International Student Demand in the GFC

Will Archer and Kevin Brett

i-graduate

Wednesday October 14th

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Please don’t hesitate to contact us to further understand this research and how it may be

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The International Graduate Insight Group (i-graduate)

i-graduate is an independent benchmarking and research group, working in

partnership with institutions and education organisations to enable positive

change through comparative insights.

Using student and stakeholder insight as a management tool

A ‘finger on the pulse’ for policy makers and educators

Risk management for higher education

Working with over 500 education institutions, + 150 in Australia

Feedback from more than 500,000 international students of 190 nationalities

Engaged in the UK, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Ireland,

Netherlands, USA, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brazil,

China

Context: (UNESCO Global Education Digest) 2007International student mobility 2.8 million students enrolled outside country of origin53% increase from 1999

Australia enrolments: 2008 DEEWR Higher Education Student Statistics

International students represent approx 25% of student load

2009 YTD July:14.1% growth in enrolments; 20.1% in commencements

To July - industry withstood GFC.

International Student Demand in the GFC –

triangulate data sets:

• International Student Barometer- current

students

• StudentPulse - prospective students

• Agent Barometer – agents reporting on student

interviews

Themes developed:

• GFC as a distraction from other trends

• Risk assessment: reputational risk

• Institution

• National education system

• Community/ region/ lifestyle

• Issues and remedies

• Diversification – niches and specialties

• Stay close to your current students

• Maintain a balanced perspective

Copyright © IGI Services 2009

The International Student Barometer (ISB)

the largest annual study of international students in the world, with

feedback from over 150,000 respondents each year

The ISB runs at institutions in 16 countries across 5 continents

Tracks decision-making, expectations, perceptions and experiences of

international and/or domestic students

Institution-specific results compared against sector, comparator groups,

national and international benchmarks

Reporting fully confidential and customised to each institution

StudentPulse 2009

1st wave (April – June)

StudentPulse is an international research study which examines the

perceptions amongst prospective international students in established and

emerging markets across the globe.

The study provides in-depth quantitative data into the perceptions of

countries as study destinations among students who are actively

considering international study and investigates what factors motivate and

influence prospective international students across the globe.

About StudentPulse

Overview of data collection

Over 11,000 responses were received to the 2009 StudentPulse which was

conducted in both English and Simplified Chinese

The data collection occurred between April and July 2009.

The largest share of responses came from India (16%), United States (14%) and

China (12%)

The questionnaire was conducted online and students were sent a hyperlink to the

survey via email

i-graduate contacted prospective students through a number of channels/database

organisations including:

18%

17%

10%

5%4%4%3%

2%2%

2%

34%

China India United States of America

Indonesia Pakistan Malaysia

Philippines Bangladesh Nigeria

Singapore OtherBase: 11166

In-depth China andIndia StudentPulse reports

are available on request

Student Trends

Where are you from?

Which subject are you most interested in pursuing?

21%

11%

11%

10%

9%

9%

5%

5%

4%

3%3%

3% 2% 2%

Business, Commerce and Management EngineeringArts, Humanities and Social Science Information Technology/ComputingHealth, Medicine and Veterinary Studies OtherSciences Creative Arts, Design and CommunicationsEducation English Language (ESL)Food, Hospitality and Tourism I’m not sure Base: 11144

Student Trends

What level of study are you considering?

43%

33%

12%

6%3% 2% 2%

Postgraduate (Diploma, MA, MSc, LLM, MBA, etc)Undergraduate (BA, BSc, etc)Research postgraduate (PhD, MPhil, MRes, etc)Short programme (Student Exchange/Study abroad)OtherOther non-degree level studiesFoundation Course

Base: 10179

Student Trends

Student Trends

Please indicate how important each of the following are to you, when choosing a country to study in:

3.32

3.31

3.30

3.25

3.06

3.01

3.00 3.05 3.10 3.15 3.20 3.25 3.30 3.35

Broadening my life experience

Personal safety and security in that country

Reputation of a qualification from that country

Cost of education

Ease of obtaining a student visa

Opportunity to work in country after completing my studies

1: Very unimportant 4: Very importantBase: 8666

Agent BarometerIn association with ICEF

Tracking the opinions of education agents worldwide

Insights into perceptions of international education markets and providers

Unique partnership, i-graduate and ICEF

1,093 responses from agents in 119 countries.

Survey live: September/October 2008

Capturing opinions during the most turbulent economic period in recent

times

About the Agent Barometer

agents in 109 countries

Base: 1073 agents in 119 countries

Count PCT of totalIndia 96 9%Russia 76 7%Pakistan 45 4%Italy 39 4%Brazil 38 3%Spain 36 3%China 33 3%Japan 32 3%USA 31 3%Nigeria 31 3%Germany 28 3%Colombia 28 3%Nepal 25 2%Turkey 24 2%Vietnam 24 2%Thailand 21 2%UK 20 2%Iran 20 2%Poland 19 2%Mexico 19 2%Ukraine 17 2%Bangladesh 17 2%Ghana 14 1%South Korea 14 1%Australia 13 1%Taiwan 12 1%Algeria 12 1%Argentina 11 1%Czech Republic 11 1%Malaysia 11 1%Other 276

5%

10%

9%

24%

41%

67%

4%

6%

11%

23%

39%

47%

53%

56%

0% 20% 40% 60%

Insurance

Other

Accreditation

Work visa

Swine Flu (Influenza A (H1N1)) pandemic

Financial

Global economic recession

Study visa

2009 (586)

2008 (604)

Did you experience any student mobility concerns/difficulties…2009 vs. 2008

Please tell us how the Global Economic Recession has affected student mobility:

An insight into international student demand for Australiaall concerned about trends from GFC

Identify three data sets:1. Views of current students ( Uni + ELT students) – positive2. Views of Prospective students – live data shows a drop in

attractiveness of Australia3. Verified by live data from Agent Barometer

Perspective• Damage is primarily in the sub continent – indicative data • Some signs of reputational risk beyond India • China remains positive• Require national data sets of the student experience

Australia’ value proposition: Good quality and good value as a destination market

has been compromised but primarily restricted to India

Reputational risk is the key impact on financial risk

• How is your risk management strategy ?• How to rebuild the relationship in South Asia?• Increase differentiation in the marketing of Australian

education by each sector• But recognise that Australia is judged as a nation• Diversify by country and by field of study • Are we overlooking the views of domestic students?

Listen to the voice of your current students

For further information about i-graduate’s research contact Kevin Brett or a member of the i-graduate Research Team (info@i-graduate.org)

Kevin Brettt 02 61624393m 0410 619 054e kevin.brett@i-graduate.org

International Graduate Insight Group29 Harley StreetLondon W1G 9QRt +44 (0)207 222 7890f +44 (0)207 182 7152info@i-graduate.org www.i-graduate.org

Thank you!