Chinese wanting to attend university in Australia

[abcdefg]

I have several friends in Kunming with high school age children whom I sometimes help with oral English. The parents are all dead set on sending the kids to university in Australia. They have told me that the US, Great Britain and Canada have become too complicated and expensive, hence less desirable locations. When they try to explain the details, I get lost.

Don't know if this is just their personal opinion or whether it represents a more general trend. Don't know if it's mainly an expense issue or something different. Anyone else hearing similar comments or have additional insights on the possible reasons?

I realize China and Australia have become close trading partners. Are there some educational exchange provisions also being made that cause Australia to be more attractive at this time?

[johnk]

I don' t know about the US or Canada but here in Britian the powers that be are getting more and more rabid in their anti-immigration stance. Students studying in Britian are considered to be immigrants and the government has vowed to reduce immigration. Students are an easy target. Universities and colleges are supposed to act as immigration police.

There was a debacle (see the links off that page for full story) with the London Metropolitan University last year. The university had its right to approve foreign students removed. Those who where half way through degree courses were told to find another university.

I know if I had paid the kind of money that university courses cost in the UK and then had some rabble pleasing politician tell me to 'bugger off', I would not be pleased. I would certainly think twice about starting a course in a country where they were likely to remove my permit to stay half way through the course.

This is all funny in a really bad sense in that UK universities now depend on foreign students for their financial existance. Your story sounds like the politicos are being successful in discouraging students from abroad.

[xianhua]

Just picking up on the point concerning London Met - along with several other providers who lost UKBA licenses recently - each institution is awarded a License number by the UKBA and is expected to adhere to their regulations. The emphasis is placed on the educational provider to ensure potential students meet the language and financial requirements for their given visa category. Each institute is then monitored in percentage terms according to visa success rates, places taken up and course completion. If this university, along with the other institution, had recruited students within the guidelines, then they would have kept their license.

Providing a student meets the language requirements and can prove sufficient funds, then there is no reason why any given student cannot study in the UK (university level or below). However, many families do see studying abroad as a foot in the door to long-term emigration which, in the UK's case, is becoming increasingly difficult.

[abcdefg]

Those comments make good sense and I appreciate the link. Thanks.

[roddy]

I think (could be wrong) that once you've got yourself settled in Australia, it's then relatively simple to bring relatives over, which could be another plus point.

And to be honest, why wouldn't you want to go to Australia? Education sector might not have any Oxfords or Harvards, but it's solid, quality of life is high, established Chinese communities, booming economy. I realise things are very different once you get out of the city centers, but urban Sydney and Melbourne seemed to be half full of Chinese people having a great old time.

[abcdefg]

I fully agree that going to Australia for university can be an excellent choice for a bright Chinese youth.

Met yesterday with one of the high school students I have tutored some and found out she is going to Melbourne in about a week. She's 16 years old and has been attending a private high school in Beijing. She's home now (Kunming) for winter vacation. She's quite talented and her parents are affluent. Her English is very good.

I asked her how she could start ahead of time like this, since I thought she was planning to begin university in the fall of the year. She said that she had to attend some special courses for 10 to 12 weeks before she could actually begin academic credit studies. This preliminary course work will stress using practical English and getting used to life abroad.

[gato]

Doesn't fall in the Southern Hemisphere start in March?

[abcdefg]

I didn't think of that. Might help explain the somewhat odd timing.

[陳德聰]

My classes are full of Australians (almost as many of them as there are 'Nordic' students), the two times I have visited a "Western-friendly" clinic I have met three totally unrelated doctors who were in Shanghai on working holiday from Australia, and every time I go to an IELTS info session the majority of the students point to either the USA or Australia as desired locations for study abroad (no love for Canada ).

