Declining foreign enrollment at higher education institutions in the United States : a research note

When the Institute of International Education reported a drop of 2.4% in international student enrollment in the United States in 2003/2004, the first absolute decline in foreign enrollments since 1971/1972 (Open Doors, 2004), many were quick to point fingers at visa policies instituted after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The "Visas Mantis" review—a security clearance required for foreign students studying any of roughly 200 scientific fields—was blamed for tarnishing the view of the United States as a welcoming place for international students. Although the review has certainly been the cause of increased visa delays and rejections, this article takes the view that it is not the only cause for the dip in foreign enrollments in the United States. Through econometric analyses, it is shown that other than the visa quagmires, improved access to domestic education opportunities and tuition fee increases can indeed explain the drop in foreign enrollments.

Research on the flow of international students to the United Kingdom universities : determinants and implications

Using time series data over the 1985 - 2003 period, this article examines some of the determinants of international student mobility to universities in the UK. The research found that some of the main factors influencing international student mobility to the UK include access to domestic education opportunities in the source country, the level of tuition fees in the host country and the level of involvement of the source country in the global economy. At a time when recruiting international students is getting more competitive, these findings will provide the international student recruiter with an enhanced understanding of the dynamics of the international education sector.

Finding common ground: enhancing interaction between domestic and international students in higher education

A feature of Australian Higher Education over the last 10 years has been the increased numbers of international students. This feature has been perceived to have great potential for enhanced learning for all students – both international and domestic. Yet, student surveys and research clearly indicate that there is very little interaction occurring between domestic and international students. This article reports on a study that investigated the extent to which university teaching can promote interaction between students from diverse cultural and linguistic background. Using an innovative video-analysis methodology, the research found that academics engage in a variety of activities to encourage interaction between student groups. In order to assist academics in planning interaction, one of the main findings of the study was the development of ‘The Interaction for Learning Framework (ILF)’, that identifies key dimensions for curriculum design that can be used by academics to inform ways that they can enhance interaction between diverse student groups within teaching and learning contexts.

Undergraduate pre-registration nursing education in Australia: a longitudinal examination of enrolment and completion numbers with a focus on students from rural and remote campus locations

Introduction: There is much evidence to indicate a shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs) in Australia and to suggest that the shortage may be more pronounced in rural and remote locations. Attracting RNs to work in rural and remote areas may not be as simple as increasing the intake of students into university undergraduate pre-registration nursing courses. There is some evidence indicating that student nurses may be more likely to enter the nursing workforce in rural and remote locations if they have existing associations with rural and remote areas and/or their undergraduate education provides opportunities to undertake supported placements in rural and remote settings. Two important difficulties have been associated with measuring outcomes in relation to rural and remote pre-registration nursing students. One is defining what constitutes a rural or remote location and the other is suspect data on the number of nursing students enrolled in, and completing, nursing courses. The aims of this study were to provide a longitudinal profile of the number of domestic students studying and completing undergraduate pre-registration nursing courses in Australia, with a particular emphasis on identifying those at rural and remote university campuses, and to compare results across States and Territories.
Method: This study presents the combined findings from two investigative reports. Data on undergraduate pre-registration nursing student numbers were collected via electronic survey instruments completed by staff at all Australian educational institutions offering undergraduate pre-registration nursing education programs in 2001 and 2002. Australian domestic students were the focus of this study. Data included the total number of domestic students enrolled in undergraduate pre-registration nursing courses in 2001 and 2002, the number of domestic students who successfully completed courses in 1999, 2000 and 2001, and estimates for the number expected to complete in 2002. Surveys were sent to course coordinators or other staff nominated by heads of divisions of nursing at each institution.
Results: There was a 100% response rate. Twenty-four rural and remote campus locations were identified using an adjusted form of the Rural, Remote and Metropolitan Areas (RRMA) classification system. The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory did not have any rural or remote campus locations. In contrast, undergraduate pre-registration nursing in Tasmania was offered at a rural campus only (for the first 2 years). From 2001 to 2002, there was an increase of just over 5% in the total number of domestic students enrolled in undergraduate pre-registration nursing courses in Australia (2002 total = 22 811 students). Rural and remote location students accounted for slightly more than 25% of these students in 2001, and almost 27% in 2002. The States Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland had the highest percentage of students enrolled at rural and remote campus locations, greater than the Australian average for both years. In contrast, South Australia and Western Australia had less than 11% of students enrolled at rural and remote campus locations for each year. Total undergraduate pre-registration course completions increased by approximately 16% across Australia between 1999 (n = 4868) and 2002 (n = 5667), although for 2002, the figure was projected. Of these total course completions, the percentage of students completing at rural and remote campus locations increased from almost 23% to nearly 28% during the same period. Of the States/Territories with both metropolitan and rural/remote campus locations, only Victoria and Queensland had more than 25% of their total student completions consisting of students enrolled at rural and remote campus locations for each year. In contrast, South Australia and Western Australia had approximately 6% of student completions consisting of students enrolled at rural and remote campus locations in 1999, increasing to approximately 12% projected for 2002.
Conclusion: In this study, the authors attempted to improve the accuracy of data collection in relation to the number of domestic undergraduate pre-registration nursing students in Australia, which is representative of the potentially new Australian domestic RN workforce. There was a trend towards an increasing number of students being enrolled in undergraduate pre-registration nursing courses, and also toward an increasing number of course completions. From the perspective of the rural and remote RN workforce, the percentage of students enrolled and completing courses at rural and remote campus locations was found to be increasing. However, there may be some areas of concern for education and workforce planners in States and Territories that are providing a smaller percentage of their undergraduate pre-registration nursing courses in rural and remote areas. Several study limitations are discussed and suggestions made for future research.

