PIER International Education Blog

2011-05-17T15:19:00.002+10:00

ARC Education Group [representing the Australian International Conservatorium of Music (AICM) and Performing Arts High School (AIPAH) is pleased to receive applications from individuals, partnerships and corporations, who wish to become agents for the recruitment of international students for our courses in Postgraduate Pathways, Bachelor of Music (Performance), Diploma of Music (Performance), and Secondary School - Years 7-12.

Kindly download the Expression of Interest Letter for further details.

Kindly download and complete the Application Form.

I look forward to receiving your application forms soon.

Jasmine Wong
International Student Services
Australian International Conservatorium of Music (AICM)
Australian International Performing Arts High School (AIPAH)

international.services@aicm.edu.au
www.aicm.edu.au / www.aipah.nsw.edu.au

T: +61 2 9637 0777

F: +61 2 9637 0222

AICM: 114 Victoria Rd, Rozelle, NSW 2039

AIPAH: 31-33 Allen St, Harris Park, NSW 2150

Student Visa Review - a chance to remake the international education environment

2011-03-07T08:22:00.002+10:00

As we await the release of the discussion paper which will guide the parameters of submissions to the Knight Review of the Australian Student Visa system, it's timely to consider just how important this review is. The Knight review is the third in a series of reviews commissioned by the government since the industry's fall from grace following the Indian student attacks in Melbourne in 2009, subsequent lurches in government policy and the first decline in enrollments seen for over a decade.

The first review investigated student safety by the Australian Senate and the second was undertaken by Bruce Baird looking at the ESOS Act. Both considered issues in the direct glare of publicity surrounding the attacks on Indian students and their conclusions were filtered by a Government seeking to act to right perceived wrongs. While both reviews affirmed the positive nature of the industry and its practices overall, attention was drawn to concerns around about poor regulation allowing some private colleges to trade without due oversight, the availability of migration outcomes for hospitality, hairdressing and community service courses ballooning enrollments in the VET sector and the arrival of students who did not have enough funds to support themselves adequately. Although these matters principally revolved around a few geographic locations (Melbourne, Sydney), a relatively small number of institutions and two or three nationalities of students: the attempts to fix these issues knocked everybody off-balance from universities to well-run small colleges who had never offered a migration focused course.

The government quickly changed three things: the nexus between migration and VET courses was effectively severed, all providers had to be re-registered and the amount of money students needed to show they had for living costs per year rose from $12,000 to $18,000. Coinciding with the GFC, the much increased competition for students from the UK, US and Canada, and the negative publicity Australian education had sustained from the student attacks, this last measure in particular has been a hammer blow in reducing Australian institutions competitiveness in attracting students to study here.

The penny has dropped to some extent, and the Knight review appears to be a sincere attempt to explore ways to assist the industry to recover while maintaining the integrity of the student visa system and the support of the Australian community. It's worth remembering that the ease of obtaining a student visa is the most important factor in institutions recruiting students from the major markets of China and India; consider if there were no barriers at all then almost every institution would be full to bursting point. Of course, barriers to discern appropriate students from others who would come here to work or for other reasons are essential and the Knight review gives us an opportunity to explore the structure of a student visa system which has remained pretty well unchanged since 2001. If we get the conditions for a student visa correct, we virtually guarantee a healthy international education sector for the foreseeable future and the consequent economic and social benefit it brings us.

So in the broadest terms, what is good about the current system, and what's bad?

On the positive side, the conditions a student needs to meet to gain a visa are clear and un-ambiguous. This is very important and compares favorably to the US system for example whereby a student has an unstructured interview with an Officer from the Department of Homeland Security, any reason for a refusal is often unclear and is the sourse of angst for many US-bound students.

Also, the Australian system seeks to assess the risk of a student breaching the conditions of their student visa while in Australia, this is also a sensible and reasonable approach.

However, how it seeks to assess that risk is it's principal weakness in my view. Alone of all countries, the Australian system separates students into categories depending on the educational sector they intend to study within, and makes value judgements about the risks associated with that sector as a whole. All higher education courses are judged as posing the same risk, all VET courses the same risk, all ELICOS courses and so on. Thus, for example, every VET institution (public or private), is affected by the recruitment practices of all the other VET providers. Their own behaviour is in effect irrelevant. An institution can enroll unsuitable students, in the knowledge that they will not suffer any negative consequences themselves, only that the overall sector may be adversly affected. This is what happened with the Colleges referred to earlier, spruiking migration outcomes and allowing their students to work rather than than study- why should they care, when every VET provider will take the blame.

There is an obvious solution. Make every institution fully accountable for the students that they recruit themselves. If their students breach visa conditions above an established level, the institution itself should find it more difficult to gain visas for subsequent students through an increased risk profile. Conversely, if an institution demonstrates that their students are complying with visa conditions, it should find it easier to recruit more via a lower risk assessment profile. New providers could begin at a default level until enough data about their practices have been produced. This form of feedback loop would stamp out poor practice very quickly, and the statistics are already available for current providers for such assessments to be made now.

There is another way in which the separation of assessment levels into sectors for student visa issuance creates distortion and inequity. There are many courses which may have the same function, structure and purpose as one another but for a variety of legitimate reasons are accredited by different bodies and thus are considered as belonging to different sectors. They then attract different assessment levels for student visa applications for no logical reason. For example, there are foundation courses (preparatory courses for entry to undergraduate programs) which all meet the same national standards but some are accredited as VET courses and some as Non-award courses. Strangely, the Non-award courses are assessed as less risky for some countries. In another case, there are Diplomas of Business accredited as VET or Higher Education courses but they are effectively the same type of course. No prizes for guessing which ones are treated the most favorably. There are other examples.

Hopefully, the Knight review will provide the opportunity for the government to have the courage to make fundamental changes to the student visa system, and not just tinker with a few marginal issues. if institutions are systematically encouraged to take responsibility for the type of students they recruit, if institutions can benefit directly by playing a part in upholding the integrity of the Student Visa System rather than being treated as part of a sector: we will have taken a huge step forward.

The Disappearing Dodgy College

2010-11-12T11:39:00.007+10:00

Ever since student safety issues took centre stage following Indian student bashings in Melbourne in 2009, a new noun-phrase has entered the lexicon: The Dodgy College. A supposed contributor to the student safety problem: the idea that there were, (and perhaps still are), significant numbers of low quality international education providers quickly took hold in the public mind. All corners of the industry; institutions, peak bodies and Government agencies have bemoaned the existence of these rogue elements. Minister Evans recently said:"As happens in any boom—less reputable providers entered the market, causing concerns about quality, and leading to the very public failure of badly-run institutions."

The Dodgy College has/had the following basic characteristics:

Its student body contained only one or two nationalities of students.
It over enrolled students for its facilities and above its official CRICOS capacity.
It offered Hospitality or Hairdressing (VET courses on Migration Occupation in Demand List).
It promoted a permanent residency pathway as a key outcome.

