A Comparison of South-East Asian and Australian First-Year Students' Views on University

A questionnaire study was carried out with Asian and Australian university entrants in order to ascertain their differential attitudes as to the purposes of an ideal university, and their expectations as to the milieu of an actual university. The implications of the significant culturally based differences between the two groups are discussed in terms of relative value systems, culture-shock effects, and the ramifications for both academic policy and inter-racial relations.