsthatlimit

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accesstojobsforwomen,whoareincreasinglyseenasanecessaryeconomicforce.

Theyouthbulge,highunemploymentforcollegegraduates,anover-saturatedpublic

sector,andtherisingcostoflivingthathasmadethetwo-incomehouseholda

necessityareallsourcesoftensioninsidetheKingdom.TheKinghasneverfaceda

seriouschallengetohisruleandtherehavebeenonlymutedcallsforthe

establishmentofaconstitutionalmonarchy.Nevertheless,KingAbdullahchosenot

toignorethegrowingpressureonthecountryforsometypeofreform.Education

policyisattheheartofthesereforms.

ThereisalsoanideologicalmotivationfortheSaudigovernmenttosupportthe

internationalizationofeducation.ThecountryhasitsowndividebetweenIslamic

sects,theSunniandShiapopulationsinsidethecountry,andthecountryfaces

challengesfromterroristsbothinsideSaudiArabiaandinnearbycountries.The

SaudigovernmentismotivatedtoaddressthemoreextremeIslamicideologiesthat

arefuelingtheinstabilityintheentireMiddleEastNorthAfricaregionand

undermineSaudiArabia’spositionasthemostinfluentialcountryintheGulf.

SaudiGovernmentGoalsandMeans

ForthegovernmentofSaudiArabia,thegoalofsupportingalargenumberofSaudi

studentsattendingschoolsintheU.S.two-fold.TheSaudiGovernmentisusing

educationasawaytobuildhumancapital,hopingitwilldiversifytheeconomy

beyondoilandbuildadomesticworkforcecapableofexpandingtheprivatesector.

Theothergoalistomodernizethesocietybyopeningituptowesternnormsand

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standards.Thereisaneedtosecularizetheeducationsystemandreformcurricula

andteachingmethods.TheSaudigovernmenthasalsoinferredthatithopesto

reducetheappealofradicalIslamamongdisaffectedyouth.

EducationPolicyinSaudiArabia

TheEducationPolicyDocumentissuedbytheSupremeCommitteeforEducational

PolicyCouncilofMinistersin1969providesthefoundationforeducationinthe

country.TheMinistryofHigherEducation(MOHE)wasestablishedin1975to

overseeallmattersregardinghighereducation.TheestablishmentoftheHigher

EducationCouncilin1993createdaformallystructuredagencywithachairman

andspecificlawsthatcovertheadministrativeandregulatoryissuesofthe

Kingdom’shighereducationpolicy.TodaytheHigherEducationCouncilunderthe

MOHEisresponsibleforallmatterspertainingtopost-secondaryeducationinthe

Kingdom.TheMOHEisactivelyworkingtoimprovequalityandavailabilityof

highereducationwithintheKingdomandhasbegunaninitiativetomodernizethe

entiresystemtomeettheneedsofthe“knowledgesociety.”WhiletheK-12

educationiscriticizedforitsheavyemphasisonreligiouseducation,since2000the

governmenthasinstitutedplanstoaddressdeficienciesandsupportpreviously

underrepresentedgroupswithinitssociety,includingpoorerstudentsandShiitesin

pursuinghighereducation(MOHE2013).

The2013assessmentreportpublishedbytheSaudiMinistryofHigherEducation

DepartmentofPlanningandInformationofferedadetailedreviewofprogressto

dateandthenextstepsneededtomeettheirgoalofupdatingtheeducationsystem.

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Thewordinginthesereportsemphasizeseconomicdevelopment,notspecifically

socialchangesalthoughthatisthesubtextoftenreadintotheKing’sstatementson

educationreform.UnlikeotherGulfStatesthathavechosentoimporteducation

fromdevelopingcountries,theSaudiapproachhasbeentoundertakealarge-scale

transformationofitsowneducationsystem.Theeffortsincludeincreasingthe

numberofprimaryschools,collegesanduniversitiesalloverthecountrytoinclude

underservedareas,improvingmanagement,evaluatingcurriculaforquality,and

adoptinginternationalmeasurementstoassessperformance(Education,2013).The

countryhasbegunadministeringinternationalassessmentteststolowerschool

childrenandkeepingotherdatathatisusableforlongitudinalevaluations.

Increasingphysicalcapacityandmodernizingcurriculaareattemptstoraisethe

country’seducationalprofiletomeetrecognizedinternationalstandards.

AccordingtotheMOHE,since1990thenumberofpublicandprivateuniversities

grewfrom7to33by2011,thenumberofcollegesincreasedfrom83to543and

academicdepartmentsgrewfrom400to2,393.Geographicdiversityisidentifiedas

apriorityinordertoprovideaccesstoeducationamongallthe85provinces,many

oftheminpreviouslyunderservedareas.Studentenrolmentinhighereducation

rosefrom404,000in2000tomorethan1.1millionin2012.Thegovernment

providesamonthlystipendtoeveryonewhoundertakesfulltimestudy.According

totheMOHE,85%ofallregisteredstudentsqualifyforthestipend.Graduate

studentsaregivenanannualstipendofapproximatelyUSD20,000(Jamjoom,

2012).

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Inadditiontoprovidingsupportsforinternetuseandonlinecourses,theMOHEalso

nowtracksinternationalrankings,suchastheUSNewsandWorldReportandthe

ChineseShanghaiJiaoTongRankingofWorldUniversities,withthegoalofseeing

theirownuniversityrankingsimprovebasedonobjectivelymeasuredinternational

standards.TheKingSaudUniversity,theonlySaudischooltobreakintothetop400

intheworld,movedupfrom247thplacein2009to197thinUSNewsandWorld

Reportin2012.TheMOHEpublicationspresentthisasavalidationofthe

government’seffortsatoverhaulingtheentiresystem,a“comprehensive

renaissance”accordingtotheMOHE,andconfirmationthatSaudiuniversitiescan

successfullycompetewiththeirregionalandinternationalcounterparts(Education,

2013).

EducationreformisanexpensiveundertakinginSaudiArabia.Accordingtothe

SaudiArabiaBusinessCouncil,thegovernmentisallocating$54billiontoeducation

for2014,25%ofitstotalbudget,thehighestamountintheworld.Thisrepresentsa

3%increaseoverlastyearandcontinuesatrendofbudgetallocationsof20%or

greatersince2000.TheMOHEidentifiesalonglistofcurrentinitiativesincluding

1,900buildingprojectscurrentlyunderway.Theseprojectsrangefromschool

refurbishmentstobuildingentirenewcampuses,suchastheSAR9.4billion(USD

2.6billion)beingspenttoexpandKingSaudUniversitytoincludeacampusfor

womenandUS$750millionforateachinghospital.Intotal,theneartermbudget

forexpansionexceedsUS$12billion,whichincludessevennanotechnologyresearch

centersaspartoftheoverallefforttodevelopthenation’sprimaryresearchbase.

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University-housedresearchcenters,scienceparks,andtechnologyincubatorshave

beenbuiltasoutreachforumstoprivatecompanies.

Bysomemeasurethecountryisadvancingtowardthedevelopmentofamore

competitive,technologydriveneconomybutitsglobalrankingsforintellectual

activityandcompetitivenessshowlimitedresultstodate.TheUNWorld

InternationalPropertyOrganization,WIPO,rankedSaudiArabia42of142countries

forglobalinnovationin2013,upfrom48in2012.Yet,thecountry’srankingfor

KnowledgeandTechnologicaloutputwasonly78of142,showingthatknowledge

creationisalongtermproject,onethatrequiressustainedeffortandincreasing

connectivitytootherknowledgecommunities(GlobalInnovationIndex2013).

InternationalizationandtheKingAbdullahScholarshipProgram

TheMOHEidentifiedinternationalizationoftheeducationsystemasanecessary

steptowarddevelopingagloballycompetitiveknowledgesociety.Accordingto

MOHEpublications,akeycomponentofthisisfosteringculturalexchangeby

acceptingforeignstudentsintothecountryandencouragingSaudistostudyabroad.

TheKingAbdullahScholarshipProgram(KASP)isoneofthemostambitiousefforts

ofanynationintermsofgovernmentfundedoutwardmobility(Altbach2014).The

SaudigovernmentspentapproximatelyUS$2.4billionontheprogramin2011and

budgetedUS$5.9billionforscholarshipssupporting185,000studentsandfamilies

studyingabroadin2014(SABC2014).

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Scholarshipshavebeenfundedbythegovernmentsince1927whenfourteen

studentsweresenttoEgypttostudyindisciplinesrangingfromSharialawto

agricultureandmedicine.Thenumberofstudentsfundedbythegovernmentgrew

withthestate’srevenue.Theresponsibilityforsupervisingscholarsabroadwas

formallydelegatedtotheMOHEin1975.In2005,aDeputyMinistryforScholarship

AffairswasestablishedtooverseetheKingAbdullahScholarshipProgram(KASP).

TheKASPrepresentsamajorefforttointernationalizetheeducationofyoung

Saudisanddramaticallyimproveskillsinthesciences,technology,andother

prioritydisciplinesincludingbusinessadministration.ItisalsotheSaudi

government’sresponsetothestrainedrelationshipwiththeU.S.afterthe9/11

attacks,whenfifteenofthenineteenattackerswereSaudicitizens.After2001,visa

approvalsforSaudistudentstryingtostudyintheU.S.felltoatrickle.In2005,King

AbdullahpersonallyapproachedPresidentBushtoaddresstheissue,hopingto

amendsomeofthenegativeperceptionsofthecountrybysendingyoungSaudisto

theU.S.,promotebetterU.S.-Saudirelationsinordertocombatextremism,andalso

provideSaudistudentswithopportunitiesforadvancededucation.

EducationreformisthemeansbywhichtheSaudigovernmentistryingtoaddress

theeconomic,political,andideologicalchallengesitcurrentlyfaces.The

governmentisspendingheavilytoincreasetheavailabilityofschoolstopreviously

underservedcommunities.KingAbdullahwasattemptingtochangethecultureof

thecountryandtoencouragecurriculumreformbypresentingmodernizationof

educationinanIslamiclightandasanationalsuccessthatprovesthesuperior

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worthoftheSaudipeople.Thescholarshipprogramisakeycomponentofthis

effort.

WhydoesSaudiArabianotsimplyimportschoolslikeotherGulfcountriesinan

efforttobringitsowneducationsystemuptointernationalstandards?Thisiswhat

nearlyalltheotherGulfcountrieshavedone.TheSaudigovernmentisoptingto

senditsstudentsabroadratherthaninvitingforeignschoolsintothecountry.The

KASPisthemeansbywhichtheSaudigovernmentisexposinglargenumbersofits

beststudentstowesternstyleeducationandmodesofliving.TheKASPisofferedto

bothShi’iteandSunnistudents.TheKASPwaslaunchedin2005asafive-year

initiative.Itwasreneweduntil2020andKingSalmanhaspledgedtocontinue

Abdullah’spoliciesbuttheinternaltensionbetweenthevoicesforreformandthe

powerfulreligiousconservativesremainanissue.

ScholarshipsaregiventoSaudimenandwomenwhowishtostudyatthelevelof

bachelor,masters,PhD,ormedicalfellowship.Womenarenearlyonequarterofthe

SaudiscurrentlystudyingintheU.S.Studentsareawardedscholarshipstostudyin

approvedcountriesandatapprovedschoolsbasedonthelevelofstudy.Aschool

mayonlybeapprovedforstudyattheundergraduatelevelandrequireaseparate

approvalforhigher-levelstudy.Theapprovedlistforscholarshipsispublished

annuallybytheMOHE.Theprocessforgettingontheapproved/recommendedlist

isnotmadepublicbutdoesconsiderregionalandprofessionalaccreditation,such

asbytheMiddleStatesAssociationofCollegesandSchoolsandtheAACSB,the

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AssociationtoAdvanceCollegiateBusinessSchoolsofBusiness.ESLprogramsmust

beaccreditedbyoneoffourprofessionallanguageassociations.Therearereports

thatthegovernmentmayplacelimitsonthelengthofstudyandwhichschoolsare

approvedinanefforttoreigninspending(Kottasova,2016)becauseofthecurrent

budgetcrisis.

TheKASPwasfirstinstitutedin2005forstudybeginningin2006.TheUnited

Stateswastheonlycountryapprovedforstudyin2006andAustralia,NewZealand,

China,andelevenotherAsiancountrieswereaddedin2007.Canadaandtwenty-

twoEuropeancountrieswereaddedin2008.TheMOHEremovedtheU.K.fromthe

approvedlistforscholarshipsin2009becauseitreachedthesaturationlevelfor

Saudistudents.TheKASPsponsorspreviouslyself-fundedstudentsinapproved

countries.SponsorshipforAustraliawasendedafteroneyearduetotheheavy

concentrationofSaudistudentsatspecificuniversities.Accordingtothe

government’swebsite,limitsareplacedonthepercentageofSaudiArabianscholars

atanygivenuniversityorESLprogramtoensurethattheconcentrationwillnotget

toolarge.ThegovernmentopenlystatesthatithopestoencourageSaudistudents

tointegrateintothelocalcommunityforthesocialexposureandacademicbenefits.

AccordingtotheSaudiArabiaCulturalMission(SACM)approvedareasofstudyare

degreeprogramsinmedicalandhealthsciences,engineering,business,science,

technology,andmath.Thelistofapprovedacademicdisciplinesforgraduate

studentsismoreextensive.

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StudentsregistertheirapplicationsontheMOHEwebsite.Onceapprovedthey

attendaninformationforumprovidingthemwithdetailsabouttheirrightsand

responsibilitiesintheprogramaswellaspreparatorysessionsonwhattoexpectin

theirdestinationcountry.Afterattendingtheforumanofficialcertificateof

academicacceptanceisissuedandthestudentcanapplyforastudentvisa.Oncethe

visaisgrantedthestudentreceivesanofficialdecreefromtheMOHEandthe

scholarshipisfundedandairlineticketsareprovided.

Thewifeofascholarshipstudentorcompanionofafemalestudentiseligibleto

studyEnglishoranotherlanguage,payableatthegovernment’sexpenseandsimply

withtheapprovaloftheculturalattachéattherelevantembassy.Thesecompanions

arealsoeligibletoapplyforscholarshipsoncetheysuccessfullycompletetheir

languagetraining.Itshouldbenotedthatthereisanincreaseofunaccompanied

femalesnowstudyingoutsidethecountry(Lebaron2013).

SupervisionofscholarshipstudentsisundertheauthorityofthevariousSaudi

culturalmissions(SACM).Thisincludesacademicsupervision,fundsdisbursement,

workingwithstudentsongainingfulladmissiontotheprogramsoftheirchoice,and

monitoringeachstudentonaregularbasis.TheSACMalsosupervisesstudentswho

studyinacountryattheirownexpense,maintainingarelationshipwiththemby

offeringroundtripairlineticketsbacktoSaudiArabiaandbonusesforoutstanding

academicperformance.Insomeinstances,thestudentmaybecomeeligiblefora

scholarship,evenifthecountryisnolongerontheapprovedlistforstudy.

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Applicationsarereviewedonanindividualbasis(SaudiArabianCulturalBureauin

Canada,2014).Acceptancetotheprogramisnotguaranteedbutapplicationsare

stillencouraged.

U.S.HigherEducationInstitutionsandSupportingIndustry

ThelistofinstitutionsofhigherlearningthatSaudistudentsattendcomprises

Englishlanguagelearningprograms,communitycolleges,four-yearcolleges,and

fulluniversitiesofferingadvancedlevelsofstudy.Theorganizationsthatactively

monitorandsupportstudentmobilityincludetheIIE,theInstituteforInternational

EducationandNAFSA,theNationalAssociationofForeignStudentAdvisors,aU.S.

basedorganizationthatpromotesstudyabroadandfacilitatesallaspectsof

internationalizationofhighereducation.Dataandanalysisaremadeavailableby

internationalpublicandprivateorganizationssuchastheOBHE,theObservatory

forBorderlessHigherEducation,theBrookingsInstitute,UNESCO,andotherU.N.

agencies.

U.S.HigherEducationInstitutions(HEIs)andtheSupportingIndustry

Motivations

TheeducationprovidersintheU.S.aremotivatedtoacceptforeignstudentsfor

manyreasons.Economically,asasupplierofhighereducation,theywanttoattract

foreignstudentsbecausetheygeneraterevenueandtheyprovideacriticalmassin

master’sdegreeanddoctoralprogramsindisciplinesthatdonotattractenoughU.S.

studentstoproceed.Theseareofteninprogramsthatcontributetoaschool’s

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internationalreputationandgeneratepatentableresearch.Manyuniversities

reportthattheseprogramswouldhavetobeeliminatedifnotforinternational

studentenrolment.EveningeneraleducationprogramstheU.S.hasthecapacityto

enrollmorestudentswithoutreducingthequalityoftheeducationorstudent

experience.

ThereisalsoanideologicalmotivationthatisbehindtheeffortsofHEIsandthe

supportingindustrytosupporttheincreaseinforeignstudentscomingtotheU.S.

Universitiesandcolleges(HEIs)supportstudentmobilityinordertoencouragethe

internationalizationofAmericanschoolsandstudents.HEIsseeeducationasa

publicgoodthatcreatesbetter-informedcitizensbothhereandabroad.Also,

exposuretostudentsfromforeigncountriesisbelievedtoenhancethelearning

experienceforU.S.studentsbecausetheyprovideotherperspectivesandexpose

Americanstudentstoculturesandbeliefsystemstheywouldotherwisenever

encounterupclose.Studyabroadandexposuretointernationalstudentsismore

highlyprizedthanever,andisnowbeingmandatedintopbusinessschools.

HEIsarepoliticallymotivatedtoseegovernmentpoliciesthatfacilitateforeign

studentscomingtotheU.S.Currently,thesupportingindustryisadvocatingfor

changestoU.S.immigrationpolicythatpreventsforeignstudentsfromstayingin

theU.S.oncetheycompletetheirstudies.Theyarguethatrestrictiveimmigration

policysendsmanyforeignstudentstoothercountriesthatofferopportunitiesfor

workexperienceandpossiblepathwaystocitizenship.Easingofvisarestrictionsto

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allowforeignstudentscompletingtheirstudiestheopportunitytostayandworkin

theU.S.isawaytoimproveU.S.competitiveadvantageinenticingtalentedstudents

andscholarstocometotheU.S.

