Surveying international university students: The case of the 5% response rate

This article is a methodological critique of a survey process undertaken with international undergraduate students at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. Despite following best practice surveying protocols this research project initially achieved a 5% response rate. The research team had to change its approach part-way through the process to achieve a 45% response rate and attain valuable information needed to improve the overall student experience for the international student cohort in the faculty. This article concludes with lessons learned about surveying this unique student group – these methodological lessons are relevant for other research teams studying the higher education sector globally.