Sleazy universities sell their souls to international students

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MB has long questioned the dubious links between our universities’ reliance on international student fees and university rankings, which we have labelled a ponzi scheme.

In a nutshell, the federal government and Australia’s universities established a system to encourage significant growth in full-fee paying international students through:

  • The Australian government providing the most generous student visa work rights and opportunities for permanent residency in the world; and
  • Australian universities lowering entry and teaching standards.

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.