Higher costs for international students

Eight government-funded universities in Hong Kong have raised tuition fees by as much as 20% for international students, affecting approximately 10,000 undergraduates. The change, according to government sources, comes about due to general inflation as well as the strength of China’s currency (the Renminbi) against the Hong Kong dollar. University World News records the details as follows:

• Chinese University, the University of Science and Technology, and City University: a 20% increase to HK $120,000 (US $15,500) per year;
• Hong Kong Institute of Education: a 17.6% rise to US $14,169;
• University of Hong Kong: a 13.5% rise to HK $135,000 (US $17,390);
• Polytechnic University, Lingnan University, and Baptist University: 10% increase.

The eight universities which have boosted fees have also increased the levels of scholarships accordingly. The amount of the highest admission scholarship provided in each university is enough to cover full tuition and average costs of living.

Approximately 77% of foreign students in Hong Kong are from China, and despite the fee hike, educational officials have stated that they believe Hong Kong will remain attractive to mainland students for four main reasons: the ‘Western-style’ education, high rankings of its universities, generous scholarships, and rising household income of mainland families.

In fact, mobility from China to Hong Kong could increase thanks to a push on the mainland to recognise foreign degrees taught in Hong Kong. This would also be good news for UK universities, considering that British institutions offer a high percentage of programmes in Hong Kong.

Local students face competitive pressures

Hong Kong has made dramatic changes in recent years in its effort to become a regional education hub, as we highlighted in our 2012 article “Foreign applications to Hong Kong universities up sharply this year.” Changes include:

• scholarship funding for foreign students has increased;
• quota limits on international students have doubled (from 10% to 20%);
• visa regulations have been relaxed (foreigners can now undertake internships, part-time on-campus jobs and summer jobs during their programme of study, and they can stay on in Hong Kong to work for a year after graduation);
• the degree system shifted from three years to four years;
• the pre-collegiate school system has been reduced from 13 to 12 years.

Such changes have exacerbated the heavy competition Hong Kong residents face for limited university places, especially in popular subjects such as the sciences. For the 2013/14 academic year, there will be 22,000 available places at public and private universities for 27,000 secondary school pupils likely to meet the minimum entry requirements.

Hong Kong’s competitive pressures – coupled with parental anxiety and ambition – are so severe they have helped turn average tutors into millionaire celebrities who advertise on glossy posters and appear regularly on television. Sources claim that a staggering 72% of final-year school students in Hong Kong now use private tutors. This is clearly helping to bolster the global private tutoring market, already a multi-billion dollar industry, which is expected to reach US $102.8 billion by the year 2018.

Government reforms address challenges

The government has made some moves to address space problems in its universities:

• First-year-first-degree places funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC) have increased to 15,000 per year;
• The number of senior year undergraduate intake places is expected to double to 4,000 per year by 2014/15;
• By the 2014/15 academic year, annual recurrent grants for UGC-funded institutions will increase by HK $3 billion to about HK $14 billion.

Furthermore, the Education Bureau has published a set of guidelines aimed at improving the governance of private tertiary institutions, some of which have been accused of over-enrolment. The bureau has not set a cap, but they have said that colleges will have to seek approval for their enrolment ceilings.

But the Hong Kong Education Bureau warns that its tertiary sector could look drastically different by 2016: approximately 23,200 university places for 22,000 students expected to meet entry requirements. If true, this could require consolidation of the very universities that are hurrying to expand today.

Alternatively, it gives Hong Kong-based institutions even more of a reason to boost enrolment figures from foreign students in the long term. In addition, it opens up future pathways for associate degree students to upgrade to full bachelor degrees.

So, as Hong Kong faces a surge of students now, it paves the way for expanded enrolment in the years ahead.

Hong Kong’s international reach

Students who still find themselves on the losing end of the high stakes competition for local spots will seek placements overseas, as they have for years. In 2012, the UK proved to be the number one destination for Hong Kong students (25%), followed by mainland China (22%), Australia (14%), the US (13%), and Taiwan (13%).

China will likely remain a popular destination, also owing to last year’s Ministry of Education’s announcement that 70 universities on the mainland would be allowed to admit foreign students (including those from Hong Kong) even if they had not taken part in the competitive national entrance examination, the gaokao.

A recent example of Hong Kong mobility outreach is the bilateral working holiday scheme agreement recently set up with France. Under the agreement, which comes into effect 1 July 2013, young people in Hong Kong and France can gain work experience while travelling. It’s the eighth bilateral working holiday scheme Hong Kong has set up with other countries, and so far 30,000 have taken advantage of the programme.

In an even wider international linkage, Hong Kong is part of a common credit transfer scheme that could be adopted by all higher education institutions in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Japan and Korea. The programme will be piloted with selected universities and courses from the beginning of the 2013/14 academic year for 18 months before an agreed credit transfer system would be expanded to the entire region.

The credit transfer framework could be a boon for Hong Kong because relatively few non-Chinese Asians attend school there. Of 56,921 full-time undergraduates on UGC-funded programmes in 2011-12, only 1,057 came from non-Chinese Asia, while 274 came from the rest of the world.

Furthermore, Hong Kong still has work to do for its non-native residents. A 2012 Equal Opportunities Commission survey showed that students from South Asian countries, such as Pakistan and Nepal, accounted for 3.2% of primary school pupils, but only 1.1% of senior secondary students and 0.59% of tertiary education students.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee cited the percentages when it urged the Hong Kong government to intensify efforts to facilitate the integration of ethnic minorities into public school education. Some problems stem from the difficulty immigrants face trying to learn Chinese when it isn’t their birth or household language, however other factors may be involved, such as teacher training, and the government has been asked to report back to the UN within one year on the matter.

The Language Fund, which was set up in 1994, provides financial support for projects and activities promoting bi-literacy and tri-lingualism, including programmes to support non-Chinese speaking students in learning Chinese. The government has proposed to inject HK $5 billion into the Fund to facilitate its longer term planning.

Hong Kong’s fiscal outlook

The Hong Kong government has allocated additional financial resources to support the restructuring of the education sector, and the 2013/14 budget outlines various proposals for increased spending such as more scholarship funds for local students to study in overseas universities as well as enhanced vocational training, particularly in the local shipping and aviation industries.

Fiscal issues remain for Hong Kong’s public universities. Even after the tuition fee increases, local universities assert that it’s not enough to cover the costs of educating each student, and that the universities need to subsidise non-local students from non-government funds.

Under the existing policy, up to 20% of students in UGC-funded institutions can be non-locals, and only 4% of them are allowed to be subsidised by the government; the rest have to be self-funded.

The average cost of educating an undergraduate student enrolled in a government-funded programme was HK $233,000 (US $30,000) last academic year, according to the UGC.

Chouk Yin, external liaison manager of mainland and external affairs at City University in Hong Kong, told the South China Morning Post, “The purpose of admitting non-local students is to make our university more international; making money is not the purpose. Admitting non-local students can also promote communications between local students and students from other cultures. It can broaden the scope of local students.”

Naturally foreign students add to Hong Kong’s appeal in the international education landscape, but their financial contribution cannot be ignored or underestimated, particularly as Hong Kong deals with the challenges of absorbing the double cohort of first-year university students into its education system.

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Today’s ICEF Monitor post looks at the findings of several new reports as they relate to trends in participating EU countries’ efforts to attract international students – including work and immigration policies, which are frequently viewed as key elements of a study abroad nation’s competitiveness.

