We just talk about the good stuff

Institutions and agents have largely welcomed Australia’s decision to close a loophole that allows international students to switch to cheaper providers shortly after arriving in the country, but some believe the measures don’t go far enough. 

The Australian government announced that institutions will no longer be able to issue concurrent confirmation of enrolments (CoE) after evidence this was being used as a “loophole” by “dodgy” providers to poach newly-arrived students. 

Multiple organisations representing the international education sector have been lobbying for these changes. 

“We welcome the government’s action, which we have called for, to crack down on dodgy and unscrupulous operators seeking to exploit students for personal gain,” said Catriona Jackson, CEO of Universities Australia. 

“These measures put students first, which is where they belong.”

The Australian Technology Network of Universities agreed that the new measures will ensure Australia’s international education sector is “both better protected and future proofed”.

The organisation said in a statement, “International students are an important component of Australian campuses, classes and communities and it has been heartening to see them returning to study in increasing numbers, post-Covid. 

“These measures put students first”

“It is important that we ensure all students are protected once they have decided to study in Australia.”

Troy Williams, CEO of the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia, said the membership body supported the move despite the “administrative burden” the changes could bring. 

“Although increased compliance activity comes with an unwanted administrative burden on quality providers, those that are doing the right thing by students have nothing to fear, and non-genuine providers will exit the system,” he said. 

The government promised to continue cracking down on “predatory” providers, warning that it may use its powers to issue suspension certificates to high-risk institutions, which would stop them from recruiting any international students. 

It has also given the Australian Skills Quality Authority more power to regulate Registered Training Organisations in order to help “eliminate… non-genuine operators”. 

Education agents also welcomed the intervention, but called for more oversight. 

“This is an excellent development for the entire sector,” said Nishi Borra, president of the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India.

“It’s a known fact that agents and their institutional partners spend a lot of time and resources to recruit students. Student retention was a serious issue and it worried us all.”

But he added that the government should link visas to institutions, meaning any student wishing to switch providers would need to re-apply for a visa and non-compliance risks are passed on to the new institution. 

Ravi Lochan Singh, managing director of student recruitment agency Global Reach, agreed: “What I am campaigning for is that onshore poaching should be discouraged even more.

“Allowing change of provider after six months should also require a release from the first institution unless a fresh student visa is applied.”

Study visas are already linked to institutions in New Zealand and the UK. 

The government also raised the amount of money students must prove they have in savings in order to be eligible for an Australian visa. 

Williams said the move was “expected” but not “positive” as it increases financial barriers for students hoping to study in Australia. 

“Broadly speaking, ITECA is of the [belief] that any international student wishing to come to Australia needs to be able to support themselves and the current visa framework reflects that in part,” he said. 

“Further consideration of the announcement needs to be made to ensure that an artificially high barrier hasn’t been placed before students that come to Australia with a genuine intent to study.”

Australia is expected to announce further measures linked to the international education sector later this year as part of its ongoing review of the country’s migration system. 

Recent reports have suggested the government may scrap the Genuine Temporary Entrant requirement in student visa applications, which prevents potential students from expressing a desire to migrate permanently. 

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Opportunity for expansion of Australian transnational education delivery at high school level continues to exist in Malaysia but online learning centres (especially offering certified Canadian programs) do pose a real threat, according to one market expert.

Speaking at the IEAA TNE forum in Melbourne, Australia, Mien Wee Cheng, executive director of Sunway International Schools and director, pre-university studies at Sunway College, told the audience that rapid expansion of virtual schools which are delivering licensed programming keeps her up at night.

One risk is teachers in the academic community deciding to work for a virtual school and another is students choosing online studies instead of classroom-based learning.

“This space is probably now the game changer for me in Malaysia,” she said, warning, “The Chinese students won’t come if there are learning centres popping up in China that are offering the Ontario program.”

Studying a high school certificated program such as Australia’s Victorian Certificate of Education offers real benefits in terms of onward progression to study at an Australian university, for example.

Canada was singled out as a market that is licensing providers to deliver certificated high school curriculum programming online and growing its market share.

Wee Cheng commented on the number of “mom and pop centres that set up virtually overnight”.

“They can because they are virtual centres that are licensed and legal” and can deliver recorded access to Canadian teachers, with “no problem with time zones,” she continued.

“They are virtual centres that are licensed and legal”

And she asserted that she didn’t agree with colleagues who felt that, especially for school students, they performed best in an environment with face-to-face engagement where teachers can “literally sometimes, hold your hand”.

