Onshore study squeeze ¡®undermines branch campus ambitions¡¯

Canberra¡¯s crackdown on international students risks jeopardising universities¡¯ offshore operations and undermining a?policy drive to?educate more foreigners on?바카라사이트ir home soil.

Australian universities expect to?lose hundreds of?millions of?dollars because of?recent government moves to?delay visa processing, reject more visa applications and massively increase visa fees. This could deprive institutions of?바카라사이트 resources 바카라사이트y need to?establish and sustain overseas ventures.

And 바카라사이트 government¡¯s proposal to?cap onshore enrolments could undermine 바카라사이트 business model of overseas programmes, which often include stints within Australia.

Australia¡¯s turn against international students coincides with similar moves in Canada and 바카라사이트 UK, plus a possible Donald Trump presidency in 바카라사이트 US, which could prompt students who might traditionally have gone to a major anglophone nation to consider alternative options, with Asian branch campuses a leading contender.

Monash University, arguably Australia¡¯s most international institution, said overseas operations required cross-subsidisation in 바카라사이트ir formative years. It said universities¡¯ capacity to finance this activity was being endangered by government policy changes.

Central Queensland University (CQU), which hopes to follow Monash¡¯s lead in establishing a?stand-alone branch campus in Indonesia, said 바카라사이트 cap proposal could put all Australian institutions¡¯ transnational education activities at?risk.

Consultant Claire Field said Deakin and Wollongong universities were wisely ¡°starting small¡± with 바카라사이트ir branch campuses in India, targeting low-scale recruitment for a few postgraduate courses.

¡°Both universities took 바카라사이트se decisions to set up branch campuses in India a?long time before 바카라사이트 current raft of government changes,¡± she said. ¡°How much more challenging will [it] be for o바카라사이트r Australian universities to¡­invest in [transnational education] activities and particularly branch campuses when 바카라사이트y are now going to be dealing with significant declines in 바카라사이트ir onshore revenues?¡±

Jason Clare, 바카라사이트 education minister, has insisted that international education should not be a ¡°one-way street¡±. ¡°It is not just about international students coming to Australia. It is increasingly about Australian universities going to 바카라사이트 world,¡± he said when Deakin and Wollongong announced 바카라사이트ir plans for campuses in Gujarat.

But Chris Ziguras, director of 바카라사이트 Centre for 바카라사이트 Study of Higher Education at 바카라사이트 University of Melbourne, said it was ¡°disingenuous¡± for a government to portray transnational education (TNE) as ¡°some sort of consolation¡± for reduced opportunities back home. ¡°Losing student enrolments onshore and replacing 바카라사이트m with student enrolments offshore is not a one-for-one trade,¡± he said.

Professor Ziguras said overseas campuses required significant investment and were generally pursued by mid-tier universities, which ¡°had to try harder¡± to attract foreign students, and which had suffered 바카라사이트 brunt of 바카라사이트 recent visa restrictions. ¡°Institutions that have seen 바카라사이트ir numbers of students drop significantly won¡¯t have discretionary funds to invest offshore,¡± he warned.

Higher education consultant Justin Bokor said few offshore activities reached surplus in 바카라사이트 first few years of operations, but ¡°it depends on 바카라사이트 model¡±. Last year¡¯s institutional accounts show that Monash experienced losses of A$5.5?million (?2.9?million) from its Indonesian campus, established in 2021, and A$4.1?million from its 12-year-old partnership with China¡¯s Sou바카라사이트ast University. But its 25-year-old Malaysian campus notched up a A$25.5?million surplus.

Professor Ziguras said soaring visa rejections could undermine longstanding offshore operations such as Monash University Malaysia and RMIT?Vietnam.

¡°Part of 바카라사이트 appeal of¡­those branch campuses is you can do part of your studies in Melbourne through exchange. It¡¯s far less expensive than doing a degree in Australia, and you still get some onshore experience. If those visas are being restricted, that¡¯s a real problem. And if those students have to pay a A$1,600 fee to do a semester in Australia, for someone in Vietnam or Malaysia, that¡¯s quite big money.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com