1. What is the “Study in Romania – International Students’ Experience in Romania” (SIR - ISER) Survey?
SIR-ISER is part of a national study that aims to measure the satisfaction level of international students regarding the quality of higher education and the services offered to students.
SIR-ISER is implemented for the first time in 2025 in all public and private higher education institutions in Romania. It continues the similar exercise carried out in 2020-2021, which surveyed mainly Romanian students.
The results of this survey will be published in aggregate form at the national level, and each university will receive a report with the results obtained.
2. Who developed the SIR-ISER?
SIR-ISER was developed by the Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI) in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Research as part of the project " Romania 2030: Increasing international relevance through internationalization of higher education”, MySIMS 319112
The approach respects UEFISCDI's experience in the field of student surveys as well as international models, with the development process involving internationally renowned experts.
3. What is the implementation period for the questionnaire?
The questionnaire is open for completion between November 5, 2025, and December 5, 2025.
4. Who benefits from the NS-SIR results?
The results obtained from the implementation of SIR-ISER will be used for the benefit of the main actors in the higher education system:
- Support material for the Ministry of Education and Research to inform certain sectoral public policies;
- Support material for advisory councils (National Council for Statistics and Forecasting in Higher Education, National Council for Financing Higher Education);
- Support material for higher education institutions to improve the educational experience of international students;
- Informing other stakeholders in the Romanian higehr education system.
5. What will the results look like?
All results obtained following the implementation of SIR-ISER will be published, aggregated, at national level. The results will then be used in the form of an analysis accompanied by recommendations. In addition, each higher education institution will receive a report with responses grouped by field of study, accompanied by a brief analysis, in order to establish a set of measures, if necessary.
6. Who is eligible to complete the SIR-ISER?
The SIR-ISER is intended for all international students enrolled in a Romanian higher education institution, whether public or private, regardless of the type of education, form of funding, and who are pursuing a Bachelor or Master degree program.
An international student can complete the questionnaire only once. Students enrolled in multiple study programs, regardless of level or form of funding, can complete the questionnaire for only one program, so they will have to choose one.
7. Do all students answer the same questions?
Yes, all students who complete the SIR-ISER answer the same questions.
8. What are students asked in the questionnaire?
The SIR-ISER aims to analyze/measure several dimensions related to international students' studies:
- Level of satisfaction with the quality of education
- Level of satisfaction with the services offered by higher education institutions
- The main reasons why international students chose to study in Romania or at the university where they are enrolled
- The experience of international students upon arrival in Romania
- Future plans of international students
In this regard, the questionnaire contains 41 questions, divided into 9 sections, as follows:
- profile of international students
- how international studentsfound out about the possibility of studying in Romania
- how international students finance their studies in Romania
- how international studentsdecided to study in Romania
- international students' perception about studying in Romania
- support when international students arrived and settled in Romania
- student experience in Romania
- what would make Romania more attractive
- Romania as a work destination.
9. How can universities contribute to SIR-ISER?
As part of this exercise, higher education institutions (HEIs) can contribute to promoting the Study in Romania – International Students’ Experience in Romania” (SIR - ISER) Survey in multiple ways: sending information to international students via institutional email addresses, or promoting and distributing SIR-ISER promotional materials.
Under no circumstances may higher education institutions make student participation in the SIR-ISER a condition of enrollment or recommend that students select certain answer options.
10. How can international students participate in SIR-ISER?
SIR-ISER can only be accessed online via the dedicated link sent in a personalized message to the personal email address registered in the National Students Enrollment Registry (RMUR).
The personal data requested is necessary for statistical processing. It will be used by the UEFISCDI team only for this purpose, with strict anonymity. If, during the completion period, if for various reasons the student is unable to complete the questionnaire, they can resume the process at any time, as an auto-save option is activated.
11. Are student responses confidential?
All responses to the SIR-ISER are confidential and respondents are anonymized for all institutions involved in the process. The email address provided will be used solely for the purpose of notifications of analyses, but this data will not be processed.
All responses will be processed and analyzed for scientific purposes only.