The extensive delays in processing of international student visas, cancellation of offers, and growing visa rejection rates, has received widespread media attention in the last week, with increasing calls for greater transparency.
What hasn’t received a lot of attention was the Nine newspapers obtaining, and subsequently publishing, a full list of Australian universities and their visa evidence levels on Valentine’s Day (Wednesday, 14 February for the less romantic among us).
The article, Mass student enrolment cancellations as universities rush to protect ratings, published in Nine’s The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald (among others), discusses universities and private colleges cancelling international student enrolments to protect their visa risk ratings.
While evidence levels (referred to as ‘risk ratings’) are known by providers and the agents that represent them, this is the first time that The Koala News is aware of that they have been made public in such a comprehensive way.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald – 14/2/24
The publication has surprised providers (and this contributor) and has raised questions about the impact of making the full list of individual provider evidence levels public, as well as what the source of the information was, given this information is not currently publicly available.
It is conceivable that the public exposure may create a competitive disadvantage for institutions with higher evidence levels, impacting their ability to attract international students. Additionally, certain providers may be exposed to scrutiny and potential reputational damage, leading to a loss of trust from prospective students and their families.
The source of the list has not been credited in the article, other than to say that the list was “supplied”. The accuracy of the list cannot be verified, although there have been no denials by individual providers since the article has been published.
For those who are new to the sector or unfamiliar with the student visa framework, the evidence level for an education provider is combined with the evidence level assigned to each country to determine the financial and English language evidence requirements for student visa applicants. Education providers with the lowest level benefit by having streamlined requirements for all countries, whereas education providers with the highest evidence level only receive these benefits for students from the lowest evidence level countries.
The revelation of individual provider evidence levels by Nine newspapers has caused some alarm within the education sector, with the impact yet to be seen. The ongoing availability of this information may shape the dynamics of the education sector in the future.
Added (19/02/24 @11.16a AEDT): A member of the Koala colony pointed out this list was also published in December, it may have been missed by many in the sector.
