Background: Between the years 2009 and 2010, an average of approximately 5 400 applications were received at the University of KwaZulu-Natal from international students (Division of Management Information, 2010). Knowledge of international students is essential to higher education institutions. It can be said that international students have become a vibrant part of the diversity in South Africa’s education sector and provide immense benefits to our economy, educational institutions, local students and educators. However, there exists a paucity of research on the post-choice perceptions of international students. Purpose and Methods: The purpose of the study was to assess the post-choice perceptions of international students (undergraduate and postgraduate) at UKZN, with special references to diversity challenges. A cross-sectional/survey design using questionnaires, with both descriptive and analytical components was employed. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The researcher randomly chose 300 students from an updated listing of the registered international students chosen by the generation of random numbers to achieve the objectives of the study. The researcher surveyed the 300 students which were easiest to get a hold of who were contacted via email and invited to participate in the study. The responses of 280 international students were analysed. All data was processed and analysed using the SPSS version 15.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA). For all statistical comparisons, the 5% significance level was used; correspondingly, 95% confidence intervals were used to describe effect size. Results and Conclusion: The identified diversity challenges experienced by international students at higher education institutions were found to be: language and communication; social interaction across race/ethnicity; discrimination; pedagogical approaches; finances; interracial conflict/tension; curriculum; assessment methods; lifestyle adjustment; campus services and facilities; classroom diversity; staff and, lastly, campus administration and policies. The results established that financial issues (insufficient financial aid and part-time/casual jobs); a lack of platforms for social and interracial mixing; campus residency (insufficient space and an inconducive learning environment); and a lack of hosts on arrival are the predominant diversity challenges experienced by international students at UKZN. At the 95% level, where p<0.05, the results indicated significant differences in the perception of language and communication (p= .009) and assessment methods (p= .006) between undergraduate and postgraduate respondents. The undergraduate students have a higher score than the postgraduate students. This finding signifies that postgraduate respondents displayed a slightly stronger level of agreement for language and communication and assessment methods being a challenge compared to the undergraduate respondents. Therefore, the writer attempted to provide recommendations from the results and findings to ensure a truly diverse and united university. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.

In studying postgraduate students’ lived experiences and their learning moments in their postgraduate studies, my study offers a deeper understanding of who these African, international, postgraduate students are and how they negotiate their learning experiences within the various social, personal and professional spaces at University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). I explored postgraduate students’ lived experiences in higher education within the context of internationalisation. My study is located within a qualitative research approach which allows me to understand the postgraduate students’ lived experiences in higher education from the perspective of the participants, as they negotiate and construct particular meanings of self and learning.Using a narrative inquiry approach offered me the opportunity to reflect on the diversity, richness and complexities involved in understanding the personal and professional learning experiences of postgraduate international students studying in higher education. The research methods used included life history interviews, collage and photo voice to understand the complexities, challenges and highlights of studying in a foreign country. The data generated enabled me to produce rich and vivid narrative accounts of their learning.Through narrative analysis, two reconstructed students' stories were produced. The findings of the data show that international students are faced with both positive and negative learning experiences. Particular meanings of self shaped by dominant discourses and practices in their homeland shape who they are as international postgraduate students. The study concludes that these African, international, postgraduate students’ personal, social and professional identities are negotiated on a daily basis within the postgraduate learning. Their professional space offered them a platform to realise their goals at UKZN as international students. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.