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Today's higher education (HE) graduates are expected to leave their places of study with an increased awareness of the attributes they have acquired over the course of their educational journey. The set of accumulated skills, knowledge and abilities of students has come to be known as graduate attributes (GAs), which this paper sets out to define, and then reshape around the needs of international students on pathway or pre-degree programs. This article presents an instance of how the formulation of attributes has been tailored to meet the needs of international students. To take into account a shorter timeframe of study, the focus was on the acquisition of 'core learning values' (CLVs) rather than GAs. To capture a sense of how this worked in practice, this paper is focused on the case of Eynesbury Institute of Business and Technology (EIBT), which serves as the setting for a study that explored the way 'values' can be added to the study experience of those in Australian 'first year + pathway' institutions.

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In August 2008 the Asia:NZ Foundation commissioned International Student Ministries of New Zealand to commence a nationwide longitudinal study of the experiences of Asia-born New Zealand-trained business graduates. This study ('Tracking study for Asian business graduates from New Zealand') was to commence when students were in the final phase of their course and contemplating their future. It was intended that the study would follow the new graduates through their post-academic transition as they endeavoured to find employment and adjusted to working in New Zealand or elsewhere. These areas were of specific interest, as was examining the role that Asia-born New Zealand-trained business graduates play in developing Asia-NZ business relationships.

This paper covers findings from the first phase of the study related to choices motivating the study of business in New Zealand, experiences of studying and living and expectations of life following course completion. Initially the paper covers background information, situating it in the New Zealand tertiary and business education contexts, and in relation to existing literature on Asian students in New Zealand. A brief outline of the research methods central to the study follows, then a description and examination of preliminary research findings related to choices, experiences and expectations with a specific focus on students' expectations of study and life after study. This also draws on students' retrospective reflections, providing a background for later reports (which will likely examine students' post-graduation transition pathways). A brief final note is made on how emerging questions will be examined in the remainder of the study.

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Recent studies found that more students were increasingly engaged with part-time work. However, research remained ambivalent about the part-time work experiences of doctoral students in Australia. Although it was evident that paid work could provide monetary support for doctoral students' education and living expenses, it remained uncertain why they were motivated to work when most of them were being funded by scholarship programs. Further, as doctoral students often belonged to different age groups as compared to their undergraduate counterparts, current research on students' paid work may have limited applicability. Thus this paper aimed to conceptualise how doctoral students construct their work experiences in Australia. In the process, it would also identify whether there were any significant differences in work experiences between international and domestic doctoral students. This study would utilise a series of semi-structured interviews with 20 domestic and 20 international doctoral students in Victoria, Australia.

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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.

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This longitudinal study was commissioned by the Asia New Zealand Foundation. The Asia-born New Zealand-educated business graduates involved in [the authors'] ongoing study identified the importance of social networks in gaining access to the labour market in New Zealand and in Asia. The awareness of the relationship between social networks and employment outcomes became apparent during the second year of [the authors'] longitudinal study and was explored in greater depth at year three of the study. The importance of social networks for employment outcomes, and the circuitous nature of the pathways to employment and residence, was not expected by graduates hoping to stay on in New Zealand after graduation.

This paper reports from the findings at years two and three. These findings are related to the relationship of social networks and employment outcomes for Asia-born New Zealand trained business graduates. It describes the circuitous pathways that students take to obtain work relevant to their degree, and where immigration outcomes are desired relevant to meet immigration requirements. Perceived barriers to limiting employment opportunities for Asia-born New Zealand trained business graduates include lack of work experience; economic recession; employer and wider community attitudes; and changes in immigration and government policies. This paper explores briefly policy and practice implications for government and business agencies looking to achieve successful outcomes, in terms of the recruitment of Asia-born New Zealand trained business graduates, to bolster New Zealand's declining labour market.

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There are a growing number of international and local students entering university programs in the second year of the degree program after transitioning through a pathway provider. In Australia the term 'pathway provider' is used to refer to partnerships between universities and (generally) private, for-profit higher education colleges providing diploma programs as a 'pathway' for students to enter the second year of a university program. There is no one clear definition for the term 'pathway provider'; the naming convention is unclear and there is no one agreed upon term for these institutions. There is, however, significant data on the growth of this industry and its benefits to the economy, its enhancement of cultural diversity on university campuses, the potential for internationalisation of the curriculum and a welcome addition to university revenue. It is estimated that 60 per cent of international students in higher education have come from some form of pathway provider. While research has examined the first year experience of university students in some depth, differences between the experiences of pathway students to direct entry first year university students requires further investigation. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the extent of difference between students completing the first year of their degree program at a pathway provider compared to direct entry at a university and the subsequent impact on the pathway student's results at the second year level.

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