We just talk about the good stuff

The sudden devaluation of the naira has left Nigerian students abroad struggling to pay their tuition fees on time, while those hoping to start courses overseas this autumn are scrambling to find extra funds.  

Nigeria’s central bank allowed the currency to drop on the official market in June in an effort to unify the exchange rate after years of over-valuation. The currency weakened by 40% in July, according to the Nigerian Exchange in Lagos. 

Although markets and the government are optimistic that this move will boost Nigeria’s economy in the long term, the timing has created challenges for students hoping to enrol in overseas courses in September 2023, as well as for those already abroad. 

“You’ve planned, you’ve saved, you’ve calculated your money, you’ve done excel sheets, you’ve done cost analysis and then boom,” said Bimpe Femi-Oyewo, educational lead at Nigerian agency Edward Consulting.

“What you actually budgeted for your school fees prior to the policy, you need to increase that budget now,” said Rotimi Olorunfemi, a master’s student and president of the Nigerian Students’ Society at the University of Bradford.

Those who are already abroad are struggling to afford their tuition fees as their money is suddenly worth much less and they face long delays transferring funds via Nigerian banks.

“A lot of students still find a way of raising such amount of money, to be fair,” said Olorunfemi. “But now it takes a longer time to process these fees from the bank to the UK because now there is a lot of pressure on foreign currency.”

Some UK universities, including the University of Bradford, have introduced more flexible payment deadlines to accommodate these delays.

But one student in the UK told Nigerian newspaper Punch that he had been locked out of his university’s student portal after failing to pay his tuition fees, while others said they may have to drop out altogether.

“I’ve heard of people getting stuck,” said Femi-Oyewo. “I think when you start your program and then you’re stuck, you just don’t want to leave. I’m hearing situations of people just trying to see what they can do without coming home.”

“Nigerian students are almost paying double”

Students hoping to start a new overseas course this autumn are now struggling to meet the proof of funds threshold to secure a visa, despite having already saved what they thought they needed.

Previously, if a student was expected to show USD $1,000, they would need approximately 471,000 naira. Now, they need around 800,000 naira. 

“Nigerian students are almost paying double,” said Jamie Hastings, director at My International Office.

“Because West Africa is a very financially sensitive market, any fluctuation of a few percentage is bad and when it fluctuates almost 40%, it’s like a disaster.”  

For UK visas, students must have the funds in their bank account for a 28-day period. If they top up their bank accounts following the devaluation, the 28 day count will be restarted. 

Hastings said some students are instead making extra payments to institutions, which reduces the amount of savings required by the Home Office to grant a study visa.  

But some simply can’t afford the extra costs and will have to delay their travel plans. 

“Many students find themselves grappling with the dilemma of balancing their aspirations with the financial realities they now face,” said Christianah Daini, senior placement manager at Nubi Education. 

Beatrice Adegbiji, a placement officer at the same agency, added, “We have seen cases where individuals have had to reconsider their study plans by waiting an extra year or choosing January intakes instead, or all together just exploring alternative options that are more affordable.”

They said Nigerians were increasingly considering destinations such as Finland, Spain and Malta.  

Hastings said institutions need to do more to support Nigerian students. 

“The only way to react to this and to try and help Nigerian students is to make it cheaper for them, ie. give them a bigger discount, and I’ve not seen any university do that,” he said. 

“It seems like they don’t really care about the Nigerian students,” he added. 

“We are at the point where it’s excruciating and we’re hoping it gets better,” said Olorunfemi.

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The findings of this year’s Prospects Early Careers Survey paint a picture of career plans, choices and experiences of overseas students and graduates currently residing in the UK as well as their UK-domiciled counterparts.

The survey’s findings (compiled by responses from close to 4,500 Prospects users) threw up some learning opportunities for those who educate, support or employ international students, principally that it’s important that we recognise differences in their expectations, needs and wants.

Course transparency

The benefits of online learning such as flexibility and convenience for students are still very much relevant post-lockdown. For example, we found that for disabled students in particular this is a preferred option.

