As of 8am this morning Australian Catholic University (ACU) reopened its international student recruitment for 2025, meaning applications for admission and processing or CoE’s for international students for 2025 has recommenced.
In seeking confirmation of this point, The Koala spoke with Pro Vice-Chancellor, Global and Education Pathways, Chris Riley, who said, “ACU has reopened international applications for 2025 for most programs excluding Bachelor of Nursing and a small number of postgraduate Health Science programs which have achieved their enrolment quotas for next year.”
Riley further said, “The Department was given 48 hrs notice of our intention to reopen.”
This a major step and point in in time in the context of the cap legislation saga.
The ACU wrote to recruitment partners in mid to late September, stating it had reached its provider limit for 2025. The Koala presumes via Hansard that through meetings with the Department of Education, an indication was given that it wouldn’t be wise to overshoot the proposed cap allocation. At this time, no legislation had been put in place.
This was the conversation (page 59) at the Education and Employment Legislative Committee hearing into the Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill 2024 on Wednesday, 2 October, 2024 where Mr Rimmer of the Department of Education stated “We have put one university on notice that they might be at risk of overenrolling.”
Senator FARUQI: So you have put universities on notice that they might be at risk of overenrolling?
Mr Rimmer: We have put one university on notice that they might be at risk of overenrolling.
Senator FARUQI: Which university is that? Mr Rimmer: That’s the Australian Catholic University.
Senator FARUQI: So you think that their enrolments will be over the cap. Is that why you put them on notice?
Mr Rimmer: I don’t think they will be; I think they’re at higher risk than other providers.
Senator FARUQI: Is that because their international student numbers are being cut by a tremendous amount? Is that the reason?
Mr Rimmer: No. Their international student numbers are not being cut by a tremendous amount.
Senator FARUQI: Fifty-three per cent?
Mr Rimmer: If you look at a slightly longer time period, you see 2019 wasn’t a terrible year in higher education. It wasn’t a terrible year for Australian Catholic University. My colleague Ms Sandercock might be able to find me the percentage increase compared to 2019, but the issue with ACU is that their numbers put them at higher than ordinary risk of breaching their limit based on where they’re up to now. It’s not possible to say whether or not they will breach their limit, because, first of all, there are a number of actions that they could take to reduce that risk; secondly, some of those students don’t yet have visas are not all will get visas; and, thirdly, some students might have another offer from another university and might choose to go there.
Senator FARUQI: So they’ll have to rescind their offers in some circumstances? Is that what you’re saying?
Mr Rimmer: They haven’t done that at the moment. Whether or not they should do that is up to them. But it’s normal in the system for there to be some attrition of student numbers from people who have accepted an offer to people who actually commence the course. That attrition changes depending on the provider and is something that each provider will need to manage quite closely. To go to the earlier question: ACU had 1,273 commencements in 2019.
The Koala believes this “situation” would have cost ACU in the tens of millions of dollars and wonders what, if any, further action may come from it.
