A comparative analysis of information for international students provided by U.S. and Canadian universities.

With a focus on socioeconomic issues considered important by the international students in the host nation, this study asks two research questions: How do United States and Canadian universities provide information on immigration policies that address the socioeconomic issues pertaining to international students? How are American and Canadian universities similar and different in the information they provide on immigration policies on socioeconomic issues pertaining to international students? Five universities each from U.S. and Canada that received most international students were purposively selected. A qualitative content analysis was conducted on the websites of the universities. The U.S. and Canadian universities are similar in the approach of presenting policies on employment and costs of education, and different in regard to the focus on immigration policies and international students' immigration status maintenance in the presentation of the policies. Despite presenting restrictive U.S. immigration policies, international students have selected the U.S. universities for their higher education. Conversely, the presentation of flexible Canadian immigration policies has seemingly helped in the enrollment of international students in the Canadian universities