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Appealing to the playground set as well as the highly regarded standing and teaching of Australian institutions”.
People avoid Australia for three main reasons, the report states: distance from home; difficulty in getting a visa; and concerns about attitudes towards international students. Australia’ s other disadvantages, the report states, are geographical location and the cost of international air travel.
“ While Australia has a safety record far surpassing that of the US – Australia’ s largest competitor, particularly for Chinese students – prospective students are significantly more likely to cite safety as a reason to avoid Australia than the UK.”
The report went on to acknowledge, however, that Australian tertiary education institutions were at the“ forefront of international education in terms of innovation and strategic partnerships”, but urged those in the sector not to become complacent.
“ Australian universities must make a concerted effort to provide students with the essential skills and connections to ensure employability, in a global context,” the report states.“ Universities must show how an Australian degree is a tangible advantage to prospective students through partnerships with employers and industry groups.”
Students are starting to think about university as early as age 7; that means the sector must find ways to connect with the very young.
By Antonia Maiolo and Amie Larter
Australian universities may need to re-tailor their international education marketing approaches, as a new report shows prospective students begin to look into university options as young as age 11.
In fact, the report, The Definition of ROI and Value: An International Student Outlook, which Hobsons released in March, states that nearly 15 per cent of the 45,000 prospective international students surveyed said they first started thinking about going to university between the ages of 7 and 10.
“ Universities must speak to the younger cohort – those who are not the most obvious prospects just yet,” the report states.“ Playing the long game and targeting prospective students earlier could be an effective strategy in building commitment and loyalty from an earlier age.”
As expected, the highest proportion of respondents( 46 per cent) said they first started thinking about university options between the ages of 16 – 20. Results also showed Australian universities need to be more direct when advising potential students about their benefits over those of competitors.
“ Understanding students’ definition of [ return on investment ] is the key competitive advantage every university needs,” says David Harrington, Hobsons APAC president – enrolment management services and regional director.
“ An international education is the opportunity to become a truly global citizen, building strong networks and leadership skills across borders. When you invest in an overseas study experience, you want to know that you are getting a foot in the door and a competitive advantage as a graduate outcome.”
At the top of the list for valued outcomes are employability, starting salary and transferable skills. The report suggests universities“ make a point of [ Australia’ s ] opportunities for part-time employment,
Looking to leverage online International students choose Australia for the on-campus and in-country experience and are less inclined to want to study online, the research shows.
“ International students are not convinced that online and distance education alone provide the value they are seeking from a degree,” the report states.“ Rather, they see online learning and technology as useful extensions to more traditional teaching methods.”
Tanya Perera, director client success at Hobsons, sees an opportunity. She says there is much room in the sector for improvement in the understanding and awareness of international students’ online choices.
“ If we are going to be sustainable, then perhaps online [ can become ] yet another feather in our cap, yet another offering – particularly where there can be mixedmode delivery,” Perera says.“ Universities should see these figures as an opportunity to develop course offerings and understand what a future degree would look like to a future student, because they’ re all learning in different ways. They are all engaging with universities in different ways, and it’ s an opportunity to be ready for that.” n
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