Federation University is warning recent policy announcements limiting international student numbers will hurt local students that want to study in Ballarat and Horsham.
The university has thousands of students across multiple campuses, and a quarter of them are international students. Without the funding these students provide, a spokesperson told the Brolga the institution cannot subsidise local students.
What happened? A string of recent policy announcements have focussed on cutting international student numbers to reach a lower migration figure.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson released a plan to reduce international student places from 590,000 to 350,000. The proposal also limits the ability of graduates to work in Australia after their studies are completed, from 270,000 to 40,000.
The Federal Labor government also announced visa changes that would make it harder for students to bring family members to Australia with them while they study.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the ultimate goal of the changes is to bring net overseas migration down to 225,000 from 245,000.
A statement released last Thursday by Universities Australia, the peak body for the sector, said “international students have been blamed too often for problems they didn’t create”.
The numbers: Federation University has campuses across Victoria, through Ballarat, Horsham, Melbourne and Gippsland.
According to Top University data, the undergraduate student population of the university is 8,387 and 2,500 of these students are international.
The local perspective: A spokesperson for Federation University said the institution “supports a higher education system that puts Australian students and regional communities first”, but a drastic cut in international student numbers “fails to account for how universities are actually funded”.
Why does it matter? As it stands, funding given to Federation University from the federal Government does not adequately subsidise the cost of delivering education to domestic students in regional areas.
The international program allows the university to cover this gap, sustaining places, campuses and courses for local students that “might otherwise miss out”.
The spokesperson said that “cutting international revenue creates a funding hole in the education of Australian students - and its regional students who feel it first”.
“International students make vital economic, cultural and social contributions to our regions – particularly in Ballarat and Western Victoria – helping local businesses fill jobs when they cannot find the skills locally”.
Business impacted: Jodie Gillett is the CEO of Commerce Ballarat. She told the Brolga that “international students make up an important part of the mix in Ballarat”.
“A restriction on places will have ramifications across so many aspects of the economy,” she said. “While it would be damaging to regional universities who depend on international fees to support domestic places, it would also have a huge impact on employers who are already struggling to fill positions across a range of sectors.”
This includes sectors like hospitality, healthcare and manufacturing.
She added that post-study placements are especially important, as “we need skilled migrants, especially in the regions”.
Header Image: Federation University