Shiho Fukada for The New York Times
A Chinese student at the Education Expo in Beijing, China, on October 16, 2011. More than 300,000 Chinese students studied abroad last year, and China welcomed nearly that many foreign students to its own schools.
By CHRISTOPHER F. SCHUETZE
Published: March 27, 2012
PARIS — While finishing high school near Pune, India, Pooja Modi started looking for university engineering programs online. Eighteen years old at the time, she knew she wanted to become a solar energyexpert.
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“I did a Google search first and I contacted professors via e-mail,” she said.
The location of her studies was less important to her than the quality of the program. “Going abroad was not important, but getting the best education was,” she said.
Once she was admitted to the University of New South Wales in Australia, she reached out to fellow Indians there through the social networking service Orkut. Now in her fourth year of studies there, she says she could not have made a better choice.
Students have become savvier in choosing overseas schools and are often aware of changes in host countries’ educational reputations, fees, immigration policies and even political climates.
Global education exchange is more popular than ever. An estimated 3.6 million students crossed national borders to study in 2009, up from 3 million in 2005, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. More of them are willing to consider new, nontraditional destinations, experts say.
Though traditional host countries like the United States and Britain are still heavily favored, a trend toward regionalism is emerging. More students are choosing the shorter travel distances, greater cultural similarities and closer economic ties of neighboring countries.
“U.S. and the U.K. are still choice No. 1 and 2, but now all the other ones are third choice,” said Michiel Baas, coordinator at the International Institute for Asian Studies at the University of Amsterdam , who studies international student migration.
Another factor is that Britain, Sweden and Australia have put up barriers like higher fees, stricter visas and post-study work policies that discourage immigration.
Though relatively new to the global tertiary student market, China is quickly establishing itself as a major player.
“China is not just a sending country, but it is at the receiving end as well,” said Wei Shen, associate dean for China at the ESSCA School of Management in France.
In 2011, about 292,000 foreign students studied in China, according to government figures cited by China Daily, a state-run newspaper. According to government figures cited by Mr. Shen, almost 340,000 students left China to study abroad.
The willingness of Asian students to consider regional destinations rather than traditional players has been a boon to some Asian education providers.
South Korea, Australia and New Zealand are “emerging market” destinations according to Chiao-Ling Chien of Unesco’s Institutes of Statistics, which carries out studies on foreign students.
The announcement in February by the University of Tokyo, one of Japan’s most prestigious post-secondary institutions, that it was changing its academic calendar to match the more common September to May schedule led to speculation about Japan’s future role as a tertiary education host country, according to Peggy Blumenthal, director of the International Institute of Education, based in New York.
According to the I.I.E., 64 percent of foreign students who studied in Japan in 2011 came from China.
The availability of student loans, as well as immigration policies favorable to new graduates, have encouraged more Indian undergraduates to study abroad, according to Dr. Baas.
“Indian students have started to realize that there is something extra to get out of international studying, and that is migration,” Mr. Baas said.
In 2010, Australian universities were hosts to more than 75,000 Chinese and nearly 20,000 Indian post-secondary students according to the I.I.E. There have been some barriers, like strict English-language requirements and cultural clashes. In 2009, reports that Indian students had been robbed or assaulted in Melbourne led to protests seeking more police protection and to accusations that the attacks were racially motivated. Enthusiasm from Indian students dimmed.
However, new post-study work regulations enacted during the past two years have attracted students who intend to stay after having earned university degrees.
“It is impossible to look at enrollment figures without the factoring in of migration policy,” said Lesleyanne Hawthorne, an expert on international student flow and a professor at the University of Melbourne. According to Ms. Hawthorne , two of every three Indian students who study in Australia consider eventually migrating to the country.
Britain announced last year that in an effort to curb immigration, it would impose more stringent rules for students applying for post-secondary education.
While the government said that such measures would help close so-called “phony colleges” — organizations that the authorities said were exploiting regulations to supply economic migrants with academic visas — critics warned that the effects would be felt by legitimate universities that have been drawing foreign students for decades.
“It’s a bit early to say,” said Jo Attwooll, policy adviser at Universities UK , about the effects visa policy changes will have on foreign students.
By eliminating the standard “Tier 1” visa early next month, the British government will make it harder for foreign students who graduate from British universities to stay and work.
