Education industry shills demand MORE international students

Despite the never-ending exposés that Australia’s inernational student sector is a disaster, Brisbane this week hosted The Higher Education Summit, sponsored by The AFR, which brought together hundreds of participants with the primary goal of increasing the number of international students studying in Australia from already absurd levels:

That’s right, rather than seeking ways to correct the erosion of entry, English-language, and teaching standards that fueled the international student boom, the Higher Education Summit was little more than a high-octane symposium designed to talk-up the economic benefits of the mythical $37 billion international student trade, as well as brainstorm ways to attract ever more full-fee-paying international students.

The AFR’s article on the symposium, entitled “Unis need new ways of attracting Chinese students” highlights the agenda that was pushed:

In a report to be presented at the Summit, IEAA chief executive Phil Honeywood says that, far from worrying about having too many Chinese students, universities should be finding ways to boost enrolments.

He says Australia needs to find new ways to encourage Chinese students to enrol at universities here…

The UK and the US are already big players in the China market, creating a “pipeline” to supply universities.

As you can see, vocal industry lobbyist – Phil Honeywood, head of International Education of Australia – led discussions calling for universities to expand their Chinese student enrolments. This came despite last week’s explicit warnings from the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) that Australia’s universities are way too exposed to international students (especially Chinese) and need to pare back.

Phil Honeywood was supported by Deloitte Access Economics partner John O’Mahony:

The higher education sector could be used to boost a flat local economy, with the deteriorating global trade environment adding to the case to increase student numbers, Deloitte Access Economics partner John O’Mahony said.

Education, as the third-largest industry by value for Australia, could provide a lever to the government at a time when low interest rates mean other sources of stimulus are more useful…

Increasing the limits on student numbers would allow Australia’s higher education sector to provide a boost to the economy, Mr O’Mahony said.

From what I gathered observing the Higher Education Summit from afar, there was little discussion of the myriad of downsides created by Australia’s ginormous international student boom, including the unambiguously negative impacts on university standards.

As illustrated by the CIS, Australia’s universities already have by far the highest per capita concentration of international students in the world, therefore, lifting international students would require universities to further dilute standards:

Australian universities routinely compromise admissions standards to accommodate international students. Preparatory programs for students with lower English language test scores function as a paid work-around for international students who do not meet admissions standards. By prominently marketing such alternative pathways, Australian universities are in effect taking actions that reduce their financial risks by increasing their standards risks…

Measured on a per capita basis, Australia now hosts more international students than any other major country in the world, as depicted in Figure 2…

The fact that international students pay much higher fees than domestic ones for the same courses strongly incentivises universities to reduce admissions and academic standards to accommodate international students. Alternative admissions routes that allow international students to circumvent English language requirements and the widespread use of commission-based brokers invite willful negligence and outright abuse, as reported in the ABC Four Corners program ‘Cash Cows’.

…recruiting [more students] would likely require Australian universities to reach deep down into the talent pool, reducing standards still further…

It would be appreciated if, for once, the education industry would consider what is best for the broader national interest.

Universities should exist first and foremost to educate Australians. And domestic students should not have their teaching standards and quality compromised so the industry fat cats can feed off international student fees.