Decline in overseas students to cost dearly, warn university chiefs
Release date: 07 Sep 2010
The comments came as the vice-chancellors of Australia's top research universities wrote to Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to seek assurances that whoever forms government will act swiftly to fix problems in the international education sector.
Professor Byrne told The Age current policies were in danger of ''doing very, very serious harm to one of the most important industries this country has''.
He said Victoria - where international education is the biggest export industry, worth about $4.5 billion a year - had the most to lose. ''Whichever government is returned, they need to give a very high priority to sorting this out,'' he said.
Professor Byrne said that while universities had not yet been as badly affected by the drop in overseas student numbers as private colleges and English language schools the worst was yet to come. Australia's universities have feeder colleges that prepare prospective international students for study at the main institutions.
Monash College is the ''pipeline'' for many of Monash University's overseas students. Professor Byrne said the pipeline was beginning to dry up, signalling serious problems.
''For the first time, we're noticing significant downturns [in the pipelines].
''It is the early warning sign for the market at large and when we lose that market share, which it has taken a generation to build up, it will be very hard to get it back.''
The Group of Eight universities - Melbourne, Monash, Sydney, Queensland and Adelaide Universities as well as the Australian National University, and the Universities of New South Wales and Western Australia - have called on Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott to commit to actions to shore up the international education sector.
The actions include:
¦ Removal of student visa entrants from the government's net immigration goals.
¦ Reviewing policy settings for student visas.
¦ A combined approach by government departments and administrative agencies.
Professor Byrne said government had to act quickly to shore up the sector. ''Outside natural resources, the most important industry that Australia has at the moment is higher education.
''The direct cash value is about $7 billion … and to the whole economy it's about $14 billion a year. For a country that aspires to be a clever country this is a really important industry to us.''
A spokesman for Education Minister Simon Crean said the government made no apologies for measures ''introduced to safeguard the quality of the Australian education brand''.
But, he said, if returned a Labor government would ''continue to monitor the impact of these changes on international students [and] work with all stakeholders to ensure that Australia continues to be a quality provider of international education.''
Mr Abbott's office would not comment because it had not yet received the letter from the eight universities.
Source: The Age
Professor Byrne told The Age current policies were in danger of ''doing very, very serious harm to one of the most important industries this country has''.
He said Victoria - where international education is the biggest export industry, worth about $4.5 billion a year - had the most to lose. ''Whichever government is returned, they need to give a very high priority to sorting this out,'' he said.
Professor Byrne said that while universities had not yet been as badly affected by the drop in overseas student numbers as private colleges and English language schools the worst was yet to come. Australia's universities have feeder colleges that prepare prospective international students for study at the main institutions.
Monash College is the ''pipeline'' for many of Monash University's overseas students. Professor Byrne said the pipeline was beginning to dry up, signalling serious problems.
''For the first time, we're noticing significant downturns [in the pipelines].
''It is the early warning sign for the market at large and when we lose that market share, which it has taken a generation to build up, it will be very hard to get it back.''
The Group of Eight universities - Melbourne, Monash, Sydney, Queensland and Adelaide Universities as well as the Australian National University, and the Universities of New South Wales and Western Australia - have called on Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott to commit to actions to shore up the international education sector.
The actions include:
¦ Removal of student visa entrants from the government's net immigration goals.
¦ Reviewing policy settings for student visas.
¦ A combined approach by government departments and administrative agencies.
Professor Byrne said government had to act quickly to shore up the sector. ''Outside natural resources, the most important industry that Australia has at the moment is higher education.
''The direct cash value is about $7 billion … and to the whole economy it's about $14 billion a year. For a country that aspires to be a clever country this is a really important industry to us.''
A spokesman for Education Minister Simon Crean said the government made no apologies for measures ''introduced to safeguard the quality of the Australian education brand''.
But, he said, if returned a Labor government would ''continue to monitor the impact of these changes on international students [and] work with all stakeholders to ensure that Australia continues to be a quality provider of international education.''
Mr Abbott's office would not comment because it had not yet received the letter from the eight universities.
