OVERSEAS STUDENTS: THE MORE THE BETTER?
University of
Southern Queensland Conference on Quality in International Education Toowoomba 7 February 1992
Dr DG Blight
Chief Executive International Development Program of Australian Universities
and Colleges
There are at least five main reasons or
groups of reasons why the more overseas students we enrol the better.
The
more the more
The first reason relates to the mutually reinforcing
impact of what is described in the Conference
brochure as the concept of commercialisation and export management" on the one hand
and, using the terms of the brochure again, the application of academic skills to "influence the provision of quality
education" on the other. The former stimulates the latter. The more overseas
students that come the more funds will be available to provide a high-quality
education.
There seems to be a reluctance in some quarters to recognise the
importance of revenue and profit in the overseas student program and, yet, failure do to so could limit
severely the benefits to both Australia and overseas countries from the program.
The issue is put this way in a review undertaken by Simpson and Sissons on the Canadian response to the
international human resource development challenge. They note:
"When university people state that
their institution is
not concerned with
making money m its international work they imply an altruistic commitment toward t
is activity. Although this commitment is laudable, in an era of stringent budget constraints, if there is no
return on investment (profit) how can continued allocation of scarce human
resources to these endeavours be justified? Unless they are required to have a
margin above costs, how will universities have the resources to develop
additional capacity, to test the market, to see what products the Third World institutions want, and to tailor-make programs to fit their clients' needs? Unless they make a
profit, where will universities find the money 10 cover the initial development costs on major projects, to
organise a serious tender bid on a major project, to advertise to overseas clients the range of resources they have to
offer, or to explore various potential associates to find the correct joint venture partner?"
Overseas students generate funds and a surplus that can be used for good purposes; funding per overseas student bas not
decreased as student numbers increase, this contrasts with unit fund decreases for Australian students in the last 5 years. The change from the
subsidised program, where overseas students were counted as EFTS Us for funding
purposes, to the current arrangements, where institutions set the fee level at
or above a regulatory minimum,
means that institutions have the
opportunity to gain more funding. My surveys suggest at least 20% more per
student The additional resources generated by the overseas student program have been applied to
improving the educational product in all steps of the student cycle,
2.
DEET estimated that revenue to
universities in 1990 was about $154 million adding on about 4 per cent to
Commonwealth operating funds for higher education institutions. In 1991 the figure may have been as high as $225 million.
There are, of course, downsides to the
increased dependence of institutions on fee income from overseas students.
Universities in Australia
have traditionally relied on the government grant and associated income for
their revenues that are reasonably re1iable and predictable. Overseas student
income is not. As this increases above 4 per cent of university revenue, the
institutions enter a field of financial risk-taking in an uncertain world.
This can be a problem, for example, if institutions rely too heavily on one or
two countries as sources of students. According to one report2 the
universities in Western Australia draw 70 per cent of their students from two
countries: Singapore and Malaysia. Should either of those countries introduce
policy changes or should there be other political developments inhibiting outward
flow of students, the income consequences could be serious. Whilst it is hopefully
only a temporary phenomena it is noteworthy that student visa applications in
Jakarta were halved in November, perhaps reflecting events in Timor and the
hostile reaction in Australia. The answer may lie in imposing a limit of, say, four per cent of revenue from student sources.
Alternatively, the institutions could build business plans around a diversified
source of scholars. We should, in my view, be giving far greater attention to
places like Taiwan) South Korea) Japan and North America.
The better the more
The second reason for the more the
better stems from the good things being done with the increased resources gained from the
overseas student program. The pre-commercialisation period was not
ia kinder gentler world for students. Commercialisation has brought with it
greater attention and care for the delivery of services. The pre-Jackson era
was characterised by a
reliance on philanthropy on the part of many academic staff and their genuine
personal desire to help students overcome loneliness, financial worry, and
academic failure. As well motivated as this was, it was not adequate to cope with the increasing pressures and the
pre-Jackson era saw more frequent claims for so-called supplementary research
funding to compensate for the additional efforts required to support overseas
students. Alice Cbandler,3 in her review of international student policies of six major
receiving, including Australia, notes that whatever its underlying motives:
"There has thus been a dramatic
improvement of supportive services for foreign students in the past half dozen
years or so. These support services now increasingly start before arrival with
better advising, better recruitment, better financial advice and screening, and
better language training. They also include such elements at the
preparatory programs provided by France and Germany to aid in language study and basic academic
studies and a proliferation of foreign student advising offices on university
campuses. Still far less developed than what most foreign
students are accustomed to in the
United States, what the Australians call the "one-stop advising shop"
has become far more common in Europe and Asia than ever before. /I
3.
