The Learning Abroad sector is at the boarding gate readying for take-off, with great work recently completed to understand Australian students’ perceptions and preferences.
Keri Rameriz from Study Move presented this 6th survey and analysis of student preferences toward Learning Abroad in Australia (the series delivers insights across the Covid-19 period).
The June 2023 analysis is here, with a short walk through below;
We know where we’ve come from… a peak of 58,058 learning abroad experiences in 2019 and an undergraduate participation rate of 23% placed us in an enviable position with colleagues in the US (16%) and UK (7%).
Where the sector lands in 2023 is yet to unfold, Keri highlights the need to;
- Share the benefits with the wider and future student bodies.
- Link the value to a ‘new’ employability (students are now job takers not job seekers).
- Pursue the social license so the broader community understands and buys into learning abroad.
The survey drew on 25 universities and service providers and 1,266 students (84% were undergraduate and 15% postgraduate). Interestingly they comprised 83% domestic and 17% international students.
Students continued to identify learning abroad as important to their degree. At 79% this is only slightly down from 82% in 2022.
The number one reason reported for learning abroad continues to be personal growth, with a focus on employability skills at 72%, down from 77% in November 2021.
While preference for destination was reported as UK 42% and the US, it will be interesting to see how this plays out given the 49% rate of mobility achieved into the Indo-Pacific during 2019.
Semester exchange, at 59%, was the preferred option. However, the sector knows historically this is difficult to convert from intent into a plane ticket (with 40% of students interested in a 6-month experience, perhaps semester exchange is on the way back.). Study Tours are at 27% and then internships and clinical placements at 24% were next favoured.
The virtual experiences that emerged from Covid-19 are on the decline, with awareness of virtual options losing traction from 65% in Nov 2020 to 51% in June 2023. Face-to-face experiences are important and traditionally preferred by Australian students – we are a country of travellers.
There is however still a role to play for the virtual world, remote and hybrid work continues to gain traction in the broader labour market – this programming will remain valuable.
So it’s important to know;
- The labour market has changed, so view the value of employability for students differently.
- The information gap is real. There is a student cohort coming through who do not have the same access to learning abroad peers.
- Continual advocacy for institutional resources is critical, as is reaching out to work widely with other sector partners and advocates.
Tracking student perception is an excellent pulse check as the sector continues to relaunch. Both the stand-alone and cumulative data sets are invaluable.
It would be great to see Keri and colleagues continue this survey series, a robust contribution to sector insights and an important tool for institutional planning.