These weren't characteristics that were confined to private institutions, but when the flow of students was lessened, some smaller providers' business model collapsed. The TAFEs and Universities who followed the same business model, could hide their losses in a larger revenue stream. It's important to recognise that a number of failures of private education providers have not been due to the low-quality of their programs or services, or being badly run; or being an unattractive option for students. Rather, the sudden difficulties in obtaining student visas, and the large increase in funds needed to be demonstrated by prospective students to cover living costs has made some "good" operators unable to maintain enough student enrolments to survive, regardless of whether they offer cooking or hairdressing.

Evans also said "over the last decade or so our international education sector galloped ahead far faster than its strategic thinking. " and I think he's referring to the link between gaining these particular VET qualifications and gaining permanent residency in Australia. The "strategic thinking" was done by the Australian Government itself by putting this policy in place and actively promoting it. For a number of years as the numbers of students coming grew (in both public and private institutions), some rumblings of concern did come from the industry, but seemingly not much from State or Federal Governments who were happy to promote the continued expansion of the VET to residency pathway. Yet seemingly, only the private VET providers offering such courses and outcomes have been demonised as the reason why "Brand Australia" has lost its shine. They were only doing the Governments bidding and to much acclaim.

Now, the Government has beefed up it's regulatory activities, and severed the link between migration and these two VET level courses. Any Dodgy College that continues in the same modus operandi as before has no future. Which, begs the question, are there any left or have they all been weeded out?

It's not easy to identify a Dodgy College by a statistic but the over-enrolment of students provides a real window into improvements being made. Collin Waters of AEI provided some very revealing statistics to the ACPET Conference in August:

in 2008, there were 52 institutions who had over enrolled students in Victoria, 44 in NSW and 18 in Qld
in 2010: only 5 in Victoria, 5 in NSW and none in Qld at all.

When you consider that there are more than 1,000 private providers registered on CRICOS, the number of Dodgy Colleges by this measure is very small, and certainly no reason to further tighten the noose on the overseas student visa process.

Now this business model has been dismantled, its time for the Government to actively stimulate the recruitment of international students into Australia via easing the conditions around the student visa process, to help counter the negative messages and reputation loss both public and private institutions have weathered recently. It's time to stop focussing attention on an issue that has been largely solved and start working toward a more pressing need to solve the downturn in student enrolments, otherwise there will be more College closures and they won't be "Dodgy Colleges".

International Students: Are they migrants?

2010-11-03T12:19:00.008+10:00

Watching Graeme Hugo's excellent presentation at the Migration Institute of Australia's conference a couple of weeks back got me thinking - What happens when common words are put to differing usage? Associations that we have with particular words can influence political debate, and even drive policy - consider the word: "Migrant" What does this word mean to most people? Without looking at a dictionary, I'd suggest something like "a person who moves to live in another country on a long-term basis, potentially for the rest of their life"- this, or something similar might be a definition that the Australian public would agree with.

I don't think they would consider an international student, here for 4 years studying a bachelor degree, who then returns home, a migrant. If I go to live in London for a couple of years between school and University, and fully intend to come back for my studies to Australia, have I "migrated to the UK"? - it depends who you talk to...

Australian demographers, statisticians and many politicians use "migrant" in a different way to the rest of us it seems - a migrant is anyone who comes to live in Australia for more than one year - even if they are expected to leave after a particular date. Thus, any international students who study in Australia for more than a year are "migrants"(or young people on working holidays of a similar length for that matter). Students don't consider themselves as migrants until or if they get permanent residency, a job and settle here for good. But it's this counter-intuitive definition of "migrant" which has driven the public debate and unnecessarily frightened the population with visions of masses of new settlers, potentially placing stress on Australia's infrastructure, environment and way-of life.

There has not been an explosion in the number of permanent migrants to Australia, but there has been a large increase in international students. Nevertheless, IDP Australia estimate just 10-20% of students will ever settle in Australia, and the majority will go back home after their course of study as expected. The statistics show many more students arriving in the last 2-3 years than in previous years and not as many leaving (as the courses last 3-5 years). But they will leave when their time comes of course.

How this can play out in public is best illustrated by considering two related terms and two statistics for 2008/09 financial year (from DIAC):

Net Overseas Migration 313,414

Net Permanent Migration 143,601

Rather different statistics! Recent political conversations have used the net overseas migration figures to argue that we are heading towards an Australia of 35 million+ by 2050. Indeed, permanent migration rates of more than 300,000 per year would be a huge number for the country to absorb, but remember- half are expected to leave our shores in a few years, and in the meantime, far from being a burden, they are fully supporting their stay with their valuable overseas currency.

As international student enrolment numbers are now dropping, the Net Overseas Migration figure will plummet once the larger cohorts begins to go home at the end of their studies. No doubt, somebody will take political credit for this and link it to their policies on asylum seekers and other issues, but in fact it's just a function of turning off the international student pipeline - and in the process losing high value individuals who contribute so much to our economy.

I don't dispute that Net Overseas Migration is a worthwhile statistic (it gives a measure of the pressure exerted by overseas long-term visitors and migrants on infrastructure, for example) but as the indicator of the rate population growth in the public domain, it provides a distorted picture when international students are labelled migrants. As a stand alone figure, permanent migration figures give a more realistic view.

Fred Hilmer, VC of UNSW has also identified this issue and says " don't count these students as immigrants, they're not entitled to be immigrants... "

Helpfully, Hon. Chris Evans in his first address as Education Minister said "Student visas are temporary visas. They are not included in the nation’s permanent migration program numbers, and we remain committed to maintaining our international student program as an

uncapped program."

So, make sure when migrant numbers are quoted, you understand which measure they are using.

Australian Education Agents - We’ve got them all

2010-10-27T15:13:00.002+10:00

PIER Agency Finder - www.pierapps.com

In a little over a year, the PIER Agency Finder has grown from being simply an idea, to now containing accurate data on 3291 education agencies in 4587 offices, spread across 115 countries worldwide. We are confident that we now have every education agent representing the Australian market listed in our database, so I thought now would be a good time explain how we have achieved our goal.

Over the past 7 years working at PIER, I have been in charge of the development of 3 separate, unique systems that are accessible by education agents in some form or another. These 3 systems have been developed at different times and for very different reasons, but they all contain core functionality targeted at agents. As these separate systems evolved independently, it became clear to us that the fragmentation of this data was causing an administrative headache, and thus a new suite of products emerged, based around a core, central data repository.

The PIER Agency Finder is the crux of these new products and is where we now store all agency-based data. We store Agency data representing an organisation, and also Office data representing each physical office location. We also store the employees working within each office, all of whom have access to maintain their offices’ subset of data via their own dedicated system, the Counsellor Dashboard.

