The guide to all things International Education |
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Welcome to the ninth edition of The Source - The Lygon Group’s regular newsletter filled with insight and analysis. For detail of what each edition will bring you, visit our first issue of The Source here. In this edition: The Big Picture: A Closer Look at China: In Case you Missed It: India states prioritizing vaccinations for students going abroad No quarantine for vaccinated students traveling to Canada Australia’s population will be smaller and older with migration crucial for growth US institutions to offer international students in-person study in autumn semester
Speak. Write. Listen TLG Canine Bureau update |
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Episode 7: Austrade We talk to Melissa Banks, head of the Centre of Excellence in International Education at Austrade, about her new role, and what she and the team at Austrade are trying to achieve as the sector faces its most existential crisis in its history. | | |
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Get in touch to talk about how we can help you and your organisation. |
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‘When it’s safe to do so’: Australia must communicate more clearly with international students As COVID-19 flares up again in Australia, cities go into lockdown and internal borders slam shut, you need to be thinking about supporting your international students - onshore and offshore. We’ve been earnestly communicating with international students that we will welcome them back to Australia ‘when it’s safe to do so’. This messaging came from a place of good intent. But it’s now working against the interests of international students, international education in Australia, and the interests of the Australian community. ‘When it’s safe’ implies someone needs to be kept safe from someone else, rather than from ‘something’. For international students, ‘when it’s safe’ is now being heard as ‘we need to keep Australians safe from you’. The Lygon Group’s international student social media listening service goes off with negative sentiment whenever anyone in our sector uses this form of words. For some in the Australian community, it means ‘we need to be kept safe from them’. A message that was well-intentioned is now ‘othering’: setting up one group as the ‘other’ and another group as ‘us’. Closing our international borders worked to keep Australia (including the international students living among us) safe in the pre-vaccination COVID era. But in the vaccination-era, it’s completely the wrong message. Let’s level with international students. International students are savvy, smart, and informed. They’re clever people. International students can see that Australia’s vaccination program is problematic. While we’re at it, let’s level with the Australian community and communicate how international students support them. We must change our messaging to give international students the certainty they crave. For example: We’re working on getting the vaccine to as many people in Australia as possible (including onshore international students) so that we can move past our ‘closed borders’ phase. If you’re offshore and you’ve been vaccinated, or want to be vaccinated in order to come to Australia, here’s the approved vaccine list. You can study for an Australian qualification at one of our many campuses or education partnerships around the world, or online, while we get our population vaccinated. If you’re one of the many international students studying offshore, the time you’ve spent studying with an Australian provider offshore and online counts towards your ability to work in Australia when you graduate.
We called for an International Education Champion to be appointed to help communicate the benefits of international education for all Australians at a human-scale, in our submission to the new Strategy for International Education. To understand the sentiment of your international students on the ‘socials’ get in touch. We’re listening. Are you? |
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Our survey results TLG recently completed a survey of international students studying with, or considering studying with, an Australian institution. We asked students about their decision-making processes, influencers and their experience studying with an Australian institution. Students were onshore and offshore and from a range of nationalities. As the pandemic drags on and border reopening timelines remain unknown, many of our respondents are considering an alternative destination to Australia. Over 90% of our respondents who were considering an alternative destination ranked border closures as their primary reason. Australian government messaging was second place with over 70% of respondents listing this as a motivation for considering studying elsewhere. |
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When asked what destination they are considering, our data is showing that Canada and the UK are clear winners at the moment. Results include those of prospective students and current students; respondents were allowed to select multiple options for this question. We have noted interesting preliminary findings that non-traditional competitors were front and centre of some student’s minds too with Singapore, Germany and Hong Kong all mentioned as viable alternatives to Australia. Follow us at The Lygon Group for analysis of this data as it becomes available. |
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Students in China protest over transition of university to VET provider Large-scale protests erupted on Chinese campuses in response to plans to merge independent tertiary colleges with vocational institutes. In response, four provinces in China will suspend plans to merge some independent colleges and VET institutes. Students were concerned the mergers would devalue their qualifications, highlighting the lower social status of the vocational sector in China. This presents a challenge to China’s plans to build skills development in the country. Independent colleges in China are co-funded with universities and social organisations or individuals and cater to students who did not achieve exam scores to enter university, providing them a means to still graduate with a university degree, but at a higher cost. |