“I think that space now can not be replaced but can be enhanced to, you know, by bringing in other international elements that TNE can provide,” Wee Cheng said.

Another challenge discussed during the same panel was the fact that Australian high school programs are all marketed and delivered by state, which can limit any branding and recognition of Australian high school qualifications under a national brand.

VCE from Victoria is possibly the best known, alongside the HSC delivered by New South Wales. While Canada also delivers programming distinct by province (such as OSSD in Ontario), countries such as the UK have better recognition for A-levels which are delivered nationwide.

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A new partnership between Les Roches business school and Mountain Education Group is set to create a unique network of hospitality-focused higher education campuses in China.

The first campus will open in Shanghai in 2025, to be followed by campuses in other “high potential areas”, such as Wuxi and Suzhou.

“As one of the world’s fastest growing economies for careers in tourism and hospitality, China is an essential development platform for international education brands like ours to invest in and innovate,” said Benoît-Etienne Domenget, CEO of Sommet Education which Les Roches belongs to.

China is an essential development platform for international education brands like ours

“This new alliance will seal future opportunities to all of our students and Chinese talents.”

Les Roches already has campuses in Crans Montana, Switzerland and Marbella, Spain, with more than 100 nationalities enrolled.

The hospitality school will be responsible for academic curriculum development within the new campuses, with Les Roches appointing the principal and academic teams, as well as the backbone teachers.

The curriculum will be aligned with that of its flagship campus in Switzerland and vocational education will be combined with undergraduate education.

Through the new campuses, Les Roches will continue its mission of ensuring students acquire personal and professional skills for immediate employment and progression into leadership positions in the industry.

Meanwhile, MEG will be responsible for all financial investments, land acquisition, architectural design, campus or project construction, licenses and permits, financial management, student recruitment and logistical arrangements.

MEG CEO Mr Zeng said that for many years the education group, which operates in K12 bilingual schools, has “consistently pursued an idealistic approach to education”.

“The schools we invest in and manage in Shanghai and Suzhou have received high praise from parents and students, and several campus buildings have won numerous significant domestic and international awards,” he continued.

Exciting news for ambitious Chinese talents looking to forge a career in hospitality management! Les Roches and Mountain Education Group (MEG) have joined forces to establish a network of #hospitality-focused higher #education campuses across #China from 2025. #LesRoches pic.twitter.com/3MEXW0tF3U

— Les Roches Global Hospitality Education (@LesRochesNews) August 24, 2023

Through the inaugural campus, “Shanghai Mountain Les Roches Campus”, the partnership aims to bring a unique model of education and architectural design to the city of Shanghai.

The campus building will be designed and built by a team of world-renowned and Pritzker Prize winning designers.

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It’s fair to say the pandemic was a rough period for the sector, and in general, across the world – but it posed unique challenges for South Africa. 

From 10 to 12 hour power cuts throughout the country, to collapsing state entities like airlines and post offices and undrinkable tap water, it was an extremely difficult time.

At one point under lockdown rules, South Africans were not even allowed to buy or sell open-toed shoes.

A gradual recovery has occurred in the last year or so. In July, it was suggested that the country was “nearing the end” of its national practice of Loadshedding – the local name of daily controlled power cuts to rotate electricity throughout the network. 

Despite the optimism of possibly ending and the economy returning to its pre-pandemic state, the GDP has continued to fluctuate, and South Africans are feeling the brunt of the lack of clarity.

While the pandemic and its fallout has been unfortunate, Brent Morris says, it was essentially good for study abroad business. 

Canada, Australia and the UK are seeing big upticks in interest – especially Canada, with an enticing price point and post-study work opportunities. 

“I don’t like running a business like that so it’s not what we do – we tell people not to run away, because South Africa’s still amazing – you still get to live by the beach and have those niceties if you want to. 

“We spend a lot of time trying to get people to invest offshore – by getting people to study outside the country and come back – and people do come back,” Morris, director of study abroad at Sable International, tells The PIE.

On a national level, however, there is not a way to quantify this, says Wiseman Jack – and considering the investment they’ve made, many simply don’t return. 

“Those who go overseas to study in any country, they seldom come back if they’ve paid their way there. Of course, if they went on a scholarship – like when the government sponsors doctors to go and study Cuba, they have to come back,” explains Jack, consultant and former president of the International Education Association of South Africa. 

Jack said some will return after two or three years – he references the UK’s Graduate Route visa, and rules in France allowing some international students to work for up to five years – but the likelihood of an immediate return is low. 