We have gathered this data via systems like the Education Agent Training Course, the Australian Homestay Network and the newly released ICEF Agent Training Course. We have also dedicated a lot of time and resources to gathering data the old-fashioned way - by manually recording it from public websites, for example. Lastly, we also allow counsellors themselves to add their own office to the list if we don’t already have it.

Now that we have reached our goal of storing every education agent representing Australian providers, we are proud that our hard work has paid off. The PIER Agency Finder is now the most comprehensive public listing of education agents that exists today, and we are dedicated to maintaining the accuracy and currency of all data represented within it.

This system now powers the ACPET Agent Directory, the AIRC Agency Finder and a number of others. It’s also tightly integrated with the ICEF Agent Training Course and the Australian Homestay Network and we are planning on increasing it’s reach within the industry.

I suspect some of you may have got a little lost with the ‘tech-speak’ that is inevitable in a post like this, but hopefully you’re still with me. I will continue to post more tech-oriented articles in the future while Chris’s posts will be more industry-specific.

International Education In Australia; How can I make a difference?

2010-10-26T13:50:00.005+10:00

The past 12 months have been a challenging time for any institution offering programs within Australia to international students. An industry that had been very proud of its achievement in becoming Australia's $18 billion-dollar export poster child, employing more than 125,000 people, has found itself facing a barrage of negative publicity and sliding enrolments since student safety issues came to a head in Melbourne in 2009. Regardless of what or who is to blame for the slide in reputation of "Brand Australia", an uncomfortable truth has dawned on many - the Australian public barely cares.

As an industry we imagined that the benefits to Australia of our activities and the presence of international students in our institutions and society are self-evident and as a result, we haven't focussed the necessary energy on arguing our case. I, like many others, observed the xenophobic pronouncements on migration from all quarters in the recent federal election and was deeply disappointed. Bruce Baird recently noted how the Australian Government would willingly support an ailing (and strategically insignificant) car industry but would not dream of considering any form of help to international education to weather the storm. Even though visa changes have played a key negative role. I believe an important difference in the way we are politically considered is international education's well-educated, white-collar workforce can be expected to re-train if need be, and there is not the concern in the community of loss of employment that accompanies any prospective problems in a "blue-collar" industry.

So what can we, as individuals, achieve to turn this around and get the positive vibes following again?

When we have conversations with people outside of our industry, we've got to start converting people to our cause and explain the basics time-and-time again. There's a need to get the simple messages out and not get bogged down in arguments about the rights and wrongs of higher education funding - important for sure, but no political side will change this set of circumstances so it's all in the realm of the hypothetical. In my conversations, I try to stay away from discussing the financial benefits where possible but I do make sure I get in the following points:

International students, through the funds they contribute, help Australian students access more courses, they never "take" away available places in higher education. Yet 50% of the general population believe this!
Very few international students will actually migrate permanently to Australia (10-20%) - regardless of our attitude to increased migration or the future size of Australia's population; we should have nothing to fear by having them as guests in our country for a few years.
Just because the Government undervalues and underfunds Higher education, and Universities look to gain revenue from international students, that's not a reason to decry the quality and value of the educational experience that such students gain in Australia.

Normally, I'm pleasantly surprised how easy it can be to change opinions once these are explained - but I have had to work hard on some occasions...

Just think, if 125,000 people just spoke to 10 people that's a million people on our side.

Let's get to it.

Manager of Student Affairs - Carnegie Mellon University, Adelaide Campus

2010-10-19T13:03:00.003+10:00

Manager of Student Affairs

Must possess a strong professional, yet nurturing work ethos
Must be attracted to the intrinsic rewards of developing a strong supportive relationship with talented scholars from around the world
Must thrive on making a measurable contribution to a small, dynamic team

Carnegie Mellon University, a top ranked American university is seeking an experienced professional with a passion for working with talented postgraduate students at its campus in Australia, Adelaide.

The Manager of Student Affairs will be a student advocate, who takes ownership of, and pride in providing a broad range of support services to students, while valuing international education and diversity.

This is a hands-on role and the candidate must be capable of providing the high standard of personalised support to students for which CMU Australia is renowned.

Tasks include:
Pre and post departure planning and assistance
Facilitating housing and accommodation
Planning, development and implementation of student events
Alumni relations
Assistance with writing resumes, job applications and interview techniques
Assistance with securing internships
A significant role in the graduation ceremony
The successful applicant must possess:
Analytical, project management, communication and problem solving skills
Excellent verbal and written communication
Strong computer literacy
Record keeping and data management experience
The university is an equal opportunity employer which offers a competitive compensation package commensurate with skills and experience.

For more information and a copy of the job description please contact Debra Mules on +61 (0)8 8110 9919.

An application, a resume and cover letter, can be submitted to dmules@andrew.cmu.edu addressing your relevant skills, experience. Previous candidates need not apply. Applications from agencies will not be considered.

Application closing date: 28 October 2010.

International education issues: student enrolments

2010-09-08T12:51:00.001+10:00

Speaking to a University of Melbourne seminar recently, Professor Simon Marginson argued that international student numbers could halve over the next four years unless the incoming government changes the immigration policy settings. Marginson claimed that there was ‘no acknowledgement that immigration policy is undermining the possibility of a sustainable market, even though the effects are blatant.’ He added that that immigration policy, including the ‘toughening of student visa processing’ was harming the international education industry’ (Campus Review 31st August p.1-2).

Concern about declining international student enrolments have prompted the Vice-chancellors of Australia's Group of eight universities to write to Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, to seek assurances that whoever forms government will act swiftly to fix problems in the international education sector, particularly the decline in student enrolments which affect colleges and universities receiving students from pathway institutions and courses. The Melbourne Age (7th September)reported the Vice-chancellors have requested a removal of student visa entrants from the government's net immigration goals, reviewing policy settings for student visas and a combined approach by government departments and administrative agencies.

2010-08-10T09:28:00.012+10:00

Position: Education Counsellor

VisAustralia is a migration agency with offices in Canberra (Narrabundah) and Mexico City. We work with professional people applying to migrate to Australia, and increasingly, with international students.

VisAustralia is looking for an Education Counsellor with Spanish language skills for a full time position based in Canberra. You will be working under the direction of a senior lawyer and will be trained in all aspects of the visa rules. You are expected to have knowledge of the education sector and will be encouraged to complete studies in migration.

If the position is filled by an international student or Graduate visa holder the position may result in the offer of permanent visa sponsorship at the completion of 12 months of employment.

Job description

VisAustralia has developed a unique web based system that provides candidates with legally accurate information about their visa options including study options. The system generates phone and email enquiries and the successful applicant will be expected to respond to the preliminary questions of prospective students and migrants, and to work with prospective students by providing information about living in Australia and study and visa options. The position involves further developing the education agency at VisAustralia, assisting with the administration of e‐marketing campaigns through the Client Management System, and maintaining web content.