This is total speculation, but I think there must be a lot of marketing going on for Australia-China relations here in Shanghai and in Australia... I have not seen as many ads for Australia as I have for say... Mauritius haha, but I will say that the number of Australians seems greater than the number of Canadians. Can't say for the UK and USA. Two of my teachers (very young) often mention their study experience in Australia, and interestingly, my landlord's husband studied in Australia ~5 years ago, so I think this might not really be a new thing.

I don't think Australia ever interferes in China's domestic policy though or hurts China's feelings so this may also be a plus.

[skylee]

Because Australia is part of the "western" world that is actually located in asia-pacific?

[gato]

Looks like Australia has recently loosened the requirements for student visas and work visas for foreign students after graduation. I read somewhere that foreign students make up something like 50% of Australia's university student population, so it's a big source of revenue for Australia universities.

http://www.migrationexpert.com/australia/visa/australian_immigration_news/2011/sep/1/509/australian_student_visa_program_to_change_in_response_to_the_knight_review

Australian Student Visa Program to Change in Response to the Knight Review

Friday, September 23, 2011

http://www.visaaustralia.com.au/post/38182135496/new-student-visa-work-rights-announced

New Student Visa Work Rights Announced

[abcdefg]

I see. Interesting. Thanks.

[xiaocai]

Based on my own experience I think it is relatively easy to apply for an Australian university and a student visa. Also because of the small population and abundant quality education resources, the levels of competition are lower than many other western countries, let alone China. And, I think, most importantly, among all the English speaking countries, it is the closest to China.

[johnk]

With regard to Britian, I just saw this just now on the BBC website. It mainly mentions Indian students but I imagine the same applies to Chinese.

[abcdefg]

That's an eye-opening article, @Johnk. I'm not used to thinking of higher education as a profitable commodity that needs good marketing and appropriate legislation to allow it to flourish, but I realize that I am behind the times and not well informed on the subject.

This passage in particular caught my eye:

Ministers said there was a growing demand for UK education from abroad which was not being exploited to the full.

Education exports are currently worth more than £14bn a year and could rise to £27bn by 2025, it was estimated.

Speaking on a visit to India to promote vocational education, Skills Minister Matthew Hancock said: "It is essential that we realise the potential of the largely untapped resource that is our education exports.

"There is a fast-growing demand for high-quality education, and we are lucky to have a dynamic and entrepreneurial sector that is well placed to contribute.

[gato]

It's a big industry in the US, too. Foreign students pay full tuition at public universities, for example. Mainland Chinese are probably the biggest foreign consumers of US college education at the moment.

[skylee]

And, I think, most importantly, among all the English speaking countries, it is the closest to China.

I think Singapore fits this description too. But it is perhaps too small to take all those Mainland students.

[luoshan]

Hi, just thought i could contribute to this, being an Australian uni student. The Australian Government seems alert to the fact that its universities rely more and more on the international student market, so does less to make it difficult for new students to come to Australia. There might be a trend in fact to do more to create a better environment for university students - e.g. recently my state government allowed public transport concessions for local students to also apply to international students.

We probably lack some of the anti-immigration sentiment other countries have. Whilst we do unfortunately have rhetoric against new immigrants, this is mostly directed at asylum seekers. I know, even worse! I think our established Chinese community definitely affects the openness with which Australians view Chinese culture; the fear that some show towards islamic-based and other cultures seems to stem from the fact that these communities have been in Australia for a much shorter time. Some chinese families have been here since the gold rush in the 1850s!

The university i go to in Sydney has almost 30% international students. Unfortunately i dont tend to run into Chinese students in my studies (law - due to the differences in our legal systems you cant really export it, and chinese - well, Chinese students dont need to learn it!) but those I have met and asked about their choice have cited Australia's closeness, and kind of give me an 'isnt it obvious' look. Perhaps it's the sunny weather!

Its not that easy to bring family members if you're a new migrant, but i believe if you get an Australian job after you graduate then you can get permanent residency, then citizenship.

[xiaocai]

Well, one of the closest to China, then. But they only have two universities there, hardly enough to take any significant amount of foreign students.