A decade of growth

According to a new report from the European Migration Network (EMN), a body of the European Commission, the number of international students in Europe increased by roughly 114% from 2000 to 2010 – a substantially higher rate than the growth of international students in North America, which was estimated at roughly 55%.

The EMN report, entitled “Immigration of International Students to the EU,” was based on contributions from 25 countries including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom, and Norway.

International students a substantial part of many EU populations

Overall, the EMN report found that international students compose an important proportion of the non-EU population in many EU countries: 21% of all new first residence permits in the report’s participating countries were issued for education reasons.

Despite many countries’ efforts to facilitate the entry of Erasmus students (students from the EU going to other EU countries to study), the report notes that only “1.4% of the total number of first permits issued in Member States in 2011 for the purpose of study” were given to students coming under the high-profile Erasmus mobility programme.

National strategies in use to attract foreign students

In terms of the national strategic goals for wanting to attract international students, the report listed two:

• Attracting skilled students (mostly master and doctoral students) within a wider policy context of attracting highly skilled workers to meet skills shortages in national labour markets;
• Attracting international students for national economies to benefit from the revenue streams associated with these students (e.g., fees, living expenses, etc.).

Strategies used to attract foreign students vary from country to country, and may include:

• Marketing programmes to promote the country as an attractive destination and to provide information to students on available courses and services;
• Scholarship and funding opportunities, often tailored to students from countries with which the host country has a bilateral agreement in place;
• More recently, the introduction or augmentation of English-language courses (already prevalent in The Netherlands and Sweden, others are now prioritising English-medium instruction, including Finland, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Spain);
• Flexible admission procedures;
• Providing freer than usual access to the labour market (e.g., number of hours allowed to work) – but the report noted this was often restricted to low-skilled sectors rather than in sectors that would allow the student to build his/her professional network and expertise;
• Ability to apply for work permits without leaving the country, and even the ability to be self-employed as entrepreneurs.

Many of the countries participating in the study are putting the focus on attracting the “brightest and the best” students … “mostly masters and PhD students who contribute to the knowledge base of specific sectors important to the economy.”

Some (Finland, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain) are setting clear targets for the number of international students they want to attract (e.g., Finland wants to increase the number of foreign degree students by approximately 77% from 11,303 in 2007 to 20,000 in 2015, and Spain is looking to boost its international student population from 4.9% in 2012 to 10% in 2015).

Meanwhile, some are targeting specific countries for international students (e.g., France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands are prioritising BRIC nations, and Portugal favours Portuguese-speaking countries).

And others plan to amend their policies on international students. For example, The Netherlands intends to more effectively prevent “misuse of the student route” by setting targets for students and collecting biometric data during the visa application process. “Poland intends to introduce preferential admission and stay regulations for international students and university graduates.”

Hungary and Latvia appear to be the only countries without a national policy on international students. In Latvia, each institution determines its own needs and strategies for attracting foreign students. “In Hungary, only an action plan is in place which aims to strengthen the education of ethnic Hungarians living outside the territory of Hungary.”

Survey reveals current internationalisation strategies

Meanwhile, on the subject of strategies, a recent survey on the state of internationalisation in higher education by the European University Association (EUA) of 175 HE institutions in 38 countries found that “more than half (56%) have an internationalisation strategy in place and a further 13% intend to develop one or have considered internationalisation in other strategies.”

The survey revealed the following internationalisation strategies currently used by HE institutions:

• development of new partnerships with new regions and countries (73%);
• sending more students abroad (72%);
• growing the international student population (68%);
• offering international opportunities to staff (67%);
• offering more courses in English (67%);
• developing double and joint degrees (61%).

The survey found that the most popular priorities for action were:

• attracting students from abroad (30%);
• internationalisation of learning and teaching (19%);
• providing students with more opportunities to have a learning experience abroad (12%);
• strategic research partnerships (10%).

Three variations in university-level promotional efforts

In order to execute some of these strategies, universities in EU countries may be conducting their marketing…

• by themselves – often via scholarships or including offers of free or discounted services. For example, the EMN report notes that the University of Luxembourg provides free lodging to Chinese students.
• with another institution. The EMN report provides the example of the Spanish-Moroccan cross-border campus between the University of Cadiz and Abdelmalek Essaâdi University.
• in collaboration with the university sector in the country as a whole. For example, in The Netherlands there is a Code of Conduct agreed to by the joint institutions of higher education that is promoted to international students to signal a sector-wide commitment to excellent education for international students.

Waving the job flag

The EMN report assesses that there are two types of policies in place in the participating EU countries regarding employment after graduation for international students:

• Member states that only allow international students to stay if they have a job or are continuously employed (Belgium, Cyprus, Spain, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic, Sweden, and United Kingdom);
• Member states that allow international student graduates to stay in order to search for a job (Austria, Germany, Finland, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Norway).

An example of the impact of the second type of policy – allowing international students to remain in the country post-graduation to find work – can be found in Finland, which allows international students to remain to seek employment for a period of six months after graduation. In 2007, 73% of foreign students who remained in Finland found work.

For further details on this topic, please see our article from last year, which gives an overview of the intentions of 6,200+ international students at 25 universities in Germany, France, the UK, Netherlands, and Sweden.

The economic contribution of international students

Despite the economic contribution of international students, actual revenues realised thanks to foreign students vary due to the different types of educational systems across the countries. Some, for example, offer free access to education and low student fees.

The EMN report provided a table that shows the sources of international student revenues for select participating countries:

Source: EMN’s “Immigration of International Students to the EU” report

Immigration prospects important to study market attractiveness

Right at the outset, EMN’s report makes it clear that increasingly, the countries that provided data for the study are well aware of international students’ potential to remain in the country and add needed workforce skills.

And it moves on to declare: “States with a more flexible policy [on allowing international students to work during and after study] might be considered as more ‘attractive’.”

It seems, from the growing number of non-EU international students choosing EU countries to study in, that both national-level and institutional-level strategies are on the whole working well to attract students from outside the EU.

Looking for room for improvement, the report concludes:

“The overall aim of improving EU and national strategies and policies is to ensure that the EU can be considered as a world centre for excellence in education.

Further legislative action at the EU level, aiming to provide for further improvements in admission conditions, rights during stay, including mobility, and ensuring safeguards for third-country nationals, in line with Treaty objectives, is likely to make an important contribution to delivering this objective.”

Tourism sector a signal of Europe’s strength

The EMN report and EUA survey arrive at the same time as two more pieces of research; the first being the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) new “World Tourism Barometer.” Results show that international tourist arrivals in Europe were up by 3% in 2012, a “very positive result in view of the economic situation.”

UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai said of the modest growth in European tourist arrivals: “2012 saw continued economic volatility around the globe, particularly in the Eurozone. Yet international tourism managed to stay on course.

The sector has shown its capacity to adjust to the changing market conditions and, although at a slightly more modest rate, is expected to continue expanding in 2013.

Tourism is thus one of the pillars that should be supported by governments around the world as part of the solution to stimulating economic growth.”

Zeroing in on the continent, the European Travel Commission’s (ETC) latest “European Tourism in 2013: Trends & Prospects” report indicates that “international arrivals and nights to Europe for the first quarter of 2013 point to a slower, but continued growth for most of the reporting destinations.”

Like tourism, international education seems relatively resistant to shocks to the overall economy, but as emerging economies and developing markets continue to advance in both sectors, Europe will need to fight harder to remain a competitive and attractive destination.

