Academic Integration of Kilis 7 Aralık University’s International Students into the Higher Education System

Understanding international university students’ integration levels and problems contribute to filling a huge vacuum in the research on refugees, which frequently overlooks the experiences of specific groups. Similarly, higher education policies rarely pay attention to or include the perspectives of international students. As a result, by considering the experiences of K7AU’s international students -the majority of whom are refugees- the current study will shed light on the problems they face. This paper presents the findings of a research project (BAP Project: .22.001) intending to evaluate how effectively international students have integrated into Kilis 7 Aralık University (K7AU) and the Turkish higher education system. It also tries to determine the students’ challenges and offer solutions thereunto.Considering the scope of the Council of Higher Education’s internationalization mission and vision, the research aims to establish the academic integration levels of international students studying at K7AU and identify the obstacles they have encountered. A survey devised for this project is used to determine the academic integration levels of the students, and the data has been evaluated using the SPSS program. The study also intends to give various recommendations based on quantitative assessments and relevant findings. Overall, by considering the experiences of international students of the K7AU the study aims to contribute to the improvement of relevant higher education policies.