Higher Edge: Institutions: Publications: Overseas, Overwhelmed©, Volume 8, Issue 10

Overseas, Overwhelmed^©
A Bulletin for International Education Professionals
Volume 8, Issue 10; March 25, 2009

1) LET’S GO CANADA – Finding foreign students... Unprecedented. Intense. Desperate.
2) ABROAD PERSPECTIVE - UK's new visa system fuzzy in the details
3) OVER THE COUNTER - Australia invests in future enrollment
4) GLOBE TIPPING – Wrinkle-free packing

1) LET'S GO CANADA – Finding foreign students... Unprecedented. Intense. Desperate.

The scramble for cash and to balance the budget is serious stuff these days at major public universities.

Universities are having to do with hundreds of millions fewer dollars. Governments have cut back on education grants. Endowments are way down with sinking stock markets. Philanthropists are giving less.

It's going to mean going far afield to find money, and for many it will mean going after significantly higher tuition revenues. Quebec deregulated tuition fees for international students last fall. Now, McGill University in Montreal is planning to hike fees for next fall's international students to management, law, science and engineering by as much as 42 percent. Other Canadian universities are following suit, or have already hiked fees. All of them are looking abroad to attract the student customers who will pay more.

It's a similar story across the United States. Arizona State University (ASU) has shelved a vision for grandiose expansion, eliminating more than 500 jobs and closing 48 programs. ASU President Michael Crow wants a 40 percent increase the enrollment of out-of-state students - they pay triple tuition. But finding enough students who will pay those fees likely means going out of country, not just out of state.

The intersection of the need for cash to pay the bills and save jobs, the hiking of fees for higher fee-paying foreign students, and the sales and marketing attempts across the globe to be successful, is going to send the recruitment game into an unprecedented, intense, and even desperate competition for the international student.

Source: “State Colleges Also Face Cuts in Ambitions,” New York Times, 16 March 2009.

“News Brief: McGill hikes international tuition,” The McGill Daily, 16 March 2009.

2) ABROAD PERSPECTIVE - UK's new visa system fuzzy in the details

Students and administrators alike are bracing for the challenges that will accompany the implementation of the new UK points-based immigration system.

Students will face issues with new funding requirements. To obtain a visa, students will have to prove they can cover their tuition fees plus £600 per month for expenses at least 28 days before they apply for their visa. The money will have to be in a bank account under the student's name.

“A lot of students are supported by family, and that's going to be a real challenge and could encourage abuse with black-market borrowing,” says Claire O'Leary, head of Birmingham University's international student advisory service. “How many British parents would want to put £20,000 into their 18-year-old's account?”

According to Tim Westlake, Director of Student Recruitment, Admissions and International Development at Manchester University, so far the changes are not too burdensome for universities.

However, administrators are still awaiting information on how the new reporting system will work. Institutions will be responsible for reporting whether an international student has shown up for studies, but as of yet, institutions haven't been given instructions on how to report or who to tell.

The new system goes live on 31 March, 2009.

Source: “One big obstacle course,” Guardian.co.uk, 17 March 2009.

3) OVER THE COUNTER – Australia invests in future enrollment

Australia is embarking on a $3.5 million campaign to lure more international students to study down under.

Australia's international higher education sector will be promoted at events in China, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand over the next nine months. While current international enrollment numbers are holding strong, the campaign is focused on maintaining enrollment numbers and increasing them in future.

Julia Gillard, Australia's Minister for Education, acknowledged that the early signs for this year's international enrollment are encouraging. She cautioned, though, that the international student market is becoming more competitive. Increased efforts and a better understanding of competitor countries would be necessary to remain competitive.

Source: “Campaign dangles study lures to overseas students,” The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 March 2009.

4) GLOBE TIPPING - Wrinkle-free packing

No one likes showing up to a business meeting looking like the inside of their suitcase.

In order to keep your clothes as wrinkle-free as possible, use the following tips:

1) Pack your suits, skirts, and dress shirts individually in plastic bags. Drycleaner bags work best. The plastic will prevent the friction that causes wrinkles.

2) Roll other items like sweaters and jeans. They will come out of your case less wrinkly if you roll a few items together, like piling three t-shirts on top of each other and then rolling them. This also helps save space.

3) Pack light and make sure the heaviest articles are placed at the bottom of your suitcase. This way, your lighter items like dress shirts are spared from being crushed by things like toiletries.

For more tips on suitcase packing, visit Fodors.com Travel Tips.

Source: “6 Tips for Wrinkle-Free Packing,” Fodor's, 7 September 2007.