International Student Migration for Development: An Institutional Approach to the Norwegian Quota Scheme

This paper addresses a call to acknowledge the varied actors that are involved in international student migration (ISM). In particular, this paper takes an institutional approach to investigate international education as a form of development aid. Research on ISM often omits non-student actors, which contributes to an incomplete understanding of the process. I study the Norwegian Quota Scheme to explore broader mechanisms of ISM. I first situate the Quota Scheme within literature on the internationalization of higher education and international education as development aid. I then use 26 interviews with 31 stakeholders at multiple scales of involvement in the Quota Scheme to identify and probe the objectives of actors invested in the Quota Scheme. Finally, I discuss three findings. First, the diversity of stakeholder actions can influence student migration decisions in unforeseen ways. Second, disparate planning mechanisms, particularly at university and departmental scales, result in uneven opportunities for students. Third, development goals often conflict with personal ambitions as the lived experiences of students dramatically alter their habitus. Taken together, my findings provide a better understanding of the complexities of ISM. Perhaps most importantly, this paper articulates the power of institutions to shape the migration outcomes of international students, particularly through government agencies, universities, and educators.