Experts believe that the visa changes may damage the country’s strong reputation as an international student destination.
The number of foreign students choosing U.S. schools dropped after tougher visa regulations were introduced after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks; according to experts, the decline was caused by both the actual regulations and the perception that getting permission would be difficult. But since then, the number of foreign students has been growing steadily. The United States, the world’s top international education provider, was host to more than 720,000 foreign students in 2010.
Tuition for foreign students has also been an issue.
Sweden, long considered a prime destination for foreign students, thanks to its world-class universities and free tuition, started charging hefty fees last year for students outside the European Union. While there was an initial drop in application numbers, recent data suggests a resurgence in interest.
According to Torbjörn Lindqvist of the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education , who is studying the possible effect of the tuition fees on foreign enrollment, applications from E.U. students are responsible for the uptick in applications.
In the end, tuition will determine where visiting students come from, or whether they come at all. “You can be sure it has had an effect on the students outside the E.U.,” Mr. Lindqvist said.
Tuition is one factor, but there are others. Students are becoming more aware of countries’ reputations and education trends.
In the eight years that Meherlyn Jussawalla, an international recruiter for the University of New South Wales, has been meeting potential students in India, she has noticed that they have become much more careful about where they apply.
“More often than not they’ve looked at the rankings online, they know all about the university they are coming to,” Ms. Jussawalla said.
Detailed perceptions led to fluctuation in the number of Chinese students considering study in New Zealand in the past decade, according to Iain Martin, deputy vice chancellor at the University of Auckland. While exchange rates and immigration policies always play a role in a country’s popularity, it was the high-profile closing of private English-language colleges almost a decade ago that dissuaded some Chinese students from going to New Zealand, he said.
“Perception and messaging is incredibly powerful,” Dr. Martin said.
In the past few years, however, Chinese student numbers have gone back up. Chinese currently comprise almost 30 percent of the New Zealand international student population of 45,000, according to the I.I.E.
“Reputation is a massive issue,” said Janet Ilieva of the British Council.
“The word of mouth is one of the most significant factors. With the massive growth of social media, the bad news travels faster than good news,” said Dr. Ilieva.
PARIS — While finishing high school near Pune, India, Pooja Modi started looking for university engineering programs online. Eighteen years old at the time, she knew she wanted to become a solar energyexpert.
Related
Setting Out in Search of Education (March 28, 2012)
Elite Schools Find New Base in Emirates (March 28, 2012)
World as Classroom and Crash Course for Exchange Students(March 28, 2012)
“I did a Google search first and I contacted professors via e-mail,” she said.
The location of her studies was less important to her than the quality of the program. “Going abroad was not important, but getting the best education was,” she said.
Once she was admitted to the University of New South Wales in Australia, she reached out to fellow Indians there through the social networking service Orkut. Now in her fourth year of studies there, she says she could not have made a better choice.
Students have become savvier in choosing overseas schools and are often aware of changes in host countries’ educational reputations, fees, immigration policies and even political climates.
Global education exchange is more popular than ever. An estimated 3.6 million students crossed national borders to study in 2009, up from 3 million in 2005, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. More of them are willing to consider new, nontraditional destinations, experts say.
Though traditional host countries like the United States and Britain are still heavily favored, a trend toward regionalism is emerging. More students are choosing the shorter travel distances, greater cultural similarities and closer economic ties of neighboring countries.
“U.S. and the U.K. are still choice No. 1 and 2, but now all the other ones are third choice,” said Michiel Baas, coordinator at the International Institute for Asian Studies at the University of Amsterdam , who studies international student migration.
Another factor is that Britain, Sweden and Australia have put up barriers like higher fees, stricter visas and post-study work policies that discourage immigration.
Though relatively new to the global tertiary student market, China is quickly establishing itself as a major player.
“China is not just a sending country, but it is at the receiving end as well,” said Wei Shen, associate dean for China at the ESSCA School of Management in France.
In 2011, about 292,000 foreign students studied in China, according to government figures cited by China Daily, a state-run newspaper. According to government figures cited by Mr. Shen, almost 340,000 students left China to study abroad.
The willingness of Asian students to consider regional destinations rather than traditional players has been a boon to some Asian education providers.
