Perth in Western Australia has launched a new campaign to promote its many attributes as an study destination on the back of rapid growth in international student enrolment in the state. WA believes its tangible benefits such as access to a buoyant jobs market can lead to larger enrolment numbers.
The innovative international operator CQUniversity in Australia has announced that it is closing its commercial operating company, C Management Services (CMS), which historically ran the international campuses of the 10-campus strong university brand.
The chair of the Australian Council for Private Education and Training has written an open letter to Prime Minister Julia Gillard, urging her to extend student visa reform to non-university providers. Despite Australia’s ongoing international education downturn, Martin Cass said Gillard was seeking only to "reward large, homogenous public institutions”.
An overwhelming majority of the Australian public and business community have a positive view of international students attending Australian universities, according to a study commissioned by Universities Australia. The research found that 69% of representatives of businesses and 72% of the public are supportive of providing education for international students.
In Australia, a new report by IEAC, chaired by Michael Chaney, has suggested easing streamlined visa processing for all "low immigration risk providers" and reviewing the controversial GTE test. The government announced a new Ministerial Committee to ensure the advice will be used to build a "new blueprint for sustainable international education".
International student enrollments in Australia continued to fall for the fourth year in a row in every sector except English language teaching, according to the latest end-of-year statistics from the Australian government (AEI). The top five markets remained the same despite a 24.5% fall in enrollments to 53,396 from India.
The Australian Council for Private Education and Training has called for student visa reforms to be extended beyond the university sector, after a damning report showed Australia’s $2billion education export industry fell sharply in the two years to FY2011-12—with the brunt borne by ELICOS and VET.
Student visa holders in Australia have been tricked into paying large penalty fines to offshore accounts for unlawfully working beyond their visa conditions. DIAC issued a warning to international students to be aware of individuals impersonating their officers; with more than 300,000 student visa holders in the country at risk, it is taking the scam "seriously".