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We sit down with Mr Jonathan Kolber, Executive Director of International Language Academy of Canada (ILAC). ILAC offers English classes for all ages, levels and purposes, as well as exam prep, summer camps and additional services such as accommodation, university placement, and student activities.

Kolber explains that they have a very interactive relationship with their agency partners, asking the agents for market feedback, brainstorming new products and marketing techniques, and helping them improve their efforts on the ground in key source markets.

Additionally, he stresses what to look for when selecting agent partners: it is very important that an agent understands the school’s profile and promotes the school’s image in a manner the school is comfortable with, and ultimately, always works in the best interest of the students.

Kolber also discusses how ILAC tailours each product to suit the market – such as residential programmes for teenagers from Mexico – and that one of the secrets of their success has been their ability to “stay ahead of the market and offer products to students as the market evolves.”

Part two of our interview (below) dives into several of the Latin American markets ILAC is active in, such as Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, whose students prefer to return to their home countries following their studies overseas, as well as Venezuela, whose students are attracted to post-study work rights.

Canadian-based ILAC is no stranger to Brazilian students. Scores of Canadian and Brazilian universities have signed exchange agreements in recent years, and Canada will also receive 12,000 of the 100,000+ students on Brazil’s Scientific Mobility scholarship programme (also known as Ciência Sem Fronteiras and formerly called Science Without Borders). In preparation for such study abroad experiences, university pathway programmes, exam preparation and Intensive English courses prove popular.

When looking at the Colombian market, Kolber explains that like Brazil, these students are looking to return home following their studies. Almost 9 million 15-24 year olds live in Colombia, nearly 98% of whom are literate. Today Colombia is one of the largest sending markets in Latin America after Brazil, and the top study destinations are the US, Australia, the UK, Canada, and New Zealand. The majority of student referrals are made through agents, hence ILAC places a great deal of emphasis on their strong relationships with their agency partners.

Venezuela certainly has its market challenges (i.e., currency controls, political instability), however, with the right approach and a healthy amount of patience, educational providers can achieve results. Kolber explains that ILAC has been successfully “selling pathway programmes in Venezuela for many years.” They are well aware that given the current climate in the country, most students prefer to stay overseas and find work abroad after their studies, so ILAC takes that into account when working with agencies in Venezuela.

The post Strong focus on agent relations key to success in Latin America appeared first on ICEF Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

ICEF Monitor takes a look at the growing importance of international internships, offers tips on finding opportunities abroad, and what this cross-cultural work experience means for employers and students.

Corporate hiring practices are changing

The benefits of internships are well documented – they provide practical experience, a sample of life in a chosen field, networking opportunities, workplace confidence, and practice using specialist skills and vocabulary amongst real world customers and colleagues. All these benefits go double for international students.

But perhaps most important for internationals, internships provide a chance to get into internal hiring queues, a crucial advantage, since instead of the default approach of recruiting from the outside, companies are refocusing on hiring from within their own ranks.

What are the reasons for this? Internal hires take less time to finalise and have a positive effect on company morale, but the bottom line is they’re economical. According to an August 2012 Time article, the average cost of identifying and hiring an external job candidate is 1.7 times more than an internal hire, and the website hreonline.com reported studies have found that 40% to 60% of external hires “are unsuccessful,” compared to only 25% for internal hires.

The high failure rate for external hires has to do with many factors, among them culture and language issues if they are foreigners, integration and credibility problems with longtime employees, and steep learning curves. Internships can help reduce all these issues yet still allow the company to benefit from the fresh ideas and new perspective a foreigner can bring.

Finding international internships

There are hundreds of international internship resources. At universities, administrative offices for individual academic departments and career services centres would be the first avenues to explore, followed by international relations or foreign affairs offices. Websites, social media, and old-fashioned networking are also valuable tools.

Lauren Berger, of internship listing website Internqueen.com, suggests that students call companies in which they have an interest and inquire directly. In an interview with the New York Times she recommended making a list of ten companies, then visiting their websites and collecting contact information for their internship coordinators.

We’ve compiled a short list of a few other noteworthy external resources (note: most of these charge fees for their services):

• AIESEC – student-administered and present in over 100 countries, this fee-charging organisation provides 60,000 members a year the opportunity to live and work in foreign countries in areas of management, technology, education, and development.
• IAESTE – founded in 1948 and present in over 80 countries, this programme is open to degree level science, engineering, technology and applied arts students in the second year of study and above.
• KOPRA – a non-profit entity administering more than 500 internships focused on East Asia.
• Goabroad.com – a web portal offering a directory of over 27,000 opportunities abroad.
• The Leonardo da Vinci Programme – administered by the European Commission as part of its Lifelong Learning Programme, this offers financial support to EU students involved in internships in other EU countries.
• Intrax Global Internships – an organisation offering college students and recent grads from the US, Canada, and the EU internship placements in Europe, South America and Asia.
• CIEE – a non-profit, non-governmental organisation offering programmes for international students, recent graduates and working professionals as part of the US government’s J-1 Exchange Visitor Program to qualified international candidates for up to 18 months.
• IES Global - provides internships in over 150 companies in China across a variety of highly sought after industry sectors, as well as teaching internships in Vietnam.
• CRCC Asia – a fee-charging agency arranging internships in China in areas including law and green technology, and that usually has three times as many applicants as the 1,300 places it offers.
• International Cross-cultural Committee – headquartered in Tokyo and with offices in numerous countries, ICC accepts students and recent graduates between the ages of 20 to 30 from around the world to intern with host organisations in the Tokyo area.

Application processes vary depending upon country, visa requirements, field of employment, and other factors. Some schools offer credit for already completed internships while others do not allow credit accumulation to begin until after the internships are registered. The amount of credit to be earned also varies, depending upon the learning potential of the work experience and how many hours are worked.

From a recruitment perspective, being knowledgeable about internships at institutions, within host communities, and among international organisations can have a profound impact upon the fortunes on students. With so many options available, informed recruiters who know the details of the internship process in their markets can offer valuable data to students.

The growing importance of internships

Philip D. Gardner, director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University, recently told The Chronicle of Higher Education:

“Once upon a time, ‘trainee’ used to be a common job title. Now companies expect everyone, recent graduates included, to be ready to go on on Day One. The mantle of preparing the work force has been passed to higher ed.”

Or put more bluntly, for employers, internships are increasingly required of applicants.

Sir Tim Wilson, author of the whitepaper “A Review of Business-University Collaboration“, agrees. He believes government should offer tax credits to companies that create paid internships, and told The Guardian last year,

“The world has changed. If you look at a lot of internships offered in the corporate sector, these are highly competitive. I think we’re beginning to see internships being used as part of an extended interview process.”

The article also quotes UK Business Secretary Vince Cable as stating:

“The best universities around the world are building deeper links with business.”

Universities have long maintained internship programmes, however their evolution into an indispensable building block for students’ futures has caused many institutions to take a broader approach:

• The State University of New York, for example, is promoting cooperative education on all nine of its campuses. “Our goal is that all 465,000 students who enroll annually at SUNY have some sort of experiential education experience,” explained chancellor Nancy Zimpher.
• The University of Pittsburgh has also taken a bold approach. Any of the school’s 18,000 undergraduates who complete an internship preparation programme can receive faculty help finding an experiential learning opportunity before graduation.
• At Johnson & Wales University, a US $4 million fund has been created to ensure that all the students at its five campuses can locate and gain placement in a suitable internship.
• In Japan, a recent report revealed that 74% of 476 surveyed universities offer certified course credits to students who participate in internship programmes at companies. Furthermore, 95% of universities with more than 5,000 students grant credits for job experiences, 73% of them for studying abroad and 41% for volunteer projects.

