Faculty members' expectations from international undergraduate students

The purpose of this study was to reveal faculty members' expectations concerning international students' professional competencies, language proficiency, adaptation processes, academic performance, and ethical and moral conduct, and to identify their perspectives on these processes. Furthermore, the research can serve as a resource for similar studies in the future by revealing the expectations regarding the competencies that international students should acquire during their pre-undergraduate preparation processes. In this context, the study group of the research consists of 12 faculty members who work at Karabük University Faculty of Engineering in the 2024-2025 academic year and who have direct communication with international undergraduate students in an academic context. Because this study is based on the interpretation of faculty members' experiences, it was conducted using a phenomenological approach, a qualitative research method. Therefore, a semi-structured interview form was used as the data collection tool in the study's data collection process. In the analysis of the obtained data, content analysis, a qualitative research method, was used to code the data obtained from the interviews in line with the purpose of the study. These codes were classified, and categories and themes were created to represent the research findings. Each identified code is supported by examples with direct quotations. In the study, the faculty members' opinions are presented within the framework of their perspectives on internationalization, their expectations for the field of engineering, their assessments of language proficiency, their expectations for the learning process, their views on the adaptation process, ethical and moral expectations, the obstacles encountered in meeting these expectations, and suggestions for addressing these obstacles. According to the findings, the faculty members have a positive perspective on the internationalization process if the necessary improvements are made. Students are expected to have the necessary infrastructure for their fields, improve their Turkish language proficiency at an academic level in all skills, not need translation support in communication, conduct their education and training processes in a goal-oriented manner, develop their academic perspectives, participate effectively in group work, and assume responsibility for their learning. It was also emphasized that students should have adequate preparation for undergraduate education, ensure their academic, social, and cultural adaptation, attend classes, avoid behavior that may undermine credibility on exams, comply with exam rules, and pay attention to originality, effort, and honesty in academic work.