Determining the Criteria for Attract foreign students in Iranian Medical Universities from the Viewpoint of Faculty Members

Abstract

Introduction: The internationalization of higher education has become an important issue. The present study sought to extract the criteria for attracting international students to Iran University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This research was conducted using survey sampling method in 2019. The population of the study consisted of the university faculty members in the Iran University of Medical Sciences. The data was collected through email, a 4-part researcher-made questionnaire, and survey meetings. Descriptive statistics including frequency, percentage and mean were used to present the results. Results: The response rate was 51.00% and finally, 92 faculty members from the Iran University of Medical Sciences participated in the study. The minimum criteria for attracting international students in different educational levels were extracted which included the scientific, educational and general areas. All of the faculty members (100%) showed their willingness for attracting international students and benefiting their presence in the university, and 80 faculty members (86.90%) believed that international students need to be educated about the Iranian religion and culture. Conclusion: The present study identified the minimum criteria for attracting international students from the viewpoint of the faculty members of the Iran University of Medical Sciences. This, together with the corrections required by different medical groups, can be used as a comprehensive and standard regulation in order to attract international students at different levels of education to the country's medical universities.

Keywords

• education
• foreign student recruitment
• faculty members
• iran
• international cooperation
• globalization