Source: The Age
Australia leads on foreign students
Release date: 08 Sep 2010
The OECD's Education at a Glance report, released last night, found one in five students in tertiary education in Australia in 2008 was from overseas. Australia was ahead of Austria, which had 15.5 per cent foreign students, Belgium (8.6 per cent) and Canada (6.5 per cent) and well ahead of the OECD average of 6.7 per cent.
It was also more reliant on students to pick up the bill for tertiary education than most other developed countries.
Less than half of funding for tertiary institutions in Australia came from the public purse, with 55.7 per cent from private sources such as fees paid by international students.
On average in OECD countries, 69.1 per cent of tertiary education is paid for publicly, with the figure rising as high as 97 per cent in Norway and 96.5 per cent in Denmark.
The international education market is worth $18 billion to the Australian economy and universities depend on fees from foreign students.
International students are a sensitive topic in Australia. Visa numbers plummeted 16 per cent last financial year following restrictions on access to permanent residency after completing courses such as cookery and hairdressing, a crackdown on disreputable colleges and attacks on Indian students.
Ben Jensen, a former OECD analyst, said that while the report did not reflect the drop in international student visas after the immigration crackdown, it did reflect how reliant Australia was on foreign students to prop up university funding.
He said most other countries had been investing heavily in tertiary education while in Australia investment dropped from 1.6 per cent of gross domestic product in 1995 to 1.5 per cent in 2007.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
It was also more reliant on students to pick up the bill for tertiary education than most other developed countries.
Less than half of funding for tertiary institutions in Australia came from the public purse, with 55.7 per cent from private sources such as fees paid by international students.
On average in OECD countries, 69.1 per cent of tertiary education is paid for publicly, with the figure rising as high as 97 per cent in Norway and 96.5 per cent in Denmark.
The international education market is worth $18 billion to the Australian economy and universities depend on fees from foreign students.
International students are a sensitive topic in Australia. Visa numbers plummeted 16 per cent last financial year following restrictions on access to permanent residency after completing courses such as cookery and hairdressing, a crackdown on disreputable colleges and attacks on Indian students.
Ben Jensen, a former OECD analyst, said that while the report did not reflect the drop in international student visas after the immigration crackdown, it did reflect how reliant Australia was on foreign students to prop up university funding.
He said most other countries had been investing heavily in tertiary education while in Australia investment dropped from 1.6 per cent of gross domestic product in 1995 to 1.5 per cent in 2007.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
International dimension underrated
Release date: 08 Sep 2010
A Nielsen survey of 1548 people in July found that close to half the respondents rated the sector's activities in international education as not very important or not important at all.
It follows a March survey of 1378 people by British-based TNS that found close to half believed that international students took places from domestic students. That is despite international student fees being a key source of funding for universities to cross-subsidise underfunded domestic places. International fees account for about 16 per cent of sector revenues.
Universities Australia, which commissioned the Nielsen survey, said the results highlighted a need to better promote the importance of international students.
"The job of getting widespread public support for the international education activities of universities is still in front of us for a significant share of the population," UA chief executive Glenn Withers said.
The survey asked a series of questions on public attitudes to universities and their activities. Asked for their views on the importance of universities pursuing international education, 33 per cent of respondents said it wasn't very important and a further 13 per cent said it wasn't important at all, a total of 46 per cent. Only 10 per cent rated it as very important and 38 per cent as important, a total of 48 per cent. About 6 per cent didn't know.
"One of the things we want to go back to government on is a positive campaign as to why this is a great thing for Australia to have and support," Dr Withers said.
Source: The Australian
It follows a March survey of 1378 people by British-based TNS that found close to half believed that international students took places from domestic students. That is despite international student fees being a key source of funding for universities to cross-subsidise underfunded domestic places. International fees account for about 16 per cent of sector revenues.
Universities Australia, which commissioned the Nielsen survey, said the results highlighted a need to better promote the importance of international students.
"The job of getting widespread public support for the international education activities of universities is still in front of us for a significant share of the population," UA chief executive Glenn Withers said.
The survey asked a series of questions on public attitudes to universities and their activities. Asked for their views on the importance of universities pursuing international education, 33 per cent of respondents said it wasn't very important and a further 13 per cent said it wasn't important at all, a total of 46 per cent. Only 10 per cent rated it as very important and 38 per cent as important, a total of 48 per cent. About 6 per cent didn't know.
