Search Results

This report covers all areas of provision relating to international students from outside the European Union, within different levels of study, and across all subject areas. The first section of the report sets out the importance of international students to UK higher education, and of the UK's world standing within this global market. The following sections focus on recent trends in international student recruitment in the UK following the implementation of immigration reforms, and the implications of this for universities. The final sections discuss the current opportunities and threats for universities recruiting students from overseas, and how these factors could potentially influence the funding environment for UK institutions.

Edited excerpt from publication. Show less

This paper provides a chronology that draws on ministerial press statements to trace changes in Australia's immigration policy in relation to overseas students between 1997 and June 2015. Immigration policies introduced in this period fundamentally changed the nature of migration to Australia. Policy changes in this period were pivotal in facilitating the rapid growth of overseas student education in Australia by forging links between the temporary overseas student program and permanent skilled migration. Later reforms to both skilled migration and overseas student policy were also central to the decline in overseas student enrolments beginning in 2009-10. The paper begins its analysis in 1997 as this appears to be the point at which the Howard Government commenced making announcements about overseas students as an immigration issue.

The paper begins by briefly analysing the way in which the landscape of immigration policy in relation to overseas students has developed since 1997. This is followed by a summary charting key policy developments between 1997 and June 2015, and concluding observations on the consequences and possible impacts of recent immigration policy changes on overseas student education in Australia.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

Enhancing the social dimension of higher education (HE) has been a central pillar of the Bologna Process since its inception, and was reconfirmed by the 2020 Rome Communique. The new Erasmus+ programme 2021-2027 has also put inclusion at the forefront. In this context, higher education authorities and institutions are in the process of considering, planning and implementing reforms to widen the participation of students from disadvantaged groups in mobility programmes. The project Peer Learning Activities and Resources for Social Inclusion in Mobility Programmes (PLAR-4-SIMP) focuses on achieving more inclusivity in mobility programmes. The project is delivered by the Ministry of Education and Training (Flemish Community/Belgium) and the Support Centre for Inclusive Higher Education in Flanders (SIHO), in cooperation with the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research and the Erasmus Student Network (ESN).

Its objective is to support national authorities and higher education institutions across the [European Higher Education Area] EHEA in order to reform their policies to widen and allow for better participation of disadvantaged students in mobility programmes. In this framework, the project has implemented research and peer learning activities to strengthen mutual learning and deepen the exchange of practices between the EHEA countries in different implementation stages. This report summarises the results of the research and peer learning activities, and provides a picture of the current social inclusion measures and practices that have been implemented across the EHEA to increase the participation of disadvantaged students in mobility programmes in which innovative inclusive policy measures and recommendations are highlighted.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

Foundations studies programs (FSPs), sometimes termed pathways programs, seek to prepare international students for an undergraduate education. While enrolments in these programs continue to grow in Australia, there has correspondingly been little research exploring how FSP students experience their transition into university life and study. In seeking to fill a gap within the literature, this study investigated this issue by focusing on international students from mainland China. 23 FSP alumni were interviewed and asked to describe their expectations and experiences of secondary schooling in China, and their subsequent FSP and university studies in Australia. The analysis revealed that the most salient feature of participants' transition into their Australian undergraduate courses was their emphasis on interpersonal relationships and social interactions. In particular, interviewees emphasised the importance of social exchanges with local peers and teaching staff, and their general disappointment or frustration with these interactions. While this study echoes previous investigations relating to international students' (lack of positive) intercultural interactions within HE settings, it more importantly challenges the notion that FSPs can be assumed to adequately prepare international students for the nature of these relationships at university. Recommendations regarding FSP practices and policies are posed at the end of this article.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

A total of 8,719 final-year university students from across New Zealand's eight universities participated in the 2011 Graduate Longitudinal Study New Zealand (GLSNZ) Baseline Survey. These students are broadly representative of the approximately 35,000 students who graduated from New Zealand universities in that year. In 2014, approximately 2.5 years after completing the Baseline Survey, participants were invited to complete the First Follow-up Survey. From the Baseline Cohort of 8,719, a total of 6,104 respondents (70 per cent) participated in the First Follow-up Survey (henceforth referred to as the Follow-up Cohort). A broad range of men and women of all ages, ethnic backgrounds, fee-paying statuses, and course types completed a lengthy online survey of 600+ questions that took, on average, 45 minutes to complete (interquartile range = 36 to 60 minutes). The length is considerably longer than typically seen in this type of research. The breadth and depth of this body of data is to be examined in detail and used to form the basis of a number of ongoing investigations. Specifically, GLSNZ investigators will initially examine: (i) Labour market outcomes and their mediators/moderators; (ii) issues of ethnicity and tertiary success, with particular emphasis on experiences of and outcomes for Maori and Pasifika learners; (iii) experiences of international students and the overseas export industry value of tertiary education in New Zealand; and (iv) the social benefits/good associated with aspects of university study.