HEIsandtheSupportingIndustryGoalsandMean

ThegoalofHEIstodayistoattractmoreforeignstudents,especiallyfromadiverse

groupofcountries.TheSaudistudentsareaparticularlyattractivepopulationsince

manyareprovidedfullscholarshipsbytheircountry.Anothermainadvantagefor

theU.S.isthatinternationalstudentscurrentlymakeuponlyfourpercentofthe

totalstudentpopulationwhereastheycompriseseventeenpercentofthestudent

populationintheU.K.andtwentytwopercentinAustralia.TheU.S.hasadequate

capacitytoabsorbanincreaseinthenumberofinternationalstudents.Also,since

China,India,andSouthKoreamakeupfortysixpercentofforeignstudent

enrolment,havingareliablesendingpartnersuchasSaudiArabiacouldprovide

significantcushionincasepoliticalrelationswithoneofthosecountriesdeteriorate

andtheirstudentsarenolongerwelcomeintheU.S.orchoosetostudyelsewhere.

HEIsintheU.S.haveadoptedtheSEVIScomputerizedsystemformonitoringforeign

studentswhoareattendingtheirschoolsasoneofthemeansforaccommodating

thegovernment’snewrulesforacceptingforeignstudents.Also,thesupporting

industryfunctionsasthemeansbywhichHEIsencourageandmanageagrowing

numberofinternationalstudentsintheU.S.TheissuesfacedbyHEIsandtheir

politicalconcernsareaidedbythesupportingindustryofhighlyprofessionalgroups

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thatpublishandanalyzedata,identifytrendsandissuesamongthestakeholders,

andadvocateforpolicychangestovariousgovernmentagenciestoincreasethe

numberofinternationalstudents.

InterviewFindingsofHEIs–EmergentConcerns

TheinterviewfindingswereanalyzedbyusingNvivosoftwaretosortandorganize

theresponsesintonodes.Thenodesrepresentspecificareasofcontentthatare

mentionedduringtheinterviewsandarebasedonindividualthemesortypesof

informationprovidedintheinterviews.Codingcanshowinterconnectionsbetween

eventsaswellastherelevanceoffactorsthatwerenotpreviouslyrecognized.Inthe

caseoftheinterviewdatafromthevariousHEIadministratorsthefollowingnodes

weremostprominent,basedonthefrequencyofthereferencesintheinterviews.

TheEffortsofSchoolscomprisesresponsesthatrelatetowhatactionsHEIsare

takingtofacilitateinternationalstudentssenseofwelcome,socialandcultural

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

EffortsofSchoolsKASP/SACM/Visas

Students'ExperiencesGroupInteractions

AcademicPrep/Plagiarism

ReferenceNodes

ReferenceNodes

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assimilation,andacademicsuccess.Itincludesstudentorientationandissues

relatedtocampusinternationalizationaswellasprogramsoreffortstoaddress

otherareasthathavebeencodedintoseparatenodes.Thosenodescontain

commentsandobservationsratherthandirectaction.Administratorsatvarious

HEIsofferedcommentsthatrelatedtotheireffortstoserveforeignstudentsmore

oftenthanallotherareasofdiscussion.TheKASPandSACMareinstitutionsthat

haveanimpactonthechoicesthatSaudistudentsmakeandinformtheeffortsthat

HEIsmaketowardensuringSaudistudentsremainincompliancewithvisa

requirements.Students’Experiencescontainsresponsesthatexplorethelived

experienceofSaudistudentsfromtheperspectiveofHEIofficialsandGroup

Interactionsincludeadministrators’viewsaboutbehaviorofSaudistudentsasa

singlecohortthatimpedestheirfullintegrationintocampuslife.Academic

preparednessandplagiarismemergedasamatterofconcernaboutSaudistudents’

abilitytomeettherigorsofU.S.highereducationandtheirunderstandingof

plagiarismanditsconsequences.

EffortsofSchools-StudentOrientationandInternationalization

Beyondvisacompliance,someschoolshaveestablishedextensiveprogramsto

provideorientationsandongoinghelptoforeignstudentstoensuretheirsuccess.

ForotherHEIs,theissuessurroundingintegrationandsocialadjustmentare

addressedonanadhocbasis.Orientationprogramsoftenconsistofaone-hour

sessiononmaintainingvisacompliance.Forafewschoolstheeffortsaremore

extensiveandcontinuethroughouttheyear.Itisunusualforaschooltodowhat

thislarge,flagshipcampusisdoingtosupportforeignstudents.

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“Ibelievewehaveoneofthebestorientationprogramsinthecountry.It’saweek-longconferencestyleorientationprogram,withalotofpre-orientationmodulesthatthestudentsgothroughandthenatorientationtheycomeinandstaywithustheentireweekandweofferthem,Icansharetheprogramwithyou,weofferthemsessionsonpayingbill,openingbankaccounts,culturaladjustments,opportunitiesforsocialinteraction,meetingthemoversandshakersoncampus.”Thedesiretoincreasethesizeoftheforeignstudentpopulationcomeswiththe

realitythatcertainpreparationsneedtobemade,andhopefullywillbeinplace

beforethestudentsarrive.Asuccessfulexperienceforthestudentswhocomefrom

overseasisimportanttoofficialsatHEIs.Schooladministratorsarebeginningto

recognizetheneedtoestablishprotocolsandmarshalresourcesneededforboththe

foreignstudentpopulationtohaveasuccessfulexperienceandthedomestic

studentstointeractmeaningfullyandlearnfromtheirforeigncounterparts.

“Wearelookingatstudentswhocomefromeducationalbackgroundsthatareverydifferentfromhere.Theydon’thavethecriticalthinkingskills.Inaplacelikeours,wearealmost150yearsold,ourfacultyintheschoolisusedtoteachingastudentfromarigoroushighschoolprogram.Thesestudentsoftenhavealanguageissueandabackgroundoftotalnon-involvementintheclassroom,wheretheyjustsitandlisten.Wewerefindingthattheyweresufferingacademically,whichaffectstheirentireexperience.”

“AsournumbersgrowwehavecreatedsomethingcalledtheglobalvillageoncampusandwiththepartnershipwithINTO.Itsnotjustaboutincreasingmarketingandrecruiting,thewholeteamisdedicatedtostudentsservices,andthatmeanseverythingthatmakessuretheyaresucceedingacademicallybutalsothatweareattemptingtostarttogetthedomesticpopulationtoparticipateandbecomeglobalcitizens.”

Levelsofcoordinationbetweentheschools’manydepartmentsarevaried.The

rangeofissuesisdiverse,someacademic,andsomehighlypersonal.Foreign

student’sneedsareoftenbestaddressedonanindividualbasis.Thesestudents

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requiremorethananinitialorientation;theyfaceongoingchallengesthatmany

administratorsaddresswiththem.HEIofficialsidentifiedproblemsthatwere

uniquetothispopulation.Forexample,inadditiontomeetingthestandards

imposedonthembySACM,Saudistudents,manywhotraveledtotheU.S.withtheir

families,neededhelpfindingdoctors,appropriatehousingfortheirfamiliesand

schoolsfortheirchildren,aswellastransportationsolutions.Administratorsfrom

schoolsatalllevelsnotedthatmanySaudisaremarriedorabitolderthanthe

generalpopulationsofinternationalstudents.Foreignstudentsfaceother

restrictionsthatcanimpedetheirprogressforpersonalreasons.

“Theirimmigrationstatusaffectstheirlivesinwaysthatyoudon’teverthinkabout.Justthefactthattheyhavetoberegisteredasfulltime,anAmericanstudentcandropaclassformanyreasons,beitamentalhealthissueorwhatnot.Theycan’tevertakethreecoursesinsteadoffour.“ “Wehavejustone,amaleSaudistartingaPh.D.inliterature.He’scomingherewithawifeandsixchildren….Whenhefirstcametotheofficehewasstruggling.HewasfirstinPhiladelphiaandwasinaneighborhoodthatwasn’tworking.Canyouimagedealingthatmanychildren?Theyareallalmostschoolageandthekidsarehavingadjustmentissues.”

Thereareschoolsthathaveembracedcomprehensiveinternationalizationor

createdinternalstructurestocoordinateresourcesacrosstheentirecampusthat

promoteglobalizationamongthestudentbodyandprograms.Likethepartnerships

somesmallerschoolsestablishedwithoutsideorganizations,theseeffortsare

aimedatincreasingthenumberofforeignstudentsandensuringtheyintegrateon

campusandhaveapositiveexperience.Theyarealsomeanttohelpdomestic

studentsbenefitfromtheirpresenceoncampus.Thisisnosmalltask.Yet,forthe

RutgersUniversityflagshipcampusinNewBrunswick,N.J.,itearnedtheprestigious

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SenatorPaulSimonAwardforCampusInternationalizationin2014.Theschool

establishedtheGAIACenterforGlobalAdvancementandInternationalAffairsfive

yearsagotobringtogetherallservicesrelatedtointernationalstudents,domestic

studentsstudyingabroad,creatingglobalprograms,andcentralizingscholarand

facultymobility.TheGAIAisthecenterforeverythingglobalandinternationalat

RutgersNewBrunswick.

Atotherschoolstheprocessofincreasinginternationalizationofthecampus

requiredpartnershipswithoutsideorganizationsthathadbothexpertiseand

resources.Onelargeprivateuniversityembracescomprehensive

internationalizationbyviewingalloftheirstudentsthesameinanefforttofully

integrateinternationalsintothestudentcommunity.Asoneadministratorsaid:

‘Wehavereallytriedtomainstreamandnotseparateourinternationalstudents.Wetakeasomewhatdifferentapproachthansomeotherschools.We’vemadeeverythinginternational.Throughoutourconversationsweevenseeourdomesticstudentsasinternational.We’vereallytriedtonotseparateandhavespecializedprogramsforinternationalstudents.”Often,havingforeignstudentslivewithpeoplewhoarenotfromtheirhomecountry

isusedasaprimarytooltoencourageintegration.

“Forusitisarealfocus,tobreakthemupawayfromtheirfellowcountrymen,becausetheyareheretolearnEnglish….Ifpossible,wetrynottoputstudentsfromthesamelanguagebackgroundinthesamehomestay,orinthesamedormroom.…Andthat’sforboththesocialandlanguagereason.” “Forallofourfreshmenyoucannotchoosewhoyouwanttolivewith.Withgeographicaldiversitythehopeisthatevery…wehaveabout21%ofinternationalfreshman,upfrom6%sevenyearsago.Noweveryroom,85%ofeveryfreshmanroomhasatleastoneinternationalstudentinit.”

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GroupInteractions-Integrationintothecampuscommunity

SaudistudentsarriveatHEIsinachainoffriendsandfamilymemberswhorelyon

eachotherassourcesofinformationandclustertogetherintightknitgroups.The

resultisthat,onceoneSaudistudentchoosesaprogram,manyfollow.Whilethey

areoftenatightknitgrouptheyfrequentlycomewithsufficientEnglishlanguage

skillstoallowthemtonavigatetheirtransitiontotheU.S.

“ThestudentsendupthisprogramfromotheroroftenthroughtheSaudiembassyorcontactsfromalumniorcurrentstudentswhoworkintheSaudiembassy.Wemustbeonalistsomewhere.Wedoattractquiteafewofthem.”

“WeareonthelistofapprovedschoolsforSACMandmostofthestudentswhocometousfromSACMareherebecausetheyhavefamilyhereintheNYarea,orhadfamilycomehere,orareinterestedintheNYarea.”

“Yes,oftentheycomehereafteracousindid.Weactuallyhaveseveralherenowwhoarecousins.I’mnotsureifinSaudiArabiathatactuallymeanstheyarecousins.” “Some[Saudistudents]havefriendsfromeverycountryandhangoutwithallothersbutmostSaudistendtosocializewithotherSaudis.Especiallythefemales,theytendtohangoutmainlywithotherSaudifemales.Butthat’snotahardrule,becausewehavesomethathavefriendsofallnationalities.” “Iwould[saytheSaudiStudentclubisaveryimportantsourceofinformationandemotionalsupportforSaudistudents.]”ManyschooladministratorsfelttheneedtoorganizemoreeventstohelpSaudi

studentsmeetandmakefriendswithAmericanstudents.Asthefollowing

statementsshow,therangeofeffortswasvariedbuttheconsensuswasthat

bringingtheSaudistudentpopulationintothewidercommunitywasanareaof

concern.

“Wedon’tdoanythingatallexcepttointroducethemtootherstudents.IdofindthatmostoftheSaudistudentsworkoutsidesotheycreateagroupwithinthemselvessotheytalktoeachother.”

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“Weencouragethemalltointegrateasmuchaspossible.Weadvertisedifferentactivitiesthataregoingonon-campusandweworkcloselywithourpartnersatthecollegetointegratestudentsonthecampus.WeworkwithCampusMinistrytopromotevolunteeringandwehavesomeacademicconnectionsatthecollegethathelpus,too.”

“Wehaveanofficeofstudentsupportservicesthatrunsprogramsthathelpstudentsintegrate,suchashavinginternationalweeksandmonths.Wedoattempttobringtogetherallofourstudents.”

“Sowestartwithorientation.That’simportantforus,pre-arrivalintoourorientationprogram.Thefriendshipprogramissortofourcontinuedprogrammingforthesemester,andthroughthatthere’sconversationhours,opportunitiestobringtogetherdomesticandinternationalstudents.There’saninternationalwomen’sgroupthatbringstogetherspousesandchildren.Thefriendshipprogramdoesalotofdifferentthings;holidaydinners,addressstudentissuesduringschoolbreaksandthingslikethat.”

“Wejustsetupagroupofinternationalambassadorsthatarecomingearlytothecampus.TheyarecomingearlyandsomeareAmerican,someareinternational.Theirjobwillbetointegratealltheforeignstudentsintootherareasoftheuniversity.”

SACM,theKASP,andVisaCompliance

Theattitudesaboutinternationalizationandtheapproachestomanagingissues

concerningforeignstudentsvaryfromoneschooltoanother.Ingeneral,the

school’sadmissionsdepartmentsengageinrecruitingandmarketingtoforeign

students.Onceforeignstudentshavebeenacceptedtheadmissionsdepartments

havenofurthercontactwiththem.AllHEIshaveanOfficeofInternationalStudent

Services(OISS)thatmanagesvisacompliance,withlittletimeforanythingelse.The

needsofSaudistudentsaregreaterthanothersbecausetheOISSmustinteract

regularlywiththeSaudiArabianCulturalMission(SACM)inFairfax,Virginia.SACM

administerstheKingAbdullahScholarshipProgram(KASP)andmaintainsstrict

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rulesonstudentacademicperformanceandreportingrequirements.Helping

studentsstayincompliancewithU.S.governmentvisarequirementsisapriorityfor

theOISS.ForSaudistudentsitgoesbeyondtheOISSandoftenrequiresextensive

effortsonthepartoftheindividualprogramdirectors.Commentsfrom

administratorsatvariousschoolshighlighttheeffortsrequiredtokeepSaudi

students’documentationinorderwithboththeU.S.governmentandSACM:

“Ihavetowritelettersallthetime…Iamwritingquiteafewletterstothebodythatisfundingthem….Sometimesattheendofeachsemesteroryear,dependingonthestudentandhowcloseoftabsthegovernmentsarekeepingonthem,Ihavetowritedowntheactualcoursestheytook.Theywanttomakesurethecourseshelpthemwithwhytheyareeducatingthem.”

“Idosendareport[toSACM]everysession.Wehavefour-weeksessions.Ishowupdatestotheiradvisorsabouttheirgrades,whopassesandtheirattendance.Igivenotessuchasthestudentisdoingverywell,thestudentisonacademicprobation,andthissortofthing.”

“Oncetheygetthevisaandcomeheretheyareallours.Allthetrafficinthis officeisbasedonthat….Theimmigrationpieceisaverynichearea,that legalareawherewenotonlyhavetohelpstudentsmaintaintheirstatuswe havetomaintaininstitutionalcompliance.Thegovernmentputsalotof responsibilityontheinstitutionitself.” “WearesuperluckybecauseJandherdepartmentareincredible.Shewill,ifsheseesastudent’svisaisgoingtobeheadedtowardtrouble,andthestudentisn’tresponding,shewillsay[tome]“Getthatstudentinmyofficenow.”Because,oftenifyouarehavingtroublewithyourvisa,youhavetogotoyourhomecountrytoresolveit.Moststudentsdon’twanttodothat.”

AcademicConcerns

Englishlanguagetrainingisofferedinseveraldifferentsettingsandwithdifferent

levelsofemphasisonacademicpreparation.Someprogramsarelocateddirectlyon

collegecampusesandofferstudentstheabilitytointegratewithotherstudentswho

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arethereasregulardegreeseekingstudents.Someoftheselanguageprogramshave

strongacademiccomponentsthataredesignedtopreparestudentsforcollegelevel

work.Some,suchasthespecializedprogramatBoroughofManhattanCommunity

College,havebeendevelopedforstudentswhohavebeenacceptedtotheschoolbut

havebeenreferredtotheprogrambyacademicadvisorsforintensivelanguageand

academicskillstraining.ThisdiffersfromallotherESLprogramsbecauseitis

specificallyavailableonlytoacceptedstudents,notjustpeoplewhowanttolearn

theEnglishlanguage.

Interviewswithschooladministratorspointedtoacademicpreparationforcollege

levelstudyandcombattingincidentsofplagiarismasmajorareasofconcern.These

commentscomefromadministratorsappliedtoSaudistudentsatalltypesof

schools:

“Inourprogram,wetrytogetthemtotakeourEnglishwritingcourse,whichisonlyaoneandahalfcreditsbutitdoesgototheelectives…Themaster’sorPh.D’swhocomeherearenotpreparedforcourseswiththatmuchheavyreadingandwriting.IfIseeoneofthosestudents,andIgenerallyonlyneedoneortwomeetingswiththem,Iwilltellthem‘donottakethatclass.’” “WeabsolutelyseethisasaproblemnotonlyfromAsianstudents,whoarefamousfortherotelearningbutalsofromtheformerSovietcountriesandMiddleEasterncountries.Languagelearningisabituniqueinthatinordertoproduceideasyouneedtolearnthelanguagetoexpressthoseideas.” “Soacademicintegritybecomesabigthing[forstudentswhocomefromcountrieswhereeducationisbasedonrotememorizationandwithheavyemphasisonIslamicstudies.]”

Almostuniversally,schooladministratorsspokeabouttheneedtoprovidetraining

forunderstandingandavoidingplagiarism.Theseriousnessoftheproblemshould

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notbeunderestimated.Plagiarismisacauseofextensiveconcernforprogram

directorsandforeignstudentswhohaveexperiencedsetbacksbecauseofit.

Commentsfromadministratorsatalltypesofprograms,fromEnglishlanguage

learningtoashighasPh.D.levelshowedthisisacommonconcern.