Routinely asking women about domestic violence in health settings

The stigma surrounding domestic violence means that many of those affected are reluctant or do not know how to get help. A systematic review of screening for domestic violence in healthcare settings concluded that although there was insufficient evidence to recommend screening programmes, health services should aim to identify and support women experiencing domestic violence.1 The review highlighted the importance of education and training of clinicians in promoting disclosure of abuse and appropriate responses.1 We argue that a strong case exists for routinely inquiring about partner abuse in many healthcare settings.

Mapping postgraduate nurse education in Australia 2001-2002

Workforce planning at a national level within nursing and midwifery has been largely fragmented and uncoordinated with health-care organisations, state health authorities, peak nursing organisations and the tertiary sector often engaging in independent decision making and planning. In order to gain an increased understanding of the complexity of contemporary nurse education and to quantify the number of graduates of nursing education courses into categories that are meaningful for workforce planning, the federal Department of Education, Science and Training commissioned a national study in 2002. The aim of this study was to map and quantify current and projected numbers of Australian domestic nursing postgraduate students within their respective specialisation according to each State/Territory. All Australian universities offering postgraduate courses in nursing were electronically surveyed (n=30). Two non-university providers of postgraduate nursing education were also asked to participate, but only one responded. Data were gathered on the number of domestic postgraduate nursing students enrolled in 2002, the number of course completions in 2001 and projected completions for 2002. Of the 13 broad band specialty categories developed for the study, the specialties of Midwifery and High Dependency were dominant in both student enrolments and course completions, including projected completions. The range of specialties that were offered varied by State/Territory, as did the number and percentage of students enrolled, completing and projected to complete each specialty program. Generic courses (without listed specialisations) continue to complicate the process of attempting to tease out and quantify accurately the number of enrolled and completing postgraduate students according to area of specialty practice.

Strategies for the marketing of higher education with comparative contextual references between Australia and Turkey

Education is now a global product with institutions worldwide competing for students and finding ever more creative ways to satisfy student needs and preferences. With the continuing rise in the preference for flexible distance learning, educational institutions are finding that when students and faculty have significantly different cultural backgrounds and learning styles that the expectations of the learning experience can be unfulfilled. In Australia, international students have made education Australia’s third largest service export, earning $5.8 billion. This means that student populations have moved from being homogenous and captive to domestic constraints and expectations, to being multi-cultural, dispersed and subject to a plethora of constraints and expectations. Today in Turkey, education is the responsibility of government however, in recent years, the private sector has entered the market providing educational services at all levels. In particular, after the 1990s, private higher education institutions (HEIs) with a commercial focus have mushroomed.

In 2007, there are 25 private universities in Turkey with more than 2.000.000 students enrolled in these universities. Of these students, more than 1.000.000 are registered in distance education faculties. With such large student numbers competition between private universities for students has intensified particularly over the last 15 years. As a consequence the need to develop strategies for attracting students has become more important. Marketing strategies in Turkey have tended to concentrate on three distinct categories: strategies between governmental HEIs, private HEIs and distance education HEIs. The contribution of technologies to education processes has been immense with students and faculty each learning to adapt to an environment of continuous change and opportunities. This paper seeks to explore the notion that a competitive advantage in marketing of higher education can be attained by customizing learning experiences for particular student cohorts in a pro-active and constructive way.