Please view our website for further details: www.visaustralia.com

Selection Criteria:

Familiarity with the Australian education sector and issues surrounding international student recruitment;
Spanish language skills;
Ability to work with client management software and to manage web content;
Willingness to learn about migration law and practice;
Well developed people skills and convincing phone manner;
Well organised and efficient and able to work autonomously and professionally.

A brief submission is required addressing the selection criteria and describing why the applicant is interested in working with a migration and education consultancy, and a CV.

For more information please contact Nicholas Houston on 02 6295 5941.

Please send your application to:

Nicholas Houston

nhouston@visaustralia.com

Expressions of interest: representing Australian creative industries programs

2010-06-01T14:06:00.003+10:00

International Vision Education (www.ive.com.au) is an international education consultancy working with a range of institutions in Australia, Europe and North America. We are an Australian-based company with a solid agent network in Asia and beyond, but are now seeking to grow this base as our clientele develops.

As Australia’s creative industries sector is growing both at home and abroad, institutions specializing in the creative industries are focusing more keenly on internationalization and education export. We have a growing number of clients from this exciting education sector (VET and HE) and are therefore seeking expressions of interest from agents who can promote these institutions.
The creative industries include:

Photography

Animation/Digital Media

Music Performance

Fashion

Sound Production

Film and Television Production

Entertainment Management

Expressions of interest should be brief and by email only, as we are also a Pier testing centre and do not wish to disturb test candidates. Please include the country/countries you represent, a contact phone number and a website if you have one. Email info@ive.com.au and we will contact you if we wish to continue the discussion.

Jim McIntyre, Director of Green Continent Pty Ltd, seeking interest in taking over resources in his agency

2010-06-01T14:01:00.001+10:00

I am an education agent, recruiting mainly from Russia and surrounding countries, who has decided that, after 11 years and with the current major changes to the industry, it is time to do other things. Over this time my agency has built up the following resources:

a Russian-language website with online forums - www.australianeducation.ru

a portfolio of current contracts with education providers (universities, institutes, language schools, private secondary schools) in several States (can be supplied upon request)

an impeccable reputation that would facilitate the transfer of any contracts to another suitable interested agent.

I am hoping to interest another agent(s), particularly those wanting a presence in Russia and surrounding countries, in taking over any or all of the above resources. My contact details below:

Jim McIntyre
Director
Green Continent Pty Ltd
29 Railway Crescent
WILLIAMSTOWN VIC 3016
Tel/Fax: (03) 9399 8032
Mobile: (0438) 099 401
Website: www.australianeducation.ru (Russian language)

PIER Agency Finder

2010-04-30T13:15:00.000+10:00

On 9th April we introduced two new products we’ve been developing: PIER Agency finder and Counsellor Dashboard. Today we’d like to tell you about the PIER Agency Finder, and why it’s an important and useful tool for a range of oragnisations and education providers.

The ESOS Amendment Act (new subsection 21A) which comes into effect Thursday, 3rd June 2010 requires all Australian education providers listed on CRICOS to provide a searchable list of their recruiting agencies on their own website.

The online location of this information must be readily accessible to students and regulators and must include the agency name, name of principal agent, legal entity and street address.

PIER Agency Finder will help organisations easily meet this new requirement at no cost by providing simple tools to manage your agents and display them publicly on an interactive, up-to-date map.

For more information on obtaining the PIER Agency Finder for your organisation, please visit www.pierapps.com. To view the Agency Finder in action, visit the ACPET Agent Directory. ACPET has shown great initiative in contributing to the development of the Agency Finder.

Indian students – at risk in Australia? by Peter Spolc

2009-06-19T14:49:00.004+10:00

It is certainly true that a number of Indian students have been the subject of unprovoked attacks in Australia in recent times. It seems that the world’s media have made sure that this is global news. I’ve even had a British student (with a very Anglo name I might add) write to me with concerns for his safety during his study, scheduled to commence in Sydney in July.

What is not true is that we can determine, with any authority, the real risk to other Indian students, or any other students for that matter, as a result of these tragic events. We can begin to look at this issue from the perspective of personal safety research data for the world’s countries and cities.

But the media generally likes to make sure that the facts don’t get in the way of a good story, and sometimes the public are very happy to lend a hand. Take these comments from bloggers to the Times of India, for instance, “Even Before the advent of immigrants to that country, Australia was notorious for crimes, the reason remains very simple, poor economy, falling literacy rate, unemployment and racism, like many other countries” and “[the] youth of that country are left with very little choice but to target rich Indian students” while another preferred to entertain more of a regional conspiracy, “Maybe the ISI or other Pakistanis are paying white Australians to bash up Indians.”¹

Presenting this issue as a cause for alarm, in whatever form that takes, makes eye-catching news. It is the very real uncertainties about international student safety that are overlooked in favour of that ‘good story’.

Almost one year ago exactly, the US company Mercer published the 2008 results of its annual survey of quality of living rankings for 215 of the world’s cities, including rankings of personal safety²

It identified five Australian cities in the world’s top 50 cities in terms of personal safety, with Melbourne, Perth and Sydney equal 29th on the list. Brisbane and Adelaide came in at equal 49th place. It is perhaps worth noting that while no US city made the top 50, five Canadian cities came in at equal 22nd. Only one UK city made the cut – Glasgow at no. 43.

So. if it was strictly a numbers game, you as a prospective international student in 2008 might choose to study in Luxembourg; no. 1 for personal safety. Or, if you prefer a more national approach, why not choose Germany with seven cities in the top 50?

Do these attacks really signal that the safety status enjoyed by Australia’s five safest cities has dramatically changed in the intervening year? I think not. If we were to treat the Dalai Lama as a somewhat unexpected authority on the issue of personal safety in Australia, we might even say that it has improved: “it would be wrong to blame the entire nation for the acts of a few people” ... “The behaviour of the native Australians is fast turning positive towards people of other cultures who have settled there”³ Or maybe this only applies to the permanent residents?

There is no doubt that the Indian students affected by these attacks suffered as victims of crime; but it would be premature to conclude that Indian students were a premeditated target. Had these victims been, say, Korean immigrants, would we automatically conclude that Australians had it in for Koreans? Again, I think not. Had they been white Anglo Australian students, what conclusion would we have made then? It is important to note that Australia’s ethnic and cultural diversity is generally higher than other nations in our region –the source countries of the majority of our international student population.⁴ This makes claims about racially-based crime an easy target, when the reality might be much more complex than first imagined.

What this story should focus on is the real risk to residents of Australia – permanent and temporary – of becoming victims of crime. And the prevailing statistics would suggest that the ‘risk’ of being safe is very high by global standards.

But this does not mean that there is not work for us to do. Australia’s High Commissioner to India is quoted as saying "there is no question that all these are criminal acts. For some of the acts the motivation might have a racist element. I will not rule out that some of the attacks were racist"⁵ Racism and crime are familiar bedfellows, and a careful examination of racist elements in these crimes should be considered, along with all of the other criminological elements we might expect to apply.