“Yes,inmanycountries,includingSaudiArabiaplagiarismisacceptableanditgetsthemintoanawfullotoftrouble.Wetrywhentheyfirstgetheretoeducatethemaboutitbutwehavelotsoftroubleexplainingwhatthisisandtheconsequencesoftheiractions,whattheyarerisking.Wetrytogothatextramiletoeducatethemandacceptthattherearedifferentactivitiesthere.” “Wehaveaverystrictcodeaboutplagiarism.Ourteacherswillusedifferentonlineprogramstoseetheyarenotplagiarizing.Ithappenssometimesandthestudentfails.Wehaveanacademicorientation[atthebeginningofeachfourweekmodule]whereouracademicsupervisortalksaboutwhatconstitutesplagiarismandthestudentstypicallywouldhavesomesortofplagiarismexposuretowhatisandisn’tplagiarismintheirwritingclasses,aswell.” “Thoseareallareas[academicintegrityandplagiarism]wehavebeenworkingveryhardon.Itisahugecomponentofourorientation.”

CulturalSensitivity

EvenculturalsensitivitybecameanimportantpointofdiscussionforHEIsthatwere

increasingtheirpopulationofinternationalstudents.

“Andallofthisdidcomeoutofit.Partofoureffortstoalleviatesomeofthesesituationshavebeentodeveloptrainingprogramsforstaff.TherearedefinitelysomestaffthatarenottrainedtobeculturallysensitiveMaybeyoujustneedtobetteralignpeoplewiththeneedsofthestudents.Ithastobecomepartofyourjobexpectations.Sowehavehadinternationalstudentsfaceissueswithadministratorsorfacultyandsometimesitwaslanguage.” “Andthestaffhasgottogetusedtoteachingsomanydifferenttypesofstudents.”

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MeasuringSuccess

MeasuringsuccessinoneareawheremanyHEIsarenotwellorganized.TheEnglish

languageprogramsusepassingtheTOEFLorotherinternallydesignedlanguage

testsasonemeasureandsomeeventrackcollegeacceptancesandgraduationrates.

Universitiesdonotseemtohaveonemeasurementtodeterminehowsuccessfully

theymeettheneedsofforeignstudents,howwelltheyintegrateoncampus,andthe

impacttheymakeonU.S.students.RutgersUniversitydoesundertakeextensive

assessment,bothselfdirectedandbyusingoutsideanagency.Thereisaclearneed

forschoolstotrackattitudesandknowledgeofincomingdomesticstudentsand

againwhenthesestudentsaregraduatingtoevaluatewhatimpactforeignstudents

hadonthem.Ifthestatedgoalofbringingmoreforeignstudentstocampusisto

helpdomesticstudentsbuildtheirinterpersonalskillsandbecomemorecompetent

globalthinkersthenthisisanimportantsteptotake.Thesecommentsreflectthe

rangeoftheattitudesabouthowHEIsmeasuretheirsuccessinservinginternational

students.

“Someareacademicallyboundandsomearegeneral.Sotheirultimategoalsdeterminethatbutonemeasureis,iftheyareacademicallybound,dotheymatriculateintoauniversity?”

“TheSaudiswhofinishourprogramdosucceed.Andourprogramisnotparticularlyeasy.Thereare12levels.Thehighestthreelevelsaretough.Iftheycangetthroughthoselevelstheyarepreparedtodoundergraduatework.ThereisalotofsuccesswiththeSaudiswhocompleteourprogram.”

“Wearedefinitelyattemptingto–that’sthebeautyofthisprogram,thepartnershipwithINTO….retentionisreallyimportantandthatiswhatofferingtheseservicesisabout.Ourgraduationratesareimprovingfromtheseprograms.”

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“Wewantallourstudentstoleavehereasglobalcitizens,whateverthatmeans.Butitmeansalot.”

“Thegoalforinternationalaswellasdomesticstudentsistobuildcompetenciesthatareneededtosurviveintheworldandtogainthisacademicexperienceanddegree.”

“Wehavetoundertakeaqualitativeandquantitativeapproachtomeasuringsuccess.Partofthemeasureablestrategieshasbeentoinviteanoutsidesurveyandsurveytheentirecampus,whichwedidforthefirsttimelastyear.…Thatkindofalargermeasureisbeingundertakenbycentraladministrationandbeingverywellsupported.Thesethingscostalotofmoney.”

Conclusion

Inconclusion,asnotedbytheIndianblogger,Gyanoprobha,thereiswidespread

variationinthemeaningoftheterminternationalismwhenitisappliedto

education.Thewritersettledonadefinitionthat“internationalismasanideologyof

educationinnoneotherthattheattempttounderstandandbuildbridgeswith

peoplewhoaredifferentfromwhatweare.“(Gyanoprobha2005).Whilethe

broadestliteraturefromthewebsitesoftheHEIspresentsasimilarview,the

executionofthevisionisrarelydoneonacoordinatedbasiswithinanyone

institution.Hence,thepeoplewhoactuallyserveinternationalstudentsareoften

notawareoftheothereffortsoccurringintheschoolandarerarelyabletoaccessor

recommendexistingprogramsthatmighthelpanindividualinternationalstudent.

TheexceptiontothiscaseistheGAIACenteratRutgersUniversity,eventhoughthe

administratorattheprogramadmittedtheyconstantlyworktogetthemessageout

withinthelargercollegecommunityabouttheirexistenceandcoordinateservices

amongthehundredsofschoolsanddepartmentswithintheuniversity.Formost

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HEIs,supportsforforeignstudentsoftencomedirectlyfromtheprogramsthey

attendandareincomplete.Theireffortsatfullintegrationofinternationalstudents

arehaphazard.Noschool-widesystemforevaluatinghowwellU.S.studentslearn

abouttheirforeignclassmateswasevidentformostHEIs.Thelong-termbenefitsof

havingforeignstudentsoncampusareimplied,butnotclearlyshown.

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ChapterSix:FindingsonSaudiStudents

StudentsinSaudiArabiaareincreasinglychoosingtopursuehigherdegreesboth

insidethecountryandbygoingabroad.Totalenrolmentinhighereducationinthe

countryrosefrom404,000in2000tooveronemillionin2012(SaudiMinistryof

HigherEducation).TheKASPsupportsSaudistudentswhoarepursuingdegrees

outsideofthecountryasdetailedinTable15.

Table15:KASPStudents,NumberofStudentsvis-à-viscategory,2011

Level Men Women Total Percentage

Bachelor 64,109 11,156 75,265 53

Master 17,579 13,455 31,104 22

Doctorate 5,028 2,760 7,788 6

Fellowship 1,996 772 2,768 2

Other 6,541 3,349 9,890 7

Total 95,253 31,492 126,745 90

Accompanying

Personnel

StudyingLanguage

14,478 10

Total

141,223 100

Source:SaudiArabiaMOHE‘TheCurrentStatusofHigherEducationintheKingdom

ofSaudiArabia,2013”

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TheUndocumentedElementsoftheIncreaseinSaudiStudentsAttending

SchoolsintheU.S.

TherapidincreaseinthenumberofSaudistudentscomingtotheU.S.forhigher

educationsuggestedtheneedforthisstudy.Thereislittleornoinformationabout

theSaudistudentswhochoosetoattendHEIsintheUnitedStates,beyondbasic

geographicaldestinationsandlevelsofstudy.Thereisnoresearchthatspecifically

addresseswhytheychoosetostudyabroad,whytheychoosetheU.S.ingreater

proportionthanotherdestinations,howtheychoosetheschooltheyattend,and

whathappenstothemoncetheycometotheU.S.Forexample,importantquestions

ariseaboutwhethertheirattitudesandvalueshavechangeastheyspendyearsin

theU.S.Also,whatproblemsdotheyfaceasforeignstudentsfromaconservative

Muslimcountry?

Saudistudents’behaviorisinclearcontrasttotheglobaltrendsininternational

studentmobility.TheU.S.andSaudigovernmentssharethegeneralassumptions

thathighereducationwillimprovetheirnation’seconomicoutputandexposureto

foreignstudentswillhelpdevelopinterculturalskillsthatcanencouragedeeper

politicalandeconomicengagement.TheU.S.governmentsupportstheSaudi’s

desiretostrengthenitspeople’srelationshipwiththeU.S.byincreasedexposureto

U.S.customsandvalues.TheSaudigovernmentprovidesfinancialsupportfor

studentstogoabroadtoalonglistofcountries,notjusttheU.S.Thesupportive

attitudeandactionsofthegovernmentspartiallyexplainstheattendanceofSaudi

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studentsatHEIsintheU.S.butthisstudyprovidesinformationaboutSaudi

students’personalmotivations,experiences,andattitudestowardculturaland

socialchange.

InterviewFindingsforStudentsfromSaudiArabia

TherehavebeennopreviousstudiesofSaudistudentsusingthetheoretical

frameworkappliedtootherpopulationsofstudentschoosingtoattendcollegeor

studyabroad.Semi-structuredinterviewsofstudentsfromSaudiArabiaattending

HEIsintheUnitedStateswereconductedaccordingtothetheoreticalframework

outlinedinChapter3(Figure7,p.94)andbasedontheliteratureexaminingcurrent

andhistoricalfactorsthatmightinformSaudistudents’choices.

TheinterviewfindingsforSaudistudentswereanalyzedbyusingNvivosoftwareto

coordinatetheresponsesbasedonindividualthemesandtypesofinformation

provided.Theinterviewquestionswerebasedonthetheoreticalmodeltoexamine

pushandpullfactorsthatwouldresultinSaudistudentschoosingtostudyinthe

U.S.andtochooseaspecificinstitution.Thefollowingnodesweremostprominent,

basedonthefrequencyofthereferencesintheinterviews.

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TheKASP,SACM,andVisasareapushfactorforSaudistudents.Thisnodecontained

responsesthatidentifiedtheimpactthattheseinstitutionshadonSaudistudents’

choicesaswellastheeaseofobtainingvisastostudyintheU.S.WhytheU.S.and

thisSchoolshowedthepullfactorsthatdrewSaudistudentstotheU.S.including

theirdesireforabettereducationthanavailableinSaudiArabia,theirbeliefabout

thesuperiorityofU.S.highereducation,andotherfactorsthatinformedtheir

individualschoolchoice.SocialNetworkscontainsresponsesthatidentifytherole

thatfamilyandfriendsofSaudistudentsplayinprovidinginformationandsupport

networks.Thesenetworksalsoserveasapullfactorforstudentswhocometothe

U.S.andchooseaspecificschool.SocialandCulturalCapitalencompassbothpush

andpullfactorsthatconcernstudents’expectations,parentalsupport,andprevious

exposuretotheWest.GlobalNormscontainsresponsesaboutSaudistudents’

personalexperiencesencounteringpeoplefromotherracesandreconcilingtheir

conservativevalueswithwesternnorms.SaudiIdentityandImageemergedasarea

wherestudentsreflectedculturalprideandconcernsaboutmisconceptionstheyfelt

mostAmericanshadaboutSaudiArabiaandtheMiddleEast.

0% 5% 10% 15% 20%

GlobalNorms

SocialandCulturalCapital

WhytheUSandthis

SaudiIdentityandImage

KASP/SACM/Visas

SocialNetworks

ReferenceNodesSaudiStudents

ReferenceNodesSaudiStudents

167

RoleoftheSaudiGovernment,theKASPandSACMInterviewingSaudistudentsshowedseveralimportantfinding.TheSaudi

government’sinfluenceonthestudents’decisiontostudyabroadandwhereto

studywassignificant.MoststudentsidentifiedthefundingfromtheKASPasthe

reasontheystudiedabroadorchosetheschooltheyattended.TheKASPpays

tuitionandfeesateachschooltheSaudistudentsattendbuteachstudentreceives

thesamelivingstipend,nomatterwheretheygo.Studentsfrequentlyreportedthat

findingaschoolinaplacetheycouldaffordtoliveinformedtheirchoicesofwhere

toattendschoolintheU.S.Itwasevenreflectedintheirchoiceofwhichcountryto

attendschoolin.

“Actually,atthattimeIdidn’tevenconsiderstudyingabroadbutwhenIlearnedabouttheprogramIrealizedthiswasmychance.Itwasallaboutthemoney.Iwantedtostudyinabettercollegeandabetterplaceandabettereducationalenvironmentbutitwasthemoneythathelpedme.”

“Thenamebrandrecognitionwaspartofit.GoingtoJohnsHopkinswaspartlyaboutthenamebutIalsowouldn’thavechosenthatschoolifIwasnotonthescholarship.TherewasnowayIcouldhaveaffordedthetuitionorbeenabletomovetoBaltimore.TheKASPplayedintomywillingnesstogotoanamebrandschool.”

“MostofSaudisdon’twantacrowdedcitysomanySaudisareinIndianaandMississippi.ThesmallcitiesandcheapcitiesarebestforSaudis.”

“TheygetabudgetsothestudentswhocomeheretoNewYorktendtohavespecificreasonsbecauseitisexpensive.IusedtohavethesamepositioninRuston,Louisiana,affiliatedwithLouisianaTech.ItwasfarcheaperthanNYCandthatwasaprettypopulartypeofplacethatSaudistudentswentto.” “SACMmakeeverythingeasyforus.TheygiveuscoursesforGREandtheygiveusafinancialmoneyfordoingTOEFL,“Why?”theywantusgotobestuniversityinUnitedStates.TheywantMIT,Hartford[Harvard].”

168

SACMplayedaroleformanystudentsinchoosingaschooliftheydidnotalready

haveinformationaboutaspecificschoolorcontactsintheU.S.directingtheir

choices.Studentsreportedtheychosespecificmajorsinordertoqualifyfora

scholarship.Also,manySaudisreportedthatthelimitsplacedbySACMonthe

numberofSaudistudentsatanyoneschoolresultedinthemchoosinganotherHEI

toattend.

“ThereisawebsitefromSACMtheytoldyouhowmanyELSisopening,letyougothere.ThethingisthetimeIchooseIfindalmostallofthemisfull.IhavethreechoicesandoneofthemisthisbecausethereisroomandIcanapplyhere.OtherwisecanIwaitanothersixmonthforotherstofinish.” “ThecounselorattheculturalmissionhehelpedmetogetintoWeberStateUniversityinUtah.Thatwaseasyforhim,orforthemtogivemeanadmission.BecauseIdidn’tknowwheretogo.Formyself,IappliedtoLouisianaandFlorida.IhadadmissionfromFloridaandLouisianabuthegavemeadmissioninUtahandtheytoldmeit’sprobablycheaperforyouifyougothere.“ “IknewwhatIwantedtostudybecausetheKASPatthetimewaslimitedto10differentmajors.IchoseprelawastheirdesignforwhatIwantedtostudy.”

ObtainingVisasMostalsofoundthatobtainingavisatotheU.S.wasnotasignificantobstacleto

comingtotheU.S.oncetheywereacceptedtoaschool.

“No,Ittooklessthanoneday.AllSACMstudentsgotvisalikethis(snappingfingers.)Thevisadidn’ttakealotbecauseIcomewith58SACMstudentswhocameonthesamedayIcome.WhenalotofstudentsfromSACMtheymakeiteasyforus.” “Itwasn’thardbutittakeslotsofsteps,especiallyafter9/11.Butwehadthreeembassiesandevenonlytwolocationsofthethreeforvisainterviews.Ihadtotraveltothecapitalcityandstayforthreenights.” “IknowtheUSvisaprocesswasveryeasybecausetheschooldideverythingforyou.AllIhadtodowasgototheembassy.Thevisaprocessisbarelyamemory.IjustremembersomeonetellingmetoneverlosetheI-?Idon’tevenrememberwhatitiscalled.Irememberbeingtoldtoneverloseitorgooutwithoutit.”

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ExpectancyTheory–WhyTheU.S.

Expectancytheoryiscommonlyusedtoexplorethechoicetoattendcollege.

Expectancytheorystatesthatanindividualwillbemotivatedtoexerteffortortake

ariskbasedontheperceivedvalueoftheexperience(VroomV.H.,1982).Ithas

beenusedtounderstandthemotivationbehindselectedbehaviorofindividualsand

hasbeenappliedtoU.S.students’willingnesstostudyabroad.Expectancytheory

closelyalignswithmanystudiesaboutstudentcollegechoicethatexamine

socioeconomicandpersonalcharacteristicsassociatedwithattendingcollege.This

theoreticalapplicationwasappropriateforexaminingthemotivationofSaudi

studentstochooseaschoolintheUnitedStatesandshowedthatSaudistudents

perceivedthevalueofattendingandHEIintheU.S.tohavesubstantialbenefits.

TherewaswidespreadbeliefamongtheSaudistudentsthattheywouldgetabetter

educationintheU.S.thaniftheyattendedauniversityinSaudiArabia.Subjects

wereavailableintheU.S.thattheycouldnotstudyinSaudiandtheoverallqualityof

theteachingwasacommonconcern.Studentsalsovoicedpositiveopinionsabout

schoolsinothercountriesliketheU.K.,Canada,andAustralia.Currentlyschoolsin

theU.K.andAustraliaarenolongerontheKSAPapprovallistsincereaching

saturationlevelsimposedbytheprogram.

“IthinkwesterndegreeshavemoreweightbutIthinkthethereisahierarchy.DegreesfromtheU.S.,Canada,andtheU.K.areonpar.” “It’samajorofcomputerscience.SecurityisalsoamajorandIhavethechoiceofthosetwothings.Inmycountrywedon’thavethismajor.ThisisonereasonIchoosetheUnitedStates.”

170

“HereeducationisconsideredstrongeducationcomparedtoSaudiArabiaandtheteachershavealotofknowledgeandtheygraduatefromfamousuniversityandwhenyoureturnbacktoouruniversitywhereIstudymyteacherarefromIndiaandtheydon’tordidn’tspeakEnglishverywellsosometimeIcan’tunderstandthemandtheycan’tgiveyouthepointtheywantyoutoknow.Hereforme,Ireallyunderstandeverysinglethingtheyteachme.” “IalsowantedtheU.S.becauseIwenttoothercountries.IdecidetheU.S.wasmuchbetter.IwenttoMalaysiaandIwenttoLondon.WhenIsawtheirsystemandwhenIsawtheU.S.IimmediatelymadeupmymindtocometotheU.S.” “MostofSaudiswhodecidetogetabachelor’sdegreethey’dlookintostudyinginanothercountrybecausethehighereducationinSaudiArabiaisnotwellorganized.It’skindofmessedupabit.Theprofessorsarecorruptedandstuff.”