Government and private companies are getting more involved as well:

• Canada is spending CDN $35-million to fund Mitacs, a national not-for-profit organisation that supports research and development at 1,200 companies through 4,800 internships for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Companies put up an average of CDN $25,000, matched by CDN $30,000 a year from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to hire a PhD graduate intern for two years.
• In the UK, the private company Experio Enterprise recently launched a project-based internship and part-time study scheme for international students in London, with a 4-month programme designated for those requiring a UK entry visa, and programmes of flexible duration for those who don’t need entry visas.
• GlobaLinks Learning Abroad has launched a new educational webinar series on international internships which “helps advisors at universities better educate potential programme participants on the components and benefits of high quality programmes that go beyond basic internship placement.”

Internships and getting ahead

Collated international data for internships is not readily available, however various surveys help to paint a picture. In the US, a 2012 survey of 15,715 graduating bachelors students by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) revealed that 55% had received internship or co-op experience. Of that group, 51% had been offered at least one job.

However there was a divergence between paid and unpaid interns, with about 60% of paid interns receiving at least one job offer, compared to 37% of unpaid interns. To put the latter number in perspective, 36% of non-interning graduates received job offers. Clearly, not all internships are created equal.

But what is true is that, broadly speaking, students who have worked as interns command higher starting salaries on the job market. Research from Inspiring Interns revealed that UK graduates who interned for as little as three months could earn £1,500 more in their first year of working than graduates without work experience.

High demand for internships means some students pay for placements, which raises ethical issues – among them whether it is fair for companies to accept unpaid labour from indebted students, and whether wealthier students deserve the advantage of being able to pay more for placements. But as long as businesses drive demand, neither of these issues is likely to be resolved soon. In the end, barring changes to the system, the most important consideration is each student’s future needs.

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Even amid the current economic turmoil and challenges in the higher education sector, Spain has proved to be resilient as a study destination, thanks in large part to the strength of its language sector.

Demand for Spanish language escalating

Spain’s language sector is a bright spot in the educational system. It was recently cited by Minister of Foreign Affairs José Manuel García-Margallo as an invaluable asset, particularly in building ties with Asia, where interest in Spanish is mounting, according to a 2012 study by the Spanish research firm Instituto Cervantes.

Data from the Institute suggests, for example, that about 25,000 Chinese undergraduates studied Spanish in China in 2012, up from a mere 1,500 twelve years ago. The report reveals that 35 Spanish academies now operate in Beijing, and 90 universities in China offer Spanish.

Demand for Spanish instruction is clearly escalating quickly in Asia – specifically China, Hong Kong, Japan, and India.

But the growth of Spanish learning in Asia merely reflects the growing importance of the language in global economic markets. Not only is the Latin American region economically ascendant, but the use of Spanish online has grown by a staggering 800% in the last few years, making it the third most popular Internet language behind Mandarin and English. Facebook alone has 80 million accounts in Spanish.

With 495 million speakers and 18 million students studying Spanish as a foreign language, it is the second most spoken language in the world today, after Mandarin Chinese, and is an official language in 21 countries. And as the second most common language of economic powerhouses Brazil and the United States, a period of study in Spain can pay dividends. Forecasts suggest that in three or four generations, 10% of the world’s population will understand Spanish, and the US will have the highest volume of Spanish-speakers, after Mexico.

Studying in Spain

In terms of appeal, the country often ranks highly in surveys of preferred destinations. For example, Study Abroad’s 2012 survey of 16,000 international students ranked the University of Salamanca as the ninth best school in the world to study.

The EU-funded body La Red Europea de Migración released a report pegging the number of foreign students in Spain in 2011/2012 at approximately 70,000, which represented about 4.6% of the student body (in 2010/2011 total international student enrolment was 72,488). More foreign students were present at higher academic levels, with foreign participation among undergrads, Masters students, and PhD candidates at respectively 3.3%, 16.9% and 24.7%. The top five places of origin in 2010/11 were Italy, Colombia, Morocco, Romania and France.

To further promote studying in Spain, a few weeks ago, the Spanish government together with Instituto Cervantes launched the new edu-tourism portal Study in Spain. The website serves as a tool to attract potential students from around the world by providing information on the various quality education options that exist in Spain, and the internationalisation of educational services in Spain.

Spain’s education sector fractured

Indicators may point upward for Spain’s language sector, but the country as a whole remains caught in the vise of economic downturn and austerity cuts. In mid-March thousands of teachers, students and parents took to the streets of Madrid to protest more planned budget cuts to the education sector that has already absorbed €5 billion (US $6.5 billion) in decreased funding.

Along with the cuts have come sell-offs to the private sector, raised tuition fees, increases to teachers’ hours, increases in the numbers of students in each class, and allegations of corruption. The government has moved toward restructuring Spain’s universities, only one of which cracks Times Higher Education’s top 200 in its most recent World University Rankings.

Similar challenges exist in other countries, however Spain’s situation is uniquely precarious. While typically thought of by foreigners as one nation, Spain in reality is a conglomeration of seventeen autonomous regions. Those communities have often had fractious relations with the central government in Madrid, and two of those enclaves – Pais Vasco (the Basque Country) and Catalonia – have more economic power and higher levels of prosperity than in the rest of Spain.

For this reason, policies from Madrid affecting the Pais Vasco and Catalonia come freighted not only with historical baggage dating from the time of the country’s civil war and before, but also are seen as instances of the weak dictating to the strong. In those regions, a large percentage of people are advocating national independence.

Mariano Rajoy’s education proposals

It’s against the above backdrop that prime minister Mariano Rajoy and his education minister José Ignacio Wert have targeted Spain’s education sector for broad reforms, including amendments to 2006’s Organic Law of Education (LOE). Some of the changes include:

• Raising the amount of class time spent on basic skill acquisition, a reinforcement of math, language and science curriculum, and simplification of routes and electives.
• Using standardised external assessments for all Spanish students, based on subjects measured in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
• Bolstering the authority and autonomy of the school directors.
• Enabling the transfer of teachers according to educational needs.

In addition to the aforementioned are two particularly controversial changes:

• The reversal of a policy enacted after the death of dictator Francisco Franco allowing Basque, Catalan, and Galician to be given priority in regional schools. This issue is particularly divisive because Basque and Catalan were illegal during the dictatorship years, but the intervening period has seen a proud resurgence of the languages.
• The second change is a reform increasing the curricular content to be determined by Madrid. In autonomous communities such as Pais Vasco and Catalonia it will be raised from 55% to 65%. The reform is ostensibly intended to help enable homogenous evaluations of Spanish students, but Minster Wert did not help himself when in October he admitted wanting to “españolizar” or “to make Spanish” the students of Catalonia.

More changes are in the offing. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports has decided to further reduce the Becas scholarships that fund study abroad programmes for language students. The goal is to increase enrolments in local courses, thus keeping more students inside Spain, with the only exempted receiving country being France, for which 500 study abroad scholarships will be retained.

Because of Spain’s unique internal situation it’s difficult to predict what is on the horizon. Rajoy is unlikely to abandon his reform plan, but regional leaders have aired the possibility of challenging the new laws in Spain’s highest court. Complicating matters, an online petition calling for Rajoy’s resignation has logged over one million signatures, which means there is no guarantee he or his reforms will be around for long.

