Universities lose $1 billion despite cashing in on Chinese students

A billion dollar loss, million-dollar salaries and cheating scandals are revealed in newly published annual reports for NSW universities. See the full list.

The University of Sydney made more money from foreign students than local the past year.

Ten universities bled $1bn in revenue last year, the NSW Auditor-General has revealed, while warning of a risky over-reliance on Chinese students.

The University of Sydney was the only institution to make money in 2022, as the other nine NSW universities reported losses because of falling enrolments, poor investment performance, a cut in government grants and rising costs. Despite the financial failures, vice-chancellors continued to rake in salaries as high as $1.3m, based on remuneration disclosures in university annual reports tabled in NSW parliament on Wednesday.

A surge in online cheating during the pandemic was exposed by the University of Sydney, which will return to on-campus exams this year. Wage theft has also hit the universities’ bottom line, with a new report by NSW Auditor-General Margaret Crawford showing they had to spend $110m in back pay for “wage remediation’’ in 2022.

An exodus of Indian students during the pandemic has also made the universities more reliant on Chinese students.

The audit shows that universities charge $41,491, on average, in tuition fees for foreign students, compared to $22,195 for Australian students.

“Universities earn nearly twice as much from overseas students compared to domestic students,’’ the report states.

The two sandstone universities – the University of NSW and the University of Sydney – made more money from overseas students than domestic students, with Chinese students contributing about 80 per cent of foreign student revenue.

The audit found universities generated $11.1bn in revenue in 2022 – down $1bn from the previous year. Overseas students, most of them from China, India or Nepal, paid $3.1bn in course fees last year. Despite a 12.4 per cent drop in overseas student enrolments since pre-pandemic levels in 2019, the audit found some NSW universities were now even more reliant on China.

“Students from China now represent over half of all overseas enrolments,’’ it said. “The pandemic has increased the number of universities where China is the leading source of overseas student revenue.

“Chinese students were able to access technology to continue their studies and were less disadvantaged by time differences.

“Seven of the 10 universities now record China as the leading source of overseas student revenue.’’

The audit warns that a concentration of Chinese students poses financial risks for universities. “Unexpected shifts in demand arising from changes in the geopolitical or geo-economic landscape, or from restrictions over visa or travel can impact revenues, operating results and cash flows,’’ it said.

Domestic student numbers dropped 5.3 per cent last year, while overseas enrolments fell 1.2 per cent, the report shows.

Nine of the 10 universities had government research grants cut, while employee expenses rose 4.9 per cent last year.

University of Sydney vice-chancellor Mark Scott, who earned $1.1m last year, said the university was in a “remarkably good position’’ after delivering a $298.5m surplus, which was $749.6m lower than in 2021.

The university’s annual report reveals “an alarming growth in academic integrity issues’’, with the number of cheating allegations doubling over the past five years to a record 6632 cases.

Based on previous investigations, 80 per cent of cases were confirmed as cheating.

“The growth is largely due to a large surge in exam breaches as a result of the move to online exams and improved detection, with 2588 alleged exam breaches recorded, a 211 per cent increase on the previous year,’’ the report states. The University of Technology Sydney annual report shows an operating loss of $53m in 2022.

2022 university results

University of Sydney

Surplus $298.5m

Vice-chancellor Mark Scott salary $1.1m

University of NSW

Operating loss $118.1m

Vice-chancellor Attila Brungs salary $1.3m

University of Technology Sydney

Operating loss $52m

Vice-chancellor Andrew Parfitt salary $930,000-$940,000 range

University of New England

Operating loss $14.8m

Vice-chancellor Annabelle Duncan salary $870,000

Macquarie University

Operating loss $36.2m

Vice-chancellor Bruce Dowton salary $1.05m

University of Newcastle

Operating loss $34.6m

Vice-chancellor Alex Zelinsky salary $930,000-$940,000 range

Southern Cross University

Operating loss $6.8 million

Vice-chancellor Tyrone Carlin salary $735,000-$750,000 range

Charles Sturt University

Operating loss $33.8m

Vice-chancellor Renee Leon salary $833,600

University of Wollongong

Operating loss $28.4m

Vice-chancellor Patricia Davidson salary $1.02m-$1.03m range

Western Sydney University

Vice-chancellor Professor Barney Glover salary $1m

Operating loss $10.5m

Source: University annual reports.