International students in Australia

• Introduction
• International students
• International student market
   
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International student market

VSU

The impact of Voluntary Student Unionism on the international student market featured in a series of seven articles published in March, April, August and September 2005. The first three articles were opinion pieces asserting that the diminished services available to students under VSU would make Australia a less desirable education destination for international students. Two articles were published on the same page of the HES on March 23. One was a piece written by the National Union of Students president, damning the Government’s VSU proposal. The claim that international students would be deterred was one of numerous negative outcomes of VSU discussed in the piece. The second opinion piece was written by the Vice-Chancellor of Edith Cowan University. It described the negative impact of VSU on the university, after it was introduced by the WA State Government in 1994, and noted the importance of student services to its international students. The third opinion piece was published on April 6, written by the convener of the National Liaison Committee for International Students in Australia (NLC). This piece focused in detail on the impact VSU would have on international students already in Australia, and the likelihood that the decreased services offered by universities would deter future students from choosing Australia. An August 17 article also reported on the negative impact of VSU on international students, quoting from a letter written to the Education Minister by the NLC, and reports to the Senate inquiry into VSU.

The second group of articles, published in September, reported on changes to the Education Services for Overseas Student Act which would allow universities to charge compulsory student services fees to international students at the same time that the VSU legislation made charging domestic students these fees illegal. The first article focused on the negative impact charging a compulsory fee only to international students would have (September 23, 2005). The second article reported that Melbourne University did not intend to charge its international students a services and amenities fee which it could not charge to domestic students (September 26, 2005). The third article described the rift that could be created between international and domestic students if the fees charged and services available to them varied widely (September 28, 2005). All three articles touched on the discriminatory nature of charging international students compulsory fees while making fees voluntary for domestic students. Two articles published on January 5, 2005, reported that the rising cost of international student fees generally was reducing the demand for Australian university degrees among Asian students. The first article was on page 3, and the second in the HES feature.

Market

Most of the articles were concerned with the international student market. Nine articles noted the Australian education sector’s reliance on the income generated by international students. An article published on November 23, 2004, reported on the increasing numbers of overseas students being charged substantial fees for primary and secondary education in Australia. A January 19 article reported a University of Western Australia plan to open a foundation college, intended to channel year 11 and 12 international students into the university. The remaining articles were concerned with the tertiary education sector.

Five articles reported on new programs or collaborative arrangements aimed at recruiting a new sector or bigger share of the international student market. An article published on December 1, 2004, reported on an international marketing campaign being jointly developed by the WA State Government and its tertiary education sector. The UWA plan was reported seven weeks later. A report on a joint venture between ANU and Sydney University, targeting international students and researchers, was published on February 23, 2005. A May 4 article reported on a new screen performance program being developed at Griffith University which would target international students from Asia, alongside domestic students. A report on scholarships being offered to British students by Australian universities was published on August 31.

The demand for Australian university places among international students was the focus of seven articles, and mentioned in numerous others. Decreasing demand for Australian university places and increasing competition with other education providers were reported in two articles, published on February 16 and July 6. The remaining articles gave a positive spin to the changing demand for places. An article published on May 11 reported on the growing number of Indian students coming to Australia, while a June 1 article reported on the recovery of Malaysian international student numbers after an unexpected decrease in 2003-2004. A report on September 14 revealed that Australia had the highest percentage of international students in the OECD, but warned about increasing competition from other countries. Two articles published on October 12 reported that Asian students were choosing Australia over the US for safety reasons, and chose to study here rather than in their home countries. Both articles reported that Australia was still perceived as offering a lower quality of international education than the UK and US.

A July 6 report refuted allegations that increasing international student numbers were displacing potential domestic students from Australian universities, and that universities were lowering standards to accommodate international students. An article published on June 1 carefully avoided linking increasing international student numbers with decreasing domestic students. This article quoted the Opposition education spokeswoman as criticising decreased federal funding of tertiary education, asserting that it forced universities to increase international student enrolments to compensate. However, an October 12 article stated that the drop in federal funding forcing universities to rely on international students was decreasing the number of domestic students who could gain a university place.

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