That said, it’s important that educators are transparent about the ways that courses will be taught and that there is a certain degree of flexibility.

International students in particular benefit from the opportunity to interact and make social connections in person. They have a strong preference for face-to-face learning (75%) with just 2% studying online compared to 18% of UK-domiciled students.

When it comes to satisfaction, in-person/face-to-face teaching received the highest score with hybrid learning scoring the lowest. Understandably, the survey found that generally, students who weren’t expecting hybrid study were less satisfied than those who had anticipated this mode of learning.

The preference for face-to-face learning could be explained somewhat by findings from a four-stage research project by Jisc about the digital experience of international students studying in the UK.

The study found that international students often experience ‘digital shock’ as they face a range of unfamiliar systems and processes. There were sometimes problems engaging with online learning, with unsupported software and hardware, and using technology to keep in touch with friends and family back home. There was also evidence of digital inequity relating to wifi, access to devices, data costs or working spaces.

Recommendations in the report include offering digital inductions and training, providing ‘digital champions’ as support and creating online communities to foster a sense of belonging.

Course information

Almost a quarter of international students said that the next step in their career will be full-time or part-time education. We asked whether when researching courses there was any information they had struggled to find.

“Almost half of international students (46%) struggled to find visa information”

Almost half of international students (46%) struggled to find visa information, and they were more likely to say that they had difficulties finding courses that match their skills and qualifications (40%) than UK-domiciled students (27%).

This highlights how important detailed and up-to-date course content on websites and in prospectuses are as it’s the most important factor when choosing where to study. The subjects offered and the reputation of the institution and courses are also a key influence in people’s decision-making process.

International students were more likely to say that the reputation of the institution and course are important compared to UK-domiciled students.

Careers support

It’s vital that students are encouraged to seek professional careers advice when they are making important decisions so early in their careers. This is particularly relevant at the moment as the cost-of-living crisis is having a major impact on career choices and decisions.

This year our survey found that keeping motivated in either study or work and concerns about money have risen to the top of the list of things international students say they find challenging.

As a result, more than a third have switched careers plans, with 43% putting this down to the cost-of-living crisis.

We heard from students looking at careers that pay more money, graduates quitting jobs to earn a higher wage or starting up ‘side hustles’ to boost their income, and students who were considering further study being deterred due to the cost.

Inclusive opportunities

It’s vital that employers review their application processes regularly to ensure that their job opportunities are inclusive and accessible to everyone.

We found that respondents felt some degree of disadvantage in the job application process due to age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, social class, disability/health condition or neurodivergence.

Ethnicity was cited as a disadvantage by half of international students. A significant proportion (37%) of respondents felt disadvantaged by their age whilst gender identity and social class were cited as barriers by 10% and 14% of respondents respectively.

Support for work experience

Work experience is a critical component in the development of vital employability skills that graduates need to ‘hit the ground running’ in the workplace. It’s encouraging that this is a priority among international students with the majority having completed some form of work experience.

Part-time work was the most common form of work experience undertaken, followed by volunteering. However, just 14% said they had done an internship or work placement (5% as part of their course). These figures are comparable to UK-domiciled students.

That said, 55% of international students said that having the right experience was an issue when looking for a job. However, many of these individuals had actually done some form of work experience in the last 12 months, so it’s possible that they picked up a number of transferable skills, even if their experience wasn’t directly related to the opportunities they were searching for.

Students may benefit from advice on how to demonstrate their transferable skills in job applications to open up the number of positions they can apply for.

There are some distinct differences between the experiences and expectations of international students compared to their UK-domiciled counterparts. It’s important we don’t consider them as a homogenous group in terms of support or the offering of student or work opportunities.

About the author: Chris Rea is a careers expert for Prospects at Jisc.

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“Don’t despair” – that was the message from Universities UK chief executive Vivienne Stern to the sector regarding the UK government’s further delayed Horizon Europe decision.

Stern described the UK government’s ongoing deliberation of associating to Horizon Europe as a “rollercoaster” while speaking at Embassy Magazine’s Education conference held in London, on July 19.