"One of the things we want to go back to government on is a positive campaign as to why this is a great thing for Australia to have and support," Dr Withers said.
Source: The Australian
Australian Unis on a downward slide?
Release date: 09 Sep 2010
Among rural independent, Rob Oakeshott's gripes was the "crisis in regional education". It was a reference to cuts the Coalition had threatened.
A new report this week shows that Australian unis have lost ground in international rankings. And Universities Australia has warned the incoming government needs to make sure they don't slip any further.
Another study shows that Australia has the highest proportion of international students enrolled in tertiary education of anywhere in the world.
That's a worry for universities so heavily reliant on fee revenue from international students. Overseas student enrolments are expected to halve from next year in response to tighter migration laws. That means many universities and other tertiary institutions will struggle to survive - let alone raise standards.
The government only provides 46 per cent of university funding. Universities, who say they have been underfunded for 20 years, have to survive on private revenue. They are battling with high student/staff ratios. In her review of higher education, Denise Bradley said the ratios were "unacceptably high".
Meanwhile, the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation reports that Australia invests more public funding for education into private schools than most other countries in the world. Australia is ranked fourth highest behind Belgium, Chile and Korea in terms of the percentage of public expenditure it transfers to independent schools (16.9%). Australia ranks third lowest, ahead of Chile and Belgium, in terms of its investment in public schools (71.9%). Close to 66 per cent of students are in public schools with the remaining third enrolled in independent schools.
According to the former OECD analyst, Ben Jensen, most other countries are investing more than Australia in higher education. Australia’s investment has fallen from 1.6% of GDP in 1995 to 1.5% in 2007.
Jensen says the fall in public spending makes universities vulnerable to any big changes in foreign student enrolments.
It's no secret that education is a big revenue spinner for the Australian economy. And it's hard to see how the country can afford to lose any more of its competitive edge internationally. Universities are now relying on the independent MPs to put more heat on the government.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
A new report this week shows that Australian unis have lost ground in international rankings. And Universities Australia has warned the incoming government needs to make sure they don't slip any further.
Another study shows that Australia has the highest proportion of international students enrolled in tertiary education of anywhere in the world.
That's a worry for universities so heavily reliant on fee revenue from international students. Overseas student enrolments are expected to halve from next year in response to tighter migration laws. That means many universities and other tertiary institutions will struggle to survive - let alone raise standards.
The government only provides 46 per cent of university funding. Universities, who say they have been underfunded for 20 years, have to survive on private revenue. They are battling with high student/staff ratios. In her review of higher education, Denise Bradley said the ratios were "unacceptably high".
Meanwhile, the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation reports that Australia invests more public funding for education into private schools than most other countries in the world. Australia is ranked fourth highest behind Belgium, Chile and Korea in terms of the percentage of public expenditure it transfers to independent schools (16.9%). Australia ranks third lowest, ahead of Chile and Belgium, in terms of its investment in public schools (71.9%). Close to 66 per cent of students are in public schools with the remaining third enrolled in independent schools.
According to the former OECD analyst, Ben Jensen, most other countries are investing more than Australia in higher education. Australia’s investment has fallen from 1.6% of GDP in 1995 to 1.5% in 2007.
Jensen says the fall in public spending makes universities vulnerable to any big changes in foreign student enrolments.
It's no secret that education is a big revenue spinner for the Australian economy. And it's hard to see how the country can afford to lose any more of its competitive edge internationally. Universities are now relying on the independent MPs to put more heat on the government.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
Principles allow global assessment of postgrad degrees
Release date: 22 Sep 2010
Employment skills, research supervision structures, student experience, research impact and communication, and interdisciplinary and global research experiences underpin the new global framework, or Brisbane principles.
"As more universities around the world adopt these principles, we'll be more comfortable in having collaborative research degree programs with them," said Max King, Monash University's pro vice-chancellor (research and research training).