Improvements in Australia's case impact on every step of the student cycle.
They include enhanced
language testing through the introduction of the International English Language
Testing System. This new test was devised as a result of extended and continuing
research, in which
Australian institutions participated in partnership with British and Canadian researchers.
Further research is to be financed by surpluses generated
from test fees. It provides a far more accurate guide to the student and the
receiving institution of English language competence.
The successful
introduction of Australian Education Centres by IDP with financial support from
the institutions and now, in terms of marketing assistance, from the Government is another important improvement. The
Australian Education Centres give a welcoming environment for 'prospective
overseas students. They are providing information and counselling free of
charge and pre-departure orientation sessions to prepare students for arrival in Australia. Australia can be proud of its ABC network which is unmatched
by any of the major alternative receiving countries.
Pre-departure English
language training has also become a small but significant feature of
Australia's overseas student program. The Indonesia Australia Language
Foundation, a not-for-profit centre
in
Indonesia, attracts
Significant funding from AIDAB and other sponsors to prepare Indonesian student
for academic study in Australia. IDP, in cooperation with the Foundation, has also sponsored a
bridging course at the lnstitut of Technologi, Bandung, which seeks to upgrade
science, mathematics and English language proficiency in Indonesian graduates in preparation for postgraduate study in Australia.
IDP has established the
not-for-profit English Language Centre of Australia (ELCA) in Bangkok and expects to open the
Australian Centre for English (ACE) in Phnom Penh this month. IDP is only able to finance these activities
because of surpluses it has generated from others.
Overseas students are now
met as a matter of course on arrival in Australia by institutional
representatives. The number of fOW1dation courses seeking to bridge the gap between
overseas matriculation and Australian entry requirements has increased in the last few years. Anecdotal evidence
suggests that the students who participate in these foundation courses are relatively more successful
than others ill their
subsequent formal studies.
There have also been efforts to improve the quality of teaching
to overseas students. IDP has been pleased to be associated with one of them,
the publication by Ballard and Clanchy4 on Teaching
Students from Overseas.
The book responds to the
suggestions that academic staff are under pressure to adjust their methods of
teaching to take into account the presence of the increasing numbers of
overseas students in their
classrooms and seeks to help them in this task. The suggestions they make call for minor
modifications in current
teaching practice and in almost
all cases the changes are seen as being of benefit to all students -Australian as well as those
from overseas.
4.-
I learnt at
a recent meeting of the European Association for International Education that the University of Amsterdam has been able, by using overseas
student incomes, to internationalise the curriculum of several courses and
translate and deliver them in English. One wonders whether it might not
be possible for the courses of Australian universities to be delivered in Indonesian?
Graduation ceremonies now
take place overseas. These have marketing benefits for the Australian
institutions concerned; but they also respond to an important cultural and
emotional need in the countries concerned. Observing the
formal graduation process is an important e~erience for
parents and relatives who have found the funds to support the study ill Australia.
Initial efforts are also
being made to counsel overseas student on job opportunities in their home countries whilst they are in Australia.
The more research,
innovation, packaging and beneficial change we introduce to our educational
services the greater will be Australia's share of the market ifyou like, the better the more.
More are better off
The third benefit of
increased overseas student flows derives from the benefits to the overseas
students themselves when they return to their own countries. More are better
off. The students will benefit personally and
make a high-quality contribution to socioeconomic development there.
The overseas countries gain greater access to higher education for
its citizens without the monetary costs having a direct impact on the
government budget, unless of course the home government is funding the overseas
education. There will also be a drain on the country's foreign exchange
holdings.
IDP has undertaken a
number of reviews of Australian scholarship programs on behalf of the
Australian International Development Assistance Bureau (AIDAB). Some highlights
from one of the studies, on students from Tonga, are interesting. Over the ten-year
period of the review:
96% of scholarship awardees were
enrolled in a study
program of their first preference
87% completed their studies, in an average time of 3.8 years
67% are known to be working in Tonga
returned awardees have been relatively
stable employees; 98% have continued to work within one
sector and 84% for a single employer
The majority of awardees have very positive
views about the relevance, usefulness and benefits of their overseas study.