Recent reports indicated a draft deal had been agreed upon between the UK government and EU negotiators, and some expecting that UK prime minister Rishi Sunak would confirm the agreement in a much-anticipated meeting with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen during the NATO summit on July 11–12.

Despite the pair meeting, no deal was announced.

We discussed the continued commitment and support by the international community to Ukraine.

More specifically, the new security arrangements in the context of the G7.

We also touched upon broader geopolitical challenges, including China, and bilateral issues.@RishiSunak pic.twitter.com/gI5iNEeiZs

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) July 12, 2023

However, Stern remains “optimistic”.

Science is key to the UK’s foreign policy doctrine and the country’s contribution to scientific leadership is “central” to the way it wants to position itself in the world, she suggested. She added that she believes it is something the UK government is prepared to invest in.

“I would still say – with all of the frustration I feel that we haven’t done this deal yet – it is astonishing that in an era where UK public finances have been under such pressure and we know there are no votes in associating to Horizon Europe, that successive leaders of the government have committed and recommitted to doing that deal,” she said.

“It’s going to cost a lot of money. They won’t get a lot of recognition from a lot of people for it. They understand however it’s the right thing for us and the right thing for the global scientific community.

“It is in all our interests we do this deal,” said Stern.

“Our government doesn’t want to sign the deal on the current terms. Press for something that will allow our government to claim they got a good deal,” she urged the London-based EU embassy representatives in the audience.

“It is in all our interests we do this deal”

“Tell your principles, tell your governments, be flexible or we might bloody lose it.”

On his way to the NATO summit, Sunak told reporters that although it is the government’s “preference” to associate to Horizon, it must be done on “terms that work for the UK and are in the UK’s best interests”.

“Those conversations are ongoing and it is important that we give those conversations the time to conclude. There’s no point in doing something that it is not in the interests of British taxpayers or British researchers and scientists,” Sunak added at the time.

Stern previously highlighted UUK’s involvement in the development of Pioneer – the government’s back-up plan to continue funding UK research and development should a deal not be reached – but admitted that researchers were sceptical, and agreed that it wasn’t as good as “plan A”.

“It’s complicated, but we all need this deal to be done,” said Stern.

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London has retained the title of best student city in the world in the ranking compiled by higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds.

The 2024 iteration of QS Best Student Cities Rankings sees the UK capital city hold the top spot for the fifth consecutive while Tokyo in Japan has returned to second place for the first time since 2019.

The Japanese capital scored highly for employer activity, one of six key indicators used to create the list.

It came out top considering the situation for youth employment and the opinion of employers of graduates from local universities.

London, one of 16 UK cities featured in the list, took the number one position thanks to its high concentration of world-class universities, “excellent” student and graduate feedback, a diverse student population and “outstanding” career opportunities for graduates.

Seoul in South Korea was placed in third, with Melbourne in Australia and Germany’s Munich, ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.

Paris, Sydney, Berlin, Zurich and Boston rounded out the top 10.

The list only includes cities with more than 250,000 residents and with at least two universities in the QS World University Rankings.

Seoul dominates the World University Rankings indicator with its record 23 ranked universities.

Other indicators include student mix, including how many international students are enrolled in the city, desirability and affordability.

Coventry and Edinburgh, both in the UK, topped the student mix indicator, with Copenhagen in Denmark ranked highly for safety, low pollution levels and students saying they’d like to live in the city. Zurich and Sydney also both did well in the desirability indicator.

Three cities in Indonesia were among the top 10 locations for affordability, with Yogyakarta coming out top. Astana and Almaty, both in Kazakhstan, were ranked second and third for cost of living and tuition fees, respectively. Three Malaysian cities made the top 10 in the category, along with Izmir in Turkey and Timisoara in Romania.

“London offers students a unique blend of academic excellence, multicultural vibrancy and a thriving economy”

Overall, 70% of the 160 ranked cities saw declines for the affordability indicator in 2024.