Personal-organizational values fit and organizational commitment in Australian domestic and international students

This study examines the relationship between affective organizational commitment and the personal and perceived organizational values of international and domestic students in an Australian university. Results provide support for the values factors found by Abbott, White & Charles, 2005), and consistency with Schwartz's (1992) pan-cultural values hierarchy. Both groups of students rated their personal values as consistent with the rankings of the major pan-cultural values and perceived organizational values were drivers of affective commitment. This study highlights the need for higher education institutions as well as global organizations to address profit for values such as benevolence, self-direction, and universalism to encourage higher levels of student and employee commitment to their organizations and increase effectiveness.

Assessment method difference : comparisons between international and domestic students within a first year undergraduate management course

This paper investigates the assessment methods and student results within a first year undergraduate management course offered within the business faculty of an Australian university. This course is compulsory for those studying for a commerce or management degree. The assessment results of full fee paying international students were compared with those of domestic students, during four teaching semesters in 2009 and 2010. Analysis compares 2,682 students’ numerical results for two constructed response assignments to their results for an examination comprising both multiple choice questions and constructed response questions. It also compares the results of international and domestic students across metropolitan, regional and rural campuses. However due to little comparison data for multiple campuses, findings are consolidated by domestic and international students, university-wide. International students were found to achieve lower results than domestic students for constructed response assessment tasks, but higher results than domestic students for multiple choice question assessments. These findings have implications for instructors eager to provide a level assessment playing field for both domestic and international students, enabling both groupings to take advantage of existing strengths but also to improve their weaknesses. This research led to a restructuring and rescheduling of assessment tasks for the 2012 academic year.

Problem gambling among international and domestic university students in Australia : who is at risk?

Young people are a high risk group for gambling problems and university (college) students fall into that category. Given the high accessibility of gambling in Australia and its association with entertainment, students from overseas countries, particularly those where gambling is restricted or illegal, may be particularly vulnerable. This study examines problem gambling and its correlates among international and domestic university students using a sample of 836 domestic students (286 males; 546 females); and 764 international students (369 males; 396 females) at three Australian universities. Our findings indicate that although most students gamble infrequently, around 5 % of students are problem gamblers, a proportion higher than that in the general adult population. Popular gambling choices include games known to be associated with risk (cards, horse races, sports betting, casino games, and gaming machines) as well as lotto/scratch tickets. Males are more likely to be problem gamblers than females, and almost 10 % of male international students could be classified as problem gamblers. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that male gender, international student status, financial stress, negative affect and frequency of gambling on sports, horses/dogs, table games, casino gaming machines, internet casino games and bingo all significantly predicted problem gambling. Results from this study could inform gambling-education programs in universities as they indicate which groups are more vulnerable and specify which games pose more risk of problem gambling.

Teaching international students in vocational education : new pedagogical approaches

Teaching International Students in Vocational Education: New pedagogical approaches is designed to support vocational education teachers in both addressing the distinctive learning characteristics of international students and preparing domestic students for global skills mobility in the ‘Asian Century’.

Well-grounded in theories about teaching and learning in vocational and international education, and supported by empirical data drawn from interviews with teachers and program managers, the book expounds several evidence-based, highly effective, pedagogical approaches within the context of competency-based training. These include:
- the intercultural approach
- the Ubuntu approach
- the language and vocational learning integration approach
- the perspective transformation approach
- the value-added approach
- work-based learning
- flexible and divergent pedagogy.

These approaches focus on developing the learner’s ability to consider the broader issues in an intercultural context, to capitalise on prior experience and to adapt vocational skills to workplace settings transnationally. The underpinning theory is brought to life with real-world exemplars, ‘Implications for Practice’, quotes and insights from teachers, as well as reflective questions throughout the book.

Competency-based training, global skills mobility and the teaching of international students in vocational education and training

 In Australia, all vocational education and training (VET) qualifications must be based on competency-based training (CBT) and training packages. Yet, since 2005, there has been a major expansion in the number of VET international students in Australia, 85% of whom are from Asia. Given this development, the teaching and learning contexts in which competency-based training and training packages are located are becoming increasingly diverse and no longer reflect the traditional training characteristics and boundaries that apply for domestic students.
This paper examines the relevance of training packages and CBT for teaching international students in the Australian VET sector. It draws on interviews with teachers and international students from 25 public and private training providers in Australia. The discussion of the findings aims to assist the VET sector create a curriculum framework that supports flexibility, adaptation and responsiveness so that international students’ divergent and shifting study purposes and complex learning characteristics can be catered for effectively. This contributes to helping the sector remain viable in a context in which a VET course is no longer a pathway to migration.