They consider that it has improved their understanding of concepts, their
problem-solving ability, their self-confidence, and their likelihood or gaining
promotion, earning better salaries and qualifying for further overseas study.
Some have been disappointed that their early expectations for higher salaries
and better employment have not been realised
5.
-the most common criticism was that
there should have been more training in computing and other technologically based skills.
The draft report of a similar survey on
Fiji reached comparable conclusions:
high proportions (up to 90%) of returned
students thought the course they have undertaken was useful .in career development in getting a better
job, increasing income etc. The respondents predominantly (90%) rated the
training undertaken as useful in theory, practical aspects, relations with
colleagues and dealing with clients.
It is not ali positive of course. As Harris and
Jarrett in their book on Overseas Students in Australia point out:
Overseas study means that the services of the student are lost to the home country during the
training and may be permanently lost if the students do
not return.
The foreign exchange issue referred to
earlier also raises a design and quality-related challenge: how to reduce the
foreign exchange cost of an overseas education without reducing quality. One
approach being encouraged by the Governments of Malaysia and Thailand involves
twinning arrangements whereby some of the study, say the first year or two, is undertaken in the home country. It will take time, careful study and financial
resources to develop the best way of achieving these goals. Distance education
also provides a cost-effective alternative and this institution bas been
prominent in its incorporation into the overseas
program. Distance education has, however, been a relatively neglected option
and the full extent of the market is unknown.
The fewer the poorer
A fourth group of benefits are indirect.
The overseas student program improves the character and quality of the
university experience of Australian students. As Brian
Wilson6 points out:
"... perhaps a more important
impact is the broadening effect the presence of
international students can have on the education experience of domestic
students. Positive interactions promote multicultural awareness and
understanding for young Australians, a realisation that there are multiple ways
of perceiving reality~ and an opportunity to cultivate
important characteristics such as tolerance and recognition of the
contributions and fair claims of other peoples and nations".
There is no doubt that our universities would be the poorer were
their overseas student populations diminished or removed altogether. It would be a case of overseas students:
the fewer, the poorer. As a young Australian, I had never
travelled overseas and, typical
of my generation, I had
never met an Asian before I attended university. A simple calculation would
reveal the enormous cost of trying to build into my formal
curriculum, and that of my cadre, teaching that would achieve a similar
outcome, in terms of
the improved Asia literacy, that we gained by the presence of students from
Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong on our campus. I venture to suggest
that it would have increased the cost of my education by at least 5 per cent
and possibly more.
6.
Overseas postgraduate students bring new
approaches, skills and experience to Australia's R&D effort. Some institutions rely heavily on overseas students to
undertaken fundamental and contract research at the heart of their missions.
Increased numbers will provide
the critical mass for specialist courses which might otherwise not be
sustainable on Australian numbers alone. Improvements introduced to enhance
teaching to overseas students will also, as Ballard and Clancy suggest, (op cit.) benefit Australian
students.
The best institutions are quite often
those with most overseas students. Australian higher education institutions,
however, have placed a limit of between 10 to 15 per cent to the proportion of
overseas students they will accept
on their campuses. Whilst this is
of course a matter for the
institutions, there would appear to be no absolute basis for such a limit. In the United States, whilst overseas student represent less than 3
per cent of the student population, the disaggregated position is rather different. In 1986/87 there were 85 institutions with 1,000 or more foreign
students, and in these the
percentage was as high as nearly 20 per cent (at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Many of the institutions with the high numbers and proportions are
among the best in the country.
Australian society more broadly also
benefits socially and culturally from the presence of overseas students. It is true, of course, that Australia is a
different place to what it was 30 years ago when I arrived on the campus at
Crawley on the west coast. Multiculturalism and the change in immigration patterns has brought with it much of the benefits which could only, in my day, be gained on campuses. But this is only really true of Sydney and Melbourne
and,
to a lesser extent, one or two other
capitals. The Asian presence in Hobart, Armidale or Wagga Wagga is
overwhelmingly based on the overseas student populations there.
During a recent
visit to the Wagga Wagga Campus of Charles Sturt University, I was impressed by the impact that the
overseas students had on that rural city. A small example -the city gained its first Ralal butcher as
a result of the number of Muslim students included in the intake and there is now a regular supply of spices
and herbs not normally included in the diet of the folk of Wagga.
Perhaps more importantly, the
accommodation being constructed at places like Wagga to meet overseas student
needs can have an important impact on local micro economies.
