Lockdowns in China have stymied the free flow of returning international students as universities offer substantial discounts to attract enrolments from other destinations.
Melbourne, Sydney, Monash, the University of NSW and Adelaide are among the institutions that are offering large discounts and fee reductions, which are branded as “scholarships” or “grants” that apply automatically to new and existing students.
International student tuition fees are being cut. Oscar Colman
COVID-19-related lockdowns and flight shortages are being blamed for the slow return of Chinese students along with fatigue from online study as students drop their full-time load in preference for just a couple of subjects each semester.
While the Chinese are happy to pay the high fees charged by the Group of Eight universities, the scholarships are designed to attract students from markets such as India, the Philippines and Malaysia, where fees are much more price sensitive than for the Chinese.
The University of Sydney, for example, has a raft of region and country-specific awards that offer a 20 per cent discount. With fees for an undergraduate business degree at $48,000 a year, students could save $9600 just by writing three 200-word answers to questions such as “Tell us about yourself”, “What inspired you to study at Sydney” and “How will it help you achieve your goals”.
The University of Melbourne is offering a straight $10,000 fee reduction for all undergraduate students and discounts of up to 50 per cent for the top 3 per cent of postgraduate students, with 1000 scholarships available.
Monash is offering $5000 to $10,000 discounts for all international students who are full-time.
StudyMove managing director Keri Ramirez said his analysis showed the number of scholarships had increased over the past few years.
“Our analysis highlights an interesting trend in using scholarships to attract new international students from specific markets,” Mr Ramirez said. “Interestingly, our data confirms that these country-specific scholarships were not directed to diversify markets but rather support recruitment strategies in key traditional markets.”
The most recently available data on student numbers reveals they are well down on the corresponding period for 2019.
There were 422,000 international students enrolled in Australian universities, colleges and schools in February this year, compared with 554,000 in February 2019.
While the pandemic hit universities hard over the past two years, Monash’s annual report revealed a $410 million surplus for 2021. That is despite international student fees falling to $974 million from $1.06 billion the year before.
The University of Melbourne’s annual report was held up and not tabled in the state parliament alongside the other Victorian universities.
Phil Honeywood, chief executive of the International Education Association of Australia, said the international student sector, particularly around the return of Chinese students who made up one-third of all onshore students in 2019, was surprisingly complex.
“But clearly, as we come out of the pandemic, Australian institutions are determined to see market share improve, and scholarships provide a clever and attractive packaging device to achieve this,” Mr Honeywood said.
Mr Ramirez said there had also been a rise in universities targeting specific countries, with 15 providing scholarships for Indian and Indonesian students, 14 for Sri Lankan and Vietnamese students and 13 targeting Malaysia.
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