“MostprofessorsinSauditaketheireducationfromtheU.S.soIhavetogototheU.S.togetmyeducation,too.MostoftheSaudiprofessorwenttotheU.S.,orU.K.,orAustralia.”AllSaudistudentshadhighexpectationsabouttheirfutureemploymentprospects.

ManysaidtheywouldliketostayintheU.S.andworkforsometimeafter

completingtheirstudies.Thiswasunexpected,asitwaspreviouslybelievedthat

Saudistudentsimmediatelyreturnedhomeoncetheyearnedtheirdegrees.

“IwanttogobacktoSaudibutIwanttostayfirstanddotheOPTprogram.It’sonetotwoyearsbecauseitgiveyouabetterchanceforajobinSaudi.”

“Iwillgototheuniversity.Iwanttoteachattheuniversityandbeaprofessor.That’swhyI’minterestedineducation.” “IwouldlovetostayandworkheresoI’mgoingtoworktowardthat.” “LongtermI’dratherworkforaninternationalentitylikethesecretariatsideoftheUN.I’mintheprocessoftryingtogetajobattheWorldBankbuttheyhaveamillionrounds,soI’monroundnumberfour.”

171

SocialandCulturalCapital,SocialNetworks

SocialcapitaltheoryisusefulinexplainingthemechanismofchoiceforSaudi

studentsandprovidedvaluableinsightintohowbesttorecruitthem.Socialcapital

isdefinedas“anindividual’saccesstoinformation,resourcesandsupport,acquired

throughparticipation,orinteractionwithotherswhoparticipate,insocialnetworks

orstuctures.”(Salisbury,etal.2009,p.123).Socialcapitaltheorypredictsthat

familysupportandextra-familialnetworksplayaroleinstudentmobility(Portes,

1998).Socialcapitalworkstofostersocial,political,andeconomicintegrationfor

peopleandiswidelyassociatedwithimmigrantcommunitiesandmigrationissues

(Schultheis2009;Cheong,etal.2007).Saudistudentsarerelyingheavilyoninput

fromfamilymembersorotheracquaintenceswhoarestudyingabroadassourcesof

informationandassupportsystemsinchoosingwheretostudy.

MarketingtechniquesusedbyHEIsdidnotplayalargeroleininfluencingthe

studentsinterviewed.Thatmaybebecausethesearerelativelyneweffortsonthe

partofschoolstoincreasethenumberofSaudistudentsenrolledintheir

institutions.ManySaudistudentsusedtheInternettogetinformationaboutschools

butfamilyandsocialnetworksalsoplayedimportantroleinchoosingwhereto

study.Saudistudentsreliedonparentalmoralsupporttomakethedecisiontostudy

abroadaswellasnetworksoffriendsandfamilytoprovidethemwithinformation

andothersupportwhentheycametotheU.S.Oftenonepersoncameand

establishedalongnetworkofsiblingsandcousinswhothencametotheU.S.

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“ImentionedthatmyfatherhadgonetoschoolinDCandwehadfamilyinthearea...ThesecondfactorwasaverynearanddearfamilyfriendwhoIconsidertobelikeanuncle.HewenttoAmericanandotherfamilyfriendswentthereforbothundergraduateandlawschool.Theyendedupwritingalumnilettersofrecommendationforme.” “Yes,mygrandparentsarebothherewhichiswhy,whenwecametotheUSwecamehere.IdidmyundergraduateinthisareaandcamebacktodomyPh.D.inthisareabecauseIwantedtobenearfamily.Andonthethemeoffamilialconnections,I’vehadfourofmysecondcousinscometoSeattletostudy,atSeattleUniv.andsomeofthecommunitycollegesaroundherebecauseweareherefromSaudiArabia.”

“Yes,Ihavetwofriends.OneinNewJersey,well,nearbyNJinDelaware.HesuggestedIcomeoverhere.Wegotalmostthesamedegree[inSaudiArabia]andhecomeherebeforeme.” “Myfirstlandedwasasadnessstory.Ididn’thaveanyhotelbooking.Ididn’tbookhotelanddidn’thaveaplacetogoandwhenIcameheretoaskabouthomestayorsomeplacetogotheysayyouhavetoorderfromthewebsite.WhenIcallmyfriendfromNewJerseyhebookahotelformefortwoorthreenightuntilIfindanapartment.AndIdo,Ifind.” “Yes,becauseIhavesomefriendsthatwenttoschoolherebeforeme.WhenwefinishedhighschoolandtheytoldmeallabouttheUS,Iwasworkingforanoilcompany.IdecidedwhenIhadachancetogobacktoschoolIknewIwantedtogototheUS.” “Ididn’tknowanybodythere[WeberStateCollegeinSaltLakeCity,Utah].Iwentthereforatwo-yeardegreeandtransferred.”[Butlaterhisyoungerbrothersandcousinsallattendedthesameschool.] “Yeah,Ihavetwobrotherswhoalreadyfinished.TheywentbackandnowIalsohavetwoinMissouri.” “ButoneofmyuncleshewenttoStanfordandgraduatedfromStanford.HegotaPh.D.andthenhemarriedanAmericanwomanandhelivedintheUSfor10yearsorsomethingsohewashelpingmeintheprocessofthepapersandhewasencouragingme,andmyfather,too.ThenIcametostudy.”Levelsofparentaleducationdifferedbuteachpersonansweredintheaffirmative

thattheirparentsweresupportiveoftheirdecisiontocometotheU.S.forhigher

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education,evenproud.ItisclearthateducationisapriorityforSaudifamilies,even

iftheyremaininSaudi.Almosteveryoneinterviewedhadsiblingsthatwere

attendinguniversityathomeorintheU.S.

“Myfatherwasverysupportiveandmymotherwaslikesometime“Don’tgo,Iwantyouhere,Ineedyouhere.”ButIwaslike,“Comeon,itisonlyoneyearmaybethreeyear.” “Yes,they[threebrothers,threesisters]went[touniversity],theyfinishedabachelor’sinSaudi.” “MyparentswereverysupportivebuttherestofthefamilyfeltI’dbetaintedifIwentalone.ButIwaslikeIdon’tcareandmyparentsdidn’tcare.”

Intermsofotherformsofculturalcapital,thereisnoclearpatternofprevious

languageabilityorexposuretoAmericansorWesternersamongthestudents

interviewed.SomeofthestudentshadlivedintheU.S.aschildrenwhiletheirown

parentsearneddegreesfromU.S.schools.OtherSaudistudentshadnevertraveled

outsideofthecountry.Someknewwesternersfromtheirworkplacebutothershad

almostnopriorexposuretoanyonewhowasnotSaudi.Also,havingEnglish

languageskillswasoccasionallyadecidingfactorbutthedesiretoimprovetheir

languageskillswasoftenaprimaryincentivetostudyintheU.S.

“MydadhadgonetoschoolatGWandIgrewupgoingtoDCsoIalwayswantedtogotoschoolthere.Itmadeiteasierbecausefamilywasinthearea.” “IwentuntilsecondgradetoschoolinSaudiandthenhighschool.EverythingelsewastheU.S.” “No,mymomwashereonscholarshipbutmyparentssaidthey’dfigureoutawaytopayforitifIendedupgettingintoaplacelikeHarvard.Formethen,it[KASP]wasn’taninfluence.[My]parentsarebotheducated.[My]fatherhashisPh.D.ineconomicsfromClarkUniversity.He’saprofessorinRiyadhandhe’sgotacolumnthathewritesaboutcultureandeconomics.Mymomisawebdeveloperforafinancetypecompany.”

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“…HesaidcompaniesandgovernmenttheypreferthepeoplewhograduatefromU.S.universityratherthanSaudiuniversitybecausetheyknowhowtospeakEnglishandwritinginEnglishbetterthanSaudiuniversitygraduate.” “Englishnowinmycountryisasecondlanguagethatisimportant.” “AtthattimeIthoughtthatitwasallabouttheU.S.orU.K.andalsoCanadaandAustralia,allplacestocompare.Ichosethose4countriesbecausetheyallspeakEnglishandIalreadyhavegoodEnglishsoIamnotgoingtospendawholeyearstudyinganotherlanguage.Iwantedtogorightaway.IdecidedtogotoacountrywheretheyteachclassesinEnglish.”

HumanCapitalHumancapitaltheorysuggeststhateducationandtrainingprogramswill

strengthentheaggregateskills,knowledgeandproductivecapacityofpeopleand

contributetoeconomicgrowth(Al-Yahya,2010).Itisaneoclassicaleconomic

approachtodevelopinganation’shumanresourcesthatisbeingembraced

worldwide.EvidencesuggestsitmaybeamotivatingfactorforSaudistudents

choosingschoolsintheU.S.ratherthaninothercountriesorinSaudiArabiabut

thereisnoconfirmationthatSaudistudentsareseekingeducationintheU.S.rather

thaninanothercountryasawaytobuildtheirownproductivecapacity.Yet,Saudi

studentsreportedunexpectedintellectualgrowthasaresultoftheU.S.systemof

highereducation’sliberalartsfoundation.

Studentsprovidedenthusiasticfeedbacktoquestionsabouttheliberalartsclasses,

orgeneraleducationcoursesastheSaudistudentsconsistentlycalledthem,that

theywererequiredtotake.Nearlyeverystudentsawthemasapositiveexperience

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thatopenedthemtonewideasand,inmanycases,ledthemtochangetheircourse

ofstudyorpursueaminorinafieldtheyhadneverpreviouslystudied.

“Yes,Itooksocialwork.Ilikedit,itwasoneofthegeneralrequirements,butitwaslike,wow,interesting….Itwasanopeneyesthingforme.” “Yes,ItookpoliticalscienceandIreallylikedit.Ididnothavetotakesomanybecausetheywouldnotbecountedtomydegree.IhadtotakeEnglishcompositionforwritinganditwasreallyfun.Wehadtoreadlotsofinterestingarticleaboutcultureandstuffandwritesomekindofopinions.” “IjustknowasmallknowledgeabouteverysubjectsoeverytimeItakeasubjectIgetveryinterestedandIreadmoreaboutit.Idon’tremembertakinganycourseIeverregretted.“

“Yes,IthinktheSaudigovernmentrealizesthatbuttheycan’tputtheirfingeronit.ForSaudi,theyknowthatcomingfromaU.S.schoolovercomingfromallotherschools,itisveryprestigious.Idon’tthinktheycantellyouthatit’sbecauseoftheliberalartsbuttheyfeelthatpeoplecomingfromU.S.schoolsaresomehowmoreabletosucceedintheworkplaceandyourperceptionaboutthemisthattheywillbemoreabletosucceed.Butit’snotbecausetheyunderstandit’sbecauseoftheliberalarts.Theydon’tknowwhatitis.” “WeneededtotakegeneraleducationcreditsandItookapoliticalscienceclassbecauseIhadtoandendedupgettingadualdegreeinitbecauseIfoundthingslikeinternationalrelationstobesointeresting.SoIthoughtwhynot?I’lljustgetadualdegree.”

StudentsasConsumers,WhyThisSchoolStudentswereawareofinternationalrankingsandfeltthatattendingaschoolinthe

U.S.thatwaswellknowninSaudiArabiawasimportant.Increasingly,theyseethe

nameoftheschoolasmattering,exceptatthePh.D.level.Adoctoratedegreeis

respectedfromeveryschool.Thisattituderegardingaschool’sinternational

rankingandreputationwasvoicedbynewerstudentsandmayreflectamaturingof

theSaudisunderstandingofeducationintheU.S.,suchasthenotionthatthequality

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ofeducationmaydifferbetweenschools.Also,asotherSaudishavereturnedhome

aftercompletingtheirstudiesintheU.S.theyhavebecomemembersoftheworking

establishmentwhoarebetterabletoevaluatedegreesfromvariousschoolsinthe

U.S.

“Before20yearsold[ago],10yearsago,thethingyouaretalkingaboutisreal.AnycertificationfromtheUSisabigmatter.ButnowmostofthebossesarestudyingintheUnitedStatesandtheyknowthebestcollegesandimaginewhattheydoifIcometothemwithHartford[Harvard]certification.Whatyouwilldo?AndmostofthemhavefromnotbignamecollegesandIhaveHartford[Harvard]whoshouldIhire?” “Yes,[IwantVirginia]becausetheGeorgetownhavegoodreputationandalotoffamouspeoplefromthisschool.[I]wanttogothereandthebusinesslawisagoodmajorcomparinganotheruniversity.Businesslawisstrong.” “”Yes,rankingsareimportanttome.Yes,beforeIcameIlooked[online]fortop100ratings,alsoShanghairankings.” “FirstIcheckedtheuniversitiesthatwereapprovedthanIwenttoGoogleandthenIwenttoUSNewsRankingtoseetherankingfortheschooltogetinformationaboutacceptancechancesandgetinformationabouttheschoolsandgetreviews.” “IwasintheinternationalprogramatHarvardandwemaketheseT-shirtsfortheHarvard-Yalegameandwemadeshirtsthatsaid“InmycountrynoonehasevenheardofYale.”ButinSauditheyknowHarvardisoneofthebestschoolsinthecountry.” “WhentheydoalotofhiringintheMiddleEastalotisbasedontheuniversitywhereyouwent,notnecessarilyqualifications.Theydon’tlookindepthattheresume.IalsowantedtobeabletoworkintheUSsoIknewthatareputableuniversitywithstrongcredentialswoulddothat.”

AttitudesabouttheU.S.ManystudentscametotheUnitedStatesastheirfirstchoicebecausetheyfeltan

affinitywithAmericancultureandbecausetheywantedtoliveandstudyina

countrywhereEnglishwastheprimarylanguage.That’susefultoknowsincemany

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othercountriesareestablishingprogramsthataretaughtinEnglishbutthe

country’sprimarylanguageissomethingelse.Saudistudentsfrequentlyidentified

strongEnglishlanguageskillsasanimportantbenefittotheircareerbackinSaudi.

ItisunclearifSaudistudentswouldhavepreferredschoolintheU.K.Many

studentsnotedthattheU.K.wasmuchclosertoSaudiArabiathantheU.S.butithas

longbeenoffthelistofcountriesavailabletoKASPstudents.Itisunclearhowmany

wouldhavechosenitovertheU.S.giventhepositiveviewmanyexpressedaboutlife

intheU.S.andtheiroverallexperienceatU.S.schools.

“SinceIwasyoungitwasalwaysmydreamtocometotheUS.IalwayswatchmoviesabouttheU.S.andevenlistentosongs.EvenJohnnyCash,Ilistentohim.Ilikethelifehere.” “IonlythoughtaboutU.K.orU.S.buttheKASPwon’tsendmethere.“

“Butintermsofacademics,whenyoulookatworlduniversityrankingstheU.S.dominatesthehighereducationalmarketbecauseitispartoftheserviceeconomyandnotanationalrightlikeitisinSaudiArabia.” “TheU.S.hasaculturalhegemony.EvenSaudiswhoneverleavethecountrywatchAmericanTVshows.Wedon’twatchFrenchmoviesandAustralianTVshows.Despitethefactthatit’snotlikethemoviesit’smorefamiliarthangoingtoNewZealand.IdoubtmanySaudisevenknowwhereNewZealandis.”

“Itisonlyfivehours.NomoreBritishbecauseitalreadyhasalotofstudents.IdidstillwanttocometotheU.S.”ManySaudistudentshadgoodknowledgeoftheU.S.systemofgovernmentand

favorableopinionsaboutdemocracy.Insomecasestheirknowledgewas

sophisticatedandthelanguagewasnuanced.

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“Thesocietyislookingfor,andthewholeworldislookingfordemocracy.ButIunderstooddemocracywhenIcamehere.I’mnotsureI–IhaveapositiveopinionbutIdon’tlikethetwopartydemocracy.Ilikethemultiplepartydemocracy.” “ButIthinkitispositive.FromwhatIunderstoodaboutdemocracyit’sacertainfreedom.” “Ithinkit’s[democracy]alotbetter,actually.IkindoflikepoliticsandIfollowitandfromwhatI’vefollowedbackinSaudiArabiaorhereoreveninChinafromwhatIseeSaudiArabiaandChinahavealotalikeintermsofpoliticalsystem.Thegovernmentdoesn’tlikepeopletoaccesscertainthingssotheyjustblockitormakeitafelony.Forexample,ifsomeonewanttocriticizesomethinggoingoninthecountryinthenewspaperhecannotdoitorhewillgotoprisonandbeinlotsoftrouble.Ifhejustgoesinthestreetandshoutsorchantsweshouldhavedemocracyhewillgotojailforlife.Andthat’sinbothSaudiArabiaandinChina.ThosekindsofthingsIdon’tthinkitisfair.”

“Iguess[myunderstandingofdemocracy]hasgottenmoresophisticated.IseethewayAmericandemocracyworksandtherearelotsofproblemswithit.IthinktheU.S.wouldliketoseeblanketdemocracybutitdoesn’tworkwelleverywhere.Thereisafantasylandabouthowyoucanpushdemocracy.I’dcallitthebiglieorthefallacyofthebigpushthatwearegoingintoprovidethem[IraqandAfghanistan]withdemocracy.” “Yes,andcomparedtoChina,inSaudiyoucanopenupandlookatFacebook.Saudidoesn’tcareaboutwhatyouaregoingtosayunlessyoudon’tmakeanynoisethatisgoingtohurtthegovernment.Soyoucanotherwisedowhateveryouwant[inSaudiArabia.]”

ExperiencesintheU.S.Notsurprisingly,allSaudistudentsfeltthattheirunderstandingoftheU.S.wasvery

differentthanwhentheyfirstcametothecountry.Manyexpressedconcernsabout

Islam-phobiabutfewweredirectlyimpactedbyit.Theywereconcernedthat

certainstereotypicalimagesofSaudimenandwomenwouldresultinpeoplebeing

unfriendlyorgrosslymisinformed.Insomecasestheydidfindthepreconceived

notionsaboutSaudis,mainlyaspresentedinthemedia,tobeupsettingtothem.Yet,

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theoverallexperiencewhenfirstarrivingintheU.S.wascultureshock.Forsomeof

theSaudis,theirownpreconceivednotionsweretested,aswell.