There are other indirect benefits to Australia: as a
"support for conventional diplomacy", a 'vehicle for international
understanding", and a "lubricant for tradell, using the terms of a major study on
international cultural relations by Mitchell.7 The problem
with these "simple truths" says MitcheI1, (citing the phrase used to
describe them by Sir Anthony Parsons) is that they are so difficult to prove; and they are relatively
easy to dismiss as "externalities" by bodies such as the Industry
Commission -by which they mean non-quantifiable and therefore too hard to
handle or take into account in policy formulation. The question is complicated by the anecdotal nature of
the evidence. One example of a major training and procurement contract in India flowing to Britain after the
training there of Indian mining engineers is countered by a survey of 71
overseas students in Japan: 25 answered that their image of the Japanese had
changed for the good but 11 answered for 'bad", 20 answered “no change"
and 15 gave no answer.
7.
Common sense will
lead us to agree with
Parsons (cited by Mitchell):
If you are thoroughly familiar with someone else's language and literature. if you know and love his country, its cities, its arts, its people, you will be instinctively
disposed, and other things being equal or nearly to buy goods from him rather than from a less
well-known and well-liked source, to support him actively when you consider him
right and to avoid punishing him too fiercely when you regard him as being in the wrong.
In its submission to the Industry Commission, IDP suggested that these
issues would benefit from careful research.
And more
Finally, overseas students bring export earnings.
Australia earns significant foreign exchange from its overseas student program. The Industry Commission Inqully8 cited
estimates of gross earnings of between $800 million
and $1,200 million each year from overseas students.
Net exports will be
somewhat less than this due to the imported consumption goods purchased by the
students and some of their expenditure might be financed by labour earnings in
Australia, possibly as high
as
20 per cent for some
students. Nevertheless, it is clear that education services are already earning
substantial foreign exchange for Australia.
These foreign exchange earnings are
obviously important for Australia for our economic and social growth as a
nation. It is
unrealistic to dismiss their importance or somehow to discount their value on
the basis of some idea of inappropriateness of education as an export industry.
For one thing, if we are to
maintain community support for the overseas student program, the Government may well need to emphasise
its foreign exchange benefits. Community support is a delicate creature, particularly given
some perceptions $at overseas students are displacing Australians.
There is significant scope for an increase in the export earnings of
educational services. In my
view, Australia's foreign
exchange earning could top $2
billion by 1995 and earlier if we were to allocate substantially increased resources, say of
the order of $2 million, to targeted promotional
campaigns in new
markets such as Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and North America.
Australian educational institutions,
particularly through the Australian Education Centre network, are already
making a major financial contribution to promotion of Australian education and
assistance is received
from the Australian Government through the Department of Employment, Education and
Training (DEET) and through
the Export Market Development Grant. A further contribution, however, ,would
give a useful boost to these efforts at a time when the Australian Government
is seeking to kick-start the economy in a number of areas.
More research
Insufficient academic research and
development has been conducted on overseas student issues.
8.
There is, of course, a
burgeoning new industry of workshops and conferences on overseas student
matters. The issue is being talked about, excessively some might think. This is the fourth such conference I have
addressed in recent
months. As the organisers point out, past
conferences have lacked a certain academic credibility. The papers presented
are often poorly researched and rarely refereed. They often focus on lithe
market" and even then mostly in an anecdotal manner. It is time for a more academically disciplined approach. IDP
annual workshops have usually been concerned with recruittment and related
questions; we will attempt to introduce issues of greater
academic substance to their agendas; a small
start was made in 1991 with papers on development and evaluation
of inter-cultural programs, cross-cultural communication, peer pairing and
distance education, as well as the impact of overseas students on academic
staff. One of them provided the basis of a substantial review, edited by Sir
Bruce Williams,9 of policy and practice relating to overseas students in Australia.
Australia is not alone in this. The overseas student talk-shop is an international
phenomenon. For example, NAFSA, the Association of International Educators,
holds an annual discussionn on international educational issues. it is attended by about 3,000 participants,
including annually up to 50 Australians. It is an interesting opportunity for those
of us in international
education to meet and exchange 1deas. It is, however, expensive and lacks
academic discipline. I estimate that Australian participants may have spent as
much as $500,000 on NAFSA in 1991 and to
what effect? The European Association for International Education is a European
facsimile of NAFSA and attracted 700 participants to its last meeting in the south of France.
