Qa For Business - Phuc - Oversea

July 6

Quantitative Analysis for Business

2008

Choosing country for Studying abroad Group 2

Application Project

HO CHI MINH INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY BUSINESS ADMINSTRATION DERPARTMENT

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS FOR BUSINESS PROJECT INSTRUCTOR Associate Professor Ho Thanh Phong

Group 2 Đoàn Thanh Phúc

BA06099

Phạm Như Quỳnh

BA060101

Nguyễn Thụy Anh Thư

BA060104

Nguyễn Thành Phương Thủy

BA060105

Lê Thị Kim Tuyền

BA060114

Nguyễn Thị Thanh Vân

BA060116

Lê Minh Hải

BA060089

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam July 7, 2008

Contents A. B.

INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1 DESCRIPTION............................................................................................................................ 2 1. AN OVERVIEW ABOUT 3 CRITERIA .......................................................................................... 2 2. AN OVERVIEW ABOUT 4 ALTERNATIVES ................................................................................ 3 STUDY IN USA .............................................................................................................................. 3 STUDY IN UK ................................................................................................................................ 5 STUDY IN AUSTRALIA................................................................................................................... 6 STUDY IN SINGAPORE .................................................................................................................. 7 C. DATA ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................................... 8 D. CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................... 12 1. THE E-SURVEY ......................................................................................................................... 13 2.THE EXPERT CHOICE COMPARISON MATRIX TABLES: ............................................ 17 3.ACADEMIC REPUTATION AND TUITION: ...................................................................... 19

Quantitative Analysis for Business Application Project

A. INTRODUCTION Studying abroad has recently enthroned to its glorious popularity: it has almost become a phenomenon. There are more and more parents wanting their children to study abroad because of many different reasons: Study abroad is the optimal way to learn a language. There is no better and more effective way to learn a language than to be immersed in a culture that speaks the language you are learning. Study abroad will help you develop skills and give you experiences a classroom setting can never provide. Being immersed in an entirely new cultural setting is scary at first, but it is also exciting. It is an opportunity to discover new strengths and abilities, to conquer new challenges, and to solve new problems. You will encounter situations that are wholly unfamiliar to you and will learn to adapt and respond in effective ways. Study abroad helps you to learn about yourself. Students who study abroad return home with new ideas and perspectives about themselves and their own culture. The abroad experience often challenges them to reconsider their own beliefs and values. The experience might strengthen those values or it might cause students to alter or abandon them and embrace new concepts and perceptions. The encounter with other cultures enables students to see their own culture through new eyes. Study abroad expands your worldview. Students who study abroad return home with an informed and much less biased perspective toward other cultures and peoples. In the other hand, study abroad also enhances employment opportunities. Finally, study abroad can enhance the value of your degree. While being abroad, you can take courses you would never have had the opportunity to take on your home campus. It also creates an “intense language environment” that sometimes might foster your opportunity and ability to cope up with the third language. Etc. Nevertheless, even though study abroad has carried a lot of advantages, there are also a lot of things must be considered when parents decide to let their children study in another country. Especially to families who belong to the middle class and have an average standard of living, they must think carefully to choose the country where they can afford to settle their finance for their children’s studying. And this is the main subject that we aim when conducting this project. Making a decision to find out where to study is based on some main factors. Those are academic reputation, tuition, living expense, and environment. In term of middle class, we purchase these following things for choosing a country for studying abroad:

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Reasonable fee Reliable academic programs Favorable living condition Students often decide to go to the school that offered them more scholarship or grants and less living expense. The language itself is also a part of the considering, as how popular it can be... In brief, considering where to study is not easy, especially for people with average financial capabilities. Thus, this project will provide a tool to solve the problem by looking at the collected data, calculating and analyzing them based on three main criteria, then finding the best result represented for the country that is the most appropriate for average people to study there. For more reliability in the project, our group made a small survey . Our scope is students who have tendency to study abroad. We collect their opinion then cover it into figures and analyze it in our project. .Along with 3 criteria , we also offer 4 alternatives those are 4 countries (US,UK,AUS,SGP) represent for 4 continent. Base on comparison of three main criteria above along with four alternatives, we will see which one is the best to choose.

