A methodological look at international student (IS) satisfaction from the perspective of international student office (ISO) staff: The balance between the hook and the fishing rod

Abstract

This study examines priorities affecting international student (IS) satisfaction, and related challenges, from the perspective of International Student Office (ISO) staff at Turkish foundation universities. It rests on a "hook and fishing rod" analogy: prestige attracts students, service quality retains them. Ten ISO staff completed an AHP questionnaire of four pairwise comparisons and were then interviewed; interviews were analyzed thematically in MAXQDA (inter-coder agreement: Cohen's Kappa κ=0.84). In pairwise comparisons, image/prestige was preferred over service professionalism (0.67 vs. 0.33); academic quality over administrative speed (0.61 vs. 0.39); and career services over social activities (0.60 vs. 0.40). Affordability and brand prestige were nearly balanced (0.49 vs. 0.51). These are pairwise results, not a global ranking. Price-focused strategies risk an "influx of unqualified students". The burnout- and strain-related theme made up 12.97% of codings, linked to bureaucracy, unregulated agencies, and lack of vision. Satisfaction appears to require balancing prestige, career, and administrative processes. Findings rest on ISO staff views from an Istanbul-Ankara sample and cannot be generalized nationally.