Should international students be afraid to come to Australia to study? On the contrary. In the Anglophonic world, Australia and Canada stand out as shining examples of safe living, with the UK and the US some distance behind.

And should our international student population choose to study at home, they might face quite different prospects. Singaporean students, for example, would enjoy living in the world’s 9th safest city, while students from Karachi would face life in the 213th ‘safest’ city.

Let’s all maintain a vigilance in caring for our students; be they domestic or international; temporary or permanent.

¹ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/opinions/4659992.cms?curpg=1

² http://www.mercer.com/referencecontent.htm?idContent=1307990

³ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Blaming-entire-Australia-for-racist-attacks-wrong-Dalai-Lama/articleshow/4641295.cms

⁴ p. 190 of Levinson, D. (1998) ‘Ethnic Groups Worldwide’ Oryx Press

⁵ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Blaming-entire-Australia-for-racist-attacks-wrong-Dalai-Lama/articleshow/4641295.cms

Current issues about International Education around the world - 15/06/2009

2009-06-15T15:39:00.002+10:00

The Irish Independent (June 10th) reported that every year €500m is brought into the Irish economy by international third level students from outside the EU. But that New Zealand, a country with a comparable population, is much more successful than Ireland is in attracting them. The difference, according to the Independent is that New Zealand has put a clear policy in place and formed an alliance between government, education providers and supporting organisations to deliver stated objectives. The view expressed is that the absence of a government policy in Ireland has meant they are not claiming their ‘share’ of the global market for international education.

News from the UK, as reported by the Telegraph, is that British sixth formers could be "crowded out" of university places because of an increase in applications from candidates from the rest of Europe, according to vice-chancellors. An unprecedented surge in applications by young people to start higher education in the UK in September has seen the number of British candidates rise by 8.8 per cent from last year. Applications from the rest of the European Union are rising even more quickly, up by 16.4 per cent. Yet even though 43,367 more Britons and 3,576 more Europeans are chasing places, the Government has set a controversial 10,000 cap on the number of additional places available across the sector. A combination of the cap, the rise in EU applicants and a rule that prevents universities from discriminating in favour of homegrown talent means that British sixth formers risk losing places to well-qualified rivals from abroad.

The stories of violence and racism against international students in Australia have continued to appear in the media since our last update. The following is just one extract from The Australian (June 12th) and discusses some of the consequences of these events:

Protests in the wake of attacks on international students have forced a national quality crackdown on education and training providers to shore up the reputation of Australia's $15.5 billion education export industry. Education Minister Julia Gillard also announced another taskforce as it ratchets up its response to the attacks that have attracted international news coverage and sparked street protests. The Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs in Hobart today agreed to urgently carry out targeted audits of education and training providers. It follows Victoria's earlier move to launch a “rapid audit” of providers suspected to being in breach of regulations. The crackdown is expected to largely target those small private education providers that have been the target of complaints from students.

The Accommodation Conundrum by Dr Katie Richardson

2009-03-30T09:22:00.003+10:00

It was in the late 1990s that I started my research into the homestay industry. At the time it was an unstudied domain and it was clear that there were a number of unscrupulous players in the field. However, with the lack of legal and industry based regulation many of the unpleasant incidents could be swept under the carpet. This sense of obscurity was not only limited to homestay. Other forms of international student accommodation, such as boarding and student housing, were also relatively unstudied.

Things have changed somewhat over the past decade. Some research (albeit very limited and certainly not cross-sectoral) has been undertaken with regard to homestay and boarding. Regulations have been tightened considerably with regard to boarding and student housing, although homestay remains relatively unregulated in a legal sense, despite an onus on educational organisations to ensure the quality of accommodation that they provide. It was the ongoing ‘unknowns’ of student accommodation that spurred me on to my most recent research into the non-academic welfare of adolescent international students. Not surprisingly, student accommodation featured quite heavily.

Of the 318 secondary school overseas students who responded to the survey, homestay was, by far, the most popular choice of accommodation, with 44.4%. This was followed by those residing in boarding houses, which accounted for 19.5% of the questionnaire participants. The other forms of accommodation ranged from living with a parent (16.9%), to those who stayed with relatives (10.9%) or who shared rental arrangements with friends (8.3%). Although boarding seemed to be the most favoured mode of accommodation by the participating staff members the students’ responses were very different, and in my mind, surprising.

The overseas student questionnaire enabled me to measure the levels of culture shock that were experienced by the international students. When compared with their accommodation types, those who lived by themselves or with friends suffered most acutely, while boarders and adolescents residing with their parents experienced very little angst in terms of psychological adjustment. The moderate levels of culture shock that homestay students encountered were not surprising given the fact that they are in contact with the target culture most of the time. Interestingly, the adolescents who lived with close relatives experienced slightly higher levels of culture shock than those in homestay.

Given the fact that homestay students experienced relatively high levels of culture shock I was astonished to find that 77.2% of the homestay students indicated that they would recommend homestay accommodation to their friends. This result was particularly surprising in the light of general and ongoing criticisms regarding quality control issues in homestay. In contrast, the boarders were fairly evenly split between those who would advocate boarding (50.8%) and those who would not (49.2%). Considering that the boarding school students experienced noticeably less culture shock, it is interesting that the recommendations do not reflect the relative ease of their transition.

The question then remains: Why was homestay so popular with the students? One could speculate that the constant contact with those from the target culture enables the students to develop more confidence in their English language abilities. It may also indicate that the overseas students feel a sense of security living in a family-type situation where their needs can be met. Whatever the reasons are for this result, it is clear that more research is required in order for us to enhance our understanding of student accommodation needs.

Dr Katie Richardson is the Director of International Education Consultants Australia Pty Ltd. She is currently developing a series of testing tools which will enable homestay organisations to examine the beliefs of homestay host applicants and highlight the training needs of homestay hosts. Katie has recently completed her Ph.D which investigated the welfare of adolescent international students

Victoria University steps up its safety program for international students

2009-03-02T12:18:00.002+10:00

Recent media reports have again drawn attention to the increased number of thefts and attacks upon students from the Indian subcontinent.

Victoria University has been working closely with international students and Victoria Police on a safety program for the past two years.

Vice-President International Andrew Holloway said: "Talking softly in public won't protect all students; nor will leaving their mobile phones and iPods at home. These strategies form part of the response, but equally important is a familiarity with their rights and the assistance available to help students lead a full and safe life while studying in Melbourne.

"As well as travelling to and from university for study, many international students also need to commute to part-time jobs, often late at night. This is why Victoria University has improved night shuttle bus services to transport hubs such as Sunshine and Footscray stations. We are also increasing the amount of accommodation available close to our campuses, so that students can avoid lengthy public transport trips.

"As part of a multi-pronged approach, we have been working with international students from South Asia and the police for two years on a program that maximises student safety. Our aim has been to ensure students are aware of the dangers and how best to avoid them or use better options, and also to inform them of the support available from a variety of sources, including the police, the university and the community.

