Living up to Expectations: A Survey of International Students’ Concerns and their Perceptions of Change on a U.K. Departmental Pre-sessional Programme

There has been a dramatic increase in recent years in the numbers of international students undertaking undergraduate and postgraduate study in the United Kingdom. This has been as a direct result of the huge influx of mainly postgraduates from the Far East, and in particular from China. After briefly setting the students in their educational context, this chapter presents the findings of two pre- and post-course questionnaires produced in order to reach a better understanding of the needs and expectations of international students attending a UK departmental presessional programme. In addition, the questionnaires explored the students’ notions of and attitudes to change as they proceeded though their programmes. The research revealed a consistent range of concerns and perceptions, which may help us to prioritise students’ needs and address them more effectively and sensitively in the future. The chapter concludes with a number of suggestions and recommendations to help us improve our provision and maintain and expand our position as a high-quality provider of courses for international students.