Germany and Australia are each home to two of the world’s 10 best student cities, while Canada and the US each boast three top-20 student cities. The top-ranked city in Latin America is Buenos Aires at 34, mainland China’s is Beijing at 37, India’s is Mumbai at 118 and Cape Down is top in Africa at number 86.

The top student city in the Middle East for the 11th edition of the ranking is Dubai coming in at 54.

“London’s recognition as the ‘Best Student City 2024’ is a celebration of its role as a premier destination for education, innovation, and cultural vibrancy,” Jessica Turner, QS CEO, said.

Only Berlin in Germany ranked higher in the student view category than London.

“London offers students a unique blend of academic excellence, multicultural vibrancy and a thriving economy,” Turner added.

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A landmark report showing insights into how the UK’s graduate route visa has impacted the sector shows a glaring “lack of data” surrounding where international graduates go and what they do after their time at UK institutions. 

The Graduate Visa: An Effective Post-Study Pathway for International Students in the UK?, commissioned by the APPG for international students and released on July 19, examines the route’s success and impact, and considers what can be done to improve its use by international students throughout the UK. 

“As the reputation of the graduate visa grows and changes it is important to understand not only its effectiveness but its potential to have a positive impact on all aspects of the student journey, from prospective student to skilled employee or entrepreneur,” the report said. 

“In attempting to evaluate the effectiveness of the graduate visa route, this Inquiry has found, overwhelmingly, that there is an urgent need for further research and better collection of data relating to international graduate outcomes,” it continued. 

Joy Elliott-Bowman, policy development lead at Independent HE who co-author of the report with IDP’s Jane Venn, told The PIE News that the data currently being used to inform policy decisions is scattered.

“We’ve got these small datasets – we have higher education students only; then we have visa statistics – just those coming in, not coming out; the international passenger survey, which doesn’t really even count people coming out,” Elliott-Bowman explained. 

“And we’re trying to bring together these other disparate datasets across the sector, but we’re a billion pound export industry – it’s not right,” she continued. 

Having something like this that “brings together the evidence” is crucial, Anne-Marie Graham, chief executive of UKCISA, told The PIE. 

“We need to make policy decisions based on data, and in [recent years] we have regressed in terms of how we collect our international graduate outcomes data, so it makes it very difficult,” Graham explained. 

“Overwhelmingly, that there is an urgent need for further research”

The document outlines 10 recommendations. One directly addresses this data gap: a UK-wide international education data strategy, developed by government, education bodies and stakeholders.

The strategy “should include” the impact of the graduate visa “across the student journey, and the economic and soft power contribution of international graduates”. 

Five of the recommendations are to the UK government: commitment to regular reviews of global competitiveness, ensuring students don’t lose leave as they transition between visas, considering the role international students play in addressing skills shortages – as part of its ambitions to grow higher technical education – and maintenance of other post-study work routes to “provide choice and facilitate different outcomes”.

On skills shortages, Baroness Garden of Frognal – in attendance at the report’s launch and a member of the APPG – said she was “delighted to see technical education” mentioned as part of the recommendations.

“Colleges as well as universities need to be involved in this great enterprise,” she noted.

The most crucial suggestion, perhaps, is the recommendation that the government should “commit to maintaining” it through the next parliament. 

For higher education institutions, the most pressing recommendation was the need for an implementation of a national strategy for employability of international students.

Elliott-Bowman pointed out some universities do have their own strategies, but some can be more difficult to access. Having a streamlined strategy would benefit both colleges and students. 

It also suggested that universities step into a “liaison” role – helping facilitate conversations between employers and international students. 

The last three recommendations made by the APPG were on “cooperation”, including the data strategy proposal, and also calling for better communication about the visa to both graduates and employers. 

“The government needs to communicate better with employers – it means much more to them when it comes from gov.uk,” Graham noted.

The final proposal was that institutions and employers should be working to “mitigate the costs” of the visa for students from lower- and middle-income backgrounds”. 

“Throughout the evidence, students are telling us that the cost of the application and the Immigration Health Surcharge is a barrier. It is a significant lump sum to find in addition to covering living costs which often increase for many as their student status ends,” the report noted. 

