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A better deal
A personal perspective on how we can better support international students .
By Emilie Lauer
When international student Charlotte * chose to study at the University of Sydney , she did it for the prestige and the promise of a world class education , yet she feels like she has been treated as a “ cash cow ”.
For years universities have depended on the never-ending flow of international students ’ fees to finance their institutions .
The young woman who has been studying for three years believes that “ international students do feel like cash cows for the university and are treated as such ”.
“ The university takes our tuition money but none of that goes back to our studies or anything that will realistically help us ,” Charlotte told Campus Review .
“ I understand that we ’ re not the only people that pay to be in university , but it feels like a very unequal deal when we ’ re paying for a ‘ world class education ’.”
She believes that the university does not treat her any differently from a domestic student , yet spends thousands on marketing an “ incredible international experience ”.
“ It ’ s embarrassing how little they care and give us support when we need it , and everything comes with a price .
“ I would rather have this money spent on equal pay for my instructors so they ’ re not overworked ,” Charlotte added .
With the COVID-19 crisis , international students and their wallets have deserted campuses across the country , causing havoc among university management and the community .
Due to the loss of international students ’ fees , about 35,000 academics and university staff have been made redundant , leaving the remaining staff to pick up the slack .
Meanwhile , modelling by Universities Australia highlighted that without the return of international students , universities could lose up to $ 16 billion by 2023 .
Overseas learners are needed more than ever , and the government and universities are pushing to have their international cohort back .
In January , 355,627 student visas were approved : a long way behind the prepandemic numbers which climbed to more than 750,000 students .
In an attempt to prop up the numbers of overseas students , back in January the federal government agreed to reimburse visa fees of approximately $ 600 for every student arriving before March 22 .
Seven thousand overseas students arrived between 24 January and 30 January 2022 alone , a number that will grow exponentially .
The university experience matters The experience international students get when coming to Australia depends on many factors such as social circles , living situation , job and interaction with others .
The first step universities should take to enhance their overseas student experience according to Charlotte is to “ make international students feel welcomed ”.
“ There ’ s initiatives but a lot of what they do feels fake , as no one goes to the event and they ’ re always forcing the word ‘ international ’ into everything .
“ It would be nice to see an international representation outside of the international student lounge and the Asian food court .”
She believes a change in mentality needs to happen in Australian culture , as it is hard for international students to develop friendships with local students .
“ I ’ ve found that it ’ s hard to make Aussie friends because everyone is super cliqued up from high school , which does not help when we struggle with ‘ Australianisms ’.
“ There is also a general attitude from domestic students towards international ones – there ’ s this skewed idea that all international students are Chinese and inherently rich ,” she added .
Charlotte says joining clubs and societies can really help international students make connections .
But the distinction between domestic and international students widen when it comes to student activism .
During recent strikes at Sydney University , Charlotte didn ’ t find any interest in striking alongside domestic students as nothing “ would benefit [ her ]” at all as an international student because the university is not going to “ treat [ her ] any better ”.
The same issue arises during student elections , where international students ’ issues are left to the side during the campaigns .
“ We know we ’ re not ever going to be seen as equal , but maybe consider our opinions as well ,” concluded Charlotte .
Towards a solution In order to improve international students ’ experience and stay in Australia , Deakin University has been contracted by the Government under the $ 10 million International Education Innovation Fund ( IEIF ) to implement the Best Practice International Student Engagement project .
Led by former international student and now Professor at the School of Education Ly Tran , the project aims to develop goodpractice guides for both the education
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