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China regulates tutoring and private schooling industry China’s recent census data showed a slowing birth rate in the country which has concerned authorities. One outcome of the population slowdown in China has been that the government is looking at ways to ease pressure on school children and boost the country’s birth rate by lowering family living costs. Tough new rules to clamp down on the booming private tutoring industry have been implemented. New regulations would seek to limit fees that can be charged for tutoring, a ban on live-streamed classes after 9pm, crack downs on advertising and bans in on-campus tutoring. A second new set of draft regulations is a set of new curbs on school curricula and the ownership of private schools. Teaching of foreign curricular in schools in grades K-9 will be stopped and foreign entities will be prohibited from owning or controlling private K-9 schools. There will regulations around Chinese nationals and regulators sitting on the board at all private K-9 schools. Private K-9 schools cannot organize entrance tests and cannot recruit in advance. This new law will come into effect on 1 September 2021. |
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India states prioritizing vaccinations for students going abroad Four Indian states are providing priority vaccinations for students going abroad for studies. The Kerala government will give the second dose of the Covidshield vaccine after 4-6 weeks of the first jab for students traveling abroad. Students need to produce documents that provide evidence of their immediate travel for study. Meanwhile, agents in India are seeking clarification on vaccine requirements in popular destinations and have been advising students to opt for Covishield as opposed to the Indian-developed Covaxin or Russia’s Sputnik V that have been more readily administered across the country. |
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No quarantine for vaccinated students traveling to Canada From 5th July fully vaccinated international students who meet all requirements at the Canadian border will be exempted from mandatory quarantine and can go straight to their residences. Approved vaccines are Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca/Covishield. The decision to exempt Canadians, permanent residents and international students has been made as more than 75% of eligible Canadians have received at least one dose and more than 20% are fully vaccinated. |
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Australia’s population will be smaller and older with migration crucial for growth The Department of Treasury’s 5-yearly Intergenerational Report projects that Australia will be smaller and older than expected due to the profound impact of the pandemic. A population of 1 million fewer people than forecast will be a hit for economic growth and tax revenue. Migrants are expected to continue to be the largest source of population growth. |
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US institutions to offer international students in-person study in autumn semester A survey of more than 400 institutions in the USA found that around 90% are planning to offer international students in-person study in the second half of 2021. 58% of these are planning to offer a hybrid option of in-person and online study. Approximately 77% of institutions are offering students deferment to spring 2022, and 47% noted that they would offer online enrolment to international students until they could come to campus in person. 43% of institutions reported an increase in their international student applications for the 2021/22 academic year, almost double the increase reported by institutions a year ago. More than half of institutions (64%) are planning to provide COVID-19 vaccines to students, faculty and staff on campus, including international students. Only 15% of institutions require a vaccine before students arrive on campus. |
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TLG speaks - UPCOMING: 30 July 2021, IEAA Transnational Education Virtual Forum, TLG Co-Founder and Director, Jeffrey Smart will join a panel moderated by Rebecca Hall to discuss “Post-Brexit, Post-Trump, Post-COVID: The Next 10 Years for Global Education and TNE”.
- Listen to TLG Co-Founder and Director, Jeffrey Smart, interviewed by ATN Executive Director Luke Sheehey along with Deakin University’s Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) John Molony for the ATN Perspectives Podcast.
- Listen to the latest episode of The Source Pod – Austrade with our guest, Melissa Banks, Head of Austrade’s Centre for Excellence in International Education.
- TLG Education Analyst Varsha Balakrishnan presented at the Australia New Zealand Unibuddy Summit.
- TLG Head of Research, Angela Lehmann, spoke to The Age about the declining Indian student numbers in Victorian institutions and to Study International about what needs to happen to bring students back.
- TLG Co-Director and Founder, Jeffrey Smart, spoke to The Australian Financial Review about increasing frustration experienced by international students and the need for clarity around timelines.
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TLG writes - Will new international student work rights hurt Australia’s reputation?, 05 June 2021, University World News,
- Three things I learned as a white Australian academic in China, 04 June 2021, Pearls and Irritations,
- International students are being fed lollipops, 14 May 2021, The Australian Financial Review,
- Closed borders and the unequal waiting game, 10 May 2021, The Lowy Interpreter,
- Read our submission to the Australian Strategy for International Education consultation process here
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TLG listens - TLG Head of Research, Angela Lehmann, attended the Australia China Business Council’s Australia-China Education Symposium, 9 June 2021
- TLG monitors social media across all major channels to hear what students are thinking and saying. Get in touch for details
- We completed our first survey into international student sentiment towards Australia during the pandemic. Stay tuned for details and analysis
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Chief Morale Officer, Daisy, enters the Melbourne TLG office with typical grace and style. Watch below. |
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Missed an earlier issue? Catch up here |
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