FACTORS FORMING THE EXPERIENCE OF FOREIGN STUDENTS AND THEIR ROLE IN THE EXPORT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

There is intense competition in the modern education market, which forces higher educational institutions to choose a market‐ oriented strategy. As local student numbers shrink, universities are actively recruiting foreign students. Therefore, it isimportant to determine the factors shaping the experiences of international students while obtaining higher education abroad, and the impact of these factors on the development of higher education exports. The aim of thisstudy isto assessthe factorsforming the experience of international students in the export of education. Surveys, frequency analysis, calculations of central tendency measures, and correlational analysis were used as the research methods. This study concludes that among the factors surveyed, students considered the following asthe most important ones: opportunity to travel to different countries during the studies, price level in the country, safety level in the country, good opportunities for leisure and entertainment, and the friendliness of locals. The most important factors for higher educational institutions included quality of education, interesting student life, good relationships with local students and with other foreign students, good relationships with academic staff, and interactive lectures. These results are important for higher educational institutions because they help to determine how to shape positive experiences for the development of higher education export.