Aussie varsities
Fee hike turns away Asians
Student intakes from Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore slump as costs near US levels. By Samantha Maiden. The Australian.
Jan 5, 2005

AUSTRALIA risks pricing out overseas students by hiking fees and risking quality, deputy Opposition leader Jenny Macklin has warned.

Amid fears of a looming threat to the $5B-a-year industry, international students have also warned Australian costs are nudging the US for high-fee degrees, including MBAs and commerce.

A recent drop in demand for university places from overseas students has been blamed on the rising Australian dollar and increased competition from Asian nations.

However, in her strongest warning to date on the education export market, Ms Macklin has warned that prices are too high and plans to relax the criteria for what institutions qualify as a university could drive down quality.

"Basically, the danger is that we are pricing ourselves out of the market," she told the HES.

"And of course, it is a highly competitive overseas market. Yes, we have a good product but the price is important.

"Universities are now highly dependent on the revenue they receive from international students. If that falls away they are going to be in very difficult financial circumstances."

National Liaison Committee for International Students in Australia spokesman Aditya Tater said students were reporting "big differences" in quality between universities, regardless of fees charged.

"The prices for the various courses are going up every year but the quality is staying the same," he said.

"If you look at Singapore and Malaysia, student numbers from those countries have gone down because their education systems have improved and students are staying there.

In certain cases, the course fees are quite high, they are almost up there with the US."

Research prepared by IDP Australia, an independent non-profit global recruiter of students, suggested serious risks threatened the education export market.

In a paper presented to the IDP conference late last year, Comparative Costs of Higher Education Courses - Update 2004, analyst Marcelo Follari found Australia remains competitive in relation to the US and the UK.

But the median fee for an engineering degree was A$90,019 (all in Aust currency), on a par with the $91,670 cost in the UK and $119,882 in the US.

The cost of a bachelor degree in IT ranged from $32,836 in China to $61,818 in Australia and $130,856 in Ireland.

Students seeking a bachelor of business could pick up a degree for $31,731 in China, $54,331 in Singapore, $60,464 in Australia, $77,890 in the UK and up to $167,828 at a US private university.

The research concluded that: "Australia is competitive in price against the US, UK and Ireland. Australia is not competitive against emerging Asian study destinations.

China is expecting record numbers of students to enrol in its universities this year as foreigners seek to cash in on the country's booming economy by becoming proficient in
Mandarin."

Education Minister Brendan Nelson's plan to review the national protocols defining universities, possibly introducing greater flexibility for new higher education providers was another concern, Ms Macklin said.

Acting education minister Gary Hardgraves said the Howard Government did not determine overseas student fees.

"International student fees are set by the individual universities and it is a matter for those institutions," he said yesterday.

Asians opt for 'cheaper' costs

The Asian students are flocking to local universities rather than travelling abroad compounding fears that Australia is losing its international competitiveness.

International students have raised concerns that recent fee hikes have not resulted in better quality, as analysts report that more Asian students are choosing new universities in the region over an expensive Australian degree.

Only the rapid growth in demand from Chinese and Indian students has stopped Australia's intake of international students going backwards, with a dramatic slump in demand from Indonesians and Malaysians.

While the recent drop in demand for university places from overseas students has been blamed on the rising Australian dollar, Labour has warned students are being charged fees that could damage international competitiveness.

"There's a big danger signal already out there that this very important export market is under threat. Probably because of the fees more than anything," Opposition education spokeswoman Jenny Macklin told The Australian.

"This market, that's been so important to Australia but also individual universities, may not be there in the future."

Research prepared by IDP Education Australia suggests overseas students are being charged $60,000 on average for a business degree and $90,000 for a bachelor of engineering.

Aditya Tater, spokesman for the National Liaison Committee for International Students in Australia, said Singaporeans and Malaysians were opting for cheaper Asian universities.

An engineering degree costs $32,000 in China and $38,000 in Hong Kong. According to the NLCISA, fees have risen by up to 17per cent at some Australian universities.

"The prices for the various courses are going up every year but the quality is staying the same," he said.

"In certain cases the course fees are quite high; they are almost up there with the US in certain courses, especially with MBAs and business courses. That's where most of the students actually go.

"(The Asian) education system has improved and students are staying there." International student fees have increased each year at most universities by between 2 and 20 per cent.

Education Minister Brendan Nelson's plan to review the national protocols defining universities, possibly allowing new entrants into the market, were also a concern without quality safeguards, according to Labour.

"These are organisations (that would) call themselves universities, and students and their families have no ability to know whether it really is a university," Ms Macklin said.
The Australian