“It means much more to them when it comes from gov.uk”

It was announced on July 13 that the IHS is to surge in price for both students and migrants, with the fee for students now £776 a year – much to the dismay of many stakeholders. 

The inquiry conducted an international student roundtable as part of its work, revealing that some graduates were finding it difficult to transition to the visa, and that a lack of support existed for those actually on the visa. Marking boycotts and strikes at UK universities have also caused problems for international students.

“We had a lot of information from students about that transition, and how the visa itself is being perceived by employers,” Elliott-Bowman told attendees of the report’s launch at the House of Lords on July 19.  

The student voices in the report also noted the positive aspects of the visa. One student said it gave them the “upper edge” in their field due to the fact it opens up work experience avenues – “different sectors have different demands”, they said. 

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If you could spend five minutes with anyone from the international education sector, who would it be and what would you ask them? Introducing The PIE’s latest series, Five Minutes With… where we speak to leaders from across the sector and ask them all the big questions.

Pearl Naa Dedei Tetteh is the head of education and recruitment for the Ghana High Commission, based in London, UK. On July 19, she was awarded the Embassy Education Attaché of the Year Award 2023 in recognition of her exceptional service to academic diplomacy and the support and assistance she gives to international students from Ghana. She is particularly passionate about social equity in education, identifying and providing educational opportunities to students who wouldn’t be able to afford them otherwise. The PIE caught up with Pearl moments after she was awarded the prestigious accolade. 

What do you like most about your job?

It’s the students. It’s dealing with students and making them happy because they are away from home and from family. I serve as their family here, so I am always happy when I come to the office to deal with issues, especially when we’re able to solve their problems – that’s the highest point of my day.

If you had a magic wand, what would you change?

I’d change the regulations of how many students I can bring in at the moment. It’s so expensive for us to bring a student. The cost involved is so high. So if we can have a situation where it is not costing us so much, that would be my magic wand.

What keeps you up at night?

Resolving issues, especially the student’s issues because of the cultural differences. We have a lot of welfare issues apart from the normal financial aid and other things, that’s what keeps me up at night.

What’s the biggest challenge to your profession?

Funds. Getting the required funds to take care of everybody’s needs, that’s the biggest challenge. I’m sure if we had the support not just from government, but the private sector also supporting scholarships, it would give us enough room to bring more qualified students to this country. Not just to London, but to other places as well.

What’s your proudest career moment?

When I see my students graduate. I attend the graduate ceremonies and sometimes I have 20 students in a group, knowing they are all graduates and are all going back home. Today is another moment for me as well.

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International students are expected to “take up” almost 55% of net new accommodation on average across Australia in this financial year, after utilising some 70% of new units last year, a conservative think tank in the country has calculated.

The Institute of Public Affairs research suggested that the country will face a supply shortfall of 252,800 units in the six years to 2028 and said that an influx of people on student visas is exacerbating an accommodation shortage across the country.

While acknowledging that international students are “an important market” for Australia’s tertiary education sector, the think tank said that the “first job” of the country’s leaders “must be to ensure that there is adequate housing stock for those looking to get their first home or are in need of a rental”.

“Australians are entitled to ask how they can find a home as inflation drives up mortgages and rent prices become unsustainable, yet the federal government has presided over the largest intake of international students who filled the equivalent of seven out of 10 new homes,” said Daniel Wild, IPA’s deputy executive director.

It also claims that many international students move to Australia “for the primary purpose of working and seeking permanent residency rather than getting an education”. Part-time work opportunities and permanent settlement pathways are “major selling points” for educational and immigration agents, as well as for institutions, it added.

“Once again the federal government has been caught out without a single policy solution to accommodate the unprecedented surge in international students and other migrants, coming at an immense cost to Australians,” Wild said.

