How international students select offshore programs: The influence of image, attitude, subject norm, and perceived behavioral control

Previous research studies identified country image as an important variable in international students' selection of onshore programs, and it is often perceived that there is little difference between onshore and offshore program selection. Looking at a sample of high school students in China and their selections of offshore programs (from a sample program in Australia, the UK, and the US), this study reveals an insignificant influence of country image. Instead, both higher education country image and the local partner institution image significantly influence the students' selections. The findings also indicate that the effects of attitude toward behavior, subject norm, and perceived behavioral control appear to be more significant than those of the images in most of the analyses. Implications for international educators and marketers of offshore programs are discussed. © 2013 Education Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.