Edited excerpt from publication. Show less

This snapshot looks at recent data on international higher education students from Australia and the UK. According to UNESCO, the UK is the second most popular study destination for international tertiary students after the USA, while Australia is the third most popular. The data used in the snapshot has been created by each country in relation to its latest full academic year (2018-19 for the UK and 2019 for Australia). This analysis compares Australian higher education enrolments (only) with UK higher education student data.

In 2018-19, 29 per cent of the UK's international student population came from the European Union (EU). Nonetheless, China was the UK's largest single student source country, representing 35 per cent of international students coming from outside the EU and 25 per cent of all international students in the UK. Between, 2017-18 and 2018-19, the UK's total international student numbers grew by six per cent, comprising three per cent growth in EU and seven per cent growth in non-EU students. There was particularly strong growth in students from India and China (13 per cent and 35 per cent respectively).

Australia had solid overall growth in international higher education enrolments between 2018 and 2019 (11 per cent), which incorporated 8 per cent growth from China and 27 per cent growth from India. For other common student source countries like Malaysia and Hong Kong, the UK and Australia both saw moderate declines. The pending nature of Brexit had no apparent impact on incoming EU students to the UK, where EU students grew by three per cent in 2018-19 following a similar degree of growth (4 per cent) in 2017-18.

The UK's 2018-19 international student data confirms a return to growth following a long hiatus following the introduction of migration reforms in 2012, including changes to post-study work opportunities. Commentators are attributing the UK's return to growth to its recent announcement that post-study work visas are being reintroduced and will be available to international students graduating in the 2020-21 academic year and thereafter. Given this return to growth is likely to be sustained, prior predictions by commentators that Australia would overtake the UK to become the world's second most popular study destination now seem unlikely to eventuate.

Excerpt from publication. Show less

This report outlines what is known about the extent to which international students are working in non-compliant employment, possible reasons why that is occurring and a summary of the steps being taken to address it. Non-compliant employment in relation to international students is defined as employment where minimum employment standards are not applied or which exceed the terms of a student's visa. Show less

The aim of this study is to uncover how students' practices of writing in higher education are being impacted by ChatGPT. The use of ChatGPT and other generative [artificial intelligence] AI needs to be set in the context of a longer-term process of the digitisation of writing, where many tools are being employed by students to support writing because it is a complex iterative process. Generative AI appears to have had a large impact on how students write, and we propose a model of generative AI literacy to assess their capabilities in doing so. Semi-structured interviews and observation data were collected at a British University with 23 students from diverse backgrounds, including the UK, USA, China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. The data was analysed thematically. It was found that students used ChatGPT alongside many other tools, and in rather individualistic ways often to address specific challenges they felt they had with writing. Their main concerns were around plagiarism, information inaccuracy and technology dependence. There was a relatively weak understanding or interest in the ethical issues around the exploitative and environmental impacts of generative AI. The social controversy around ChatGPT can be seen as a useful opportunity to engage students in a discussion about the digitisation of writing and promote AI literacy in this context.

Published abstract. Show less

In late 2008, ASIA:NZ commissioned a three year tracer study of Asia Born New Zealand trained business graduates. The final report was published in 2012. This study involved graduates from many New Zealand education providers including all but one of New Zealand's universities. This provided a rich source of data related to the post academic transition of graduates. Some of the recommendations from this study focussed on the need to prepare international graduates for their post academic transitions. In this paper [the authors] summarise the learning from this major study (and other related studies that informed it) and examine as a case study of one university's response to the need to provide particular specialised preparation for re-entry to countries of origin for their international soon-to-be graduates. In this case study [the authors] look at how advice around re-entry is adjusted to ensure it is country context specific and the challenge of doing so amongst a very diverse international student body.

A core generic understanding of issues to be considered in re-entry preparation emerges as well as some strategies to ensure that the advice and preparation given is fit for purpose for specific New Zealand to country of origin transitions. What has been learned in this case study should be of value to others seeking to enhance career and alumni services, as well as international support services, in the important area of preparing students for post academic transition.

Published abstract. Show less

The fast-growing number of international students has generated strong public interest and concerns about their impacts on Canada's educational institutions, labour market and affordable housing. Fully understanding such impacts requires better knowledge of the school enrolment and labour force participation of international students.

Earlier Statistics Canada studies found that the number of international students enrolled in publicly funded postsecondary education institutions was about 20 per cent to 30 per cent smaller than the number of postsecondary study permit holders (SPHs) (Choi & Hou, 2023; Frenette, Lu & Chan, 2019). However, little information exists about these SPHs who did not enrol in publicly funded postsecondary programs. It is unclear whether they stayed in Canada and, if so, what their main activities were. This article attempts to explore this less known area.

Published abstract. Show less