by Dirk Mulder

So why are the Feds reviewing English language aspects in the  ESOS Act?

Alan Olsen (formerly behind the Australian Universities International Directors Forum benchmarking) has reviewed new Commonwealth data for 2020 to find commencing international students had an 88.8 per cent pass rate, compared to 85.8 per cent for locals.

His research is here.

It was not always thus. “Generations of academics had the experience that commencing international bachelor students dragged standards down. In 2001, commencing international bachelor students were 2.3 percentage points worse, in 2004 negative 4.2 and in 2005 negative 3.7,” he reports.

However, by 2008 commencing international students did about the same as commencing domestic bachelor students (less than one percentage point difference). And from 2013 commencing international students did better than comparable locals.

What makes this really important is that the Department of Education, Skills and Employment is reviewing the Education Services for Overseas Students Act and is asking the English Language sector,

* how can providers of ELICOS and Foundation Programmes ensure that students have reached the required level of English language proficiency to start their first AQF course?; and

* would it be beneficial to introduce an independent assessment of international students’ English proficiency before they commence their first AQF course?

But as Mr Olsen points out;

“the results since 2013 can be interpreted as showing that increasing numbers of Australian universities set and maintain entry standards, including English language entry standards, for international undergraduates that lead to successful outcomes, prepare international students better in English language proficiency, monitor academic performance and provide effective English language and study skills support.”

Which creates a question for DESE. If the system isn’t broken, why look for ways to fix it?

Dirk Mulder advises education and business clients on trends in international education. He writes regularly for CMM