I have no objections to
these professional conventions but I think. the relatively high allocation of resources to them contrasts to the more limited
resources allocated to research on an improvement in the quality of the educa
tion we offer to overseas students.
Before suggesting areas of
research, I would like to make two points about the research and development I
propose. First, it should be primarily funded by surpluses from the overseas
student program. Put another way, some of the surpluses being generated by the
overseas student program should be put to the good purpose of research into the
program. Secondly, a large part of the research should be applied in purpose, directed at improving the quality
of the educational product and our proficiency in delivering it.
Institutions might like to
consider dedicating a minimum proportion of this income
for R&D purposes, much as would any business enterprise wishing to maintain
its position in the
market, but also to counter suggestions of exploitation of overseas students.
What are possible areas of R&D? A broad international agenda
for further research on the overseas student issue was sketched out in the
proceedings of an OECD seminar on higher education and the flow of overseas
students. It suggests:
9.
Three major sets of research activities
must precede further advancement of the practitioners' and policy makers'
understanding of this topic:
i) a set of focused research efforts on the
nature and extent of foreign student impacts
under diverse national institutional program contexts;
ii) a set of country-specific analyses of the general topic of
foreign student impacts and of special topics unique to
certain national contexts; and
iii) a set of multinational reviews and evaluations of the specifics of intra-institutional adaptation to and service for foreign
students in the
areas of housing, language, curricular adjustment.
This research agenda should have a
policy-orientation (both for national policy and institutional policy) and
should benefit from the existing and emerging body of work on these topics.
My own suggestions derive from the
business/applied end of the scale. Others here may well have other areas:
market research -or an examination of
the educational needs of the potential scholars that make up the market place
and a testing of the suitability of our educational seIVices to those needs
tracer studies -which look to the
progress of students once they have left Australia to gain a better
appreciation of the contribution their education in Australia has made to their careers and to development in the countries concerned; the studies could
also contribute to broader research interests in student
and labour mobility; studies on the cultural/diplomacy/trade impact of the
overseas student program
cost/benefit of education aid -I understand a study on this issue is to
be undertaken by the National Centre for Development Studies
educational equivalences and credit
transfer across national boundaries; language and cross-cultural academic
testing: would it be feasible, for example, to develop a matriculation test for
Thai students based on a knowledge of the Thai school curriculum on the one hand and
Australian university entry
requirements on the other?
strategies for cross-cultural teaching
the economic contribution of overseas
students to the Australian economy, including to
small rural communities
the impact of preparatory English
language training and foundation courses on student progress.
10.
Conclusion
It will be clear from the foregoing that I support increased enrolments
of overseas students in Australian
universities and colleges. Clearly, my views will not
be universally shared and many issues need to be explored and researched. There
is room for constructive academic and public debate and, to the extent that
this conference will contribute to that process, its organisers
are to be congratulated.
Thank you for listening to my side of
the argument.
(usqrpeecb) 2Ofll'l2
11.
REFERENCES
1
Entrepreneurs
in Education
-Canada's Response to
the International Human Resource Development Challenge -Donald Simpson and
Carol SissoDS, International Development Research Centre, Technical Study 62e,
Ottawa, 1989
2
Full
Fee Paying Overseas Students in Western
Australian Higher Education Institutions -Information Bulletin No 10, Western Australian Office of
Higher Education, September, 1991
3
Obligation
or Opportunity -Foreign
Student POlicy in Six Major Receiving Countries -Alice Chandler, Institute of
International Education Research Report No 18, New York, 1989
4
Teaching
Students from Overseas -Brigid
Ballard and John Qanchy, Longman Cheshire, Melbourne, 1991
5. Educating Overseas Students in
Australia -Who
Benefits? -G T Harris and F G Jarrett,
Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1990
1
Overseas
Students in Australia
Professor Brian Wilson,
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Queensland, Queensland's University News, 16 October, 1991
2
International
Cultural Relations -J M Mitchell, Allen and Unwin, London, 1986
3
Exports
of Education Services -A C Harris and B J Chapman,
Industry Commission, Canberra, 1991
9. Overseas Students in Australia:
Policy and Practice -Sir
Bruce Williams, Ed., IDP, Canberra, 1989
10. Foreign Students and
Intemationalisation of
Higher Education Proceedings of OECD/Japan Seminar on Higher Education and the Flow of Foreign
Students -Research Institute for Higher Education, Hiroshima University, 1989
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