Increasing number of international students are self-financed

Primary source of funding for international students is increasingly shifting towards personal and home university/government resources. Majority of international students in general fund most of their education through personal resources. Sixty-three per cent of international students in the US reported "Personal and Family Funds" as the primary source of funding in 2010/11 (IIE Open Doors).

However, the recessionary effects have further increased the value of "self-financed" international students who are not dependent on financial aid from US university or government. Number of international students indicating "Personal and Family Funds" and "Home Government/University" increased by nearly 41,000 in 2010/11 in the US. In contrast, number of students indicating "U.S. College or University" or "U.S. Government" declined by over 1,200 students.

This clearly indicates that budget cuts and fiscal austerity has compelled several institutions to cut financial aids as they increasingly expect international students to bring-in financial resources. Another major implication is that student mobility will depend on cost and ease of availing loans in home country. For example, Indian Rupee has depreciated over 18 per cent as compared to US Dollar in past one year directly making the cost of study abroad expensive.

Dr. Rahul Choudaha

Transnational Education: Deep Engagement of Australian and British Universities

Australian and British higher education system is more global than American. This is evident from larger proportion of international students in the higher education system (Australia=21%, UK=15% and US=3% - OECD). At another level, Australian and British universities are more "transnational" in their offerings.

Transnational education (TNE) is simply defined as education provision from one country to another through a variety of delivery modes including distance and online, validation and franchising, twinning and collaborative arrangements. More formally, UNESCO/Council of Europe defines TNE as "all types of higher education study programmes, or sets of courses of study, or educational services (including those of distance education) in which the learners are located in a country different from the one where the awarding institution is based".

Nearly half of all international education activity for the UK and 31% for Australia is through TNE or "offshore" provision. In terms of absolute numbers, more than 400,000 students were enrolled in the UK institutions through TNE mode and more than 100,000 students were enrolled in Australian institutions. This is a significant scope of activity not only in terms of absolute numbers but also as a proportion of international activity.

However, there are already several challenges in terms of quality assurance for transnational education. One recent example had been the case of the University of Wales. Altbach defined the phenomenon of franchising as "The McDonaldization of higher education" and noted "It is very hard to adequately monitor what is being done in the name of an institution far away."

While quality challenges for TNE needs to be addressed, growth and innovation should not be hindered.

Thoughts/comments?

Additional resources:
The future of transnational education
Transnational education in the European context


Dr. Rahul Choudaha

India Higher Education Trend 2012: Consolidation gains Momentum

The story of Indian higher education is like a F-1 racing track without any enforcement of driver safety or driving rules. For last few years, Indian higher education has grown at a break-neck speed. For example, Indian higher education has grown by 20% in one year and added more than 5,000 colleges to the system. Likewise, gross enrollment ratio (GER) grew from 12.5% in 2007-08 to 17.3% in 2009-10. Clearly, access to higher education is very important for a developing country like India and it is encouraging to see the growth.

Most of this growth was supported  by entrepreneurial spirit of private sector. However, slow pace of policy reforms and misplaced herd-mentality of some private higher education initiatives, has resulted in one of the largest system with one of the weakest quality. This is a risky and unhealthy proposition for the system and stakeholders. One can imagine what will be the outcome in a racing track with no rules or security measures.

The biggest trend from Indian higher education for 2012 will be consolidation.

On the policy front, there is already a recognition that systemic quality needs to improved. A recent article in the University World News noted "Improving quality and providing more funds to state universities will be the focus of India's higher education policy in the coming year." Of course, the last mile barrier is if policy reforms move beyond politics of India and see the reality of implementation.  

On institutional front, private institutions will wake-up to the rude shock that there is an oversupply of "me-too" type of institutions in engineering and management (Indian B-school bubble). It is clear from the sharp decline in number of applications for starting new institutions in 2012. AICTE  received 400 applications for 2012 as compared to 1,067 in 2011, and was 2,176 the year before. Private institutions will also face stringent regulations (Shouldering the Quality Responsibility). Overall, private institutions and entrepreneurs will realize that higher education in India is no more a sector to make quick-buck, rather it will require investment and quality to compete and grow.

2012 will an exciting year for India as it grows, improves quality and approaches internationalization. It will also continue to be a year of value contest in balancing quality vs. quantity; private vs. public and for-profit vs. not-for-profit.

To sum up, having rules (quality assurance mechanisms) does preclude speed (or growth)--it manages risks and secures the stakeholders. The year 2012 will bring more sensitivity about integrating quality at policy and institutional level; sometimes with choice and other times by compulsion.

Thoughts/comments?

Dr. Rahul Choudaha

5 top blog posts on international student recruitment trends

Recruiting foreign students is emerging as a competitive and financial compulsion for many institutions across the world. On the one hand, Australian universities are cutting jobs as foreign student enrollment dips. For example, The University of Sydney, has announced that it will cut staffing costs by 7.5% and Victoria University plans to cut 30 positions. In contrast, some American public universities are going aggressive to recruitment international students and seek an additional line of revenue. For example, Kansas State University has started an India recruitment office and Colorado universities are exploring to engage with third-party recruiters.

Given the complexity and evolution of international recruitment landscape, I am sharing my five most read blog posts of 2011:

• International student enrollment Post 9/11: This time for America? 

• International undergraduate student recruitment: Reversal of trends for 2015? 

• International student enrollment from BRICs: Why Brazil and Russia are showing counter-trend to India and China? 

• Emerging markets for international student recruitment: Thinking beyond China and India

• International recruitment agents: Playing with fire?

Thoughts/comments?

Best wishes for a peaceful and prosperous new year!

Dr. Rahul Choudaha

Top Stories of 2011 in International Higher Education

The year 2011 was a tumultuous year for the world of international higher education which is increasingly getting influenced by the phenomenon of globalization. As Jane Knight notes "...internationalization is changing the world of education and globalization is changing the world of internationalization." This year also reaffirmed deep interconnection of higher education with sociopolitical and economic enviornment. Following three stories further emphasize these trends:

- Increasing reliance on China: 
Chinese students constitute 15% of  3.3 million globally mobile students (~510,000 students) according to UNESCO. The second largest source of globally mobile students is India which constitutes nearly 6 per cent (~195,000 students). Some campuses like University of Iowa are already heavily reliant on Chinese students which constituted half of all international students in fall 2011 (1648/3271). Already, there are concerns about the campus diversity, language issues and role of agents in misrepresentation and recruitment of Chinese students.


- Restructuring of UK higher education:
The UK announced major policy reforms which are influencing the stakeholders at a number of levels. The system is moving towards increasing role of private higher education by allowing students to borrow more money to study at private institutions. The policy directions also aim at re-balancing the research and learning  emphasis at universities which is already receiving a lot of resistance.


- New wave of branch campuses:
Branch campuses described as "...a modern version of the quest for 'gold, God and glory'" were in news again in 2011 with some optimistic and others with pessimistic tone. This time destination for branch campuses are beyond Gulf and included some of the major brand names venturing abroad. This included plans of Duke for China, Yale for Singapore, Carnegie Mellon for  Rwanda and York University's Schulich for India. Winter 2012 issue of IHE has more articles on this theme.


Thoughts/comments?

Dr. Rahul Choudaha