“Government has been caught out without a single policy solution to accommodate the unprecedented surge in international”

IPA noted that a net of 1.755 million new immigrants are set to call Australia home between 2023 and 2028. Almost two-thirds of the more than 400,000 net new migrants in the financial year ending 2023 have arrived in Australia on student visas, it said, while they will account for a further two thirds of the subsequent year’s net migration intake.

“The consequences of the unprecedented influx of international students are not just felt by Australians but also the international students themselves, whose educational experience suffers as a result of issues associated with a lack of housing availability, especially in Australia’s capital cities,” it said.

The pressure has been compounded by a “rapid recovery” in the stock of international students, with second and third-year students who had been studying online during the pandemic returning, plus those arriving in Australia to begin their studies, as the May budget 2023-24 acknowledged.

The 187,000 net new international students expected to arrive in this financial year is equivalent to 55% of new housing supply, IPA added.

“We need to have an honest conversation as to the appropriate number of international students we can accommodate while not leaving Australians out in the cold,” Wild added.

“The recently announced unsustainable jumps in migration will put further pressure on critical economic and social infrastructure, such as schools, roads, and hospitals, and will only further add to the acute and immediate shortage of housing.”

A report from Savills in December 2022 suggested that the supply pipeline for Purpose Built Student Accommodation for the next two years is “muted”, with only 4,979 beds expected to become operational in 2023.

The cost of acquiring land for development is “very competitive” and building cost inflation continues to impact viability, the report said.

The IPA research looks at the entire housing supply in Australia, including apartments, detached houses or any other types of housing.

It notes that the housing supply has declined and “is expected to continue to decline” from a high of almost 200,000 units annually pre-pandemic to a low of 127,500 in 2025.

Factors include inflation-induced rise in interest rates, the increasing cost of building materials, the increasing cost and scarcity of labour and delays due to weather conditions and red tape, it noted.

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A new app is hoping to guide international students on employability prospects as they select their universities.

The alsocan app, developed by Asia Careers Group SDN BHD, is designed to “take the guess work out” of identifying which universities have the best track record of placing students with leading employers.

“Young people know the companies and brands they want to work for,” founder of Asia Careers Group SDN BHD, Louise Nicol, said.

“What they need to know ahead of applying to a university is whether the specific university degree is likely to secure them their dream job. With alsocan we provide answer.”

The app, developed over three years, seeks to meet student demand for information on the return on their investment of their higher education. For universities, it offers high-quality employability data to differentiate their institution and attract ambitious, career-focused students, the team behind the app added.

“Students and their parents/advisers want to know that a university degree is worth the money they are paying,” Nicol continued.

“Good universities want to provide hard evidence of meeting employer needs and student career ambitions”

“Good universities want to be able to provide hard evidence that they are meeting employer needs and student career ambitions. The purpose of alsocan is to replace hype and guesswork with data that meets the needs of both sides.”

Asia Careers Group has amassed a graduate data set of over 100,000 individual data points that sit behind the application. It will initially cover UK and Australian universities, with Canada, Ireland and the wider EU, New Zealand and the US set to be added in the next two years.

The data will allow students to identify universities that have placed graduates at employers they are interested in working for.

“Alternatively, students selects universities they are interested in and the application will let them know the leading graduate destinations for each institution. The student can then see if the employers match their career aspirations,” Nicol added.

All Australian universities and more than 50 UK universities are presently hosted on the app, with institutional partners highlighted as recommended to prospective students.

Partner universities also receive reports on their own international graduate outcomes benchmarked against the whole sample.

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Australia’s peak higher education body has welcomed the government’s Universities Accord interim report, saying the “detail, depth and quality of the work underscores the importance of the tertiary education system in building a stronger Australia”.

Universities Australia said the document, released on July 19, “makes clear” that universities are “essential to Australia’s progress and success in delivering the skills and knowledge that fuels our economic and social firepower”.

The government is undertaking the biggest review of the country’s university sector for the first time since the Bradley review in 2008.

Chief executive Catriona Jackson welcomed the five immediate actions in the report, which will uncap places for all Indigenous students, remove barriers for students from underrepresented backgrounds and extend the Higher Education Continuity Guarantee.