"Together with the Police Multicultural Liaison Taskforce based at Footscray, we have developed a new initiative, a training program for university-appointed Safety Ambassadors, which is due to start shortly.

"In this program, students from the Indian subcontinent will receive instruction from police, lifesavers, fire brigade officers and other authorities in safety issues covering a wide range of settings - from public transport and the streets, to the internet, the surf and the bush. They will then be provided with materials and resources to share among fellow students, passing on their knowledge and expertise.

"In another fresh initiative, members of the Victoria Police Footscray Multicultural Liaison unit will spend three hours on our Footscray Park campus every second Thursday to chat with students about any issues of concern.

"Already, the university provides written and DVD material on safety tips to international students before their departure, upon arrival as part of induction programs, and throughout their stay in Melbourne. However, we have identified a need to increase the reach of this message and have decided that peer support is the most effective way to achieve this.

"Victoria University also hosts a Safety Week in which we distribute resources and spread the safety message. Local police officers attend this event, giving formal presentations and informal one-on-one briefs to students.

"Cultural issues are also being addressed. Many of our international students come from countries where the police routinely fail to respond to reports of violence or theft, or expect a bribe before they will act. In addition, many students fear that their student visas or applications for residency may be delayed or revoked if they are seen to be in trouble or involved in any way with the authorities. This perception can be one of the most difficult to overcome and undoubtedly contributes to under-reporting of attacks and other incidents.

"We have chosen to address this in a variety of ways. By working closely with the police, introducing them to students at our many events and encouraging informal as well as formal contacts, we are slowly breaking down cultural barriers that prevent close working relationships.

"But students need to know that the police are active and visible on the streets as well as on campus. This is also starting to happen, although it's important to acknowledge that the police can't be everywhere all the time. Nevertheless, patrols have stepped up in danger spots surrounding railway stations in the western suburbs.

"Authorities and community representatives have also expressed interest in travelling with our recruitment staff when we visit potential students offshore in their home countries.

"We are taking this one step further. Students and police have both expressed interest in a social cricket match. We've been bowled over by the response, including from female students. Both teams are starting to recognise they have something more than runs on the board to play for."

Media contact: Jim Buckell, Acting Senior Media Officer
Marketing and Communications Department, Victoria University
Phone: +61 3 9919 4243
Mobile: 0400 465 459
Email: jim.buckell@vu.edu.au

Source: VU Media Centre

Social inclusion and integration by Paula Dunstan

2009-02-10T14:20:00.005+10:00

Last month, Campus Review (20.01.09) ran two articles relating to the social inclusion and integration of international students: one connected to quality assurance at Adelaide University, and the other a more personal reflection from IEAA president Stephen Connolly. Both perspectives are essential to the discussion about international student experience, from individual experience to systematic programs. It’s an important discussion for students, institutions and communities alike, but the issues are not new. In a successful and still-growing international education sector, a positive international student experience is, and has always been seen by many as both a social good and protection for the reputation and image of Australia as a friendly and welcoming host.

Are social inclusion and integration the same thing, however? As much as we would like to bundle up our buzzwords (student experience is a massively complex thing in itself), it might be wise to differentiate our terms if our efforts are to be effective. In Stephen Connolly’s article, social inclusion is related to personal hosting and welcoming. Face-to-face communication and relatedness through families and communities is often a voluntary, altruistic activity, benefiting some a great deal. Social inclusion often works by accident and goodwill, when some people are in the right place at the right time. It is sustained more by good practice than policy, except perhaps in well-managed home-stay and other programs. Visitors and hosts alike need to work hard if they wish to create socially inclusive spaces.

Integration refers to more formal processes which create environments for students to develop different cultural perspectives, find meaning in otherness, and confidently enter, depart and re-enter facilitated learning spaces. The term has been used, discussed and researched in the institutional context over time, and connects in part with social, psychological and cultural theory. It provides for the personal and academic development of students, and is often supported by policy as a key principle of international education good practice.

In 1987, the first international student adviser was appointed at UNSW, and through the early 1990s most universities invested in student advisers to facilitate social, cultural and academic integration on campuses. We saw the development of specific professional skills and knowledge generation that addressed integration as a development process, as well as a focus for program creation within international offices and other service areas. Integration was not as an attractive a buzzword as internationalisation, but every bit as real and every bit as difficult to achieve.

At the ISANA Conference in 1997, Richard Nowak and Robert Weiland described the importance of social competence as a developmental stage for international students, affected negatively by cultural shock unless universities met their obligations to these students by facilitating targeted programs that lead to ‘affective and relation-centred interaction.’

At the same conference, RMIT’s Professor Desmond Cahill, warned of the unpredictable effects Pauline Hanson could have on “our friendly, multicultural image” and consequently on international student experience. Cahill saw the issues had to do with ethical values, community cohesion and identity, in great danger of being undermined by Hanson and her supporters. Cahill described international student advisors as meeting the need for intercultural interaction and its facilitation, and applauded their understanding of language and culture in the context of international education which remains at all times a form of cross-cultural education.

Hanson was privileged in the media, and the dangerous potential of her views was evident in migrant communities as well as in universities, which were not sufficiently supported by government policy or public indignation. If they were, they might have better counteracted her impact through their contributions to community work and public education. These days, it’s media mischief that seeks to vilify the very institutions and community agencies that are dedicated to inclusive and welcoming practice; this, as Connolly asserts, draws energy away from the real issues.

International education has changed greatly since 1997, when overseas students holding visas in Australia numbered fewer than 150,000, as distinct from over 474,000 in 2008. Sheer numbers as well as cultural diversity and cross-sectoral dimensions provide us with enormous challenges to ensure students feel part of, and work successfully within, their learning communities. The need for professional skills in this area remains as crucial as ever for the success of our international education industry.

In 2009, integration and social inclusion remain a focus for professionals working with international students – the advisors, teachers, and specialised support services. The recent 19th ISANA conference, 'Promoting integration and interaction’ devoted its program over four days to presenting and discussing several outstanding examples of real efforts, real projects, real information, focused research and systematic programs designed for today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.

Such things are formed by individuals and networks, supported by institutions, and cultivated by professional associations, a large part of whose role it is to generate and promote professional capacity. We hope these efforts are taken seriously and sustained by government. They involve investment in resources, improved knowledge, professional training – and good management. We need debate on international students and their place in our campuses and communities. The issues are more multi-faceted, and more difficult to understand than individual personal experiences, and while personal stories should be encouraged as instructive and uplifting, the tough issues about reason and purpose remain. Friendliness, of course is always important, but on a large scale management strategies need to come to the fore.

The ISANA 1997 conference theme was ‘In it together’. Some things don’t change – whether it’s a single student experience or the collective experience of thousands, ahead is a responsibility for all of us.

