Charles Darwin University’s Vice Chancellor, Prof Scott Bowman, spoke out on Friday in his weekly musings email about the importance of international students, what the government is doing, and the impending impact in the Territory.
He makes the case that the government’s cutback on net migration affects the Territory disproportionately, and the numbers are telling.
He concisely explains the risk rating issue to the staff at CDU. He says “The ratings are based on things like number of students absconding, students seeking asylum, students using fraudulent documents and students not having funds to study – and here’s the kicker: the number of visa rejections. We vet our students to ensure that we reduce the risk – the one thing we have no control over is the number of visa rejections.” This is something the Koala has been highlighting for some time now
It isn’t often a Vice-Chancellor is bold enough to speak up asking staff to contact their local members. On this occasion, however, Bowman hits the nail on the head. It seems grossly unfair that a “one size fits all” approach is being taken across Australia, as things are different in the NT. As they are elsewhere in the country, especially in regional locations.
Here is what he said:
This week, a lot of my time has been spent thinking about international students.
International students are incredibly important to CDU. They bring in revenue to the University, but they also enliven and enrich our campuses. They also give our Australian students an international perspective on their studies. In short, we love and need our international students. They are also very important to the Northern Territory.
Some years ago, the University was encouraged by the Federal Government to be part of a “City Deal” for Darwin, which, of course, included our new city campus. We were given a grant and encouraged to take out a significant loan from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF). The decision to take this loan was based on a business case that included a plan to increase the number of international students studying at the University. The Federal Government endorsed this.
Everything was going well with this plan until earlier this year. Our international student numbers were growing, and it looked like we were on target to achieve the business case targets. Then, the Federal Government decided to slash migration into Australia. One of the main tools it has used to do this is by massively cutting the number of international student visas. As a result, many students planning to study in Australia are now being denied visas, and this is affecting all universities across the country.
It seems grossly unfair that a “one size fits all” approach is being taken across Australia, as things are different in the NT.
Firstly, the Government encouraged the Territory’s only university to take out a loan based on growth of international student numbers. It then it cuts off the means for the University to be able to pay back the loan.
Secondly, we need international student migration into the Northern Territory. Our international graduates get jobs more successfully than just about any international graduates in the country. There is net negative domestic migration in the NT. More people are leaving than coming here. We need to bring in skilled migrants or international students. This is not the case in other parts of Australia.
Thirdly, our ask for international students in the NT is relatively small. We are looking to grow the number of international students in the NT to about 6,000. The Northern Territory Government wants to grow the number of international students to 10,000. These may sound like large numbers, but let’s put it into perspective.
There are 567,505 international students in Australia. In the NT, we are only asking that 1.7% of them be based here. Down South, there are far more students than this in a single university. For example, Sydney University has over 30,000 international students! Three times what we need for the total NT.
We are also a victim to risk ratings. What is that all about, I hear you ask? Well, every university in Australia is given a risk rating by the Government. It ranks universities on what risk they pose to Australia’s migration policy. The ratings are based on things like number of students absconding, students seeking asylum, students using fraudulent documents and students not having funds to study – and here’s the kicker: the number of visa rejections. We vet our students to ensure that we reduce the risk – the one thing we have no control over is the number of visa rejections. This is based purely on government policy. So, the more visas we have rejected, the higher our risk ranking is, and hence, the more likely we are to have our visas rejected. Such a vicious circle.
So, what are we doing? Well, we continue to vet our students to ensure they are great students. We are lobbying to try and change this grossly unfair situation for CDU and the NT. However, we will continue to make offers to the great people who want to come and study here. This is a risky strategy because our risk ranking may rise, making it difficult for us in the future. We can only do what is best for the University and the NT and hope that the Government sees sense.
What can you do? Please write to your local Federal Member and the Minister for Home Affairs to let them know that you feel this is an unfair situation for CDU and the NT.
He makes some very valid points. The Koala wonders if Canberra is listening.