What does all this mean for Spain as a sending/receiving market?

With educational cuts making schooling more expensive, over 50% youth unemployment awaiting graduates, and wage reduction affecting millions of workers, more and more students and young people are migrating out of the country. Jorge Barrio, a 20-year-old topography student going to school in Madrid, told the Global Post recently,

“The only option I see is to go and work or study abroad.”

Barrio is hardly alone. More than 65,000 Spaniards have fled to Argentina since 2008, and another 25,000 have gone to Mexico. Demand to study abroad is up by an estimated 157% from Spaniards, boosting student mobility across Europe, both to more stable EU economies and to other attractive international destinations. Moreover, Spain’s National Statistics Institute expects 500,000+ people to leave the country each year in the near term, and possibly until the year 2020 if demographic trends continue.

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Germany’s rise to the top

At a German Federal Education Ministry press conference held in January, a ministry spokesperson took a moment to reflect on Germany’s changing fortune as a destination for international education. In the year 2000, 175,000 international students had elected to study at German institutions; in 2011, international student enrolment reached over a quarter million, making Germany the fourth most popular study destination worldwide.

And as the number of enrolments has grown, so too has the number of graduates. In September 2012, the Federal Ministry for Statistics announced that the number of international students graduating from German institutions had reached almost 38,300 in 2011 – up 2,900 or 8% from the previous year. By contrast, in 2000, graduating students from abroad had numbered less than 14,000.

Increasing student diversity

Of all the international students who graduated in Germany in 2012, 13% came from China, 7% from Turkey, and 5% from Russia.

These three countries aside, international media coverage suggests that the appeal of studying in Germany is spreading around the world:

• In February of last year, ICEF Monitor reported that more and more Indian students are choosing to pursue their studies in Germany. Additionally, the German Ambassador to India has announced a goal that by 2017, one million Indian students would have learned, at least, basic German. To this end, India and Germany have recently signed two agreements: one aimed at promoting the German language in India, and the other to strengthen cooperation in education and research (the two countries will commit EUR 3.5 million each to promote research in education).
• Due to the instability of some economies in Europe, Germany is rising in esteem as a path to more secure employment.
• This past January, journalists from the UK’s Telegraph investigated a growing tendency among British students to enrol at German institutions.

Why international students choose Germany

In a recent article that probed the reasons why Chinese youth chose to study in Germany, the Deutsche Welle learned that many students from China would have preferred to study elsewhere, but settled for Germany. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), reached similar conclusions in a summer 2012 poll of 6,000 international students from non-EU countries.

Classic destinations such as the US or UK will always top an international student’s choice, however, low or no tuition fees has often been cited as one of the reasons for Germany’s appeal, as well as post-study work rights for foreign students. The German government is eager to attract immigrants to the country to offset a shortage of skilled labour, and its implementation of the EU Blue Card scheme introduced last summer plays a role in that.

The Blue Card in Germany

Similar to the US’s Green Card, the EU Blue Card “is designed to make Europe a more attractive destination for highly educated persons from outside the European Union. All 27 EU member states, except the UK, Denmark and Ireland, participate in the EU Blue Card scheme.”

According to the business magazine Wirtschafts Woche, in the first six months since it was introduced, the card has already been issued to 4,126 applicants, outstripping the 3,600 cards that the government had expected to issue in the first year. The top four origin countries for card recipients are India, China, Russia and the US.

Many of the applicants had previously graduated from German higher education institutions, thus the card serves as a clear student pathway to employment.

The DAAD’s “Strategy 2020”

Germany will have to further develop its internationalisation strategies in order to remain an attractive destination.

According to an estimate by the DAAD, Germany needs to attract 350,000 international students by 2020 merely to retain its current position.

To achieve that goal, the DAAD recently adopted a new strategic plan for the next decade. The plan, titled “Strategy 2020,” consists of several measures aimed to improve Germany’s position as a centre of learning and research, including:

• Scholarships for the best German and international students;
• The development of programmes that will help German universities raise their profile internationally;
• Improvement and expansion of the DAAD’s network of branch offices, information centres, and German studies language assistants around the world;
• Educating staff to increase understanding about foreign cultures and education systems to help build international partnerships.

Transnational partnerships to promote German higher education

The first of these measures, which aims to support international collaboration, was launched in February. According to the DAAD,

“German higher education institutions can receive up to EUR 250,000 per year from a new DAAD programme aimed at strengthening their international profile. A first selection round has produced 21 projects which will be funded for a maximum of four years.

The programme supports these projects in building up strategic partnerships and thematic networks with foreign universities. Higher education institutions from 29 countries are involved in the selected projects. The USA and China are particularly well represented. The programme ‘Strategic Partnerships and Thematic Networks’ is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education, which is providing almost EUR 3 milion in the first year alone.”

The programme is expected to foster scientific and academic cooperation and promote Germany as a destination for study abroad.

Present appeal and future promise

Germany’s implementation of post-study work rights, as well as the DAAD’s “Strategy 2020” appear likely to attract greater student numbers and to increase the profile of German higher education – and perhaps even to help Germany become an attractive destination in its own right, rather than a prudent second choice.

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“Coming to the EU for research or study is far more difficult than it should be,” said EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström. “We have to remove these obstacles to make the EU more open to talents. Such mobility benefits the EU and our economy through the circulation of knowledge and ideas.”

The European Commission’s statement on the proposed legislation continues:

“Moving to Europe temporarily is an opportunity embraced by over 200,000 students and researchers from outside the EU every year. However, far too many of them have to face unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles. Current rules for obtaining a student visa or a residence permit are often complex and unclear; procedures can be lengthy and vary considerably across Member States and moving from one Member State to another can be very difficult or even impossible. This hampers the possibility to provide EU countries with a greater pool of talent and reduces the appeal of the EU as a world centre for excellence.”

The Commission expects to have new legislation arising from its current proposal in place by 2016, and in so doing to set out “clearer, more consistent and transparent rules across the EU.” Major components of the proposed legislation include:

• Procedural guarantees, most notably a requirement that Member States process visa or residence permit applications within 60 days in order to “make the application process more straightforward and transparent.”
• “Simpler and more flexible rules” to make it easier for students and scholars to move between Member States – an item of particular interest for those engaged in joint programmes that cross national borders.
• Students will be allowed to work for 20 hours or more per week. Under some conditions, international students and scholars will also be allowed to “identify job opportunities or set up a business.”
• Protection for additional groups of non-EU nationals, such as au pairs, school pupils and remunerated trainees, who are not addressed under existing EU legislation.

Having grown from a founding group of 6 countries – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands – the European Union is now an economic and political union composed of 27 member states.

The European Commission reports that “around 220,000 non-EU nationals entered the EU for the purposes of studies, pupils exchange, un-remunerated training or voluntary service” in 2011, as did 7,000 non-EU researchers. In 2011, the top receiving Member States for non-EU students were France (64,794), Spain (35,037), Italy (30,260), Germany (27,568), and the Netherlands (10,701).

Investing in education and technology

The EU’s new legislative proposals appear against a backdrop of significant funding challenges for European education, and reflect as well a renewed drive within Europe to close some persistent gaps in high-value, high-demand sectors of an increasingly digital economy.

