German universities should focus on improving the quality of their teaching if they want to combat high dropout rates among international students, a study has found.

Academics from the Bavarian State Institute for Higher Education Research and Planning used Germany’s International Student Survey, with almost 2,500 respondents at bachelor’s and master’s level, in order to monitor changes in student satisfaction across three university semesters.

International undergraduates in Germany have a “significantly higher” dropout rate than domestic undergraduates, noted Susanne Falk, a senior researcher at the institute who authored the study alongside colleague Theresa Thies. Eighteen per cent of international students drop out in their first three terms of a bachelor’s degree, while only 11 per cent of domestic students do the same.

According to the OECD’s , Germany hosted 423,000 international students in 2023, making it the most popular non-anglophone destination among OECD countries and the fourth most popular overall behind the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

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Between 2013 and 2023, the OECD reports, the proportion of international students in Germany came close to doubling, rising from 7.1 per cent to 12.7 per cent.

However, “only satisfied students will recommend studying in Germany to others, thus ensuring that Germany remains an attractive host country,” Falk said. Previous studies have linked higher student satisfaction with lower ���ǰ���, the study authors noted.

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The academics anticipated that the internationality of student cohorts would have a significant impact on overseas student satisfaction: “We would have assumed that international students would feel more comfortable in the programme if they met other international students,” said Falk.

They were “surprised” to find, however, that a high level of international students had “no effect” on student satisfaction,” with “perceived quality of teaching”, “social integration with fellow students” and “teacher support” proving more significant factors.

Analysing changes in international student satisfaction over three semesters, Falk noted, allowed the researchers “to tell universities, ‘You have room for manoeuvre.’”

By improving teaching quality – “for example, ensuring that lecturers are well prepared for their courses, explain the content clearly and comprehensively and are open to questions and suggestions from students” – universities could boost satisfaction, and thus reduce dropout rates, the study authors suggested.

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“This serves as a wake-up call to lecturers: improve the quality of your lectures and student satisfaction will increase,” said Falk.

The findings could have significant implications for the German labour market, the academics suggested. “Germany currently has a shortage of skilled workers, particularly in academic STEM professions,” Falk said. “Improving student satisfaction could help more international students complete their studies and remain in Germany after graduation.”

“In the context of demographic change and global competition for well-trained engineers, computer scientists and natural scientists, this would be a huge opportunity for Germany to reduce the labour shortage.”

emily.dixon@timeshighereducation.com