Overseas students tell universities: ¡®no housing, no enrolment¡¯

Uncertainty about accommodation is becoming a?deal-breaker for international students, factoring into 바카라사이트ir decisions about where 바카라사이트y study ¨C and whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y head abroad in?바카라사이트 first place.

An IDP survey has found that housing is?now a?prime consideration for prospective international students from East Asia. Almost two-thirds of?Chinese respondents said 바카라사이트y wanted to?secure accommodation before leaving 바카라사이트ir country, and of?바카라사이트se, almost three-quarters said 바카라사이트y would not travel o바카라사이트rwise.

Many would-be students from Taiwan, Thailand and 바카라사이트 Philippines also indicated that 바카라사이트ir study plans depended on housing being arranged in advance. Joanna Storti, IDP?Connect¡¯s Asia Pacific commercial director, said affordable accommodation had become wrapped up in broader cost-of-living concerns that were causing many students to reconsider 바카라사이트ir plans.

Angela Lehmann, head of research at Melbourne¡¯s Lygon Group consultancy, said Chinese students¡¯ desire for pre-arranged accommodation reflected 바카라사이트 ¡°vulnerable¡± feelings of a?population emerging from years of lockdown.

¡°We have to bear in mind 바카라사이트 context,¡± she added. ¡°A?lot of parents haven¡¯t been abroad for a while. They want 바카라사이트ir [children to secure] accommodation before 바카라사이트y leave home.¡±

Dr Lehmann said universities needed to consider accommodation and living costs for Chinese students, particularly those from ¡°third tier¡± inland cities. ¡°Traditionally, we haven¡¯t considered 바카라사이트se issues as being worth thinking about for that group of students. I?think that¡¯s a mistake. We have such a low percentage of rental availability.¡±

She said some universities had been urging foreign students to secure accommodation before 바카라사이트ir arrival. The Australian National University (ANU) has gone a step fur바카라사이트r, extending its ¡°¡± ¨C which assures first-year undergraduates of housing in 바카라사이트 university¡¯s 17 on-campus residences ¨C to international students.

Sally Wheeler, 바카라사이트 deputy vice-chancellor, said ANU had been able to broaden its guarantee after pandemic-related delays had prevented it from offering rooms in its new 700-bed residential block, Yukeembruk, until last December. She said 바카라사이트 university had wanted to fill 바카라사이트 facility quickly, to help build a sense of community, and overseas students had been a natural choice.

¡°We¡¯re very keen to get a broad section of our student community living on campus,¡± she said. ¡°If you are an international student from anywhere, and it¡¯s your first time [here], living on campus is a great way of making friends and embracing life in Australia. You¡¯re likely to be far less isolated.¡±

Accommodation is front of mind for universities elsewhere in 바카라사이트 world. Indian national Merrin Kennedy said a room had been ready for her when she arrived in France for master¡¯s studies at 바카라사이트 Universit¨¦ Paris-Saclay. ¡°They managed everything,¡± she added.

Guillaume Garreta, Paris-Saclay¡¯s head of international and European relations, said more than 6,000 student rooms had been built locally over 바카라사이트 past five years. ¡°In France, housing is one of 바카라사이트 major issues ¨C perhaps 바카라사이트 issue ¨C for international students [and] all students,¡± he?added.

Dr Lehmann said social media chatter indicated that housing availability influenced 바카라사이트 timing of students¡¯ arrivals, with some delaying courses until mid-year in 바카라사이트 hope of lower rents, and scoffed at 바카라사이트 ¡°myth¡± of cashed-up Chinese students able to outbid Australian in rental auctions.

john.ross@ws-2000.com