A recent study of education spending in 25 Member States found that education budgets in the EU are feeling the strain of ongoing austerity measures across Europe. As the accompanying report notes:

“The financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the consequent economic downturn have had a huge impact on public finances in all European Union countries over the last 5 years. Increasing public deficits and the level of public debt raised fears about the sustainability of public finance in the European Union. This situation led the European Commission and Member States to take strong actions to stabilise and then consolidate their fiscal situation.”

The study analysed funding at all levels of education, from pre-primary to tertiary level, and found that investments in education have fallen in 8 out of the 25 countries since 2010. In a related media statement, the European Commission notes, “Cuts of more than 5% were imposed in Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania and Portugal, while Estonia, Poland, Spain and the UK (Scotland) saw decreases of 1 to 5%.”

“These are difficult times for national treasuries but we need a consistent approach on public investment in education and training because this holds the key to the future of our young people and a long-term sustainable economic recovery,” said Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth. “If Member States fail to invest properly in modernising education and skills, we will fall further behind our global competitors and find it harder to tackle youth unemployment.”

Commissioner Vassiliou picked up on this important theme in a recent speech to an information and communications technology (ICT) job conference in Brussels.

“Digital competence has become a core skill that everyone should be learning at school – it is essential to our economic growth and to people’s employability and inclusion in society. Almost unnoticed at a time of financial trouble and economic slowdown, there is a silent crisis that is calling into question our ability to bring about a better future. A gap is growing between the skills that many new jobs require and the number of people who have those skills. The gap is wider for jobs that require mathematical, computing and technical skills.

A fundamental re-shaping of our economies is taking place. The pace of change is quickening, and we are not keeping abreast. In Europe, we have more than 1 out of 5 young people jobless and over 2 million job vacancies unfilled. For unfilled digital jobs, we are looking at a situation where there is barely 1 ICT graduate for 3 digital jobs. This is putting Europe at a growing disadvantage with other parts of the world. This is not just a missed opportunity; it is a direct threat to our future prosperity.”

The Commissioner’s remarks reflect broader EU initiatives to invest in ICT training, including the maintenance or expansion of funding for ICT programmes and the recruitment and development of ICT and STEM educators at all levels.

In her remarks, the Commissioner noted as well the priority placed on ICT training by the European Commission and that, “We are committed to using more of the Union’s budget to support the Member States in their effort to provide education and training that teaches skills for employability.”

As evidence of this commitment, she cited the EU’s Lifelong Learning programme. Lifelong Learning has a current budget of nearly €7 billion for 2007 to 2013 and is currently funding a range of activities to promote ICT in education, including the Erasmus mobility programme. This programme is set for a major expansion under the proposed “Erasmus for All” plan for 2014–2020 and “will support even more actions for developing e-literacy, creativity and open education.”

Commissioner Vassiliou also pointed to the EU’s forthcoming “Opening up Education” initiative to be introduced later this year. It will “examine how Member States can maximise the contribution from new technologies [and] look at new learning pathways, new resources as well as a new generation of educational providers.”

It seems clear from all of these recent developments that even in a period of austerity, Europe continues to look to education – to an increasingly international, open, and technology-oriented education system in particular – as a major pillar of social and economic development. As is always the case, the key to realising this potential will lie in the EU’s ability to develop effective policy, to harmonise policies across its Member States, and to sustain its current and planned investments in education at all levels.

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This allocation comes despite a climate of fiscal restraint as Canada works on reducing its deficit, and it supports the Canadian government’s stated commitment to encourage the internationalisation of Canadian education.

Studies have shown that foreign students contributed CDN $8 billion to the Canadian economy in 2010. More recently, 2012 saw the country welcoming record numbers of international students.

The allocation breaks down as per the following:

• CDN $10 million over two years for higher education marketing;
• CDN $13 million over two years to the Mitacs Globalink Program, now in its fourth year, which attracts top undergraduate students from China, Brazil, India, and Mexico to study in universities across Canada (a third of them in the province of British Colombia) and which has been credited with putting Canadian undergraduate and graduate programmes on the world map for the brightest international students;
• CDN $42 million to improving visa processing times.

So far, no other elements of Canada’s international education plans have been made public, but the government says these will be released throughout the remainder of the year. Stakeholders across the education system are eager for their announcement; responses to the initial allocations were positive but most observers said there is much work to be done beyond these first steps to keep up with the national strategies of other leading destination countries including Australia and the US.

Improving visa processing times could be a great help to Canada in attracting international students

The announcement of the CDN $42 million destined for the improvement of visa processing comes as many in the industry have voiced concerns that visa processing delays are hurting Canada’s competitiveness. Overseas Overwhelmed, an active industry blog in Canada, notes that:

“In every market, there will be a percentage of students dead set on Canada. But in most markets, the percentage is much greater which sees Canada as – at best – on the short list of countries contemplated for overseas study. One of the key facets to a student’s or family’s decision-making tree as to which country to pursue, often relates to the projected time taken to process a study permit, and the reliability of the projected times. An extra caveat here is that the ‘projection’ often relates to perception rather than reality.”

According to this line of thought, it will be as important for the Canadian government to communicate its visa processes and timelines well and accurately as it will be to actually reduce the time it takes for a visa to be processed.

Uncertainty about how long it will take for a visa to be processed can seriously derail the study intentions of international students as well as the planning of the schools that have accepted them. For example, Mike Henniger of Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops told The PIE News that “60 students from around the world had to be deferred this academic year and that delays had ‘made class planning and budget forecasting very difficult.’”

The department tasked with assessing visa applications to Canada, Citizen and Immigration Canada, has the challenging job of weeding out fraudulent students (those who say they are coming to Canada to study but are coming for other reasons) at the same time as they make it as easy as possible for genuine students to come to Canada to study and possibly work and live there afterward.

The latter objective is crucial to Canada’s competitiveness as a study destination; Harald Bauder, academic director of Ryerson University’s Centre for Immigration and Settlement, commented to University Affairs that:

“In a way [foreign students] are the ideal immigrants if you assume the perspective that you want immigrants who produce economic benefits for Canada. They are ready to enter the labour market and start paying taxes.”

A news release from Languages Canada, the Canadian association for language programmes, added:

“Languages Canada also welcomes the budget’s investment of CDN $42M to support enhanced processing capacity within Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Temporary Resident Program, which includes the international student program, and its recognition that an effective international education strategy depends on harnessing the education sector’s full engagement in the strategy’s implementation, including key education associations.”

“Through its investments in marketing Canadian education abroad, the Government hopes to attract quality international students, many of whom will look to Canada for future trade partnerships or to build their lives in Canada,” added Languages Canada Executive Director Gonzalo Peralta.

“Language education is perhaps the most important pathway for these international students, preparing them for further opportunities in the academic and professional spheres.”

Canada’s recent changes to its immigration system have helped it to become more competitive with the world’s front-running study abroad destination countries – the US, the UK, and Australia. But these countries are in the midst of evaluating their own immigration policies due to the same labour force requirements for skilled workers facing Canada.

Only two days ago, the UK announced their move to abolish the UK Border Agency and split it into two separate entities – one of which will be a “high-volume immigration and visa service with a culture of customer satisfaction” and the other a “tough immigration law enforcement organisation.”

In Australia, the recently released Chaney report focuses on coordination among all industry stakeholders, making it easier for genuine students to study and work in Australia via visa streamlining, and improving the quality of international students’ experience in Australia.

