TFUNCTIONALITY OF TURKISH UNIVERSITIES' WEBSITES FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

International students have become an element of competition among higher education institutions due to the benefits they create. In this competitive process, universities' web sites are essential information sources for international students. This study aims to examine the universities' web sites in Turkey to discover whether they are functional in meeting the information needs of international students. In this study, in which the descriptive statistics method was used, the web sites of state and foundation universities (205) in Turkey were analyzed over eight variables. These variables were also analyzed in the context of their relationship with the establishment periods of universities. The results show that although 86.4% of Turkish universities have web sites that appeal to international students, these web sites are not functional enough regarding the examined variables. It has been determined that there is a statistically significant difference between state and foundation universities regarding application and admission processes, tuition, visa/residence, and accommodation information. Depending on this research results, some implications and recommendations were made to the relevant institutions.