“Idothinkthatwhatyoulearninbooksisverynarrow.AndbecausetheMiddleEastissoprominentinthenewsisbecauseofISISandAlQaedaandallthewars.Butyoudon’tseeanythingelse.Likeyousaidbefore,meetingpeopleandgettingtoknowthemchangesyourperceptionsaboutthem.ThemediahelpscreatethisIslam-phobicfervorthatiswaymorepresentthanitwasevensevenyearsago,whichwaswaycloserto9/11.Inoticeitmuchmore.IthinkthatISISisapartofitandpeoplenowthinkIamdifferent.Thereareallthesepeoplethatdon’tknowhowdifferentwearecomparedtohowweareportrayed.EspeciallytheimagesofSaudiwomen.IwantallthesefeministstomeetSaudiwomen,onlybecauseIthinkthatalotoftimes,they’llwanttolookatwomenintheMiddleEastandthinkabouthowhorriblethingsareforthem.” “100%.Igotacultureshock.ImagineIdidn’twentoutside[ofSaudiArabia.]IsawpicturebeforeIcomebutitwasreally,youknow,unusualforme.InNewYorkalotoftechnologyandstuff.Ididn’tknowaboutit.FirstdayIrentacarfromtheairportandtheruleofthedrivinghereistotallydifferentfromhome.Eventheparking.Ican’tparkinginfrontoftheredthingforwater[firehydrant]andIdidn’tknow.OrIhavetogotoalotofspaceandIgotaspace.Igotaticket.” “Someofthem[people]sounexpected.Youthinkhewillrejectyoubutwhenyoucometohimandaskhimhe’ssofriendlyandwelcoming.Manypersonhavedifferentpersonality.Forme,inmyopinion,theblackpeopletheysoamazing.ImeantheysofriendlyandtheysmileandImean,hecouldtakemetohotel.Hesaidgotothere,gotothere,andhetellmetotakethistrain,nothistrain.” “FormeIspent24yearsoldandIdidn’tsawanySaudigaybeforeinmywholelife.NotopenlygaysoIhavenoinformationaboutthis.” “Ithinkso[myunderstandingoftheU.S.isdifferentfromwhenIfirstcame.]ThemediawastheprimarysourceofwhatIknewoftheU.S.beforeIcamehere.ThemediaisnotreallyprotheUS.Likeeverything–whatisagainstpro—thecons,andthepeopledoesn’tliketheU.S.ordoesn’tlikethepolitics,themediawastheprimarysource.” “Ididnotfeelunwelcome.Someofmyfriendsareimmigrants,someareAmerican,someareSaudilikemewhowanttogobackhome.”

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Itwassurprisingtohearthattherighttoopenlycriticizethegovernmentwas

somethingthatyoungerSaudisstruggledtoaccept.Thesecommentscamefrom

youngSaudiswhohavebeenintheU.S.forashorttime.Theyreflectdeeply

traditionalnotionsofrespectforauthoritythatmaynotbeasevidentamongolder

studentsorthosewhospendmoretimeoutsideofthecountry.

“Alittlebit,[itwasasurprisetohearpeoplespeakingcriticallyofthepresident]Iknewthat,Ididnotknowthatthereisalmostnolimitationofwhatifyouwanttotalkabout.IthoughtthereissomekindofboundariesthatyoucannotgobeyondbutIrealizedthatanyonecansayorcriticizeandmakefunofwhateveryouwantaboutanyone.” “OnethingIdon’tlikeaboutdemocracyisitcannothavelikelines.Youknowsometimesyougottohavesomelinesnottocross,likeforexample,whenthefellowordaughterispastageofeighteen,notallofthembutinmostcasestheytalkrudetotheirparents.” “IsitgoodthatAmericanshavesomuchfreedomtosaythings?IthinkitisbadandIthinkpeopleshouldnotbeabletosaysomanythings.”(TranslatedbyanotherSaudimalestudent.)

SaudistudentsreportthatAmericansareoftenpoorlyinformedaboutSaudiArabia

andtheMiddleEast.MostSaudistudentswantedtoeducatepeopleaboutSaudi

Arabia.ManyfeltsomeirritationwhenotherswerecriticalofSaudiArabia.Oneof

thestatedgoalsoftheKASPistoreintroduceAmericanstoSaudisinamorepositive

lightaftertheeventsof9/11.ThereisnomistakingtheSaudigovernments

intentionsofhavingtheKASPadministeredbytheCulturalMission.Saudistudents

arehereasculturalambassadorsfortheircountry.MostSaudistudentsseethat

thereislittleclearunderstandingaboutSaudiArabiaamongtheirfellowstudents.

“Alotofforeignstudenthere,whenItellthemIamfromSaudiArabia,theystartaskingaboutlocallifethereandwhyyoucanmarryfourwomeninsteadofone,andwhyordoyoustillrideacameltogotowork.TheyconsiderSaudiArabia

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likedesert,likewhattheyrecordinginthemoviesandpeoplearenotmodern.Buttheyaremoderninsomecities,theyhaveafancycar,theyhavesamethingsasyou,theyareeatingMountainHouse.”

“Yet,itisbutnotonlyaboutSaudiArabiabutabouttheentireregion.InthemediathereisaconstantproblemaboutbeingsobiasedagainsttheMiddleEast.So,unfortunately,thosearethekindofarticlesyoufindonMSNorAOLorCNN,youknow.Theyareaboutthewomanwhogetarrestedfordrivingbuttheydon’tlookintootherthingslikecharityortheimportanceofcommunityortheengagementwithothers,andtheculture,likeschoolsandinstitutionstohelparoundtheworld.” “ItsurprisedmethatsomanyAmericansthinkthatIslamisallaboutjihadandterrorism.WhenithappenedinNewYork,Ididn’tblamepeopleforthinkingthat,butnowIcanknowwhatisgoingoninChinaandIcanknowwhatisgoingoninSouthAmerica.” “WhenpeoplemeetmetheyarealwayssayingthattheyaresurprisedIwaswearingaskirtornotcoveringmyhair.Peoplearealwayssayingtheyexpectedmetobedifferent.Theysaytheyexpectedmetohavetheseothercharacteristics.Isay,“Well,youhaven’tmetanySaudiwomen.”Theyallhavepersonalities,andeveniftheycover,it’sachoiceandtheyaren’tthisoppressedgroup.” “Ifeelsobad[thatAmericansdon'tknowaboutSaudiArabia.]Mostpeoplethinkyouareoilyourself.OneguyaskedmeifIhadanoilcompany.Isaid“Ohyeah,Ihaveanoilpipethatcomesrightintomyroom.AndIhaveoilonmyhandsallthetime.”Andwelaughedaboutitbutthefirstthingtheyhaveonlytheirmindistwothings:oiloraboutthebadside,terrorismandjihadis.EspeciallysincethereweresomanySaudisontheairplaneson9/11.” “Democracyandhumanrights,andthingslikethat,IdefinitelythinkIseethemasareaswherethingscanbeimprovedinbothcountries.IactuallygetupsetwhenpeoplecriticizeSaudiArabiaintermsofhumanrightsbecauseItrytoshowthemhowmuchworseitwouldbetoliveundertheTaliban.Thereisaconstitution(notreally)butadocumentthatenshrinespeoples’rights,butItrytomakepoliticalargumentsthatway.ButIfeelIhadtheright,asaSauditocriticize.I’dbeoffendedwhenpeopleoutsidetherealmwouldcriticize.”

ChangingAttitudesandViewpointsaboutGlobalNorms

Attendingschoolwithbothmenandwomenfromawiderangeofethnicand

religiousbackgroundswasaneyeopeningexperiencefortheSaudisbuttheyall

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reportedbecomingmorecomfortablewiththisandidentifiedthemselvesasmore

tolerantnowthanbeforetheycamehere.ManySaudishadlittleornoexposureto

non-MuslimsbeforecomingtotheU.S.Theirinteractionswithothersleftthemwith

lessfear,deeperunderstandingofthemeaningofhumanrights,andgreater

understandingofotherpeople.Exposuretoothersdidincreasetoleranceinthose

studentswhowereinterviewed.Manyfacedsituationswheretheyhadtomakea

personaldecisionabouthowtoreact.Mostchosetowatchandlearnarerefrain

fromjudgingotherswhentheybehavedinwaysthatwereanomaloustoSaudi

culturalexpectations.

ThisresearchattemptstofindacorrelationbetweenbeingaSaudistudentinthe

U.S.andchangesintheirattitudesaboutglobalnormsonhumanrightsandcreating

alesstraditionalsocietyathome.Saudistudentsagreedthatlawspreventing

discriminationwerenecessaryfordefendedhumanrights,someofwhichthey

didn’thaveintheirowncountry.Whileitisunlikelythatlivingandstudyinginthe

U.S.willturnthesepeopleintodemocracyactivistsoncetheyreturntoSaudiArabia,

mostgiveunguardedopinionsaboutthevalueofafreepressandfreedomof

speech,aswellasamoreequalsocietyformenandwomen.MostSaudistudentsare

comfortablewithsocietychangingtoallowgreaterfreedomforpeople,although

howthatwillbemanifestedorhowthatchangewilloccurwasleftunspoken.

“Somepeopleinmycountrysaiddon’tgo.Ifyouseeblackpeopletheyaredrugdealeranddon’tgotothem.Anddon’tmakefriendwiththembecausemaybetheydosomethingtoyou–especiallyyouarefromMiddleEast.Isayok,I’llfollowyoursuggestingandwhenIcamehereitwasn’ttrue.”

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“Someofthem[myviews]arechanging,someofthemwerestraightandtotallychange–imaginewithmesomeonewhodidn’teversaworinteractwithawomanbefore.Andsuddenlyhewillstudywithawomananddoinghomeworkwithapartner….Youhavetochange.Someofthemchangingandwhenhereturnback[toSaudiArabia]hewanttoreturnbacktoUnitedStates.” “Yeah,especiallythehumanrightsissue.Ilookatsomeofthesubjectsyoumentioned[samesexmarriage,issuesrelatingtoreligiousfreedom,freespeechandafreepress]andthehumanrightsissues,Iaminfavororthem,inanywaywithoutlimitingpeople,withoutthespecificsofthesubject,ifithastodowithraceorgenderorotherthings.Butit’sadifficultsubjecttotalkabout,especiallywhensocietyisveryhomogenous.”

“Backhomewedon’thavethisvariety[ofpeople]butIammoretolerantofdifferentpeoplethanbefore.Athomealmost90%ofthepeopleareMuslims.Andeveniftheyaregayorsomethingtheywillnotshowit.” “Livinghereandbeingpartofacommunitythatisverydiverse,I’msureI’mmoretolerantthanwhenIfirstgothere.” “Yes,Ithinkit’schangingafterallthestudyabroadbutalsothingsinSaudiarechanging.Theyusedtothinkthathavinggoodrelationshipswitheverybodywasthebestidea.Youkeepthemfromcriticizingyourdomesticpolicybykeepinggoodeconomicrelations,sellingthemoil,givingallthischarity.Withtheotherhandtheyarepushingtheirpopulationdownandnoonesaysanything.Globalizationisexpandingandnowpeopleknowwhatishappening.” “Oncetheygetoveryournotdrinkingandtheyrealizeyouaren’tjudgingthemfordrinkingitisokay.Butthehookupculturewasalsoveryjarringtome.Iwaslikewhatishappening?Whatisthis?NowIjustseeitasteenagebehavior.”

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Chapter7:SurveyResults

Thepurposeofthischapteristoexaminethefindingsofthesurveyinrelationtothe

researchquestions,explorethefindingsaboutSaudistudents’experiencesattheir

schools,andmakecomparisonsbetweengroupsofstudentshereandinSaudi

Arabia.Thechapterwillbeginwithadescriptionofthesamplepopulationtoshow

thatitisanadequaterepresentationofSaudistudentsintheU.S.anddatato

addressthekeyfindingspresentedintheresearchquestions.Thecomparisonofthe

opinionsofSaudistudentsintheU.S.incontrasttoSaudiswhodidnotleaveSaudi

Arabiaforhighereducationisoneoftheoriginalintentionsofthisresearch.

KeyFindings

ThissectionwillshowthekeyfindingsofthesurveyadministeredtoSaudistudents

intheU.S.astheyrelatetotheresearchquestionsandhypothesisstatedinChapter

4.Itwillbeginwithadiscussionofthesurveypopulationtohelpdevelopapicture

ofwhotheyare.Thepicturepresentedisasamplepopulationthatclosely

resemblesthepopulationasdescribedinSaudigovernmentpublications.The

studentsreportthattheKASPwastheprimaryreasontheychosetostudyoutsideof

thecountryandthatthemajorityreceivedfundingthroughthegovernment.Very

fewstudentstravelledtotheU.S.beforecomingheretostudyandparental

educationlevels,aproxyforotherSESvariables(McDonough1997)indicatea

broadrangeofeducationalattainmentbytheparentsofstudents.Thiscoincides

withtheSaudigovernment’seffortstoprovidescholarshipstostudentsallacross

thecountryandespeciallyinpreviouslyunderservedareas.

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TheSurveyPopulation

Therewere262completedyielding205usablesurveysofSaudistudentsattending

HEIsacrosstheUnitedStates.Completedsurveyswereincludedonlyifthe

participantwasaSaudinationalorcitizen.Saudistudentswerecontactedbyemail,

Facebook,andTwitter.Theratioofmaletofemalecorrespondstothenumbersof

SaudistudentsstudyingundertheKASPasreportedbytheSaudiMinistryofHigher

Education(SaudiArabianMinistryofHgherEducation,2013).Accordingtothe

Saudigovernment,womencompriseapproximately25%ofallstudentsobtaining

highereducationoutsidethecountry.Inaddition,respondentsarestudyingfor

degreesinsimilarproportionstoallKASPstudents(SaudiArabianMinistryof

HgherEducation,2013).Thegenderofthesurveyrespondentsanddegreestheyare

seekingareshowninFigures8and9.

Figure8:GenderofRespondents Figure9:DegreesRespondentsare CurrentlySeeking

MaleRespondents 148 72%FemaleRespondents57 28%Total 205 100%

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Figure9showsDegreesRespondentsareCurrentlySeeking.Thissurveysample

comparespartiallywithallstudentsstudyingabroad.AccordingtotheMinistryof

HigherEducation38%ofallSaudistudentsstudyingabroadareseekingBachelor’s

degrees,44%Master’sDegrees,and8%Ph.D.

AreyoucurrentlystudyingintheU.S.aspartoftheKingAbdullahScholarshipProgram?Answer

Response %Yes

145 71%No,butIwasinthepast.

14 7%

No,IwasneverpartoftheKASP.

46 22%

Total 205 100%AccordingtotheMOHE,asof2013theKASPwasfunding76%ofallSaudistudents

studyingabroadwhiletheremaining24%wereself-fundedorgovernment

employees.Thesurveysamplehasasimilarprofile.

WouldyouhavestudiedoutsideofSaudiArabiawithouttheKASP?Answer

Response %Yes

59 29%No

106 52%N/A,IdidnotparticipateintheKASP.

40 20%

Total 205 100%

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Figure10:TotalNumberofYearsRespondentslivedintheU.S.

Figure11:PreviousNumberofTimesintheU.S.BeforeComingforHigher

Education

Legend:Never75%,

1-2times16%,

3timesormore9%

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Figure12:Father’sHighestLevel Figure13:Mother’sHighestLevel ofEducation ofEducation

KeyFindingsforResearchQuestionOne:Howcantheincreaseinthenumber

ofSaudistudentscomingtotheU.S.forhighereducationbeexplained?

SaudistudentshavebeenchoosingtoattendHEIsintheUnitedStatesatafaster

ratethananyothercountry.Theliteratureandinterviewresultshelpedclarifythe

researchquestionsandhypothesesthatexplainthisphenomenon.Thesurvey

resultsforH1–H3areconsideredhere.

H1:SaudistudentsareinfluencedintheirchoicetostudyintheUnitedStatesbythe

availabilityofscholarshipsfromthegovernmentofSaudiArabiaandthe

accessibilityofstudentvisastotheUnitedStates.

Thesurveyresultssupportbothelementsofthishypothesis.Policiesofboththe

SaudiandUnitedStatesgovernmentsareinfluencingSaudistudents’decisionto

cometotheU.S.topursuehighereducation.

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TheavailabilityofscholarshipsinformedSaudistudentchoiceaboutwhereto

attendcollege.Morethanjustchoosingthecountry,thescholarshipprogramsalso

influencedwhichschoolsstudentschosetoattendduetotheavailabilityoffunding

toHEIsontheSACMapprovedlistandthecostoflivingassociatedwithdifferent

areasoftheU.S.

50% Respondentschosetheircurrentschoolbecauseofthescholarship

program.BeingontheSACMapprovedlistwasthemostfrequentreason

citedforwhystudentschosetheircurrentschool.

52% ReportedtheywouldnothavestudiedoutsideofSaudiArabiawithoutthe

KASP.

34% Agreed/stronglyagreedtheywouldhavechosenadifferentschoolorone

inadifferentcountryexceptfortherestrictionsofthescholarship

program.36%disagreed/stronglydisagreedthattheywouldhavepicked

adifferentschoolorcountrytoattenduniversity,indicatingthatonly1in

3hadadecidedpreferencefortheU.S.ortheHEItheyattended.

11% Citedalowercostoflivinginaplaceasoneofthereasonstheychoseto

attendschoolthere.TheKASPgiveseachstudentasetamountforliving

expensesandimpactedwhereintheU.S.somestudentschosetoattend

university.

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GettingavisatostudyintheUnitedStateswasnotanobstacleforSaudistudents.

• 69%agreed/stronglyagreedthatgettingavisatostudyintheU.S.waseasy

withonly12%disagreeing/stronglydisagreeing.

ThisresultcomplieswithfindingsabouttheU.S.government’sactionstoestablish

SEVIPandothereffortstofacilitateandsupportSaudistudents’attendanceatHEIs

inthecountry.SEVIS,theStudentExchangeandVisitorInformationSystem,was

implementedin2005toaddressthevisabacklogforforeignstudentsattending

HEIsintheU.S.thatresultedfromtheeventsof9/11/01.From2001to2005Saudi

studentsexperienceda75%dropinvisaapprovals.AccordingtotheU.S.

DepartmentofState,sincetheimplementationoftheSEVIScomputerizedsystem,

therehasbeenanearly15-foldincreaseinthenumberofF-1visasapprovalsfor

SaudistudentsstudyingintheU.S.

H2:SaudistudentsperceivethathighereducationintheUnitedStatesisbetterthan

inothercountries.

Surveyresultssupportthishypothesis.TheUnitedStatesishometomoretoprated

universitiesandcollegesthananyothercountryandhasacompetitiveadvantagein

highereducation.

• 67%ofSaudistudentsagreed/stronglyagreedtothestatement“higher

educationintheU.S.isbetterthaninothercountries.”