The principles were created and struck by the deans of graduate studies at universities including the University of California, Davis; China's Tsinghua and Shanghai Jiao Tong universities; Imperial College London; South Korea's Yonsei; the University of Hong Kong; the Australian National University; and the University Pierre and Marie Curie in France. They were all participants in a three-day summit on graduate education, run by the US-based Council of Graduate Schools and the Group of Eight.
Professor King said while there was widespread interest in measuring the quality and outcomes of undergraduate education, including in Australia, there had been very little focus on postgraduate degrees.
He said he hoped within five years, the Brisbane principles - the first attempt at a gold standard for postgraduate research quality - would underpin the Australian university audit processes.
"If they are any good, TEQSA [the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency] would know about them.
"It's then over to them about how they are brought to the attention of the universities they audit," Professor King said.
Interim TEQSA chairwoman Denise Bradley commended the group for developing the principles. "Without doubt they will, together with any further work from this group, contribute to TEQSA's deliberations about standards," she said.
The Brisbane principles were also supported by the Council of Deans and Directors of Graduate Studies in Australia. James Cook University dean of postgraduate studies and DDOGS convener Helene Marsh said she strongly backed the possibility of TEQSA adopting the principles.
Professor Marsh - who attended the summit - said 50 per cent of examiners of Australian higher degree theses were international; however, external examiners looked at only one aspect of the degree, the thesis, not the quality of the graduate.
The Australian Universities Quality Agency - whose functions are to be absorbed by TEQSA - also welcomed the principles as "a clear statement of good practices" in postgraduate quality assurance in an international context.
However, AUQA acting executive director Jeanette Baird said quality assessments were about making judgments and any future framework should not be "restricted to metrics or quantitative measures".
Source: The Australian
"As more universities around the world adopt these principles, we'll be more comfortable in having collaborative research degree programs with them," said Max King, Monash University's pro vice-chancellor (research and research training).
The principles were created and struck by the deans of graduate studies at universities including the University of California, Davis; China's Tsinghua and Shanghai Jiao Tong universities; Imperial College London; South Korea's Yonsei; the University of Hong Kong; the Australian National University; and the University Pierre and Marie Curie in France. They were all participants in a three-day summit on graduate education, run by the US-based Council of Graduate Schools and the Group of Eight.
Professor King said while there was widespread interest in measuring the quality and outcomes of undergraduate education, including in Australia, there had been very little focus on postgraduate degrees.
He said he hoped within five years, the Brisbane principles - the first attempt at a gold standard for postgraduate research quality - would underpin the Australian university audit processes.
"If they are any good, TEQSA [the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency] would know about them.
"It's then over to them about how they are brought to the attention of the universities they audit," Professor King said.
Interim TEQSA chairwoman Denise Bradley commended the group for developing the principles. "Without doubt they will, together with any further work from this group, contribute to TEQSA's deliberations about standards," she said.
The Brisbane principles were also supported by the Council of Deans and Directors of Graduate Studies in Australia. James Cook University dean of postgraduate studies and DDOGS convener Helene Marsh said she strongly backed the possibility of TEQSA adopting the principles.
Professor Marsh - who attended the summit - said 50 per cent of examiners of Australian higher degree theses were international; however, external examiners looked at only one aspect of the degree, the thesis, not the quality of the graduate.
The Australian Universities Quality Agency - whose functions are to be absorbed by TEQSA - also welcomed the principles as "a clear statement of good practices" in postgraduate quality assurance in an international context.
However, AUQA acting executive director Jeanette Baird said quality assessments were about making judgments and any future framework should not be "restricted to metrics or quantitative measures".
Source: The Australian
Tertiary regulator TEQSA stands alone
Release date: 22 Sep 2010
Some have seen this project, run by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council, as a precursor to a TEQSA system for monitoring learning outcomes.
"It was funded as a way of getting the sector to start thinking about outcome standards, which was a good thing to do, but it is not necessarily the answer to standards in higher education," Professor Bradley said.
She was asked about the issue on Monday after she had briefed a plenary meeting in Melbourne of Universities Australia, where the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, the ALTC and standards were among issues discussed.
Professor Bradley also said UA now was comfortable with the standards body sitting inside TEQSA, rather than outside.
