1. Internationalization of Higher
Education: Collecting the Right Data for
the Right Purposes
Eva Egron-Polak, Madeleine Green
International Association of Universities
CAIE, 2012
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
26 April, 2012

2. Workshop Outline
• Introduction and Goals of the Workshop
• Why collect data? Why does IAU collect data?
• Key research questions
– Global and institutional levels
– Difference in approach and purpose
• Clarity and consistency of concepts and terms
• Discussion groups – your turn to work!
• Wrap-up
– Reporting back by groups
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3. Goals of the Workshop
– Improve understanding of the reasons for and the
nature of data collection and information gathering at
institutional, national, and global levels
– Gather input for the identification of key research
questions to design the 4th IAU Global Survey (2013)
– Be able to identify benefits and possible adverse
effects so as to hepd design strategies that are most
productive and positive all around
– Learn participants’ views about important institutional
data to collect and means to do so
– Identify and expand the overlaps between
global/national and institutional data collection to
avoid questionnaire fatigue and gain insights!
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4. Why collect data at all?
• Internationalization is growing in importance
• Evidence-based policy making relies on data
• Evaluation, assessment of results require reliable and
comparable information
• Data are required for monitoring impact at all levels
and by many stakeholders
• In your nations, do internationalization surveys exist?
• At your university, do you collect data regularly?
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5. Why IAU collects data?
• Internationalization is a policy of growing
importance, complexity and multiple dimensions
• Need to understand and monitor trends and
changes at global, regional and institutional levels
• IAU is uniquely placed as a global organization with
Members all over the world interested in
internationalization
• 3 Global Surveys: 2003, 2005 and 2009, 2013
• IAU assists HEIs in the design and implementation
of policies and strategies with ISAS:
Internationalization Strategies Advisory Service
Helps HEIs monitor impacts 5
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6. Different levels of data collection
= different purposes and uses
• Global data = depicts trends, institutions
can compare themselves to one another at
global or regional levels
• National data = allows benchmarking,
helps to identify policy gaps, helps
advocacy
• Institutional data = guide to measuring
institutional progress and improvement
Interpreting data requires clear goals and
clear research questions
© IAU – April 2012
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7. Sample Research Questions
Global/national data – what percentage of
enrolled students are mobile?
Institutional data – how many and what
percentage of enrolled students are mobile
and how has this changed over time?
Global/national data - which languages are
offered; is enrollment rising or decreasing?
Institutional data – enrollment trends over
time by language course offered
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8. Clarity and Consistency of
Concepts and Terms is Essential
• Who is a foreign/international student?
• Who is a mobile student?
• What is an active international agreement?
• What defines a course with a global focus?
• What constitutes a language requirement?
• What counts as international research
cooperation?
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9. Small Group Discussions on Key
Research Questions
Step 1: Identify
– A key global research question
– An institutional research question that aligns with the
global research question
Step 2: For global question – what indicators will
provide answers; what data need to be collected?
Step 3: For institutional question identify
– Goal pursued
– Strategy used to accomplish the goal
– Indicator(s) (both qualitative & quantitative) to measure
progress
– Data to be collected 9
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10. Small Group Discussion (2)
• Step 4: Repeat 1-3 until you run out of
time
• Consider how the various research
questions interact and/or overlap
• How can the overlap of data collection be
maximized for analysis at various levels?
• Is the data you need readily available?
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11. Reporting Back and Wrap Up
• Share your research questions, data to be
collected, institutional goals, strategies
and indicators
• What did you learn through this exercise?
• What did IAU learn?
• Provide your business card if interested in
commenting on IAU 3rd Global Survey
questionnaire before 4th Survey is
launched
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© IAU – April 2012

12. THANK YOU
• For more information on the IAU
• For more information on the Global Survey
• For more information on ISAS
www.iau-aiu.net
To contact IAU
e.egronpolak@iau-aiu.net or iau@iau-aiu.ne
t
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© IAU – April 2012