191

• Whenaskedtochoosefromalistofreasonsstudentswereattractedtoa

school,33%chose“AdegreefromaU.S.schoolwouldbebetterthanadegree

fromaschoolinanothercountry.”

•

H3:SaudistudentsperceivethatadegreefromaU.S.schoolwillenhancetheir

employmentprospectsbetterthanadegreefromaschoolinSaudiArabia.

SurveyresultssupportthishypothesisandshowSaudistudentsfrequentlyseek

educationintheU.S.asawaytoimprovetheirjobprospectswhentheyreturn

home.Inaddition,thesurveyresultsidentifythatSaudistudentsoverwhelmingly

feltthatEnglishlanguageabilitieswouldenhancetheircareerprospects.Thismay

alsosupportSaudistudentchoicetoattendHEIsintheU.S.,asanEnglishspeaking

country,despitemanyotherschoolsincountriesontheSACMapprovallistoffering

degreestaughtinEnglish.

23% Said“adegreefromthisschoolwillhelpmegetabetterjobthangoingtoa

universityinSaudiArabia”asareasontheywereattractedtotheircurrent

school.

68% Agreed/stronglyagreedthattheywereconfidentthattheywouldgetajob

aftercompletingtheirstudies.Interestingly,nearly25%responded

neitheragreenordisagree,whichmaybeareflectionofthedramatic

downturnintheiremploymentprospectsgiventhecurrenteconomic

developmentsinSaudiArabia.

192

95% Agreed/stronglyagreedthatstrongEnglishlanguageskillswouldbean

importantbenefittotheircareer.Thisdatacorrespondstointerview

findingsthatSaudistudentswerechoosingtheU.S.becausetheyfeltthat

theywouldbecomebetterspeakersiftheylivedandwenttoschoolina

countrywhereEnglishwastheprimarylanguage.

KeyFindingsforResearchQuestionTwo:Whataretheexpectedoutcomesof

thisresearch?

Theexpectedoutcomesofthisresearchweretoprovideinformationaboutthe

motivationsofSaudistudentstostudyintheU.S.,theirsourcesofinformation,the

challengestheyfacedasstudentsintheU.S.,andtheirattitudesabouttheU.S.and

othersocialandculturalissues.Thesurveyfindingsofferedsomeconfirmationof

expectedoutcomesbutinmanycaseshighlightedotherfactorsthatstudents

reportedassignificant.Hypotheses4and5relatetomotivationsandmechanismsof

choiceofSaudistudents.

H4:Saudistudents’primarysourceofinformationaboutwheretostudyintheU.S.

isfamilyandsocialnetworks.

Thesurveyresultsdonotfullysupportthisstatement.Whilesocialnetworkswere

importanttheywerenottheprimarysourceofinformationforstudents.Figure14

identifiessurveyresultsforwhereSaudistudentsgottheirinformationabout

schoolstheyappliedtointheUnitedStates:

193

Figure14:SaudiStudents’SourcesofInformation

• SaudistudentschosetheInternetandsocialmedia51%ofthetimeand

friendsandfamilyandsocialnetworksonly44%ofthetime.

• StudentsreliedonadvisorsfromSACM15%ofthetimeandalumnifrom

schools14%ofthetime.

• Studentsinfrequentlyusedothersources,mainlyrecruitmenteffortsby

HEIs.

H5:Saudistudentsareinfluencedintheirchoicebyaschool’sreputation,rankings,

orhowwellknownitisinSaudiArabia.

Thishypothesisissupportedbutotherfactorsalsomatteredinstudent’choice

aboutwheretoattendschool.Figure15identifiesthefactorsthatattractedthemto

theschooltheycurrentlyattend.

194

Figure15:WhatAttractedStudentstoTheirCurrentSchool

• InnearlyequalmeasureSaudistudentsidentifiedschoolranking(34%)and

havingheardorreadpositivethingsaboutaschool(36%)asreasonsthey

wereattractedtotheschooltheycurrentlyattend.

• Only11%wereattractedtoaschoolbecauseitwaswellknowninSaudi

Arabiayetinanotherquestion61%agreed/stronglyagreedthatemployers

inSaudiArabiacareaboutwhichschoolyouattended.

• 19%chosetheschooltheycurrentlyattendbecauseithasamajortheycould

notfindinSaudiArabia.

195

• Oneofthemoresurprisingfindingstothesurveywasthat36%ofSaudi

studentschosetheschooltheycurrentlyattendbecausetheyfelttheycould

beacademicallysuccessfulthere.Thiswastiedforthesecondmostchosen

responsetofactorsthatattractedstudentstotheschooltheycurrently

attend,justbehindbeingontheSACMapprovedlist.So,whilerankingand

reputationareimportant,Saudistudentsweremoreconcernedwiththeir

academicsuccesswhenconsideringwheretoattendcollegeintheU.S.

• 53%agreed/stronglyagreedthattheydidnotconsidersomeschools

becausetheyreadorheardnegativethingsaboutthem.

• Hypothesis6–8considerchangesinhowSaudistudentsfeelaboutthe

UnitedStatesandchangesinculturalviewssincestudyingintheU.S.

H6:SaudistudentshaveamorefavorableopinionoftheU.S.thanwhentheylivedin

SaudiArabia.

SurveyresultssupportthehypothesisthattheirtimeintheU.S.hasimprovedtheir

opinionofthecountry.

• 60%agree/stronglyagreethattheyhaveamorefavorableopinionoftheU.S.

nowthanwhentheylivedinSaudiArabia.

• 9%disagreed/stronglydisagreedthattheyexperiencedachangeinopinion.

StudentsfromSaudiArabiadonothavefreeandopenaccesstoinformation

abouttheworldoutsideoftheircountry.Interviewsidentifiedthatmany

196

SaudistudentsalreadyhadapositivepredispositiontowardtheU.S.despite

havinglimitedexposuretoAmericancitizensandAmericanculture.

•

H7:Saudistudentsbecamemoretolerantofpeoplefromotherculturesand

religionsafterlivingintheUnitedStates.

Resultsofthesurveysupportthishypothesis.Saudistudentsdonothavethesame

opportunitiesathometoliveandattendschoolwithadiversecommunityofpeople.

Theyoverwhelminglyreportthattheyaremoretolerantofothersafterlivinginthe

U.S.

• 88%agree/stronglyagreedthatmeetingdifferentpeoplesuchasAsians,

African-Americans,Christians,andJewsmadethemmoretolerantandopen

toothercultures.

• 44%agree/stronglyagreedthattheyoftenfeltthatpeoplewere

uncomfortableordidnotlikethembecausetheywereSaudiorMuslim.

SaudinationalsenjoyahighdegreeofprivilegeintheircountryandIslamis

theonlyreligionlegallyallowed.Itmaybeanunusualexperienceforthemto

personallyexperienceintoleranceandrelatestothefindingthat86%ofthe

Saudissurveyedagreed/stronglyagreedthatmoststudentsattheirschool

knewtoolittleaboutSaudiArabiaortheMiddleEast.

• 85%agreed/stronglyagreedthatlawsforbiddingdiscriminationbasedon

thesefactorswereimportantforprotectinghumanrights.Thisisindirect

contrastwithlawsinSaudiArabiaandmayprovidethebasisforchangein

197

thefutureforhowthecountryresolvesitsnon-adherencetoglobalsocial

normsasrecognizedbytheUNHDR.

198

H8:SaudistudentsagreethatchanginggenderrolesofmenandwomeninSaudi

Arabiaarepartofapositiveglobaltrendtowardincreasedgenderequality.

Surveyresultssupportthishypothesisacrossseveralmeasures.Thereisevidence

supportingthedesireforgreatergenderequalityinSaudiArabia.

64% Agreed/stronglyagreedthattheysawchanginggenderrolesofmenand

womeninSaudiArabiaaspartofapositiveglobaltrend.

83% Agreed/stronglyagreedthatencouragingSaudiwomentoattendcollege

andjointheworkforceisgoodfortheSaudieconomy.

65% Agreed/stronglyagreedthatbothahusbandandwifeshouldcontribute

tothehouseholdincome.Only12%disagreed/stronglydisagreed.

35% Agreed/stronglyagreedthatallowingwomentoworkunderminedtheir

religioustraditionswhile14%disagreedand33%stronglydisagreedfor

atotal47%inoppositiontothestatement.

FindingsonSaudiStudents’ExperiencesattheirCurrentSchool

ThisresearchexaminedSaudistudents’experiencesontheircampusesfromtheir

perspective.AnalysisoftheinterviewswithadministratorsatHEIsidentifiedthe

effortsmadebyschoolsasthemostprominentnode,orareaofdiscussion.This

nodeincludedcommentarybyHEIsregardingtheireffortstofacilitateasenseof

199

welcome,assimilation,andacademicsuccessamongtheforeignstudentpopulation

attheirinstitution.ThesurveyconsideredthreemainareaswhereSaudistudents

expressedtheirviewsabouthowtheircurrentschoolwasmeetingtheirneedsin

theseareasandhowtheyevaluatedtheiroverallexperienceasstudentsintheU.S.

ItisclearthatSaudistudentswanthelpadjustingtotheacademicstandardsatthe

schooltheyattend.

• 38%wishedtheschoolwouldoffermoreacademicsupport.

• 32%respondedthattheywishedtheircurrentschoolwouldoffermore

trainingtopreventproblemswithplagiarism.Theseresponsescoincidewith

thefindingsthatstudentchoiceisheavilyinfluencedbyperceptionthatthey

canbeacademicallysuccessfulattheschooltheychooseandcorrespondsto

theirdesireforanincreaseinthesespecificservicesfromHEIs.

Saudistudents,byalargemajority,wantmorehelpmeetingAmericanstudentsand

findingtheservicestheyneedinthelocalarea.Inaddition,theirreligiousand

culturalneedscouldbebettermetbyHEIs.

62% Agreedthattheircurrentschooldidnotorganizeenougheventstohelp

SaudistudentsmeetAmericanstudents.

41% Wishedtheircurrentschoolwouldoffermorehelpfindinglocal

resourcessuchashousing,medicalcare,andtransportationinformation.

200

38% Hopedtheschoolwouldorganizemoreeventstoallowthemtoshowcase

Saudiculturetootherstudentsoncampus.

56% Wouldliketheircurrentschooltomakemoreefforttomeettheir

religiousneedssuchasprovidingprayerrooms,halalfood,and

accommodationsduringRamadanandEids.

Lastly,surveyfindingsshowthatSaudistudentsaresatisfiedwiththeirexperience

studyingintheU.S.Thehighlevelsofsatisfactionmayrelatetothegeneral

educationcoursesthatstudentswererequiredtotakewhichoftenledthemto

voluntarilypursueotherareasofstudy.

84% Wereverysatisfied/somewhatsatisfiedwiththeirexperienceintheU.S.

Only4%weresomewhatdissatisfied/dissatisfied.

71% Agreed/stronglyagreedthatthegeneraleducationcoursetheytook

exposedthemtoareastheyneverlearnedaboutbefore.

63% Agreed/stronglyagreedthatthegeneraleducationcoursestheytook

resultedintheirdecisiontotakemorecoursesinanareaofstudy.

DiscussiononFindingsaboutSaudiStudentsintheU.S.comparedwithSaudis

atHome

OnepurposeofthisresearchwastocompareattitudesofSaudistudentsstudyingin

theUnitedStateswithstudentswhoattendedschoolsathomeinSaudiArabiaand

thegeneralpopulationinSaudiArabia.Thesurveyrepeatedquestionsaskedinthe

201

BridgingtheGapSurvey(2010)andinsomecasesrepeatedquestionsusedinthe

2003WorldValuesSurveyforSaudiArabia.

Figure16:ConfidenceAboutFutureEmployment

SaudisinUSincluderespondentswhostronglyagreed/agreed.SaudisatHomeisbasedonBridgingtheGapSurvey(2010)respondentswhoagreed/moderatelyagreed.Saudistudentsaremotivatedtopursuehighereducationinordertoimprovetheir

employability.Figure16showsbothmenandwomenwhoattendHEIsintheU.S.

reportgreaterconfidencethattheywillgetajobwhentheycompletetheirstudies

thanstudentsinSaudiArabia.FormalesstudyingintheU.S.weremuchmore

confident(75%)thatmalesstudyinginSaudiArabia(57%.)Forwomenthe

confidencegapwassmaller;itwas56%intheU.S.comparedwith48%studyingin

SaudiArabia.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Males% Females% Males% Females%

SaudisinUS SaudisatHome

Percent

IamcongidentIwillgetajobaftergraduation

202

Figure17:ViewsonChangingGenderRoles

SaudisinUSrespondentswhostronglyagreed/agreed.SaudisatHomeisbasedon

BridgingtheGapSurvey(2010)respondentswhoagreed/moderatelyagreed.

Figure17showstherewasalargedifferenceamongmalesstudyingintheU.S.

comparedwithmalesstudyingatHEIsinSaudiArabiawhenaskedifchangingroles

arepartofapositiveglobaltrend.SaudimalesintheU.S.stronglyagreed/agreed

64%whileSaudimalesattendingHEIsinSaudiArabiaagreed/moderatelyagreed

only48%ofthetime.Responsesforwomenwerenearlyidenticalwith65%

studyingintheU.S.agreeingcomparedwith62%studyinginSaudiArabia.

203

Table16:MenandWomenShouldContributetotheHouseholdIncome

Men Women

SaudisinU.S. 64% 68%

SaudisatHome 60% 73%

WVS2003 68% 59%

SaudisinUSstronglyagreed/agreed.SaudisatHomebasedonBridgingtheGapSurvey(2010)agreed/moderatelyagreed.WorldValueSurveySaudiArabia2003stronglyagree/agree.Table16showsthesimilarityinresponsesbetweenstudentsintheU.S.,Saudi

studentsattendingschoolsinsidethecountry,andthegeneralSaudipopulation.

Whenaskedifinamodernfamilybothmenandwomenshouldbringhomean

incomeorbothhusbandandwifeshouldcontributetothehouseholdincomeno

obviousdifferenceoccurbetweenSaudisintheU.S.,Saudisstudyingathomeorthe

SaudipopulationingeneralasreportedintheWorldValuesSurveyforSaudiArabia

2003.

204

Figure18:ViewsonWomenWorkingandReligiousPractices

SaudisinUSstronglyagreed/agreed.SaudisatHomebasedonBridgingtheGapSurvey(2010)agreed/moderatelyagreed.Thequestionabouttheintersectionofwomen’semploymentandIslamshowsclear

divergencebetweenstudentsintheU.S.andthoseinSaudiArabia.Figure18

highlightsthedifferenceinopinionaboutwhetherallowingwomentoworkwill

underminereligioustraditionsislargebetweenbothSaudimenandwomen.Saudi

malesintheU.S.agreeonly37%ofthetimecomparedtoSaudimalesathomewho

agreed65%ofthetime.SaudiwomenintheU.S.agreedonly30%ofthetime

comparedtoSaudiwomenstudyingathomewhoagreed84%ofthetime.More

thanhalfofthewomenrespondentsintheU.S.eitherdisagreeorstronglydisagreed

withthestatement.ThequestionaboutallowingwomentoworkinSaudiArabiais

currentlyanongoingoneinsidethecountry.83%ofSaudistudentsintheU.S.

205

agreed/stronglyagreedthatencouragingSaudiwomentoattendcollegeandjoin

theworkforceisgoodfortheSaudieconomy.ItremainsunclearhowtheSaudi

peoplewillreconcilethisdichotomybetweenreligionandattitudesthatpoint

towardadesirefororacceptanceofsocialchangeinacountrywhere,accordingto

theWVS200374%ofthepeopleidentifyasMuslimaboveallandonly12%

describethemselvesasSaudiaboveall.

Figure19:ViewsonSaudiCulture Figure20:ViewsonCulturalSuperiority

Changing

SaudisinUSstronglyagreed/agreed.SaudisatHomebasedonBridgingtheGapSurvey(2010)agreed/moderatelyagreed.

SaudistudentsintheU.S.showmorewillingnesstoseeculturalchangesinside

SaudiArabiathanSaudistudentsathome.Figure19showsonly38%ofmenand

26%ofwomenstudyingintheU.S.feltthecultureofSaudiArabiashouldstaythe

samecomparedto44%ofthemenand33%ofthewomenstudyinginsideSaudi

Arabia.ResponsestotheWVSquestionthataskedaboutchangingsocietyshowed

thatonly30.7%feltthatsocietyasitcurrentlyexistedshouldbevaliantlydefended

206

indicatingthattheoverallpopulationmayalsobewillingtoseechangesinsociety.

Figure20showsthatSaudistudentsintheU.S.arelesslikelytoseeSaudicultureas

superiortoothercultures.

Inconclusion,SaudistudentswhostudyintheUnitedStatesshowseveralareas

wheretheydifferfromtheircounterpartswhoremainathome.Theyaremore

confidentthattheywillfindemploymentwhentheycompletetheirstudies.They

arealsoingreateragreementthatchanginggenderrolesarepartofapositiveglobal

trendandhavingwomenentertheworkforceisgoodfortheSaudieconomy.Saudi

studentsintheU.S.arefarlesslikelytoseewomenworkingasunderminingtheir

religiouspractices.ThismightbetheresultoflivingintheU.S.wheremany

personallyseethatwomen’sparticipationintheworkforcehasnotinterferedwith

theirabilitytoliveinaccordancewiththeirfaith.

SaudistudentsintheU.S.aremorewillingtoacceptculturalchangeinthecountry

andagreefarlessfrequentlythatSaudicultureissuperiortoothercultures.This

wouldaffirmthefindingsinH7thatSaudistudentsbecamemoretolerantofpeople

fromotherculturesandreligionsafterlivingintheUnitedStates.Intergroup

ContactTheoryisusedtoexplainhowpositiveinteractionamongpeoplefrom

differentculturescanbeaneffectivewaytoreduceracialprejudice(Allport,1954)

andstudieshaveshownhowcollegeincreasestoleranceandtheabilityofpeopleto

understandandcommunicatewithothers(Bowen,1997).

207

Thefindingsofthisresearchshowthat88%ofSaudistudentsreportthatmeeting

differentpeoplesuchasAsians,African-Americans,Christians,andJewshasmade

themmoretolerantandopentoothercultures.Itwouldbeunrealistictoexpect

SaudiArabiatobecomeanopencountryinthemodelofWesterndemocraticstates

buttheincreasedtoleranceandrespectforotherculturescanhavehelpmoderate

extremistviewsinsidethecountry.Inaddition,experiencingothermodelsof

interactionbetweencitizensandgovernment,fromthelocalparent-teacher

organizationtothenationaldiscussionaboutpersonalfreedomandprivacyrights

mayprovidereturningSaudissomeinsightintodevelopingformsofcivilsociety

alongculturallyacceptablelinesinsideSaudiArabia.