She attributed this to the likely adoption of a commission model for TEQSA, as opposed to a model in which the chief executive acting alone could deregister an educational provider.
And she expressed sympathy with "powerful concerns" in the sector about premature and contentious changes to the Australian Qualifications Framework.
UA chair Peter Coaldrake agreed with her view that the conflict was ultimately a matter for political resolution by state and federal ministers.
Professor Bradley said plans for TEQSA's establishment were progressing well. Depending on the passage of the agency's legislation, it could start next year, "probably not on January 1 but either April 1 or July 1".
She and interim chief executive Ian Hawke were preparing "a clear statement about the things that need to be done" for the incoming minister Chris Evans.
The HES understands a good deal of the apprehension about the new regulator has eased because Mr Hawke, Professor Bradley, the sector and education department have made good progress. That spirit was present during the UA plenary meeting.
"The discussion that we had was sensitive to the fact that we are dealing with an incoming minister who needs to be properly briefed so everyone is going forward together," Professor Coaldrake said yesterday.
Among others at the meeting were Kaye Schofield, interim chairwoman of the national regulator for vocational education and training; David Hazlehurst, head of the higher education group within the department; and Carol Nicoll, chief executive of the ALTC.
According to its website, the ALTC is working with the various disciplines to define academic standards "as the higher education sector prepares for a new regulatory environment and the creation of TEQSA".
Although the project has been praised for its recognition of academic autonomy, there has been uncertainty about what it would produce and how it would be used.
Professor Bradley said she wanted to have more talks with Dr Nicoll about the project.
"It's not what TEQSA will necessarily do about standards, that's something we still have to decide," Professor Bradley said.
Higher education commentator Richard James, who has been appointed pro vice-chancellor (participation and engagement) at the University of Melbourne, said the ALTC project appeared to be broadly in the right direction, with "academic standards located primarily in graduate attainment and grounded in the knowledge of disciplinary communities.
"[But] the potential separation of standards definition from standards monitoring, which is the situation the present ALTC and TEQSA arrangement creates, is difficult to sustain."
Professor Bradley said that following Monday's meeting it seemed clear the standards body would indeed be within TEQSA but with a separate line of reporting to the minister.
"Now that there's to be a [TEQSA] commission, people [in the sector] are much more comfortable with the standards body being inside [TEQSA]," she said.
"They also think - and I feel quite strongly about [this] - [that] there's much less opportunity . . . for political interference in the future with it being inside."
She said that under the CEO-alone model, "the CEO would have been able to move to deregister a provider. People were very nervous about one person, whatever the process, [having that power]." With the commission model, "for really major issues [such as deregistration] you'd have to have more than one person making a decision".
She said five may be an appropriate number of commissioners, with the CEO as commissioner in chief, although these details had not been decided.
She stressed the TEQSA legislation was still being drafted and as yet there was no ministerial approval for the commission model.
"Bluntly, this is a technicality. Everybody believes that we're going to a commission model."
Source: The Australian
"It was funded as a way of getting the sector to start thinking about outcome standards, which was a good thing to do, but it is not necessarily the answer to standards in higher education," Professor Bradley said.
She was asked about the issue on Monday after she had briefed a plenary meeting in Melbourne of Universities Australia, where the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, the ALTC and standards were among issues discussed.
Professor Bradley also said UA now was comfortable with the standards body sitting inside TEQSA, rather than outside.
She attributed this to the likely adoption of a commission model for TEQSA, as opposed to a model in which the chief executive acting alone could deregister an educational provider.
And she expressed sympathy with "powerful concerns" in the sector about premature and contentious changes to the Australian Qualifications Framework.
UA chair Peter Coaldrake agreed with her view that the conflict was ultimately a matter for political resolution by state and federal ministers.
Professor Bradley said plans for TEQSA's establishment were progressing well. Depending on the passage of the agency's legislation, it could start next year, "probably not on January 1 but either April 1 or July 1".
She and interim chief executive Ian Hawke were preparing "a clear statement about the things that need to be done" for the incoming minister Chris Evans.
The HES understands a good deal of the apprehension about the new regulator has eased because Mr Hawke, Professor Bradley, the sector and education department have made good progress. That spirit was present during the UA plenary meeting.