Extending the support relief introduced during Covid-19 is “a vital step toward providing the funding certainty that our institutions need to continue doing their job for the nation”, she said.

Many of the points related to international students come in the second “more exploratory part” of the report, with Universities Australia chair David Lloyd noting that the body “look[s] forward to undertaking appropriate and thorough interrogation of the considerations contained within the report as they evolve towards firmer recommendations”.

The Group of Eight of research-intensive universities hailed the Accord as “a once in a generation opportunity” to shape Australia’s higher education ecosystem.

However, it warned that a levy on international student fees suggested in the interim report could risk undermining Australia’s “hard-won and enduring successes in areas such as our global strength in international education”.

Independent Higher Education Australia, like Go8, said it would be opposed to a levy on income derived from international students.

“Such a measure would impose significant burdens on higher education providers already facing a demanding competitive environment. The imposition of such a levy would make Australia less competitive against our international rivals,” IHEA CEO Peter Hendy said.

“The imposition of such a levy would make Australia less competitive against our international rivals”

The Accord process must not have “unintended consequences” that impacts the country’s international reputation for delivering world-class education, Go8 added.

It noted however that suggestions to create a sustainable research environment aligns with its submission to the Universities Accord.

The organisation will continue to advocate for research funding and a bipartisan national research strategy to give universities “certainty in research and research infrastructure investments, boost our global reputation for research excellence and help Australia retain and attract the world’s best and brightest”, Go8 added.

However, the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia said the reform outlined in the interim report “doesn’t put students at the heart of the higher education system”.

“ITECA’s priority is to ensure that student choice is at the centre of higher education funding, allowing a student to access a government-supported place quality institution of their choice,” said Troy Williams, ITECA chief executive.

“This would see a significant expansion of the funding system to allow most students to study with independent higher education institutions if that was their decision.”

The report makes some positive steps in regards to creating a “more cohesive tertiary education framework in which the higher education and skills training systems operate as one but retain their separate strengths and identities”, ITECA acknowledged.

“[However] the Australian Universities Accord needs to recognise the complementarity of independent and public higher education providers, with a refreshed name – a higher education accord – and fresh policy approaches that are agnostic as to provider type,” Williams added.

IHEA supports the five immediate considerations in the report in principle, and said the measures align with IHEA’s mission of enhancing the higher education sector.

The Australian Universities Accord Panel has a large amount of work to do prior to the final report due in December, IHEA added, and that it “will continue to work closely with review process”.

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Australia’s federal government has released its interim report on the upcoming Universities Accord, which has been touted as the biggest review of the country’s higher education system since 2008.

The report notes that international student education is “highly valued as a core component of the mission of the sector and continues to be a significant source of revenue for Australian universities”, in addition to being a “crucial element of Australia’s soft diplomacy, regional prosperity and development”.

It states that the Review sees international education “less as an industry” than a diplomacy, prosperity and development boost, meaning that education quality provided is “even more important”.

Five immediate outcomes from the interim report is the creation of up to 20 new Regional University Centres – backed by an additional $34.4 million – which are designed to increase access for students in regional and remote areas.

Other priorities are the success rate of disadvantaged students, funding for all First Nations students, as well as financial “certainty” by extending the Higher Education Continuity Guarantee into 2024 and 2025 to avoid “unnecessary disruption”, and actions to improve university governance.

Much of the international aspects are included in the latter “more exploratory part” of the document, which sets out initial views. Conclusions will follow further consultations, the paper notes.

A funding shakeup may be needed, as the document acknowledges infrastructure, workforce development and research is not sustainably funded, with generating income beyond government funding vital.

Some universities are “over-reliant on international students and their revenue”, it says, but the benefits and risks of educating international students is “uneven across the sector”.

Referring to government statistics, the paper says the volatility of international enrolments and income streams “threatens to undermine the stability of some institutions, and their ability to maintain research capability and quality”.

All but three of Australia’s universities – Sydney, Melbourne and UNSW – saw international student fee revenue funding decline from 2020 to 2021, figures have shown.