B. DESCRIPTION 1. An overview about 3 criteria

Fee consists of tuition, fee, and living expense. After parents have decided whether their children can live abroad or not, this is the second most important factor which will influence their decision of studying abroad. . Money is always a concern when studying far from home, but they will find that the cost of living is about the same, it not cheaper for most students. It all depends on the country they wish to study in. The criterion for fee is related to the family’s financial capability. Middle class families concern about the countries which have the moderate standard of living and also the schools with reasonable fees of studying. (However this factor does not necessarily hinder children from going abroad because now day’s student loans and scholarships are readily available) Academic reputation is also very important part. Maybe reputation of one country’s academy makes the confidence about how much you will achieve when studying there. Middle class families may not concern too much about this factor like upper ones, but in a certain extent, they still want to choose an appropriate place which is renowned for their children to study

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Environment includes security and career opportunity. Security is always the most important factor people must concern about whatever to do or wherever to go. Security makes safety and it depends on the environment where people are living. It relates to one country’s politics, economy or religion ….it seems to be true that a country with higher standard of living will have higher level of security. But it’s not absolutely right. So, people with average financial capabilities can evenly choose to study in an average country, but with a better security. Besides, career opportunity in such a country is also open to everyone who studies there. A lot of countries attract people to study by engaging carrier opportunities and allow students to engage in different kind of part time job and internship, which most of them are academic related. Even though most schools have a tight regulation with part-time job, they are still providing opportunity for international students to be able to have a part-time job. For example, in the U.S., international students must apply for social security number before their schools will hire them. The U.S. and a lot of countries do not allow students to work out-side the school, but they do recruit international students for some academic job. The strict conditions are to prevent students from working too much to supply for their tuition but studying. Nevertheless, some countries do allow students to work part-time outside with certain hours. Those way students can experience the working environment practically, and apparently most of them choose to work in summer, which does not hinder their studing... Average parents let their children study abroad to get these also 2. An overview about 4 alternatives

Study in USA

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America is the best powerful country with the advanced and modern education, which is allowed all over the world. It is also the country has the best various and interesting culture in the world. That is why America always be the attractive place for international students to studying and earning experiences in life, tradition and culture of friendly and nice American! The system of universities in USA is considered as one of the best universal systems in the world, so there are a lot of students from many countries desire to study in USA. Why are universities in USA attractive? It’s reasonable by these features: Universities in USA are various, flexible, adaptable and realistic with the production and society! The education in USA is influenced by labor market. It’s also influenced by the education of England about literature subjects and of German about researching, training after graduation and occupation training. The particular traits of USA university education are training academics including general idea courses, free-choosing subjects, compelling subjects and credits system through in the education academic. By using number of cumulative credits, students can be more active and flexible in training courses and education institutions There are two kinds: University and College, which have the same meaning and issued Bachelor degrees

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Study in UK

Although the UK is relatively small, this does not mean there is little variety. Far from it. It is home to around 60 million people and is made up of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, each with a distinct history and culture. The UK is a great place to live as well as study. It is a vibrant, fun multicultural country with beautiful scenery, historic sites and some of the best museums, art galleries and cinemas in the world. However, coming to the UK can be an equally thrilling and daunting event.

There are certain climatic and cultural peculiarities to the country that may make life initially hard to adjust to. Leaving home and traveling to study in a new country is a stressful experience for anyone. This applies whatever country you come from, and wherever you are going to study, even though some cultures are more similar than others because of geographic, historic, demographic and other connections. The UK is a place of great contrasts. There are vibrant, bustling cities like London, Cardiff and Edinburgh, as well as places of dramatic scenic beauty such as the rolling downs of Southwest England, the rugged Welsh mountains and the tranquility of the Scottish Isles. There’s a lot to explore, and luckily the good transportation links throughout will help you to make the most of your time in the UK

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Study in Australia

Australia is one of the single most interesting and alluring locations in the world. Whether it's due to the positioning at the opposite side of the world from the traditional West, the legendarily friendly and fun-loving people with the appealing accents, or the ruggedness of its landscape juxtaposed with the supremely cosmopolitan cityscapes, Australia is a destination desirable to both travelers and students. In Australia, there are more than 12000 academic accepted internationally. Fees and living expenses in Australia seem lower than other countries such as UK, USA or Canada. The environment of living and studying is safe. Australia is also one of the countries have high living standard. The education system is also standardized! Therefore, the number of abroad students in Australia ranks the third after USA and UK Active environment, multi-cultures, the geographical distance from Australia to Asia is not further than North America or Europe are reasons for Asian students choosing Australia. Moreover, international students are allowed to do part time jobs in 20 hours per week while studying and work full time in holidays. All schools in Australia include universities, colleges, or course training must be controlled by the government from quality of teaching to the ethics of job…. Modern-day Australia has come a long way from its admittedly humble beginnings, and is now one of the most advanced nations in the world. Students benefit from this, and many colleges and universities run terrific study abroad Australia programs. Whatever your major or purpose for studying abroad, spending a summer, semester, or longer in Australia will not only be academically rewarding, but enriching to your life in ways that few other places can be.

