Short-term exchange programs in Korean Universities: International student mobility stratified by university mission

The purpose of this study was to explore the internationalization of higher education institutions by analyzing partnerships of short-term exchange programs among universities in Korea and abroad. Based on data from 3 years (2008, 2013, and 2017), we used descriptive statistics to analyze the inbound and outbound statuses of overseas universities that have established credit exchange agreements with Korean universities. The analysis showed that the major components of short-term mobility in Korean universities are changing, and that credit exchanges among universities differ depending on the universities’ missions. The results suggest that the stratification of universities can affect the extent and quality of the international experiences to which students have access. Using university-level data, we proved that international exchange patterns differ according to the characteristics of universities.