Aussie universities compromise standards to attract foreign students : report

A top-level Australian state government report has levelled serious allegations regarding the treatment of foreign students by some of that country's top universities, foremost of which is that universities are attracting bigger numbers of foreign student, and as a result increasing revenues, by compromising on English language requirements for students selected for admission.

The end-October 2011 report tabled in parliament on October 26, titled "Investigation into how universities deal with international students," and issued by John R. Taylor, Acting Ombudsmen for the Australian state of Victoria, after 62 witness interviews and reviews of various documents and data provided by universities, said this is a direct contributory factor, as suggested by data from two of the four universities (of Victoria's eight) assessed for this report, for foreign students being "over-represented amongst their worst-performing students."

“At Swinburne, 36% of excluded higher education students in 2010 were onshore international students, even though they made up only 29% of the university’s higher education students. Just under 30% of the students excluded by faculty committees at Deakin in 2009 were international students, even though international students made up only 19% of the student population that year," it said.

Additionally, the report seems to imply that students are later "excluded," or not allowed to participate in their desired programme of study, as a result of many of them being unsuitable, in terms of English language skills, to follow these courses. A situation that universities were aware of, but which they chose to ignore in favour of aggressive recruitment practices centred around increasing revenues, when they admitted these deficient students in the first place.

Mr. Taylor also states; "I consider that universities need to shift their apparent focus from recruiting students and therefore boosting their revenue to ensuring international students have a reasonable chance of academic success. They also need to address these issues faster than they have to date."
The latter parts of his comments refer to publications superseding his report, issued by multiple Australian bodies, which also arrive at similar conclusions. These are also further delved into: "In 2002, Victoria’s Auditor-General surveyed academics at three universities. Only 30% thought the international students in their classes had adequate English language proficiency.

A 2006 Commonwealth Government review reported that some former international students seeking to migrate to Australia had lower language skills on graduation than they needed to enter university in the first place.

According to some employers and professional associations, international students who graduate from university with poor English language skills struggle to find employment. A nursing manager at one of Victoria’s health services said: “We have had graduates walk out of [the interview room] where [the interview panel] has said, 'We didn’t understand a word they were saying. We couldn’t write anything down because we couldn’t comprehend a word.’ How were they ever going to look after a patient?”
Mr Taylor said, “The two health services interviewed during my investigation had employed very few international nursing students in their graduate programs. Witnesses reported that many work in areas such as aged care, which have poorer pay and conditions."

The report also went on to state; "A recent Australia-wide survey shows the problem is not limited to nursing. It found that 13% of higher education-qualified international students in Australia were seeking work. This is more than double the 6% of local graduates seeking employment. Department of Immigration and Citizenship data shows that only 60% of former international students who stayed in Australia are in skilled jobs, and their median earnings are over AU$ 20,000 less than other skilled migrants."

A fact that Mr. Taylor also reiterates by indicating; "These reports raised questions about how students with poor English language proficiency are gaining admission to universities and what universities are doing to develop students’ English skills while they study. My investigation identified that the same issues are relevant today."

The report also highlights the scope of revenues earned from foreign, or onshore international, students by noting: "The number of international students enrolled in onshore higher education courses at Victorian universities tripled between 2000 and 2009 to almost 67,000 students. In 2009, Victorian universities collected AU$ 1.16 billion from fee-paying international students, or around 20% of their revenue.

Unlike local students, who can access government supported places or loan schemes, international students pay upfront fees for their courses. A bachelor of commerce student, for example, could expect to pay an annual fee in 2011 of AU$ 14,600 at the University of Ballarat and AU$ 31,766 at the University of Melbourne. Universities now rely on international student fees to fund a large part of their budgets... International students generated around a fifth of Deakin’s operating revenue, around a quarter of Swinburne’s revenue and over a quarter of revenue at RMIT and the University of Ballarat." The four universities named being the four assessed for Mr. Taylor's report.

He also reveals; "Complaints from students at universities to my office, however, have more than tripled in the last four years, from 176 in 2007-08 to 534 in 2010-11. Many of these complainants identify themselves as international students and most contact my office because their university has, or is proposing to, exclude them because of poor academic performance." It further added; "Some universities have been the source of a disproportionately high number of complaints."

Mr. Taylor also goes on to specifically signal out RMIT by alluding to a "high number of complaints I receive from students at RMIT would suggest that RMIT has more cause than most universities to examine its own performance in this area."

Another problem area that Mr. Taylor points to is the increasing trend of universities bypassing English proficiency exams such as the IELTS and TOEFL, instead funnelling foreign students directly through what are referred to as "pathway programmes" whic promise intensive university preparation and include English skills training.

The report states; "The growing use of pathway programmes to enroll international students is of particular concern. While in principle these pathways increase education opportunities by preparing international students for the demands of university, they threaten to become a way for universities and students to bypass more rigorous independent language tests. This is essential to ensure that appropriate academic admission standards are maintained."

It also goes on to suggest; "Internal university data, while limited, shows that students who come through some pathways perform worse than others. Swinburne has commissioned three studies into the academic performance of students admitted through different English language pathways. The study of its 2008 commencing international students found that students who used an IELTS test had a 79.9% mean progress rate. Students who used Swinburne College’s Unilink [pathway courses], by comparison, had a mean progress rate of only 55.5%."

Mr. Taylor also further alleges; "These alternative pathways have become a common way for international students to meet universities’ English language admission standards... Data from Swinburne showed that only 25% of its 2010 international students submitted IELTS or TOEFL test results, down from 40% in 2008. Data from RMIT showed that only 15% of the students for whom information was available submitted IELTS or TOEFL results, down from 31% in 2008."

But maybe most telling of all is the following assertion made by the report; "None of the four universities requires students to take an independent language test at the end of their pathways course to check (if) they have the English language proficiency required for higher education."