"The discussion that we had was sensitive to the fact that we are dealing with an incoming minister who needs to be properly briefed so everyone is going forward together," Professor Coaldrake said yesterday.
Among others at the meeting were Kaye Schofield, interim chairwoman of the national regulator for vocational education and training; David Hazlehurst, head of the higher education group within the department; and Carol Nicoll, chief executive of the ALTC.
According to its website, the ALTC is working with the various disciplines to define academic standards "as the higher education sector prepares for a new regulatory environment and the creation of TEQSA".
Although the project has been praised for its recognition of academic autonomy, there has been uncertainty about what it would produce and how it would be used.
Professor Bradley said she wanted to have more talks with Dr Nicoll about the project.
"It's not what TEQSA will necessarily do about standards, that's something we still have to decide," Professor Bradley said.
Higher education commentator Richard James, who has been appointed pro vice-chancellor (participation and engagement) at the University of Melbourne, said the ALTC project appeared to be broadly in the right direction, with "academic standards located primarily in graduate attainment and grounded in the knowledge of disciplinary communities.
"[But] the potential separation of standards definition from standards monitoring, which is the situation the present ALTC and TEQSA arrangement creates, is difficult to sustain."
Professor Bradley said that following Monday's meeting it seemed clear the standards body would indeed be within TEQSA but with a separate line of reporting to the minister.
"Now that there's to be a [TEQSA] commission, people [in the sector] are much more comfortable with the standards body being inside [TEQSA]," she said.
"They also think - and I feel quite strongly about [this] - [that] there's much less opportunity . . . for political interference in the future with it being inside."
She said that under the CEO-alone model, "the CEO would have been able to move to deregister a provider. People were very nervous about one person, whatever the process, [having that power]." With the commission model, "for really major issues [such as deregistration] you'd have to have more than one person making a decision".
She said five may be an appropriate number of commissioners, with the CEO as commissioner in chief, although these details had not been decided.
She stressed the TEQSA legislation was still being drafted and as yet there was no ministerial approval for the commission model.
"Bluntly, this is a technicality. Everybody believes that we're going to a commission model."
Source: The Australian
Worry over Melbourne student numbers
Release date: 24 Sep 2010
Dr Simon Marginson, professor of higher education at Melbourne University, said Victoria’s $5.8 billion international student industry attracted 180,000 students and provided 40,000 jobs.
But experts predict foreign student numbers will fall between 20 and 60 per cent in coming years because of various factors, including cuts to migration and recent assaults on overseas students.
“All these changes have sent out a message that international students are less welcome in Australia,” Dr Marginson said.
Melbourne University experienced a slight fall in international student numbers this year, down from 9819 students in 2009 to 9743.
University spokeswoman Diane Squires said the university earned $247.3 million, 15.6 per cent of its total budget, from international students in 2009.
At RMIT, international student numbers slightly increased on last year from 7714 to 8592.
Deputy vice-chancellor Stephen Connelly said RMIT and Melbourne University would initially be insulated from any international student crash because both had strong reputations.
“But if no remedial action is taken, it’s going to affect everyone in higher education at some stage. The impact could be less students taking up accommodation, less students spending money in the community,” he said.
Both universities have called on the Federal Government for greater support.
Source: Leader News
But experts predict foreign student numbers will fall between 20 and 60 per cent in coming years because of various factors, including cuts to migration and recent assaults on overseas students.
“All these changes have sent out a message that international students are less welcome in Australia,” Dr Marginson said.
Melbourne University experienced a slight fall in international student numbers this year, down from 9819 students in 2009 to 9743.
University spokeswoman Diane Squires said the university earned $247.3 million, 15.6 per cent of its total budget, from international students in 2009.
At RMIT, international student numbers slightly increased on last year from 7714 to 8592.
Deputy vice-chancellor Stephen Connelly said RMIT and Melbourne University would initially be insulated from any international student crash because both had strong reputations.
“But if no remedial action is taken, it’s going to affect everyone in higher education at some stage. The impact could be less students taking up accommodation, less students spending money in the community,” he said.
Both universities have called on the Federal Government for greater support.
Source: Leader News
