A comparative analysis of information provided in the universities' website for international students: Malaysian public and private universities

The higher education industry is an important growth sector for Malaysia and the enrollment of more international students in the universities is essential. As of 2018, there is a higher enrolment of international students in Malaysia private universities than that seen in the Malaysia public universities. This present study will investigate how both the Malaysian public and private universities provide the immigration policies information through their website especially those related to socioeconomics topics which are deemed essential by the international students when deciding on a destination country for further studies. Ten universities in Malaysia were selected for this study; five public universities and five private universities in Malaysia with a student population range of 6,000 to 21,000. It was determined that both the Malaysian public and private universities websites provided similar immigration policies information with relations to the limitations on immigration, dependents, scholarship and higher tuition rates for international students. However, private university websites provide much more information on possible employment opportunities in Malaysia to prospective international students as compared to the websites of public universities studied in this research. The findings are in line with the key stand of this study which is the university website information relating to socioeconomic issues in the host country could influence the international students' decision on the choice location for further study. From the practitioner perspective, this study provides university management and leadership a better understanding of the on the importance of the university website as a platform to reach potential international students.