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Study in Singapore

Located off the southern coast of Malaysia, Singapore is a country rich with history and culture. According to Malay legend, Singapore was originally named Singapura by a Sumatran prince after he encountered a lion. This encounter was considered to be good luck, and thus, "Singapura" (which means "City of the Lion") was founded. Eventually, Singapore became a trading post for the British during the 18th century and remained under British rule until the Japanese invaded the island during World War II. After the War ended, the British returned, and Singapore did not gain independence until 1965. The hot and humid lowlands of Singapore brim with diverse cultures, languages and religions. The country is host to numerous attractions that reflect the many interests of its people. Some of these attractions include Colonial Singapore, with its beautiful churches and cathedrals; Chinatown, which features the Thian Hock Keng Temple; Arab Street, which boasts unique spices and goods; and Little India, which is saturated by fascinating shops. Festivals also display Singapore's cultural diversity. The Chinese New Year is celebrated with dancing and parades, while the Hari Raya Puasa festival marks the last three days of Ramadan for Muslims. Education ranks among the top priorities for the people of Singapore and is the government's second largest expense. Mandatory schooling is enforced for six years of primary school and four years of secondary school. From secondary school, students can apply for junior college and eventually move on to one of Singapore's three universities: the National University of Singapore, the Nanyang Technological University or the Singapore Management University. A visit to Singapore guarantees a memorable experience for anyone interested in learning more about a diverse culture and rich history.

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C. DATA ANALYSIS The hierarchy for problem choosing country for studying abroad Select the best Country Fee

Environment

Security

Academic reputaion

Career Opptunity

US

UK

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AUS

SG

The table above results from the survey we made on 31 students who are affordable for studying abroad. The results show the Fee is the factor that affects their decisions the most in this field. The 2nd one is Academic reputation and the rest one is its environment which has 2 sub-criteria, job opportunity and security. Using software to calculate, we have the weights of these criteria as follow:

Comparisons among countries in each of the three criteria To access to followings, we conducted a survey and consulted from some necessary websites to have valid data. Priorities in Fee

Priorities in Academic Reputation

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Priorities in Environment > Security (0.200)

Priorities in Environment > Career opportunity

These evaluations above were done based on the information we found and the survey (see more information about our survey in the Appendix). 1) Fee Tuition fees

Living expense

US

10000 - 20000 $

7200 - 12000$

UK

12000 - 18000 $

10000 - 14000$

AUS

12480 - 15360 $

11520 $

SG

5180 - 6660 $

3108 -

7104$

Fee includes tuition fees and living expense. As we can see, Singapore has the lowest total fee and UK has the highest, hence, SG has the most priority and UK has the least. US and AUS are nearly similar to each other.

2) Academic Reputation To evaluate the countries in this field, we used the ranking of universities in the world. This ranking was based on the achievements, staffs, value of certificates, quality of students, etc… In the top 10, there are 8 universities of US and 2 of UK, meanwhile, National University of Australia and National University of Singapore, which are the best in their countries, stay at 57 and 109, respectively. Therefore, US have more and SG has fewer points than the others.

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3) Environment Environment includes 2 sub- criteria, security and job opportunity. In terms of security, we can easily find that security in US is the worst. US society is so free and partly out of controls that terrorism, murdering, crimes… often happen. This really concerns the students, so US loose their points and become the worst choice in this field. Security in UK is also a considerable problem, UK used to have some cases of terrorism; however, it is still better than US, so being the second choice is reasonable for UK. Australia society seems to be safer, despite some rebellions, and second place for it is acceptable. The last country, Singapore, is supposed to be the best place for students to live in because of its good security. From many years we haven’t heard about any terrorism, rebellion or demonstration in Singapore. In the job opportunity criterion, the survey, which is done by students who used to study in these countries, indicates that US is the country that provide the most parttime jobs for students. In US, it is easy for a student to find a job during his/her semester or in summer break. UK also has a lot of part-time jobs for students but less than US, so it stays at the second place. AUS and SG are almost the same in this field.

After analyzing the information and using the software, we go to the result below.

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D.