Such cases, where affluent South Africans who can afford it, study outside and then don’t come back – not to mention those who study in South Africa and then leave – mean a “brain drain” is possibly looming. 

“We are going to see big skills gaps,” claims Nico Jooste, chair of AfriC and the mind behind Nelson Mandela University’s expansive internationalisation strategy in the 2000s and 2010s. 

“We are going to see big skills gaps”

“We need economic growth of 5% – and want to address our poverty levels, and we’re not going to get there if we don’t keep all the people with the skills,” he notes. 

Stringent rules around post graduation work in South Africa mean many international students from India, he adds, are also leaving the country after graduation, with few opportunities available. 

After general elections next year, Jooste predicts, it may be a different story – but at the moment, the gaps will remain a preoccupation in the minds of many.

Further back in the funnel, inbound mobility seems to be slowly awakening too, as international offices dust themselves off after a tumultuous three years. 

“When it comes to mobility, we collectively, as universities and as the association, are encouraging, promoting and trying our best to reconnect with our partners – we can’t exactly quantify it, but the number [of students] is still small,” Jack explains. 

In 2019, there were just over 40,000 international students in South Africa, over 33,000 of whom were from Sub-Saharan Africa.

This number sank rapidly during the pandemic – and while there is not available data on the current numbers, they are beginning to slowly climb back up, he added. 

“We haven’t seen a full return of students coming back to South Africa,” Jack says. “It’s still a challenge with rebuilding and we hope with the new strategies that we’re putting in place as the association, we will see the improvement. It’s a struggle.” 

Carlien Jooste – Nico Jooste’s daughter – works as the head of internationalisation at Sefako Makgatho University, a smaller health science-focused institution in the city of Ga-Rankuwa, near Pretoria. 

“Previously, internationalisation was within the marketing and communications strategy – now, internationalisation has been given a separate office,” she explains, a process only completed last year. 

Universities across the country are at different stages in their internationalisation journey. Some, like NMU, have been going for 25 years with strong international partnerships and mobility, others, like SMU, are just beginning their efforts.

As a medical institution, there are quotas for international students at SMU – most, as with the rest of the country, are from the African continent. While numbers have dropped, the university is beginning to focus on its comprehensive internationalisation strategy. 

“We’re very much now entrenching comprehensive internationalisation within the university itself. It’s not as scattered across different departments as it was before.

“Obviously with that comes more international students, more partners, better service, and better experience – where they know there’s one office that they can actually speak to,” she says. 

Nico Jooste, meanwhile, argues that it isn’t just about mobility and explains his theory behind the two separate entities of internationalisation.

“We’re encouraging, promoting and trying our best to reconnect with our partners”

“There is intellectual internationalisation, and then applied internationalisation – intellectual being looking at the curriculum and doing joint research, and applied focusing on mobility development.

“South Africa’s universities have developed quite a good model in terms of mobility due to the need for visa compliance to get international students and staff, but we’ve always been lacking in the intellectual side.

“Covid forced us to do that differently. One can’t exist without the other,” he insists.

After two years of breathing space, he says, universities have an optimal chance to develop in both areas. 

Carlien Jooste says there is plenty of support for general internationalisation at SMU – both students and staff know how much they will gain from international knowledge on the campus.

Such international knowledge, Morris muses, can come from a South African studying abroad too. 

While his business can’t definitively convince its clients to study abroad and come straight back, he knows that at the very least, they will become global citizens.  

“You become this person that understands Western society and African society and there’s a huge demand for someone who can bring the two together,” he notes. 

Questions remain as to the future of international education in South Africa, but Jack urges the sector to keep its eyes peeled for a new Study in South Africa campaign in the Autumn. In the not-so-distant future, post-pandemic numbers can begin to look like pre-pandemic numbers once more. 

“We’re hoping that by putting our heads together, the higher education sector in South Africa and IEASA, we’ll see those numbers recover.”

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With as few as only three out 10 African students winning visas to study in Canadian institutions of higher learning – and an even lower for those from Francophone Africans in recent years – racism by authorities is being blamed as the main reason for the high percentage of rejections.

While concerned parents and guardians plus placement agents have long complained about the trend, university managers are now also coming out, blaming the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for the dipping numbers.

The latest to speak out against the frustration is Awad Ibrahim, vice-provost for equity, diversity and inclusive excellence at the University of Ottawa.

“The problem with racism is that it can easily be denied because it is mostly invisible and its psychological effects are invisible,” he wrote in the Toronto Star.

“However, its outcome is quite visible. If racism is the reason, denying someone housing or proper education will result in homelessness and dropping out of school.”