South Korea, Australia and New Zealand are “emerging market” destinations according to Chiao-Ling Chien of Unesco’s Institutes of Statistics, which carries out studies on foreign students.
The announcement in February by the University of Tokyo, one of Japan’s most prestigious post-secondary institutions, that it was changing its academic calendar to match the more common September to May schedule led to speculation about Japan’s future role as a tertiary education host country, according to Peggy Blumenthal, director of the International Institute of Education, based in New York.
According to the I.I.E., 64 percent of foreign students who studied in Japan in 2011 came from China.
The availability of student loans, as well as immigration policies favorable to new graduates, have encouraged more Indian undergraduates to study abroad, according to Dr. Baas.
“Indian students have started to realize that there is something extra to get out of international studying, and that is migration,” Mr. Baas said.
In 2010, Australian universities were hosts to more than 75,000 Chinese and nearly 20,000 Indian post-secondary students according to the I.I.E. There have been some barriers, like strict English-language requirements and cultural clashes. In 2009, reports that Indian students had been robbed or assaulted in Melbourne led to protests seeking more police protection and to accusations that the attacks were racially motivated. Enthusiasm from Indian students dimmed.
However, new post-study work regulations enacted during the past two years have attracted students who intend to stay after having earned university degrees.
“It is impossible to look at enrollment figures without the factoring in of migration policy,” said Lesleyanne Hawthorne, an expert on international student flow and a professor at the University of Melbourne. According to Ms. Hawthorne , two of every three Indian students who study in Australia consider eventually migrating to the country.
Britain announced last year that in an effort to curb immigration, it would impose more stringent rules for students applying for post-secondary education.
While the government said that such measures would help close so-called “phony colleges” — organizations that the authorities said were exploiting regulations to supply economic migrants with academic visas — critics warned that the effects would be felt by legitimate universities that have been drawing foreign students for decades.
“It’s a bit early to say,” said Jo Attwooll, policy adviser at Universities UK , about the effects visa policy changes will have on foreign students.
By eliminating the standard “Tier 1” visa early next month, the British government will make it harder for foreign students who graduate from British universities to stay and work.
Experts believe that the visa changes may damage the country’s strong reputation as an international student destination.
The number of foreign students choosing U.S. schools dropped after tougher visa regulations were introduced after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks; according to experts, the decline was caused by both the actual regulations and the perception that getting permission would be difficult. But since then, the number of foreign students has been growing steadily. The United States, the world’s top international education provider, was host to more than 720,000 foreign students in 2010.
Tuition for foreign students has also been an issue.
Sweden, long considered a prime destination for foreign students, thanks to its world-class universities and free tuition, started charging hefty fees last year for students outside the European Union. While there was an initial drop in application numbers, recent data suggests a resurgence in interest.
According to Torbjörn Lindqvist of the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education , who is studying the possible effect of the tuition fees on foreign enrollment, applications from E.U. students are responsible for the uptick in applications.
In the end, tuition will determine where visiting students come from, or whether they come at all. “You can be sure it has had an effect on the students outside the E.U.,” Mr. Lindqvist said.
Tuition is one factor, but there are others. Students are becoming more aware of countries’ reputations and education trends.
In the eight years that Meherlyn Jussawalla, an international recruiter for the University of New South Wales, has been meeting potential students in India, she has noticed that they have become much more careful about where they apply.
“More often than not they’ve looked at the rankings online, they know all about the university they are coming to,” Ms. Jussawalla said.
Detailed perceptions led to fluctuation in the number of Chinese students considering study in New Zealand in the past decade, according to Iain Martin, deputy vice chancellor at the University of Auckland. While exchange rates and immigration policies always play a role in a country’s popularity, it was the high-profile closing of private English-language colleges almost a decade ago that dissuaded some Chinese students from going to New Zealand, he said.
“Perception and messaging is incredibly powerful,” Dr. Martin said.
In the past few years, however, Chinese student numbers have gone back up. Chinese currently comprise almost 30 percent of the New Zealand international student population of 45,000, according to the I.I.E.
“Reputation is a massive issue,” said Janet Ilieva of the British Council.
“The word of mouth is one of the most significant factors. With the massive growth of social media, the bad news travels faster than good news,” said Dr. Ilieva.
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