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This report presents the English Language Proficiency (ELP) and Employability Framework, which has been designed to inform and support higher education institutions' (HEIs) policies and practices on ELP and graduate employability. The framework was developed through a review of the national and international literature on initiatives and programs aimed at developing both students' general and discipline specific language skills, as well as their general and professional employability. The framework also benefited from an expert review using roundtable discussions with sector representatives in three cities.

The findings from the project indicate that Australian HEIs have in place a number of initiatives for developing international students' ELP, and making English language development a central element of their learning and teaching. Strategies include: institutional strategic plans; monitoring and evaluating English language entry requirements; diagnostic testing; and integrating communication skills as learning outcomes within disciplinary teaching. There is also an increasing focus on assessing students' ELP towards the end of their course of study, although this tends to be mainly in professional accredited programs such as engineering and veterinary science. This report provides a practical platform from which HEIs can address the challenge of developing students' ELP for employability.

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In mid 2011 Australia Education International provided support to the Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE), University of Melbourne to develop criteria and indicators for monitoring and evaluating the internationalisation of the student experience, which could be used internally by universities to monitor and evaluate their activities and to identify priority areas for improvement. The project developed these criteria and indicators through consultation with the tertiary education sector in three National Forums.

Australian higher education is grappling with the issue of enhancing interaction between domestic and international students to enhance the student experience and the teaching/learning opportunities available through such interaction. While universities have attempted to address this issue in a number of ways, survey results appear to indicate that many international students anticipate levels of interaction with Australian domestic students that are not realised and other research suggests that both groups often remain largely segmented inside and outside classrooms. Similar issues, though less well documented, have arisen in [vocational education and training] VET. To date, efforts to improve the interaction between international and domestic students have been mostly isolated from teaching and learning and mostly focused on activities outside the classroom. A key premise of this project is that positive aspects of student experience and teaching/learning opportunities that are available in an international education context offer a combined benefit to both domestic and international students.

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The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations commissioned the University of Melbourne’s Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) to undertake this study in May 2008. The project team brought together research staff from the CSHE and the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (MDHS) of the University of Melbourne. The project examined the influence of English language proficiency (ELP) on workplace readiness and employment outcomes for international students and graduates who seek to work in Australia. The study’s recommendations are based on conclusions drawn from both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis. A mixed method approach was used and involved a detailed review of relevant literature, semi-structured individual interviews and focus groups, and quantitative analyses of three statistical data sets: (1) Australian 2006 Census data; (2) Australian Education International (AEI) data from January 2002 to June 2008; and (3) the former Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia (October 2005 and October 2006). Findings revealed that international students employment outcomes are not as good as their Australian domestic counterparts and that they face greater challenges in finding full-time employment after graduation. While ELP is a key factor influencing their employment outcomes, particularly if graduates have low levels of ELP, the findings from this study show that ELP is not the only or principal issue.

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This 2019-2020 project examined and compared the academic performance of first-year direct entry international and pathway students in higher education institutions. By collecting and analysing data on the factors that contribute to students' transition, engagement and academic outcomes in the first year, this project shed light on the kinds of institutional experiences and programs that can effectively support the success of international pathway students. This report is a synthesis of analyses from five strands of research activity involving: (1) desktop research of existing institutional support programs and services at 39 Australian universities and follow-up consultations with staff responsible for the programs/services; (2) consultations with 17 key stakeholders from non-university education sectors and organisations; (3) statistical analyses of institutional data sets from seven institutions on first-year international students' entry pathways into university, course progression to second year, and academic performance; (4) an online survey administered to first-year international students at seven institutions; and (5) focus group interviews with 201 international students at six institutions.

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