Experiences of students at partner universities of the HSW: Analysis of student feedback

Abstract

Around 200 students of the FHNW’s School of Business spend a semester abroad every year. This semester abroad is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the outgoing students and leaves a lasting impact on their lives. It requires thorough preparation to facilitate acclimatization at the destination country and to minimize any avoidable difficulties. Every Swiss student who spends a semester abroad within Europe receives a grant by the Swiss government. The condition to receive this grant is to fill in a questionnaire, for which the Swiss-European Mobility Programme provides a template. Hence all outgoing students from the School of Business are obliged to complete a questionnaire about their experience abroad after returning and are asked to include as much information as possible. The questionnaire is not only used to inform the successive outgoing students, but is also used by the International Office itself, to be able to ensure the quality of the stay and to consecutively verify whether the courses taken abroad fit into the respective study programs of the FHNW. However, until now, the reports were not yet conclusively analyzed.