International students and social inclusion

2009-01-27T11:57:00.001+10:00

In Campus Review 20/01/2009 Stephen Connolly writes, "The recent article by Sushi Das in The Age (November 15 2008) portraying the tragic tale of Jimmy, the international student who ended up sleeping under a bridge in Melbourne, tells us nothing about the broad social issues of social inclusion of international students that need to be tackled. It is the type of sensational, error-prone journalism that is common in the press when it comes to international education, and takes energy away from tackling the real issues."

What are the real issues about social inclusion? What should jounalists do to properly represent the issues? What 'good news' do you have about social inclusion of international students?

Minister plans ban on shaky visa deals

2008-11-14T15:08:00.001+10:00

The Immigration Minister, Chris Evans, wants tougher laws to combat the rise of shonky education agents promising Australian visas to overseas students when they can deliver no such thing.

Increasingly, unscrupulous dealers in Australia and overseas are selling dubious study packages offering tuition, work experience and an Australian visa, a Senate committee heard yesterday.So worrying was the practice that Senator Evans said he had recently raised it with the Chinese ambassador.

"I have very severe concerns about education agents both in this country and abroad," Senator Evans said.

"If someone gets induced and sold a package in their home country, there's very little we can currently do about that. They arrive with expectations that can't be delivered."

Senator Evans said a lot of the promotion of such packages happened overseas. They purported to glean favourable visa outcomes for would-be students when in fact education agents could not provide immigration advice.

Senator Evans said he was working with the Education Minister, Julia Gillard, to increase the legislative powers available to Australia in tackling the problem.

He had also talked with representatives from Australian universities.

"Obviously they don't want anything that undermines the reputation of Australia's education services," Senator Evans said.

The National Liaison Committee, Australia's peak representative body for international students, said the exploitation began with the introduction of full-fee paying foreign students in 1986, and was worse now.

"It's getting serious now with more private institutions being set up to recruit international students overseas," the committee's president, Eric Pang, said. "Many students are not aware of their rights as consumers. The recruitment agents are profit driven and obviously, looking for numbers. The students are looking for quality education."He said foreign students were pumped with misinformation which led to disappointment and culture shock when they arrived in Australia.

"The gap between perception and reality can be really big, depending on how pretty a picture is being painted by agents offshore. International students need accurate information," Mr Pang said.

Tougher regulation of overseas recruitment agencies was required to stem the problem, many of which were tied to private education providers operating in Australia, Mr Pang said.

He could not say how many students had been drawn to Australia on false promises of a visa.

Meanwhile, the Department of Immigration said it may have to compensate as many as 191 people for wrongful detention.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman, John McMillan, found last year that 247 Australian citizens, permanent residents and lawful visa holders had been wrongly detained between 1993 and 2007.

Yesterday a lawyer for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Robyn Bicket, told a Senate committee those cases had been reviewed.

"Currently we are at 191 cases we believe there is risk of legal liability for compensation," she said.

Compensation has been offered in 40 cases, of which 17 have been settled at a total cost of $1.2 million, she said.

In the year to June 30, the department spent $4.1 million in compensation. Cornelia Rau, the permanent resident wrongly detained for 10 months, was awarded $2.6 million.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

Reining in rogue colleges

2008-10-30T10:05:00.001+10:00

SUNSHINE College of Management teaches hairdressing and hospitality — two subjects with apparently little in common, except that both fields of work appear on the Federal Government's list of desperately needed skills from migrants. In fact, what they do have in common is that international students who complete such courses are awarded extra migration points, taking them one step closer to what many want: permanent residency.

In the foyer of the college, as a gesture towards the hairdressing course, two mannequin heads sit atop the reception desk, their wigs slightly askew. The receptionist is busy taking calls. Behind doors labelled Kitchen 1 and Kitchen 2 are shelves piled high with pots and pans. There are spoons, whisks and bowls ready for hospitality classes. But on this day the kitchens are not in use. The lights are out, exhaust fans are silent and there are no cooking smells. In fact, there are no students.

For the full article, please go to: The Age

Overseas students compete for Melbourne rentals

2008-09-15T08:18:00.003+10:00

AUSTRALIA (excerpt from ABC Radio): In the first of three special reports on education, we look at the housing crisis facing international students here in the Australian city of Melbourne. With high house prices and lots of rental competition, the challenge facing overseas students in finding a place to live can be overwhelming.

Presenter: Kate McPherson
Speakers: Danielle Hartridge from Victoria University; Toby Archer, Tenancy Union of Victoria, Australia; Nicole Vandendungen, Hocking Stuart Real Estate Agents, Melbourne

MCPHERSON: Last year the Australian Government granted student visas to over 228,000 international students. Melbourne is currently home to over 11,000 international students, most coming from South and North East Asia. Finding adequate accommodation for everyone is very difficult as these international students at Melbourne University explain.

JAPANESE STUDENT: I was trying to find a house through a website but I couldn't find one with a good prices and it is hard for me because I couldn't speak English well. And at the moment I'm living with friends in the same room, so I'm still looking for a house.

MALAYSIAN STUDENT: Prices seem to be quite high here in Melbourne.

CHINESE STUDENT: It's really hard to find a house because the prices are really high if you find any place near the city and there are no rooms available after the semester begins.

MCPHERSON: Another student from Malaysia is on a scholarship which assists in his payments but he says there are still challenges.

STUDENT: It is difficult especially for international students, the landlords prefer local I suppose.

MCPHERSON: Here at RMIT's city campus international and local students are having their regular game of basketball.
When you first came to Australia did you find it hard to find somewhere to live?

THAI STUDENT: It took about one to two months to find a share house.

MCPHERSON: So you were happy when you found an apartment?

THAI STUDENT: Yes very happy?now we have a home.

MCPHERSON: International students searching for accommodation are particularly susceptible to being misled because their knowledge of tenancy laws is minimal. Many students sign contracts that effectively remove legal safeguards.
Prospective students are urged to do thorough background checks before they sign anything. Toby Archer is from the Tenancy Union of Victoria an organisation which represents the interests of those who rent accommodation.

ARCHER: Key advice to students that have fallen pray to a shonky operator is to seek help and they shouldn't be afraid to seek help either from Tenants Union or University Housing.

MCPHERSON: Mr Archer says Universities play a key roll in providing housing for students.

ARCHER: In the context of plummeting rental affordability the key thing is that universities need to invest in additional housing for their students when the opportunities arise.

MCPHERSON: Victoria University is addressing the lack of accommodation. International Student Support manager Danielle Hartridge.

HARTRIDGE: International students are no different from local people in that they are finding it hard to get accommodation. We have at least three private developments that are going up around the campus. Australia's Reserve Bank this week reduced interest rates for the first time in nearly seven years. Vacancy rates may increase slightly but will prices decrease? Nicole Vandendungen from Hocking Stuart:

VANDENDUNGEN: Prices in the rental market will stay relatively the same now. I don't think we will have the dramatic increase as we have seen over the past 12 - 18 months.