Citing an article published by the University World News, racism, he wrote, has become an “undeniable factor in who is refused or who is given a visa to come to Canada as an international student, especially when it comes to international African students”.

The publication reported that between 2018 and April 2023, for African applicants who desired to study in Canadian colleges and universities, 59% of all English-speaking applicants were denied visas, the figure rising to 74% for French-speaking applicants.

“International Africans students’ patience with Canada is at a bubbling point”

It says that the figures for 2022, however, improved to stand at 66% for applicants from Francophone Africans, the same rising for English speakers from the continent where 62% of them were denied visa.

This was in stark contrast to refusal rates for countries such as the UK, Australia and the United States which stood at 13%, 13% and 11%, respectively, while for France the rejection rate was 6.7%.

The PIE News reported that data by Canadian international education company ApplyBoard, in 2021 showed that approval for all the all sources stood at 60% in 2019, against that of Africa at 22%.

The ApplyBoard data also showed approval rates were even lower for one of the biggest students’ source markets in Africa – Nigeria which was a mere 17.6%, rising marginally to 18% in 2020.

The provost added that reasons given for refusal are “often illogical and absurd”.

He cited his own case where he twice acted as a guarantor for a nephew whose application was twice denied on grounds of suspicion he would not go back home after completing studies, and because the 15-year-old was of weak financial standing despite his age.

“Clearly, reforms are urgent not only to streamline the policy but to educate IRCC officers. International Africans students’ patience with Canada is at a bubbling point and its reputation as a rejecting country is hurting our universities’ recruitment efforts, especially in French-speaking African countries,” Ibrahim added.

“We need to be clear about our reasons for rejection, only then can we be sure that we are not talking about racism and implicit biases.”

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The US needs to utilise its diverse entry points and facilitate connections between them to increase international student enrolments in the country, experts have said.

Recommendations from the American International Recruitment Council suggest that entry points, including K-12 schools, public and private secondary schools, community colleges, as well as undergraduate and graduate institutions of higher education, offer prospective international students “unparalleled opportunities”.

Others include intensive English and pathway language programs, vocational and business training, short-term study abroad and exchange programs, volunteer, work and cultural programs and online learning, with many “not known or appreciated even by international student recruitment professionals”.

The group says promoting the entry points is one of two critical areas that the country should focus on.

The other is “facilitating the connections between these entry points”.

AIRC president Derrick Alex said the recommendations encourage US institutions to “value and promote the enormous breadth of educational options” offer in the country.

“If we support and promote the diverse range of educational opportunities that serve as entry points for international students and promote the linkages between these experiences, the US can achieve an interconnected education ecosystem to support accessible and flexible avenues by which international students flow to and within the US,” he said.

AIRC executive director Brian Whalen added that they seek to “articulate AIRC’s vision for how international student enrolment in the US can grow to benefit students, institutions, and our society and culture”.

“The US can achieve an interconnected education ecosystem to support accessible and flexible avenues”

“The recommendations will influence the broader conversations on US international education policies and the development of a national strategy while providing a unified advocacy agenda for AIRC and its members,” he added.

Stakeholders have long called for the US government to introduce a national strategy for international education.

CEO of IIE, Allan Goodman, has also issued a call to US higher education institutions to “collectively reassert the value of gaining an education in the United States and to mobilise to make it even more accessible to students around the world”.

With international student applications to the US rebounding, there is a “rare and critical opportunity” to utilise capacity across institutions in the country, Goodman wrote.

Failure to do so will see the US continue to lose its market share, he suggested, but pointed to last month’s National Economic Strategy which prioritises international education as a top 10 US export.

“Let’s work together to seize this critical moment in our sector,” he said.

Among the working group developing the AIRC recommendations was Cheryl Delk Le Good from EnglishUSA, Maria Dietrich from Northampton Community College, Daniel Harper from Christian Brothers University and Michael Shaver of The Association of Boarding Schools.

It was chaired by Jing Luan, Provost Emeritus at the San Mateo Colleges of the Silicon Valley, who has previously lauded the opportunities at community colleges offering unique transfer agreements.

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Australia has closed a loophole allowing international students to switch to cheaper providers shortly after arriving in the country in a crackdown on “dodgy” providers. 

Ministers also warned they may begin banning “high-risk” institutions from recruiting overseas, while the amount of money students need to be eligible for visas is set to increase.

Institutions are no longer able to create concurrent confirmation of enrolments (CoE), which are intended to allow students to take additional courses alongside their primary study program.

