international education campusreview. com. au
Reports have recently put forth a negative view of the sector; the full story must be told.
By Phil Honeywood
In a better light
The past month has provided some great news for Australia’ s international education sector. Whether it be consistent increases in overseas student enrolments or improved satisfaction levels with the student experience here, there has been much to celebrate.
At the same time as this feel good data was being published, however, our sector came in for attack and criticism on three different external fronts. A report from the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption( ICAC), followed closely by an ABC Four Corners investigative program and then a mixed Productivity Commission report all combined to send the wrong signals about our nation’ s reputation as a leading study destination.
Rather than accepting such criticism as the product of objective analysis, some in the sector have, quite rightly, come back with their own critique of these reports’ findings.
The good news The release of the Department of Education and Training’ s March 2015 international student enrolment data verified that Australia’ s growth trajectory continues ever upwards. Compared with the same period last year, overall international student enrolments across all education sectors increased by 11 per cent in the first three months of 2015. No sector experienced a decrease and VET enrolments surged by 15 per cent. A trend for strong diversity in our key student source countries is
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