Developing a manageable system of internationalization indicators for universities in Asia

Purpose This study aims to construct a system of indicators for measuring the internationalization of universities allowing comparative self-assessment by universities in Asia. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the aforementioned research purpose, the authors conducted three surveys and held an expert roundtable discussion. Two surveys were conducted, one in Japan and the other in Asia, to identify important indicators for measuring the internationalization of universities. Additionally, a survey of experts was conducted to identify effective indicators for benchmarking internationalization among universities in Asia. An analysis of each survey was examined during the roundtable discussion, and a system of internationalization indicators was constructed. Findings The three survey results showed similarities and differences between the relative importance accorded to 53 internationalization indicators by universities in Japan and in other Asian countries, as well as in the experts' perspectives on the effectiveness of each indicator for benchmarking. An analysis of those surveys resulted in 24 core internationalization indicators categorized into six key dimensions of university internationalization. Originality/value This study proposed a system of internationalization indicators based on an analysis of empirical research targeting universities in Asia. The resulting system reflects not only the opinions of academic experts but also the perspectives of its potential users, administrators in Asian universities. It consists of six internationalization dimensions with a manageable number of indicators, 24. These include both quantitative indicators and checklists of internationalization activities which can be used as quantitative or qualitative indicators.