There has been growing concern that “unscrupulous” education providers are misusing this policy to encourage students to switch institutions. 

Normally, students would have to wait at least six months to change providers, but this “loophole” allows them to do so much sooner after they arrive in Australia. 

There has been a “sharp uptake” in the use of the concurrent function in 2023, with 17,000 concurrent enrolments created in the first half of the year, compared to approximately 10,500 for the same period in 2019 and 2022 combined, according to the government.

The issue has been raised multiple times in ongoing government reviews and parliamentary inquiries, with some accusing onshore education agents and vocational colleges of profiting from course-hopping. 

“As students have come back, so have some dodgy and unscrupulous players who are trying to take advantage of them,” said Jason Clare, minister for education. 

“This change will work to stop predatory ‘second’ providers from enrolling students before they have studied for the required six months at their first provider.

“This will help ensure the integrity of one of our biggest exports while cracking down on dodgy operators.” 

Brendan O’Connor, minister for skills and training, said the changes would “strengthen the integrity” of the VET sector. 

“Nine out of 10 future jobs will require a post-secondary qualification and VET is a vital pathway to secure jobs. We are committed to lifting perceptions of VET and this is an important step to do that,” he added.

And providers are likely to face further scrutiny as ministers warned they may start using their powers to issue suspension certificates to prevent “high-risk” institutions from recruiting overseas students – something that has not been done before. 

The government is “particularly concerned” about more than 200 providers that currently have visa refusal rates higher than 50%.

Canberra will begin consulting immediately on what would constitute grounds for such a ban, including potentially looking at provider refusal rates and application rates with fraudulent documents. 

The amount of money international students must prove they have in order to secure a visa is also set to increase by 17% to AUS $24,505. 

The government said this price had not changed since 2019 and the adjustment was necessary “to reflect higher living expenses”. 

The move comes amid concerns that some students may struggle to fund their day-to-day costs in Australia, following the government’s decision to reinstate a cap on the amount of hours students are permitted to work. 

In a statement, the government said the change will “ensure students coming to Australia to study can afford to support themselves and will not face increased risk of exploitation due to an urgent need for employment”. 

“The party is over, the rorts and loopholes that have plagued this system will be shut down”

The government is also considering further measures to “strengthen integrity” in the international education system as part of the migration strategy, which is due to be released later this year.

Earlier this week, the immigration department hinted that it may remove the Genuine Temporary Entrant requirement from visa applications to allow students to allow students to express their desire to migrate permanently.

Clare O’Neil, minister for home affairs, said, “International education is our fourth largest export – it’s essential that we maintain our global reputation for quality education. Our government has no tolerance for people who exploit students.

“Our message is clear – the party is over, the rorts and loopholes that have plagued this system will be shut down.”

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Ukrainian students continue to protest a rule that prevents men from leaving the country to study at foreign universities, while a US think tank has called on Ukraine to lift the ban.

In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, president Volodymyr Zelensky enacted martial law and banned men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country.

Initially, students already enrolled at foreign universities were exempt from the rules but this changed later in the year when border guards discovered documents being forged by ‘fake’ students in order to escape the country. 

Since September 2022, students have been unable to leave Ukraine for university and students already abroad cannot return to their home country as they may not be allowed to leave again. 

Some boys under the age of 18 are choosing to leave the country early to study abroad and circumvent the ban.

A student group in Ukraine described the rules as “undemocratic, discriminatory and unfair”. 

“The absurdity of the situation is that sportsmen can go abroad, students of Ukrainian universities can leave [temporarily for competitions and projects], but students of foreign universities who have been studying there for a long time still cannot… and some have already been expelled,” said a spokesperson from Students UA, a Ukrainian campaign group set up to protest the restrictions. 

A new report from Human Security Lab, a think tank based at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, called on the Ukrainian government to lift the entire travel ban for both “strategic and humanitarian” reasons. 

“Although the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine had called on foreign universities to provide online education for their Ukrainian male students, war-affected Ukrainian students state such online classes are often inaccessible due to electricity shortages, resulting in a denial of their right to an education,” the group’s report noted. 

HSL found the majority of the Ukrainian public opposed the travel ban or wanted changes, based on a survey of over 4,000 internet users. 

“It is very sad and painful to see Ukraine losing the opportunity to educate students”

Students UA has contacted the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman about the issue, but have been told the EU cannot interfere in the implementation of Ukraine’s national laws and regulations. 

“It is very sad and painful to see Ukraine losing the opportunity to educate students who could build and develop their country in the future,” Students UA said.

The PIE has contacted the Ukrainian government for comment.

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