208

Chapter8:ConclusionThischapterbeginswithrecommendationsforHEIstoimplementtoimprovethe

livedexperienceforSaudistudentsalreadyattendingtheirschoolandtoenhance

recruitmentefforts,concludingwithasummationfocusingonthecurrentsituation

inSaudiArabiaandrecommendationsforfutureresearch.

RecommendationsforHEIsintheUnitedStates

U.S.schoolsneedtoworkhardertofullyintegrateSaudistudentsintocommunity

life(LeBaron2013).WhileEnglishlanguagetrainingisusuallythefirststageof

thesestudents’journey,socializationispartofcreatingameaningful,positive

experienceforSaudistudentswhowillcarryhomewiththemthelessonslearned

whilelivinginAmerica.Schoolsneedtorecognizetheimportanceofthisfortheir

long-termimpactonU.S.-Saudicultural,political,andeconomicrelations.Every

positiverelationshipismagnifiedwhenthesestudentsreturntotheirfamiliesin

SaudiArabia.Schoolsneedtoalsorecognizetheacademicissuesthatmanyofthese

studentsinitiallyfacebasedonthetypeoflearningsystemstheyweretaughtunder.

Thisisnotaboutlowerstandards.Itisaboutappropriateadjustmentsand

remediationnecessarytosucceedinanAmericanuniversity.

Themarketforinternationalstudentsisgrowingmorecompetitiveeveryyear

(Choudaha2014).WhiletheU.S.enjoysthelargestnumberofinternationalstudents

ithasseenitsoverallshareofthemarketdeclineasothercountriesstrivetoattract

209

them.Yet,theUnitedStatescontinuestoseegrowthfromSaudiArabia.Howcanan

HEItakeadvantageofthispipelineofstudentswhocomefullyfundedbytheir

governmentandrepresentanunusualcohortofstudentstoexposethedomestic

populationto?ThesurveyofSaudistudentsintheU.S.identifiedseveralsourcesof

informationandareasofconcernthatHEIsshouldconsiderwhendevelopinga

strategytoincreasetheenrolmentofSaudistudents.

1.GetontheSACMapprovedlistofinstitutionsthatstudentscanattend.SACM

approvalwasnumberonereasonstudentsappliedtoaparticularHEI.HEIsinthe

U.S.needtobetterunderstandtheprocessforbeingplacedonthelistof

recommendedorapprovedschoolsbytheKingAbdullaScholarshipProgram.

Professionalassociationsandrecognizedaccreditationarethefirstrequirements

butthetimingofwhenaschoolgetsevaluatedandtheformulausedtodetermine

thenumberofstudentsthegovernmentwillapproveforscholarshipstoanyone

institutionisnotmadepubliclyavailable.Whenaschoolreachesasaturationlevel

forSaudistudents,asdeterminedbytheSaudiMinistryforHigherEducation,itis

nolongerontheapprovedlist.Itisnotclearifthisbecomesahardlimitorthereis

roomforsomeadditionalstudentenrolmentorhowlongschoolsaretakenoffthe

approvallist.TheremaybeupcomingchangestotheKASPthatfurtherlimitwhich

schoolswillbeontheapprovedlist.HEIsneedtocarefullymonitorandmanage

theirrelationshipwithSACMinordertoensuretheflowofSaudistudentstotheir

institution.

210

2.Marshallexistingresourcestoimprovethestudents’experience.Thesecond

mostfrequentreasonstudentschoseaschoolwasbecausetheyfelttheycouldbe

academicallysuccessfulthere.Saudistudentsaremoreconcernedwithbeingableto

performacademicallythantheyareaboutattendingschoolswithstrong

internationalreputationsorrankings.HelpingSaudistudentsaccessexisting

academicsupportsandfindotherlocalresourcessuchashealthcareprovidersand

howtousepublictransportationcanaddressbasicconcernsthatimpacttheir

experienceoncampusandtheiroverallperformanceasstudents.Addressingthese

primaryconcernsofSaudistudentsshouldbeapriorityforHEIsandcanhavean

impactonstudents’experiencesandperceptions.

3.HelpSaudistudentsintegratesociallyoncampus.AccordingtoU.S.NewsBest

Colleges,apopularsourceforinformationcitedbystudents,“Schoolswithastrong

globalpresenceoftenhaveawealthofculturalgroupsandevents,allowing

internationalstudentsanopportunitytosharetheirfood,musicandtraditionswith

theirU.S.peers.”(U.S.NewsandWorldReports,2015).Schoolsadvertisetheir

percentageofforeignstudentsasabadgeofhonor,claimingtheyofferdiversityand

enrichtheexperienceofeveryoneoncampus.ThesurveyfindingsshowthatSaudi

studentswantmorehelpmeetingotherstudentsandwouldappreciatemore

opportunitiestoshowcaseSaudiculture.Ifcollegeswanttoliveuptothegoalof

campusintegrationtheyneedtoincreasecoordinationamongstakeholdersand

worktoencouragepositiveengagementforbothSaudistudentsandthegeneral

population(Pettigrew,Tropp,Wagner,&Christ,2011).

211

4.Becomemoreculturallysensitive.Setupinterfaithprayerrooms.Offer

alternativeschedulesduringtheMuslimreligiousholidaysofRamadanandEid.

ProvidehalalfoodsduringRamadan.OrganizemoreeventstoallowSaudistudents

toteachothersabouttheircultureandimprovethegeneralpopulation’sknowledge

abouttheMiddleEast.Over85%ofSaudistudentssurveyedagreedthatthe

studentsattheirschoolknewtoolittleaboutSaudiArabiaandtheMiddleEast.This

isimportantgiventheincreasinglyunfavorableviewsAmericanshaveofIslamin

lightofrecenteventsintheregionandtheattackinSanBernardino,California.

Shortlyaftertheeventsof9/11aBrookingsInstitutepollfoundthat39%of

AmericansexpressedanunfavorableviewofIslam.Thenumberofpeople

expressinganunfavorableviewofIslamroseto61%byDecember2015(Telhami,

2015).EducationistheantidotetoignoranceforAmericansaswellasSaudis.

RespectingcultureandsharingculturearefundamentaltenetsthatanyHEIshould

honoriftheyhopetosuccessfullyinternationalizethestudentbody.

5.Developamarketingplan.Successfulrecruitmenttodaymeansviewing

studentsasconsumersofhighereducationandcreatingaplantoreachthemas

individualtargetaudiences.ThesurveyfindingsshowthatfewSaudistudentsgot

informationaboutschoolsfromeducationaltravelagents,foreignstudentadvisors,

directmail,collegerecruiters,oralumnifromschools.Alloftheserepresent

underutilizedresourcesthatHEIsshouldincorporateintoanyeffortstoincreasethe

numberofSaudistudentsontheircampus.SaudistudentsreportthattheInternet

andsocialmediawheretheirfirstsourcesofinformation.AccordingtoTop

212

Universities.com“Two-thirdsof[survey]respondentssaidtheyconsideredofficial

universitywebsites“essential”whenresearchinghighereducationoptions,while

universityrankingswebsitesweremostlikelytobeclassifiedas“veryimportant”.”

(QSTopUniversities,2014).Studentsreporteddifficultyinfindinginformationin

manyareas.HEIsmustinvestincreatingwebsitesforinternationalstudentsthat

makeiteasyforthemtonavigateandaddressculturalspecificities.

IntermsoftheInternetandsocialmedia,theywerenotasimportantasuniversity

websitesbuttheydidplayasignificantroleinstudentchoice.Saudistudents

surveyedforthisprojectsaidtheywereinfluencedbywhattheyreadorheard

aboutschools:

36% SaidtheyheardorreadpositivethingsaboutthisschoolsoIdecidedto

attend.

53% Agreed/StronglyAgreedthattheydidnotconsidersomeschoolbecause

theyreadorheardbadthingsaboutthem.

Communicatingthepositiveaspectsofyourschoolandalltheenhancedefforts

beingmadeonbehalfoftheSaudistudentpopulationisnotenough.HEIsmust

closelymonitortheironlineprofileandaddressnegativeinformationimmediately.

Thenegativereviewscanhavelonglastingeffects(Ghosh,WhippieandBryan

2001).

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SummationandFutureResearch

Sendingnearlytwohundredthousandpeopletostudyabroadmayhaveserious

consequencesforSaudiArabia.ItisimportanttorememberthattheMiddleEastis

aregionwhereWesterninfluencehaslongbeenseenascorruptingandanti-Islamic.

AccordingtoPeterMansfield,thenotedMiddleEastscholar,the19thCentury

PersianShahNaseralDin(1831-1896)refusedtoallowwealthyPersianstosend

theirchildrenabroadtostudyforfeartheywouldbeexposedtowesternideas

(Mansfield,1991).Eventoday,manyreligiousconservativesinSaudiArabiadonot

approveoftheeducationalandsocialreformshappeninginthecountry.Thegrowth

ofseculareducationisasourceofconflictwiththeconservativeswhoseeIslamic

educationasvitaltomaintainingArabandMuslimsocialvaluesinthefaceof

growingwesternization(Rugh2002).

TheSaudigovernmentisactingverycarefullytomanagereforms.SaudiArabiais

firstandforemostanIslamiccountrywithastrongreligiousclass,onewhere

conservativevaluesarewidelyacceptedbythepopulation.KingAbdullah

recognizedtheneedtorestructuretheeconomyandcreateamoreopensocietyin

responsetothegrowingdemographicpressuresonthecountry.Thenewking,

Salman,haspledgedtocontinuethesereforms.Turmoilintheregionisanother

concern,providingincentiveforextremismamonganincreasinglyrestless,

discouragedpopulationofyoung,unemployedSaudis.KingAbdullahwasalways

seenasachampionofliberalreforms,atleastthosethatdonotthreatenthe

214

privilegedstatusofthemonarchy.Educationreformisonewaytotransformthe

rigidbureaucracyofthestateintoamoreresponsiveonethatfostersinnovation.

Yet,thequestionremainsabouthowtomodernizeeducationinacountrywherethe

religiousconservativeswanttokeepIslamtheprimaryfocus.“TherulingAlSaud

haveinitiatedcontroversialeducationalreformsbyusingperipheralinstitutionsin

ordertobypasstheclericalestablishment.Institutionssuchasacademiccities,

internationalpartnerships,andquasi-governmentalorganizationshaveoften

providedbackdoorforreform.”(Nolan,2012).

Sendingstudentsoutofthecountry,ratherthanimportingschoolslikeotherGulf

Statesmaybeafarmoresuccessfulpathtowardsocialandeconomicliberalization.

ThelanguagethattheSaudiMOHEusesinitsinformationbrochuresandstatus

reportsspeakstotheprideoftheSaudinationanditsachievements.TheForward

totheMOHEpublicationtitled“StudyAbroadScholarships”makesseveraldirect

claims,suchas“Thegovernmenthassoughttosupportstudyabroadscholarships

tomakeuseoftheskillsofthegraduatesinthecomprehensivedevelopmentwhich

thekingdomiswitnessing.Toachievethis,youngSaudimenandwomenarebeing

qualifiedinthefinestandmostexperienceduniversitiesaroundtheworld,inallthe

fieldsneededbythenationforitspresentandfuturedevelopment.”Furthermore,

“theKASPforStudyAbroadembodiestheaspirationsofournation’sleaderforthe

developmentandprosperityofourhomeland,toenableittoproceedonits

civilizationalcourseandrisetotheloftystatuswhichisitsdue.”Oneoftheactual

statedgoalsoftheprogramisto“stimulatecultural,socialandscientificinterchange

215

betweentheKingdomandforeigncountriesthroughthemediumoftheKingdom’s

culturalambassadors-thestudentsitsendsabroadtostudy.”Theappealto

nationalprideisunmistakable.Thesestudentsaregoingabroadtoexposetheworld

toSaudiculture,nottobecomeWesterners.

Whilethecountry’spopulationisconservativeandpreferstomaintainmuchof

Saudiculturaltraditions,itislargelyinagreementwiththegovernmentaboutthe

needsforeducationalreform.Yet,theneedtoreformeducationtomeetthe

demandsoftheglobaleconomyisatoddswiththereligiousconservatives.Unless

theMinistryofHigherEducation(MOHE)issuccessfulinupdatingthecurriculum

andteachingmethodsSaudistudentswillcontinuetoperformpoorlyonthe

internationalassessmentsthatmeasurebothbasicknowledgeandalsocritical

thinkingskills.Botharetheveryfoundationsofaknowledgeeconomy,onethatwill

carrythenationforwardinapost-petroleumera.

Thepreviousdiscussionintheliteraturereviewabouthumancapitaldevelopment

showsthateducationalonemaynotbesufficienttosolvetheunemployment

probleminthecountryiftheopportunitiestousetheskillsdon’texistand

innovativeideasaren’tallowedtoflourish.Itrequiresamindsetthatspeaksas

muchtowillingnesstoaddressculturalvaluesandattitudesasitdoestothebasic

abilitytolearn.Absentfromthediscussionabouteducationreformistheprivate

sectorinthecountry.Theprivatesectorisstilllargelybasedonasystemof

patrimony.Theexpansionoftheprivatesectorthroughentrepreneurshipand

216

innovationwillrequirecreativeandeducatedthinkersbutitalsoneedsaspark,an

organicawakeningthatneedshelptogrowandbeasustainableeconomicforce.It

requiresanatmosphereofopennessandsupportintheformofsubsidies,financial

incentives,andeasingofbureaucratichurdlesthatwillbetternurtureacommunity

ofrisktakersandencourageasenseofwhatispossibleinsidethecountry.

EducationandexposuretotheWestmaynotbeenoughtoenergizeapopulation

longusedtogenerousgovernmentsubsidiesandnotpreviouslyattunedtolifeas

self-employed,outsideoftheboxthinkersinaculturethatvaluesreligionand

conformityabovemuchelse.Today,lowoilpricesaremakingtheprospectsofan

easylifeevenlesslikelyandthreatentoupsettheunwrittensocialcontractbetween

theall-providingmonarchyandthepeople(Hubbard2016).Theneedforeconomic

reformsismoreurgentthanever.

SaudiwomenwhostudyintheU.S.representanacuteexampleofexpectancy

behaviorandrisktaking.Manyaregettingeducationsinadvanceofopportunities

tofindmeaningfulemploymentathome.IncontrasttoothercountriesintheMiddle

EastandNorthAfricaandeveninotherGulfStates,womeninSaudiArabiaface

extensivelegalandculturalbarrierstoemployment.Thisisasubtlereminderthat

theMiddleEastisasizeableregionwithnoonesetofrulesthatapplytowomenand

onewheretheforcesofglobalizationarepushingagainstdeeplyheldcultural

patternsandbeliefsystems.“Innoareahastheforceoftraditionbeenfeltmore

stronglyandtheeffectofglobalizationbeenmoreapparentthatthatofthestatus

androlesofwomen.ThepositionofwomenintheArabworld,inparticular,is

neitheruniformnorstatic.”(Kirdar2007,p.39).

217

TherestrictionsfacedbywomeninSaudiArabiacontinuetorepresentanextreme

examplecomparedeventowomeninneighboringcountrieslikeBahrainandthe

U.A.E.,wherequestionsaboutreconcilingIslamwithwomen’semployment,voting,

driving,andtherighttoownpropertyhavelongbeensettled.WomeninSaudi

Arabiaenjoyvirtuallynoneofthosebasicprivileges.Today,inSaudi,“the

guardianshipsystemgivesawomanalegalstatusresemblingthatofaminor.”

(Zoept,2016).Thousandshavegraduatedfromuniversitywithdegreesinlawbut

onlyasmallnumberhavebeengrantedalicensetopractice.Companiesstillneeda

speciallicensefromthelaborministrytoallowwomeneventoworkintheiroffices

(Zoept,2016).BillGates,thefounderofMicrosoft,toldreportersastoryatthe

WorldEconomicForuminDavos,Switzerlandin2007.Whengivingaspeechtoa

segregatedaudienceinSaudiArabia,hewasaskedifhebelievedthatthecountry

couldbecomeoneoftheworld’stoptencompetitivecountriesby2010.Gates’

response,thatiftheyweren’tfullyutilizinghalfofthetalentinthecountrythey

wouldnotget“close”tothetopten,wasreceivedfarmoreenthusiasticallyfromthe

womenintheaudiencethanthemen(WallStreetJournal2007).Yet,womencan

onlycontinuetoexpresstheirhopethattheiremploymentprospectswillimprove.

Despitebeinghopeful,thewomen’sunemploymentratewas33.8%bythesecond

quarter2015,nearlytripletherateformen(PeopleExcellence2016).

TheshiftwithinSaudiArabiatowardgreaterglobalintegrationisinchingforward

butitisbeingpropelledbythegovernment’sviewstowardeconomicdevelopment,

changingsocialattitudesamongthepeople,andpracticalnecessity.Most

218

westernersseeSaudiattitudestowardswomenasarchaicandbasedonpatriarchic

systemsthatholdnorelevanceinamodernworld.Thetreatmentofwomenisa

popularbarometerformeasuringchangeinSaudiArabiaandtheinternational

perceptionsremainnegative.Yet,thereisevidencethatattitudesinSaudiare

shiftingandtherearenewopportunitiesforwomentoexperiencepersonaland

professionalfulfillmentaccordingtomodernstandards.Today,womeninSaudi

Arabiaareabletoattendco-edclassesattheKingAbdullahUniversityforScience

andTechnologyoutsideofJeddah.NearlyonequarterofallKASPstudentsare

women,manytravelingontheirown,withoutamalefamilymemberasa

chaperone.Thehighcostofhousingmeansasecondincomeisanecessityanda

workingspouseacceptableinthecurrenteconomicclimate.And,whiletheelection

offivewomentolocalmunicipalcouncilseatsinDecember2015mayseemlikea

smallstep,itrepresentedthefirstopportunityforwomentovoteandparticipatein

civilsocietyandisunderstoodasamajorvictoryinthefaceofgovernment

obstructionandtheobjectionsofthemostseniorclericinthecountry(Reidel

2015).