MCPHERSON: Danielle Hartridge from Victoria University has some final advice.

HARTRIDGE: There are a lot of accommodation options that are available, there's a number of private organisation that do offer home stay that have a number of families on their books. I think this is an option that some students will have to start considering rather than the private rental market because it is going to become more and more difficult.

Source: ABC Radio

Overseas students flout work rules

2008-08-11T12:25:00.001+10:00

INTERNATIONAL students are making a mockery of immigration laws by flouting visa conditions which limit them to 20-hour working weeks, with those driving taxis in Victoria clocking up to twice as many hours behind the wheel as they're allowed.

Despite a warning from Immigration Minister Chris Evans that taxi owners who employed students in breach of their visa restrictions risked up to two years' jail, cab advocacy bodies and student drivers revealed the industry was largely ignoring the law.

Student bodies have urged the Rudd Government to lift the 20-hour cap, saying overseas pupils should be entitled to juggle their academic commitments with as many hours of work as they can manage.

The Australian understands the Howard government planned to target Victorian taxi businesses as a first step in a national crackdown on students who were rorting the employment restrictions of their visas.

Victorian Taxi Drivers Association secretary Thomas Henderson, whose organisation represents the interests of both driver and owner members, admitted some holders of student visas were clocking up to 40 hours a week on the road.

"One work shift consists of 12 hours and even if they do two shifts they're already done four extra hours," Mr Henderson said. "But the moment (working hours) start to come to the notice of the authorities, it starts to become verydifficult for students because they are only allowed to work 20 hours a week."

The National Liaison Committee for International Students in Australia played down visa breaches, saying increasing living expenses were pushing overseas pupils to work beyond their limits.

NLC president Eric Pang said the federal Government should abolish the 20-hour working week limit and allow students to work at their own discretion.

"The working hours should be up to the students and the institutions," he said. "If the student can study full time and is performing well (academically) then, yes, they can work more than 20 hours. If they can't perform well in their studies, then they shouldn't work more than 20 hours.

"The new Government should be reviewing this (working) policy but the aim should be to provide more flexibility and more rights in terms of how much (students) want to work and how much they want to study."

The federal Government has given no indication it is considering relaxing the law. Senator Evans said taxi owners who employed students in breach of their visas also risked a fine of up to $13,200.

"Taxi owners, like all employers, are responsible for ensuring that overseas workers -- including students -- abide by their visa conditions," he said.

It is understood former immigration minister Kevin Andrews wanted to pursue student visa rorters working as cab drivers through the Victorian Taxi Directorate.

In the lead-up to last November's federal election, Mr Andrews was planning to demand the personal details of student taxi drivers from the VTD to determine the number of hours they had been working. Anyone found to have breached their visa conditions would have risked being deported.

Mr Henderson said student drivers, many of whom drove at night, shouldn't have to pay taxes because they had to put up with disorderly passengers. "If you ever think about what these poor guys have to put up with, then they shouldn't be taxed at all," he said.

Source: The Australian

Foreign students at capacity level

2008-07-28T11:24:00.001+10:00

Australia's international education body has signalled a change of course in foreign student education with a new focus on maintaining the $12.5 billion industry rather than growing it.

The shift comes as universities indicate they have reached capacity in their foreign student intakes, and concern over "fragility" in the international education sector.

Universities rely on foreign student fees for an average of 15% of their overall funding.

Australian Education International (AEI), the international arm of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, will focus on broadening the range of countries from which international students come, encouraging diversity in the courses they study, enriching the links between Australian and overseas institutions, and getting the international student numbers right.

About 65% of foreign students come from Asia, with half of them studying management and commerce, mostly in Melbourne and Sydney.

AEI chief executive Fiona Buffinton told The Age: "Certainly, I would say that sustainability is the aim" rather than growth as in previous years.

She said the first phase of international higher education involved Commonwealth scholarships to international students as part of a foreign aid scheme.

The second phase was a "very commercial sort of view" for the past 20 years, which encouraged growth. "Now universities are certainly looking at what I think is the third phase, which is the sustainable model," she said.

She denied the commercial model for growth had been unsustainable. "We've got to keep evolving and improving on what is considered to be a good model," she said.

To draw students from a wider range of countries, AEI has opened offices in the Middle East and Latin America, part of a bid to protect the industry from regional economic downturns.

View the full article at: http://www.theage.com.au/national/foreign-students-at-capacity-level-20080725-3l39.html?page=-1

Welcome to nation of university ghettos

2008-07-28T11:17:00.001+10:00

A Widening gulf between local and foreign university students is creating segregated classes, cultural cliques and religious ghettos, raising fears of a backlash on campuses.

International education is a $12.5 billion industry, and foreign students' fees account for an average 15 per cent of universities' overall funding, but a higher education experts warns of "informal but real segregation".

Professor Simon Marginson, from the Centre for Higher Education at the University of Melbourne, said local students tended to work off campus and were not active in student life, and international students spent most of their time on campus, generally in the library.

While the atmosphere on campuses generally supported foreign students, Professor Marginson said: "So you've got this odd situation with the local students half-disengaged in a way I've never really seen before. The international student industry runs off the back of a reasonably strong local system which presumes a healthy relationship with the local students … all of that has become the marketing pitch. That's the flashpoint that worries me more than any other - that it could spring back into resentment."

Almost two-thirds of international students are from Asia, and many have no contact with local students. Eric Pang, president of the National Liaision Committee for International Students in Australia, said foreign students were not given a strong welfare system and had to rely on peers for support, yet were accused of failing to integrate. Many had told the committee: "There's not much international students can learn from Australia in terms of culture, or in terms of English. After all, the standard of English of Australian students is not high anyway."

Read the full article at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/07/22/1216492448152.html?feed=fairfaxdigitalxml

PIER Online is getting Lively!

2008-07-11T11:40:00.005+10:00

At PIER, we are dedicated to providing innovative solutions for delivering information and resources to the International Education sector within Australia and around the world.

Today, we are very pleased to announce that we will soon be trialling an exciting new way to deliver discussions online in a dynamic 3D environment just released by Google, named Google Lively.

Lively is an interactive 3D chat room, managed by PIER, of which up to 100 guests can join, and 20 of those can participate by asking questions. We have setup two rooms already, one for the PIER team in which our administrators, developers & Diploma tutors will be available at certain times to assist with any questions you may have.

The next room is the PIER conference room, where we will hold presentations and seminars at specific occasions throughout the year.

We hope to see some of you drop by and say hello in the next few weeks as we work on designing the PIER Lively rooms and adding useful materials. Please leave us any comments you may have.

Note: Google Lively is a BETA release product and requires Windows XP and Internet Explorer or Firefox to run. In order to join a room, you must use a Google Account (your Gmail username if you have one). A Google Account is very easy to sign up for and gives you access to all of Google's wide range of services.