Satisfaction of French government scholarship holders: overview for the academic year 2019-2020

Campus France published Brève #10 “La satisfaction des boursiers, état des lieux de l’année universitaire 2019-2020” (Satisfaction of scholarship holders, overview of academic year 2019-2020), a report assessing the quality of stay in France of French government scholarship holders.

In 2019-2020, the French government allocated 8,087 scholarships for stays or short to foreign students and researchers, either through French embassies or directly by ministries (central programmes): the French Government Scholarships (BGF in French). Such scholarships are managed by Campus France.

Sky high and still growing satisfaction rate

French government scholarship holders are generally very satisfied of their experience in France (98% of satisfaction, 4 points more than 5 years ago). And holders’ high level of satisfaction is both due to the information received to prepare their departure during contacts with the Espaces Campus France (92% satisfaction rate), and the practical advice received to prepare their stay (93%).

The welcome received at the arrival was also praised (91% satisfied), the quality of life is appreciated (97%), and the quality of studies (95%). Scholarship holders are also satisfied with the support provided by Campus France (91%). When asked whether they would recommend France for a stay abroad, 97% of BGFs say yes.

Scholarships are an important component of mobility, and only 30% of students declare they would still have come to France if they hadn’t received a scholarship.

Still room for improvement

The main difficulty faced by scholarship holders regards administrative procedures (30% dissatisfied), particularly for short-stay students. Students also face difficulties to find an accommodation (21% dissatisfied), but this may not be specific to international students.

Methodology

A satisfaction questionnaire was sent to the 8,087 BGFs attending in 2019-2020 in French and English. 3,131 responded between 24 June and 8 July 2021, a high response rate of almost 40%.

Download the Brève #10 (in French)

In a deliberately synthetic format, the “Brèves” focus on a specific aspect of international mobility.