Whatisnotyetknowniswhetherthesereturningstudentswillbelesswillingtolive

underthestricturesofasegregatedstatewhererolesformenandwomenremain

tightlyproscribedandnotionsofculturalfreedomandcivilrightsdiffersomuch

fromtheWest.AlreadyconcernhasbeenvoicedinSaudithatchangesare

happeningtoofast,thatfemalesaremoreoutspoken,theyarewearingbrighter

coloredheadscarvesandabayas,someareinmixedclasseswithmen,andeven

movingaboutmoreontheirown,unaccompaniedbyamalefamilymember.Some

219

Gulfstudentsreturnhomewithlessfavorableattitudestowardtheirhomeafter

spendingtimeintheWest(G-Mrabet2012).Itmaycometopassthattheeffortto

improveeducationasasteptowardmodernizationofsocietyandtheeconomywill

comeattheexpenseofsocialcohesionandcreatenew,deepertensionswithinthe

country.YoungSaudisathomeareincreasinglybeingexposedtotheWestthrough

socialmedia.EvenmoderntechnologieslikeUberarehelpingwomenbecomemore

independent(Zoept,2016)andhavealevelofcontrolovertheirownphysical

mobility.Also,itseemsunlikelythattherewillbeafullscaleArabSpringtype

uprisinginSaudiArabiabuttherearesignsthattheyoungergenerationswanttobe

heard(Glum,2016).Thecombinationofthatdesireandthereturningstudentswho

havelivedandexperiencedlifeinacountrywherefreespeechandpolitical

expressionareanintegralpartofdailylifemaybeanunstoppableforceforchange

inacountrybothunpreparedforitandunwillingtoacceptit.Yet,withthepriceof

oilat$40perbarrelandtheSaudigovernmentdealingwithseveralconsecutive

annualbudgetdeficitsinthe$100billionrange,thedaysofbusinessasusualmay

beover.

Thecomplexinterplaybetweeneducation,economicpolicyandoutcomes,and

social,political,andculturalchangepresentarangeoffutureresearchtopicsrelated

toSaudiArabia’seducationspendingandtheimpactofSaudistudentsstudying

abroad.Tobegin,whathappenstotheKASPgraduateswhentheygohome?It

wouldbeusefultostudytheiremploymenthistorytoseewhethertheyare

employedathigherratesthanstudentswhostudiedinsideSaudiArabiaandfurther

220

analyzetheirimpactontheeconomy.ItispossiblethatSACMmaintainsrecordsfor

studentsaftertheyreturnhomeandmaybeasourceofinformation.Also,U.S.

schoolsmighttrackSaudialumniandhavedataavailableforuse.

EconomicdiversificationisastatedgoaloftheMinistryofHigherEducation.

ResearchthatanalyzesstructuralchangesintheSaudieconomy,includinggrowth

intheservicesector,industrialoutput,productionofknowledgeoutputs,adoption

ofnewtechnologies,improvementsinproductivity,changesinprivatesector

employmentandtheunemploymentrateforbothSaudimenandwomencould

provideinsightintothesuccessoftheeducationaloverhaulandspendingon

scholarships.Also,furtherresearchcanbeconductedtotrackotherchangesin

educationaloutcomesthecountryisseeing.ImprovedTIMSSandPIRLStestscores,

higherscoresonKEIindices,morepatentsgrantedtoSaudiuniversitiesaswellas

paperspublishedbySaudiauthorsinpeerreviewedjournalscouldbetracedtothe

increasesineducationalspending.SaudistudentswhoreturnfromtheU.S.maybe

responsibleforsomeofthechangeandcanbeidentifiedbyreviewingbiographical

data.

Futureresearcheffortscouldbeaimedatassessingpoliticalandsocialchangesin

SaudiArabia.Thesemaybemostobviousinchangesrelatingtowomen’s

employmentandlegalstatus.Afterseveralyearsofexposuretocivicandpolitical

engagementintheU.S.,returningSaudistudentsmayincreasetheirownpolitical

participation,likelyonthelocallevel.Thesestudentsmaybethegenerationtoform

221

businessgroups,women’sprofessionalassociations,becomeadvocatesfor

improvementsintheirownchildren’seducationandanynumberofothercivic

organizationsthatportendthebeginningofcivilsociety.Theremaybecallsfor

greaterpersonalfreedomsandarelaxationoftheinstitutionalizedrestrictionson

themixingofgenders.Itispossibletoseeotherdemographicchangesintermsof

lowerbirthratesifwomenbecomemoredeeplyengagedintheeconomyandthe

systemofpatrimonyiseasedtoallowthemgreaterautonomy.

Afinalareaoffutureresearchconsiderstheimpactthatthelargeinfluxofstudents

fromSaudiArabiahashadonstudentsintheUnitedStates.TheSaudistudentshave

beencomingtotheU.S.inincreasingnumberssince2006andtheKASPwill

continuetoacceptnewstudentsuntil2020.ManySaudistudentsarehereforfive

yearsorlonger(seeFigure10.)Contacttheorywouldpredictareductionin

prejudiceexperiencedbothallparties,especiallyifitoccurredinapositive,non-

threateningenvironment.Increasedcontactsbetweenethnicgroupsarenegatively

correlatedwithprejudice(Crisp,etal.2008).Yet,thecurrentpoliticalrhetoricinthe

U.S.presentssometroublingattitudes.IslamophobiaisontheriseintheUnited

States(Hameed,2016).APewResearchpollconductedinJanuary2016found65%

ofRepublicanswantedtohearblunttalkaboutIslamandonly29%feltthat

politiciansshouldnotbecriticalofIslamasawhole.Republicansbelievethat

Islamicteachingpromoteviolence(32%)andbelievethatallMuslimsintheU.S.are

anti-American(16%)atmorethattwicetherateofDemocrats(Libresco2016).It

maybeagenerationaldivide,withyoungerpeoplenotparticipatinginthesepollsor

222

feweridentifyingasRepublicanbut,giventherecentcallfromoneofthe

presidentialcandidatesforafullbanonallowingMuslimstoentertheU.S.,thereis

littledoubtthatthereisneedforimprovementinAmerica’sowntolerancefor

Muslims.

SurveyingAmericanstudentsfromschoolswithlargeSaudistudentpopulationscan

providesomeindicationsabouttheirviewsonSaudiArabiaandIslam.Also,the

DepartmentofHomelandSecurity(DHS)hasupdatedtherulesandextendedthe

lengthofOPTvisasforforeignstudentswhowishtostayandworkto24months

aftergraduation.DHSencouragesbusinessestohireSTEMOPTstudentstotake

advantageofthecreativeknowledgespilloversfromrecentgraduatesandto

increasetheirownunderstandingofforeignmarketsandbuildrelationshipsthat

canenhancefuturetrade.Saudistudentsreporttheyareincreasinglyinterestedin

applyingforOPTvisas.MoreSaudisstayingandworkingintheU.S.aftergraduation,

alongwithconcertedeffortsbyHEIstointegrateSaudistudentsincampuslife,may

bettereducateAmericansaboutSaudiArabiaandIslamingeneral.

223

AppendixA

InterviewQuestionsforHEIs

1.DoyouactivelyrecruitSaudistudents?ExplainifyourelyontheInternetorhire

foreignschooladvisorstomarketyourschool.

2.Doyouhaveprogramsspecificallyaimedathelpingforeignstudentsintegrateon

campus?(Mixers,movienights,dinnerclubs,etc.)

3.Arethereconcernsaboutlanguageskills,academicpreparation,oracademic

performance?

4.Whataretheproblems?Socialtensions?Culturaltensions?Racialtensions?

5.DoyouknowofanySaudistudentorMuslimstudentorganizationsoncampus?

6.WouldyouliketohavemoreSaudistudentsattendingthisuniversity?Doyou

plantoimproveyourmarketingtoforeignstudents,includingSaudis?

7.Whatcontributiondoyouthinktheymaketotheuniversity?

8.Doesyourschooldoenoughtoenableallthestudentstobenefitfromthecontact

betweenthecultures?

9.HowhavedomesticstudentsreactedorchangedduetothepresenceofSaudi

studentsoncampus?

InterviewQuestionsforSaudiStudents

RegardingGovernmentInfluence

1.DidtheKASPinfluence

a)Yourdecisiontostudyabroador

b)Yourchoiceofprogramor

224

c)YourdecisiontocometotheU.S.asopposedtoanothercountry?Wouldyouhave

preferredtostudyintheUK?

2.Didthenowwell-definedprocessofobtainingastudentvisaintheUScontribute

toyourdecisiontostudyintheUS?Didyouperceiveittobeeasierthangoing

elsewhere?

Demographics

1.Whatisyourgender?

2.Whatisyourlevelofstudy?(Associate’s,Bachelor’s,Master’s,orPh.D.)

3.Whatisthehighestlevelofparentaleducation(yearsordegreeearned)?

QuestionsaboutHEIchoice:

1.Whatmarketingtechniqueswereinfluentialinyourdecisionmakingprocess?

2.Didyoumakeuseofforeignstudentadvisoryservicesorprivatecounselors?

3.HowdidyouusetheInternet?

4.Whatcharacteristicsincludinglocation,size,programs,religiousnature,academic

profile,orothermatteredtoyou?

5.Didyougotoyourfirstchoiceschool?Why?(Notaccepted,ornotontheKASP

listanymoreorever?)

HumanCapital:

1.Whatareyourexpectationsaboutfutureemployment?

225

2.WouldadegreefromaU.S.schoolprovidebetteremploymentopportunities?

3.WhytheUSandnotanothercountry?(YesorNo:Betterreputation,better

preparationofnecessaryskills,improvedcriticalthinkingskills)

SocialCapital:

1.Werefamilyandothersocialnetworkinfluentialinyourschoolchoice?

2.Areeitherofyourparentsprofessionals?

3.Wereyourparentssupportiveofyourchoicetostudyabroad?(Somewhat/

moderately/notsupportive)

4.DoyouhavefriendsorrelativescurrentlystudyingintheU.S.?Ifyes,wheretheya

sourceofinformationorsupportinyourchoicetostudyintheU.S.?Areyou

attendingthesameHEIastheyare?

Culturalcapital:

1.Doyouconsideryourselfaconfidentoradventurousperson?

2.HowdoyourateyourEnglishlanguageskills?(Strong/moderate/weak)

3.HaveyouevertravelledoutsideofSaudiArabiabeforecomingtotheU.S.?

4.DidyouhaveextensiveexposuretoWesternexpatriateswhileathomeeither

throughyourfamilyorothercontacts?

ImpactofStudyAbroadonattitudesandvalues:

1.Didyourunderstandingoftheideaofhumanrightschangesinceyoucametothe

U.S.?

226

2.Doyouhaveadifferent,morepositiveopinionaboutdemocracysinceyoucame

totheU.S.?

3.Havetheliberalartsrequirementsofyourprogramexposedyoutoareasofstudy

thatyouwouldneverhavepursuedonyourown?

4.IsyourunderstandingoftheUnitedStatesdifferentthanwhenyoufirstcameto

thecountry?

5.IsyouroverallopinionoftheU.S.morefavorableorlessfavorablethanwhenyou

came?

227

AppendixB

QualtrixOnlineSurvey

Q1.ThissurveyhasbeenapprovedbytheRutgersUniversityInstitutionalReview

Board.Thisisananonymoussurvey.Onlydatainaggregatedformwillbeusedin

thisresearch.NoindividualdatawillbeavailabletoanyonebutthePrimary

ResearcherandStudentFacultyAdvisor.

Doyouconsenttoparticipateinthisonlinesurvey?

Yes No

IfNoIsSelected,ThenSkipToEndofSurvey

Q2.AreyouaSaudicitizencurrentlylivingandstudyingintheUS?

Yes No

IfNoIsSelected,ThenSkipToEndofSurvey

Q3.TochoosethisschooloranyschoolIattendedintheU.S.Igotinformation

abouttheschoolfrom:Checkallthatapply.

FriendsandFamily

TheInternetandSocialMedia

AdvisorsatSACM

EducationalTravelAgents

Theschoolsentmemailorcontactedmepersonally.

RecruitersImetfromthisschool.

228

ThirdPartyForeignStudentAdvisors

AlumniImetorknowfromthisschool.

Q4.IwasattractedtotheschoolIcurrentlyattendbecause:Checkallthat

apply.

Ihavefriendsorfamilywhocurrentlyliveinthearea.

Iknewaboutthisschoolfromfriendsorfamilywhocamehere.

ItwaslessexpensivetoliveherethanotherplacesintheU.S.

ThisschoolhasamajorIcouldnotfindinSaudiArabia.

Thisschoolhasastronginternationalreputationorranking.

Adegreefromthisschoolwillhelpmegetabetterjobthangoingtoauniversityin

SaudiArabia.

IfeltIcouldbeacademicallysuccessfulhere.

ItisareligiousschoolandIfeltIwouldbemoreacceptedopenlypracticingmyfaith,

suchasprayingorwearingahijab.

ItwasontheSACMapprovedlist.

ThisschooliswellknowninSaudiArabia

AdegreefromaU.S.schoolwouldbebetterthanadegreefromaschoolinanother

country.

IheardorreadpositivethingsaboutthisschoolsoIdecidedtoapply.

Q5.Doesyourcurrentschoolofferenoughhelpwithadjustingtotheacademic

standardsattheschoolyouattend?

Ithinkitisenough.Iwishtheywouldoffermore.Ihavenoopinion.

229

Q6.Doesyourcurrentschoolofferenoughtrainingtopreventproblemswith

plagiarism?

Ithinkitisenough.Iwishtheywouldoffermore.Ihavenoopinion.

Q7.DoesyourcurrentschoolorganizeenougheventstohelpSaudistudents

meetAmericanstudents?

Ithinkitisenough.Iwishtheywouldoffermore.Ihavenoopinion.

Q8.Doesyourcurrentschoolofferenoughhelpfindingservicessuchas

doctors,housing,shopping,andtransportation?

Ithinkitisenough.Iwishtheywouldoffermore.Ihavenoopinion.

Q9.DoesyourcurrentschoolorganizeenougheventstoallowSaudistudents

toshowcaseSaudiculturetootherstudentsoncampus?

Ithinkitisenough.Iwishtheywouldoffermore.Ihavenoopinion.

Q10.Doesyourcurrentschoolmakeenoughefforttomeetreligiousneeds

suchasprovidingprayerrooms,halalfoods,oraccommodationsduring

RamadanandEids?

Ithinkitisenough.Iwishtheywouldoffermore.Ihavenoopinion.

230

Q11.Thesestatementsareaboutyourthoughtsandexperiencesasastudent

intheU.S.

GettingavisatostudyintheU.S.waseasy.

IdidnotconsidersomeschoolsbecauseIreadorheardbadthingsaboutthem.

Collegerankingsareimportant.

HighereducationintheU.S.isbetterthaninothercountries.

ThegeneraleducationcoursesItookexposedmetoareasIneverlearnedabout

before.

ThegeneraleducationcoursesItookresultedinmydecisiontotakemorecourses

inanareaofstudy.

MoststudentsatmyschoolknowtoolittleaboutSaudiArabiaortheMiddleEast.

StronglyAgree

Agree

NeitherAgreeorDisagree

Disagree

StronglyDisagree

Q12.Thefollowingstatementsareaboutyourfutureexpectations.

IamconfidentthatIwillgetajobaftercompletingmystudies.

EmployersinSaudiArabiacareaboutwhichschoolyouattended.

StrongEnglishlanguageskillswillbeanimportantbenefittomycareer.

IwanttostayintheU.S.toworkforsometimeafterIgraduate.

231

IwouldhavechosenadifferentcountryoradifferentschoolifitwereontheSACM

approvedlist.

StronglyAgree

Agree

NeitherAgreeorDisagree

Disagree

StronglyDisagree

Q13.HowwouldyourateyouroverallexperienceasastudentintheU.S.?

VerySatisfied

SomewhatSatisfied

Neutral

SomewhatDissatisfied

Dissatisfied

Q14.Pleaserespondtothefollowingstatements.

IoftenfeelthatpeopleareuncomfortableordonotlikemebecauseIamSaudiora

Muslim.

IwasuncomfortablewithhavingbothmenandwomeninclassbutIamnot

anymore.

Lawsthatforbiddiscriminationbasedonrace,gender,religion,orsexual

orientationareimportantforprotectinghumanrights.

232

MeetingdifferentpeoplesuchasAsians,African-Americans,Christians,andJews

hasmadememoretolerantandopentoothercultures.

IhaveamorefavorableopinionoftheU.S.nowthanwhenIlivedinSaudiArabia.

StronglyAgree

Agree

NeitherAgreeorDisagree

Disagree

StronglyDisagree

Q15.Saudicitizensandstudentswereaskedtheiropinionofthefollowing

statements.Theyarehereforcomparisonpurposes.

EncouragingSaudiwomentoattendcollegeandjointheworkforceisgoodforthe

Saudieconomy.

Bothhusbandandwifeshouldcontributetothehouseholdincome.

Whenjobsarescarcemenshouldhavemorerighttoajobthanawoman.

IseechanginggenderrolesofmenandwomeninSaudiArabiaaspartofapositive

globaltrend.

Allowingwomentoworkunderminesourreligioustraditions.

Thecultureofmycountryshouldstaythewayitisrightnow.

IthinkSaudicultureissuperiortoothercultures.

StronglyAgree

233

Agree

NeitherAgreeorDisagree

Disagree

StronglyDisagree

Q16.Whatisyourgender?

Male Female

Q17.Whatisyourage?

17-1920-2223-25 26-2930andolder

Q18.Whatdegreeareyoucurrentlyseeking?

Englishlanguagetraining

Associate'sDegree

Bachelor'sDegree

Master'sDegree

Ph.D.

I'mhereonanOPTvisa.

PostDoctoral

Other

234

Q19.AreyoucurrentlystudyingintheU.S.aspartoftheKingAbdullah

ScholarshipProgram?

YesNo,butIwasinthepast.No,IwasneverpartoftheKASP

Q20.WouldyouhavestudiedoutsideofSaudiArabiawithouttheKASP?

YesNoN/A,IdidnotparticipateintheKASP

Q21.WhatisthetotalnumberofyearsyoulivedintheU.S.?

Oneyearorless

1-2years

2-3years

3-4years

4-5years

Longerthan5years

Q22.HowmanytimesdidyoutraveltotheU.S.beforecominghereforhigher

education?

Never Onceortwice Threetimesormore

Q23.Whatisyourmother'shighestlevelofeducation?

MiddleSchoolorlessHighSchoolSomeCollegeorJobTraining

Bachelor'sDegreeMaster'sDegreePh.D.I'mnotsure

235

Q24.Whatisyourfather'shighestlevelofeducation?

MiddleSchoolorlessHighSchoolSomeCollegeorJobTraining

Bachelor'sDegreeMaster'sDegreePh.D.I'mnotsure

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