And in the US, a group of senators has introduced a bill that would see visas and green cards granted to foreign students graduating with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Jennifer Humphries, of the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE), told University Affairs that, if approved, “such a move would ‘definitely be worrisome’ for Canada since the US is already the top destination for international students despite it not having a strong recruitment strategy.”

Canadian Experience Class shows promise of favorable immigration policies for genuine international students

Introduced in 2008, the Canadian Experience Class is the fastest growing immigration class in Canada; it allows skilled foreign workers who have been working in Canada on a temporary basis and foreign graduates of Canadian postsecondary institutions with work experience to apply for permanent residency without leaving the country.

Last year, the Canadian government made it faster for those qualifying for the Canadian Experience Class immigration stream to gain permanent residence in Canada. International students are now allowed to stay in the country for up to three years following graduation instead of two (to amass Canadian work experience), and additionally, they now need only 12 months of work experience within three years prior to applying to be eligible.

As we mentioned in our report on the changes to the Canadian Experience Class, “foreign students are now worth more than Canada’s exports in unwrought aluminum or aerospace products.” Twenty thousand foreign students have attained permanent Canadian resident status so far under the Canadian Experience Class since it was launched, and they are certainly not the last to come.

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• 56% of US respondents are considering studying overseas, compared to only 20% of UK respondents;
• US students who want to study abroad appear to be more interested in doing so in order to travel and explore other cultures, whereas UK students see study abroad as a conduit to working for international companies and living overseas;
• Only 24% of UK students and 22% of US students felt they had enough resources to make an informed decision about overseas study.

These top findings are among the results of over 10,800 responses from both countries that appear in “Broadening Horizons: Breaking through the barriers to overseas study“, the latest research report produced by Education Intelligence, the British Council’s global research arm.

The enthusiasm to study abroad shown by the American students is surely a welcome sign, given that only a small proportion of US students pursue degrees overseas compared to other nations. As the 2012 Open Doors Report showed, about 14% of American students receiving Bachelor’s degrees this past year have studied abroad at some point during their undergraduate programmes, while only 1% of US students are studying abroad during a single academic year (273,996 out of the more than 20 million students enroled in US higher education).

It appears the challenge lies in making sure students are aware of the opportunities before them and ensuring information on study abroad options is available, accurate, and easily accessible. The report highlights:

“Access to information resources for students seeking an overseas study experience is crucial at every stage of the decision-making process, whether the information is to do with funding, course choice, programme length or destination.”

The main resources students in both countries relied on included internet research, teachers and lecturers, and international or study abroad offices. Student recruitment agents, more commonly used in traditional sending markets, were noticeably left off the list.

This “info gap” echos findings from two reports ICEF Monitor reviewed last autumn based on survey responses from 4,000 freshmen at US-based institutions. Results showed that campus services were unable to meet student demand in the areas of career planning, study skills and financial guidance. In addition, difficulty accessing information was cited as a challenge for UK students interested in post-overseas-study work rights, according to another ICEF Monitor report from last year. It remains to be seen who will step in and give US and UK student services the boost it may well need.

Motivations to study abroad

The British Council report indicates both academic and non-academic drivers for study abroad.

The main academic motivations identified by students wanting to study overseas from both the US and the UK were similar: gaining credit for a current study programme and improving language skills. To a slightly greater extent than in the US, UK students indicated that they felt there were limited degree options at home and that study abroad was a way of widening their academic opportunities.

But when looking at the non-academic factors identified by UK and US students, it starts to get interesting. Both groups shared the desire to have a unique adventure and travel overseas; however, UK students tended to place greater emphasis on their potential overseas study experience as the beginning of an international career and as something that would improve their employment prospects.The report went on to explain:

“In focus group discussions, US students expressed concern about pursuing academic opportunities in other countries owing to the high standard of domestic provision, which they also felt was something recognised by future employers. Instead, they pursued study abroad to develop soft skills and add non-academic weight to their resumes.”

When asked to clarify their main non-academic drivers, the respondents considering overseas study indicated the main purposes of the experience were to…

• have a unique adventure: 84% US vs. 58% UK
• travel overseas: 66% US vs. 46% UK
• improve employment prospects: 19% US vs. 48% UK
• start an international career:  30% US vs. 47% UK
• become self-sufficient: 36% US vs. 22% UK
• build self confidence: 30% US vs. 36% UK

Among US students, the report notes that there was a considerable difference in opinion between those contemplating studying abroad and those who were not or were undecided.

Of those considering overseas study, 88% said they believed it would give them the edge they needed when applying for a job, compared to only 59% of those not considering or undecided.

“Most notably, 27% of those not considering or undecided about overseas study said that they did not know whether studying abroad would give them the additional skills they felt they required. This indicates that there is a lack of knowledge about and understanding of the wider benefits of international study among US students.”

The attitudes US students are showing towards the reasons for study abroad appear to be in line with the US Department of Education’s (DOE) recently announced international strategy: “Succeeding Globally through International Education and Engagement”.

According to the strategy, which aims to prepare American students to succeed in a globalised world, graduates face a unique set of challenges such as a highly competitive job market where students are competing with peers from around the world as well as needing to communicate and collaborate with people from other countries.

Patti Peterson, American Council of Education (ACE) presidential advisor on internationalisation and global engagement, said the job market had changed, and that most big-name companies were looking for employees with a more global mindset.

“They talk about wanting employees who are comfortable in multicultural teams, and working and interacting with staff in other countries,” she said.

In order to achieve these results, the DOE aspires to equip US students with the skills to succeed in a multicultural environment by enhancing their understanding of other cultures, languages, and religions through travel and study abroad opportunities.

Destinations and programmes of study

The British Council report outlines four general categories for students pursuing overseas study:

• those looking to develop their language skills,
• those pursuing academic excellence in one subject in a world-class institution,
• those who are after international career opportunities,
• those who are seeking a unique travelling experience.

Which category people fall into often determines their study destination.

Trends in destination choices for UK and US students were consistent, with two minor variations: the US top ten included South Korea and Ireland, whereas the UK top ten included Canada and the Netherlands. While 29% of UK respondents selected the US as their first-choice study destination, 22% of US respondents listed the UK as their first choice.

Business, STEM subjects and foreign languages were popular fields of study for students from both nations. US demand is centred around the undergraduate level. UK students wanting to study abroad at the postgraduate level were mainly interested in an MBA and liberal arts, life science and social studies. Meanwhile US students at this level were more interested in law, computer and information technology, architecture, building and planning, agriculture and veterinary medicine.

Cost topping the list of concerns

Financial concerns and a lack of information were the biggest barriers to studying overseas for all respondents, regardless of whether or not they had decided they wanted to study abroad. Other hesitations included language ability, difficulty leaving friends/family, safety abroad, cultural fit, ease of obtaining a visa, degree recognition and health care costs.

For students who were not considering study abroad or were undecided, not surprisingly, help with funding was cited as a major factor which could potentially lead them to pursue a period of overseas study. Foreign language training and inspiring info sessions from study abroad alumni or instructors would also help to sway their opinions.

The report concludes, “When students were asked whether they had considered studying a full degree overseas in a destination where the fees were considerably less than at home, there was a real lack of awareness about the study alternatives available to them and the actual costs involved. As traditional host destinations, the UK and the US have not been the focus of institutional and national education marketing campaigns that could attract students to consider full degree study overseas. It may only be a matter of time before the UK and the US are targeted more strategically by marketers and this trend begins to develop.”

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ICEF Monitor takes a closer look at the figures, and offers a robust overview of the government’s progress towards its ambitious 2025 goals.

