Australia has to avoid “education nationalism” and must not use the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity to exit the international student market
A sole focus on local students, “would consign the sector to a future of shrinkage, low horizons, reputational decline, infrastructure decay, research mediocrity and minimal services for local students themselves”, the Asia Taskforce (made up of Business Council of Australia, Asia Society, PWC and Uni Sydney) argues.
Why international fees are essential: Their paper points to increasing infrastructure, declining public support and growing wage bills accrued under the “still highly unionised industrial relations system” which universities have needed international student fees to fund.
“In the absence of significant income from international students, the net effect of a permanent fall in international fee revenue would be long-term impoverishment of our public universities. Any rebalancing of numbers in favour of local students must involve a reconsideration of per-student Commonwealth funding and not simply a redistribution of funding between degrees or an overall increase in the number of Commonwealth Supported Places.”
But international students come at a cost: While universities need international students, notably from China, the single greatest source, the Asia Taskforce acknowledges their presence has a price. “The dependence on Chinese students has instituted a form of classroom mono-culturalism in which encouraging students to embrace the values of academic integrity and free debate, and facilitating the development of core capabilities in critical thinking, effective English communication and cross-cultural competence, have become increasingly difficult.”
And that means changing what universities offer: The paper proposes universities in general and the Group of Eight in particular, “has a pressing need to revise and revitalise” engagement with international students. “There is clearly considerable scope for universities themselves to improve the international student experience both within and beyond the learning space.”
“The time has also come for the whole sector to leverage more effectively the possibilities opened up by digital learning and to embrace a fresh approach that ‘blends’ on-line and on-campus learning in ways that appeal to both domestic and international students.”
What is to be done: Among a range of options, the paper recommends;
* institutions end over-reliance on China or India and become fee-flexible
* higher entry standards for students from China and lifting learning-outcomes and job-readiness of Chinese graduates
* leveraging alumni networks