Australian international education is facingthe current situation described as "a perfect storm". This is the result of a host of negative factors for Australian education all operating at the same time.
Of course, the global financial crisis, which has weakened has demand because parents and students have found themselves under financial stress.
The weakening American dollar - and strengthening Aussie dollar - has made Australia more expensive while, at the same time, America has become a less expensive destination for foreign students.Students, particularly those from China, students who would have formerly come to Australia are now choosing to study in the USA. Because of the financial crisis, American universities have become more interested in attracting fee-paying international students.
Indeed, they are now using IDP, the marketing agency originally founded by Australian universities, to compete with Australia. They are also employing other agents; in many cases, the same agents used by Australian universities.
The fees at many American state universities are lower than Australian Counterparts. The US government is helping universities by relaxing visa requirements and greatly speeding up visa processing times. The UK, the second most popular study destinationafter the USA, has also freed up its visa system and it also makes visa decisions faster than we do in Australia.
Australia is also suffering from the terrible publicity surrounding attacks on Indian students, the collapse of private providers (which sometimes leaves students stranded and out of pocket) and the just completed review of the ESOS Act, which gives the impression that Australian education has been poorly regulated. Not surprisingly, many agents have lost confidence in Australian education, preferring to send students to the USA and UK instead.
Alas, this is not the end of our problems. The Australian government surprised and worried international students by cancelling the old list of occupations acceptable for immigration and then, after several months of uncertainty, replacing the list with a new and much smaller one. Students are now worried that the rules may change again.
While our competitors are relaxing their visa requirements, the Australian government has tightened ours requiring Chinese students (who make up one-third of higher education enrolments) to show that they have $18,000 in the bank for every year of proposed study.
All this factors are creating a stormy environment in which Australian education will definetly suffer.
Courtesy onlineopinion.com.au
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