Factors affecting New Zealand’s international education market

In November 2012 New Zealand’s Ministry of Education released a report showing that, for the first time, more New Zealanders possess a tertiary qualification than do not. The change was revealed in surveys collected during 2011, and brought the percentage to 52%, up from exactly 50% the year before.

Of the 456,000 students enrolled in formal tertiary education in 2011, 48,100 were international students. The latest data from Education New Zealand (ENZ), published in late 2012, put New Zealand’s global share of international students at 1.7% (see graph below) – mainly from China (including Hong Kong), India, Japan, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia.

However, the report describes the 2011-2012 international education market as “challenging.” It notes:

“A proliferation of new Asian and European education institutions, course options, and regional hubs in or close to some of New Zealand’s traditional markets for international students has meant there is less impetus for students to search further abroad for education solutions.”

In all, international fee paying student numbers were down 1% the first four months of 2012 compared to the same period the previous year. There were decreases of 2% in schools and 3% in private training establishments, but university and polytechnic enrolments each rose by 1%.

The ENZ report cites lingering aftereffects from the 2010-2011 earthquakes in Christchurch, which led to a dramatic falloff in enrolments throughout the economically crucial Canterbury region. School closures have taken place, and of the 31 schools originally announced to close or merge, 7 schools were closed, 12 are to merge and 12 will remain open.

Local officials have cited other factors contributing to the decline, including a strong New Zealand dollar and the global financial crisis. Derek McCormack, chairman of the International Policy Committee for Universities New Zealand, has mentioned global competition as a problem and voiced his concerns that other major participants like the United States are ramping up their marketing efforts.

Visa system shuffle

Efforts to reinvigorate New Zealand’s education sector have included new funding and a change in work rights for international students in the Canterbury region. Visa processing changes are also in the offing, affecting applicants from South America and Europe and, according to government spokespeople, streamlining the system.

But the visa system was embroiled in controversy earlier this month when 14 Chinese students were denied re-entry into New Zealand. Visa officials said there was doubt as to whether the students were fulfilling visa requirements, but bad word of mouth about the incident has spread rapidly on Chinese online forums, according to New Zealand Institute of Studies operations director Peter Chou.

This is the second incident in recent months where Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has ruffled a few feathers. In late 2012, four private tertiary education providers had their intake of foreign students suspended after they were found to be in breach of their obligations to international students. However, one month later, INZ resumed the processing of student visa applications for all four establishments.

There have also been rumbles on the local front, placing the country’s education system under fire. The Auckland University Students’ Association (AUSA) recently complained about new pressures being put on 2013 postgraduate enrolees and what it described as policy changes unfairly targeting those students. At issue is student allowance eligibility and a tighter cap on access to student support beyond 200 weeks.

The changes reportedly impact on 5,000 students, 40% of whom when surveyed on the situation said they were considering quitting their studies or looking for better supported opportunities overseas.

Vocational sector holding firm

In the vocational sector, government involvement has had some welcome results.

Prime Minister John Key announced in January that his government plans to boost the number of people in apprenticeships by combining all the programmes into a nationwide scheme and providing fresh financial incentives for employers and workers to take on more apprentices.

Minister Joyce commented, “There is a big opportunity over the next few years, particularly with the rebuilding of Christchurch, to train more New Zealanders in vocational careers that will set them up well for their working lives.”

Bolstering the tertiary sector

The New Zealand government has been vocal about an ambitious goal to double the economic contribution the international education industry makes to the country to NZ $5 billion by 2025.

In terms of specifics, periodic Statements of Intent list goals for certain time frames. The latest ENZ report takes a look at the 2011-2014 Statement of Intent and assesses the progress. Some of the goals listed as achieved or surpassed include:

• Link directly with a range of educational providers at ten New Zealand specific promotional events (such as student fairs) across Asia, South America, and Europe.
• Arrange inbound agent familiarisation visits from high value markets (agent visits from nine countries have been held).
• Increase the numbers of students from target countries who register with ENZ for direct marketing.
• Negotiate cooperation agreements in key markets (agreements were inked with Vietnam and Oman, and since publication ties have been strengthened with Malaysia).
• Strengthen industry collaboration to help grow international education in key markets in line with New Zealand’s economic agenda, supported by the Export Education Innovation Programme (EEIP).
• Award new scholarships and fund existing scholarships.

Some goals listed in the 2011-2014 Statement of Intent as partially complete are:

• Develop a programme designed to increase the capability of different industry providers to target suitable markets, undertake marketing activity, and develop the capability to operate offshore.
• Develop and maintain web-based “one-stop-shop” student support site to provide information for students who wish to study and work in New Zealand (note: this project has now gone live).
• Develop and maintain web-based register of international government-funded scholarships and New Zealand scholarships for study internationally.
• Review the parameters of the New Zealand Special Agent Programme (NZSA) originally launched in 2009 to help increase student enrolments from key markets.

A note on the final goal: nearly 25% of international students arrive in New Zealand via the agent channel. ENZ has stated:

“Agents are key players in [their] student recruitment strategy, and some New Zealand institutions want to grow their agent channels even further.”

International partnerships playing key role

And New Zealand continues to be active in building partnerships with key nations both near and far.

Just last week, Minister Joyce visited Malaysia for four days to showcase New Zealand’s education and trade opportunities as part of “New Zealand Week” in that country. An agreement was signed on the trip with the aim to increase New Zealand’s share of 50,000 Malaysian students who study overseas each year.

Another attractive neighbouring nation is China, the largest source market for the country and one in which ENZ has a “China Plan 2012-2015“.

And as part of the drive to build these ties within the region, many are calling for an increased focus on languages. Asia New Zealand Foundation executive director John McKinnon has said that it is vital for New Zealand’s economic, cultural and political interests that Asian languages are more widely taught in New Zealand:

“Countries across the world are now investing in Asian languages. This is a wake-up call for New Zealand.”

Looking further afield, Latin American relations continue to be hot hot hot.

Minister Key is currently there on a trade mission and news was just annnounced that the Chilean government will extend its “Penguins Without Borders” scheme, which sees high-achieving Chilean students travelling to New Zealand for six-month study visits. The pilot scheme brought 40 Chilean students to New Zealand in January, and will be widened to 100 for terms three and four of this year. In total, approximately 700 Chilean students studied in New Zealand in 2012.

Minister Key also visited Colombia and Mexico to strengthen ties with those countries as well.

Tourism sector hand in hand with education sector

The tourism industry, considered vital in raising a nation’s profile, looks set for strong growth.

The World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 places New Zealand 12th in terms of travel and tourism competitiveness, 13th in human resources, and 9th in safety and security.

New Zealand was also recently awarded the title of “World’s Best Luxury Destination 2013” in the Shanghai Travelers’ Club 2013 Luxury Travel Awards, and given the Chinese’s propensity for elite brands, this could give the country a nice boost in this market.

In fact, after a decrease in incoming Chinese students in recent years, numbers have been up slightly since 2010 and ENZ expects them to rise by about 6% a year going forward (though it’s too soon to say what fallout might result from the visa cancellations of earlier this month).

The road ahead

To meet its target of NZ $5 billion in profit from international education by 2025, the government will need things to go well on multiple fronts. But there’s little doubt it is aware of the challenges ahead.

The contribution of each sector to the total value in 2011-12 is shown in the figure below. The largest percentage growth is expected in offshore services, which is expected to grow to NZ $500 million or 10% of the total target by 2025.

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