Public purse ‘key to quality’ if unis face international exodus

Universities will not be able to maintain quality if inter­national student numbers fall ­unless the government covers the shortfall.

From left, Peter Hoj, Group of Eight CEO Vicki Thomson and Phil Honeywood at the forum on Monday. Picture: Nikki Short

Australian universities will not be able to maintain quality if inter­national student numbers fall ­unless the federal government covers the shortfall.

University of Queensland vice-chancellor Peter Hoj told The Australian’s Strategic Forum that revenue from international student fees, which now stands at more than $8bn a year, had been crucial to building quality. “Australia is very fortunate in that it has seven universities in the world’s top 100, which is only ­beaten by the US and the UK, and there is no doubt that without our supplementation of our cashflows from international students, that would not at all have been possible,” he said.

Universities are preparing for a possible downturn in the number of students from China, who represent almost a quarter of international students. The influx of new Chinese students is already weakening. Two years ago it grew at an annual rate of 17 per cent — this year it has fallen 1 per cent. Growth is now being supported by students from India and Nepal.

Professor Hoj said the situation was a concern. “What has happened is that the investment from the public into a university system which is now expected to educate 40 per cent of the young people has not kept pace with that ambition,” he told the forum.

“What will happen is that Australia will cease to have a first-world intellectual capability unless we compensate for a decline in the international student influx with an improved public investment in our academic infrastructure.”

He said that the fee revenue from international students, which has nearly doubled in the past seven years, had been critical to Australian universities’ rise in the world rankings.

“I don’t believe we would have a top 100 university without international students,” he said.

The chief executive of the International Education Association of Australia, Phil Honeywood, said Australian universities now faced more intense competition for international students, particularly because Britain had recently announced it would offer a two-year post-study work visa.

He said it was important not just to enrol students from more countries but also more students in vocational education and schools. “In Australia, only 3 per cent of international students are studying in our high school system,” he said. “We’ve got to do more to ensure that the international kids who come here get ­embedded in our school system. And if they do that, they’re better integrated when they go on to post-secondary study.”