Quality courses the key to Asian market, educators told

AUSTRALIA'S higher education sector has been challenged to focus on quality if it is to regain its position as a major destination for Chinese students.

David Finegold, the senior vice-president for Lifelong Learning and Strategic Growth at Rutgers University, said Australian institutions needed to accept they had lost their dominance of the Asian market, with the US, Canada and Europe increasingly important as education destinations.

''There's a huge hunger for high-quality opportunities at all levels - TAFE, higher education and graduate degrees,'' Professor Finegold said. ''But the question is going to be whether Australia can recover and really reassert its position where it was an early leader.''

Total overseas student numbers are down 22 per cent from a peak in 2008-09 yet the number of students leaving China is growing by more than 20 per cent a year.

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China and India remain the key markets, home to 35 per cent of the global workforce. Australia's early success was built on proximity, value and the opportunity to pursue permanent residency. A booming dollar is wiping out the cost advantage, while visa rules have been tightened.

''The focus has to shift to quality and value,'' he said. ''The first wave might have been easy pickings. The government said you can go and recruit, they charged high fees and got lots of international students without having to ask: 'Are we delivering high-value education? Are we placing these students in good jobs?'.''

This view is echoed by the general manager, sales and marketing, of UTS:Insearch, Belinda Howell. ''Whereas Australia was accessible and well priced, it is now considerably more expensive than study in the US.''

As a lure, lifestyle will not work, Ms Howell emphasised.

''Chinese parents and students are much more goal-oriented than that. They are much more focused. The first question they ask agents is what is a good career for my child. Then it's what course do they have to do to get that career. And then, how much money will they earn and will they get a job,'' she said.

''We need to be articulating the benefits of Australia on that wavelength and not in terms of sun, surf and sand.''

An overseas education remained a huge expense for Chinese families, said Professor Finegold, who yesterday addressed an Adelaide conference organised by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research. But what has changed is an increasing desire to develop skills that can be used in their home country rather than hoping their degree will be a pathway to permanent residency.

''Now, the vast majority of students are looking to work for a few years and gain really good experience but they recognise that many of the best growth opportunities will be when they go back,'' he said.

Ms Howell predicted Australia's two-year post-university work visa would be a strong selling point.

''Students want things that are really powerful on their CV because they are all focused on what's going to differentiate them from millions of other students,'' she said.

''Australia needs to be much more at the forefront of promoting educational quality and the value of its education - not just to operate in Australia but to operate in any relevant environment.''

http://www.theage.com.au/national/quality-courses-the-key-to-asian-market-educators-told-20120712-21yvb.html