CONCLUSION

Thanks to the Expert Choice software (EC), now we can know which country is the best for students who are from middle class and intended to study abroad. Singapore is recommended as the best country to study based on most of the middle class students’ condition and ability. Right after the best one is USA. If the students who had better financial ability or more other advantages such as relatives living in that country, they should choose USA as an alternative. Because the weight of Fee occupies nearly 2/3 of the total weight, so that it comes as the most worried problem to decide. But now, there are so many foundations and universities of USA offer Vietnam many kinds of scholarships. We find it easy to get a 50% discount tuition scholarship. If did so, in term of financial ability, students could re-consider their best recommendation from EC to make a new decision is USA as an adventure with its advantage is job opportunity which offers students chance to earn money much more than the rest countries. But in theory, Singapore is still the best one for students who are in middle class families.

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E- APPENDIX 1. THE E-SURVEY For improving validation and reliability of the report, we designed an e-survey on and use it to consult some students who are studying abroad and intend to study abroad:

With the purpose is supporting to your decision in choosing which country is suitable for you to study abroad. We make this e-survey to consult your preferences and make them come to decision. We recommend four countries in this one, include: United State of America, United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore. And the scale to evaluate your preference is: 1=Equal (prefer) ; 3=Moderate ; 5=Strong ; 7=Very Strong ; 9=Extreme. The negative sign (-) expresses the side of the right element compared only!

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Link to e-survey: http://qtrial.qualtrics.com/SE?SID=SV_6sxAAoaiSgof9k0&SVID=Prod

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After ending up the survey with 31 respondents, that site gives us the result to calculate the following final statistic:

1. Assuming you intend to study abroad, please scale following factors as you would consider:

Statistic

Fee vs. Academic reputation

Fee vs. Environment

Academic Environment

Mean

3.26

3.94

2.98

Total Responses

31

31

31

vs.

2. For Fee criteria, please scale the preference for each comparison of countries:

Statistic

USA vs. UK

USA vs. AUS

USA vs. SGP

UK vs. AUS

UK vs. SGP

AUS vs. SGP

Mean

3.12

-2.03

-5.22

-3.27

-7.04

-3.87

Total Responses

31

31

31

31

31

31

3. For Academic Reputation criteria, please scale the preference for each comparison of countries:

Statistic

USA vs. UK

USA vs. AUS

USA vs. SGP

UK vs. AUS

UK vs. SGP

AUS vs. SGP

Mean

3.13

4.61

5.97

2.98

5.03

3.17

Total Responses

31

31

31

31

31

31

4. Please scale the comparison between Career Opportunity and Security in Environment criteria, which one you prefer?

Statistic

Career Opp. vs. Security

Mean

3.81

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Total Responses

31

5. For Environment criteria with Career Opportunity factor, please scale the preference for each comparison of countries:

Statistic

USA vs. UK

USA vs. AUS

USA vs. SGP

UK vs. AUS

UK vs. SGP

AUS vs. SGP

Mean

3.12

5.31

5.55

1.98

2.17

1.14

Total Responses

31

31

31

31

31

31

6. For Environment criteria with Security factor, please scale the preference for each comparison of countries:

Statistic

USA vs. UK

USA vs. AUS

USA vs. SGP

UK vs. AUS

UK vs. SGP

AUS vs. SGP

Mean

-2.89

-4.94

-7.07

-3.31

-4.79

-3.21

Total Responses

31

31

31

31

31

31

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2.THE EXPERT CHOICE COMPARISON MATRIX TABLES: From the result of the e-survey combines with our preferences, we assigned these following matrix tables:

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3.ACADEMIC REPUTATION AND TUITION: After consulting from the top 100 Universities of the World, we rank the Academic Reputation by order: 1. USA 2. UK 3. AUS 4. Singapore http://www.arwu.org/rank/2007/ARWU2007_Top100.htm

And the cost of study:

USA (PRIVATE) TUITION FEES

LIVING EXPENSE

UG

10000 - 20000 US $

7200 - 12000/Year

PG

15000 - 25000 US $

7200 - 12000/Year

UNITED KINGDOM TUITION FEES

LIVING EXPENSE

UG

6000 - 9000 UK Pounds

5000 - 7000 UK Pounds/Year

PG

6000 - 12000 UK Pounds

5000 - 7000 UK Pounds/Year

AUSTRALIA TUITION FEES

LIVING EXPENSE

UG

13000 - 16000 AUD

12000 AUD/Year

PG

15000 - 22000 AUD

12000 AUD/Year

SINGAPORE TUITION FEES

LIVING EXPENSE

UG

24000 - 32000 S$

4200 - 9600 S$/Year

PG

17000 - 26000 S$

4200 - 9600 S$/Year

http://www.edwiseinternational.com/Sitehtm/cost_of_study.htm

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