Another area of concern raised, particularly by witnesses interviewed for this report, was the regulation of education agents, with Mr. Taylor reporting; "Several witnesses told my investigation there needs to be more regulation of education agents in the international student market. Education agents act as intermediaries between education institutions and prospective students. They give students information and advice and help with university and visa applications. Some universities reported that from half to 65% of international students use the services of an agent."

As such, education agents are offered big rewards for attracting students with little or no regulation to mussel them: "Universities pay education agents a commission for each student they recruit. [Universities] advised that the standard commission in the sector is 10% of the student’s first year fees but, with the exception of RMIT, they have ‘incentive schemes’ under which they pay some agents higher commissions for recruiting larger numbers of students. The University of Ballarat, for example, advised it pays a 20% commission to agents who recruit six or more students, and agents who recruit more than 15 students from one country get an AU$ 10,000 bonus.

The National Code puts the onus on institutions to ensure their education agents conduct themselves appropriately. Some universities reported problems with some agents. A senior manager at Swinburne reported that one of its agents had tried to pressure te university to enroll a student contrary to its language standards. One of RMIT’s pathway institutions reported that education agents had tried to pressure staff to pass students in the past."

However, the report does not only place blame only with universities. It also states: "There has also been a lack of effective local regulatory oversight for universities in Victoria. At the time of my investigation, responsibility was divided between the Commonwealth Government and the state Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA). The VRQA was not proactive about investigating reports of poor English language proficiency, encouraged by the so-called concepts of ‘proportionate regulation’ and ‘risk management’."

Further, Mr. Taylor personally opines that; "While the ideal of universities as independent centres of teaching and research remains important, I consider that they are not well placed to self-regulate their dealings with international students when they are competing for those students and are reliant on them for such a large part of their revenue."

Other negative trends to watch out for, especially with foreign student numbers growing, is the area of English language support services; "The resources for universities’ language services have been limited in the past. All of the universities have low ratios of language support staff to students. Deakin, for example, employs 88 full time equivalent language and learning advisers for a population of around 8,000 international students and 31,000 local students."

Also, according to witnesses, there is a reluctance amongst international students to use university support services and, based on the comments of one international student representative; "It’s not just about putting a service out there and saying we’ve got someone hired full time to do this … Bridging the gap is the solution."

Further, several issues were pointed out that pertained to teaching. Most were based on witness anecdotes, and included: "A postgraduate lecturer at Deakin said that he reduced student failure rates in one subject by teaching repetitively and using online services to get students to ask questions but said, ‘I’m teaching these people twice, and it’s a really big ask.’

One of RMIT’s accounting lecturers said: we’re not language teachers. But we’re finding we have to become language teachers otherwise we’re sort of inhibiting really the chances of the students’ success."

At the same time, issues with teaching foreign students poorly skilled in English were also said to have spilled into interactions with other students: "Some academics reported that other students sometimes express frustration with these styles of teaching, or are reluctant to work with international students."
However, the assertion was also made that problems teaching could also have other factors; "Not all academics attributed these pressures to international students. Some pointed to larger class sizes, particularly in business faculties where there can be large numbers of international students, as well as the growing use of less experienced sessional or casual teaching staff."

On the other hand, there were also witness comments expressing concerns about: "Moves to limit the overall amount of assessment: An academic at RMIT said that its School of Management had been told assessment should take no more than an hour per student per semester. She said that could be because universities do not want to pay sessional teaching staff for additional marking but ‘the less marking you do the less chance you have to assess students broadly’.”

The report said; "Moves away from traditional examinations to other types of assessment, such as group assessment or multiple choice. An academic at Deakin commented that (in) a group assessment task where three people did a reasonable amount of work, two people did absolutely nothing.’ An academic from RMIT’s accounting school said the university no longer allows academics to use exams as a ‘hurdle requirement’ i.e. students no longer have to pass the exam to pass the course. She said ‘we now will have students … getting in the 30s out of 100 on an exam passing their course. And you know they’re possibly passing because they were in a team assignment or … copied off somebody.'"

The report also suggested that university staff had reported several more worrying trends, including: "A nursing lecturer at one university said her head of school had given extra marks to students because he thought the failure rate for her subject was too high and he wanted ‘to get the traffic lights green’.”
In addition; "Academics at three universities said plagiarism is a problem for students. One RMIT academic described it as ‘running rampant’.” And; "Six of 15 academic staff interviewed from the four universities reported they had been offered a bribe by a student in the past, or knew of colleagues who had been offered a bribe."

Finally, and perhaps most worrying of all, Mr. Taylor points to what can only be called a state of denial by some universities: "While some universities disputed my conclusions, the response of some has compounded my concerns. The Vice-Chancellors of Deakin and Swinburne did not agree with all of my conclusions, but acknowledged the seriousness of the issues and set out plans to address them. The Vice-Chancellors of RMIT and the University of Ballarat, by comparison, took exception to my report and rejected many of my recommendations." Possibly insinuating that, if they cannot accept that they have flaws, they will never attempt to fix them.

Concluding, the report makes several recommendations, 17 in all. Most important of these, as they pertain to students, are independent language tests for all international students as well as pathway programme students, and annual reports on academic progress for "international students who enter university through different English language pathways."

Universities are also advised to appoint "external examiners to report on their academic standards and assessment methods" while also commissioning and "independent risk assessment of the extent of cheating and bribery amongst staff and students and the effectiveness of their existing policies and procedures by mid-2012."

Also recommended; "Review policies and procedures for dealing with unsatisfactory academic progress, including: barriers to student engagement; ways to identify ‘at risk’ students earlier; communication with students during university vacations; ways to manage students who have re-enrolled while appeals are underway."