“The volatile nature of international student revenue is now a risk to our national research effort”

“The growth of international student revenue has become so important to the sector that its volatile nature is now a risk to our national research effort. Relying on funding core research capability and functions from volatile revenue sources has inherent risks and variability,” it says.

Endowments, high international rankings attracting larger numbers of international students and valuable property holdings at some institutions can help to maintain finances, but many are finding themselves in “precarious financial positions”.

“A rethink of how university operations are financed is urgently needed to better provide stability and maintain sustainability of the sector,” the review contends.

It suggests that an international student fee income levy could be introduced as a mechanism to provide insurance against future economic or policy shocks, or fund priorities such as infrastructure and research.

It continues to say that the current situation provides funding that is “so great it cannot realistically be replaced by public sources”.

Skill gaps

Skilled migrants will continue to play an important role in addressing skills needs. Extended post-study work rights for graduates with specific skills from July 1 will address critical skills shortage and also contribute to a broader network of international connections.

The Migration Review outline has set out policies such as providing faster pathways to permanent residence but the paper states that industry attitudes towards “hiring international students and graduates requires significant attention”.

In a chapter on fostering international engagement, the paper emphasises that global economy shocks, political fragmentation and new alliances have “increased uncertainty”.

“[The Review] heard that higher education providers and governments need to consolidate past successes and adapt to evolving student expectations, national and international labour market needs, and approaches to overseas collaboration,” it continues.

Research

International research collaboration continues to be an area that deepens Australia’s engagement and influence on the global stage as international partners work to meet common goals.

However growth in international research collaboration has not led to significant research funding from international sources. In the Indo-Pacific region, there is “increasing opportunity for further engagement” as countries invest more in R&D and building partnerships.

Education is key in the Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, and governmental engagement in forums such as the Group of Twenty, Pacific Economic Cooperation and Association of Southeast Asian Nations, among others, “helps Australia to maintain its reputation as a world-class destination for high-quality education and research”.

It is also considering how to improve student experience in an international education market that is “increasingly competitive”.

Pressures international students can face in Australia include social isolation, financial hardship, workplace exploitation, as well as discrimination and unwelcoming attitudes.

While the Assurance Protocol between the Department of Home Affairs and the Fair Work Ombudsman provides a safety mechanism for students or employees to raise issues of workplace exploitation without the risk of visa cancellation, authorities are examining whether enhanced support is required.

Diversification

Diversifying both international student markets and modes of delivery will “achieve sustainable international education growth and protect Australia’s future interests”.

Online and offshore transnational education offerings present an opportunity to access different cohorts of students in new and existing markets from a wider range of locations and demographics.

International student growth must be sustainable rather than be incentivised to maximise the intake of international students and produce large student cohorts, the paper suggests.

By the end of 2023, international student enrolments have recovered to near pre-pandemic levels, when international higher education enrolments hit 440,824.

“Large class sizes potentially diminish students’ ability to connect with their peers”

“[Large cohorts] can be detrimental to the student experience for both international and domestic students, with large class sizes potentially diminishing students’ ability to connect with their peers and make lasting relationships throughout their studies,” it says.

Higher education institutions must consider community perceptions of large international cohorts, while offering greater professional development of staff and cross-cultural competency in teaching and learning. They should also explore greater engagement with services such as accommodation and social support.

It also added that improvements to language testing and admissions benchmarks could be considered to “protect high-quality education experiences for all students and Australia’s education reputation and provide adequately tailored support where required”.

Areas of policy that the review will continue to weigh up ahead of the release of the final report in December 2023 include ensuring that international education supports broader Australian foreign policy objectives and making international education “more embedded” in the mission of the Australian tertiary education system.

Government also wants to improve overseas skills and qualification recognition further, as it did with the Indian government earlier this year, and build closer connections between institutions and international alumni.

Canberra is also considering establishing a second national university for the regions, which would better attract international students outside the major metropolitan areas, while also providing “substantial and lasting support for underrepresented cohorts and deliver for skills needs in the regions”.

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