Policy context

Over the past two years, the Australian government has introduced a number of measures to control the flow of international students into Australia, including proposing, and subsequently withdrawing, legislation to establish a cap on foreign enrolments. There are currently no formal caps on new international student numbers. However:

• As a result of the government’s Ministerial Direction 111 (MD111), enacted in December 2024, individual universities have received guidance about how they should target foreign enrolment levels. Some institutions have been given the green light for growth, while others have been told to constrain their international recruitment.



• MD111 instructs the immigration department to adapt visa processing (including times, approvals, and rejections) according to those groupings, which is in effect controlling the general flow of students (1) from certain countries and (2) into different institutions.

How MD111 has changed the pricing landscape

Mr Ramirez notes that the MD111-created groupings of universities is a large factor in the more variable pricing models that are being observed in Australia this year. Specifically:

• Growth-constrained universities are tending to raise international student tuition fees more than those without constraints. Their revenue potential has been sapped by de facto enrolment caps, so they need to find ways to make up the difference. Their average international tuition fee hike over the past year is 5.5%.



• Those with room to build international enrolments are more likely to be working to increase their market share. They have room to increase their volume of international students, and so are less pressed to raise tuition to the same extent as the other group. Their average international tuition fee hike over the past year is 4.9%.



A wide range of pricing models

The chaotic environment over the past couple of years has led to a very wide range of undergraduate tuition fees charged to international students across the 40 universities Studymove analysed. Each blue dot in the following graph represents one of those universities. The average fee is AUS$39,805, but the extremes are AUS$25,000 at the low end and AUS$55,000 at the high end.

Looking at those extremes, the university charging international undergraduate students AUS$25,000 – the first dot on the graph – reduced its fees by 17% to claim a position around value for money. Not coincidentally, this university falls under the “potential to grow” grouping according to MD111 calculations. By contrast, in an unprecedented move, four universities have set their international undergraduate fees at or higher than $50,000 in 2025. As you might already have guessed, those are large universities that are growth-constrained under MD111. Those two examples highlight the very different pricing discussions going on in universities around Australia.

Fewer scholarships

The height of scholarship-giving to international students was 2021, when Australian universities collectively offered 632 scholarship programmes to international students. In 2025, this has fallen to 494, lower even than in 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic. As Mr Ramirez notes, this decline is understandable especially when it comes to growth-constrained universities, because scholarships tend to boost international student enrolments. More broadly, many Australian universities are facing financial challenges, so that is also part of the decline.
��
Country-specific scholarships are also much less common in 2025. This year, 65% of Australian universities offer at least one country-specific scholarship. Last year, it was 70%. In 2024, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Vietnam were the countries in which the most scholarships were offered. In 2025, it was Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia in the top four. India has been bumped to number five, and Sri Lanka to number six. Other top ten countries, Nepal and Pakistan, have been bumped out of that tier. This reflects to a large part the countries in which visas for Australia are most likely to be rejected.

The profound effect of government policies

The disruption created by the implementation of new government policies is clearly adding challenges to the already-complex decisions that Australian universities make when setting pricing strategy for international students. These policies – and the uncertainty around them – are creating additional considerations for all Australian universities re: pricing, but they are especially affecting for the 14 universities that Ministerial Direction 111 has identified as needing to curb new international enrolments.

For additional background, please see:

• “Australia revives international enrolment caps via new ministerial directive”
• “Australia’s enrolment cap legislation is stalled. What happens next?”

The post Analysis shows impact of immigration settings on international tuition fees at Australian universities appeared first on ���Ϲ��� Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

A natural extension of this is encouraging more students (and academics and researchers) to:

• Study in their home countries in programmes improved by transnational partnerships (TNE) between domestic institutions and foreign institutions;
• Return to their home countries after receiving scholarships and completing eligible programmes with direct relevance to their country’s economic and development needs.

This would a long way towards reducing brain drain, and to moving away from any colonialist underpinnings of Global South to Global North student mobility. It would also:

• Enhance security and political/economic stability in less prosperous or conflict-prone regions – which is good for the whole world.
• Allow education institutions to attract international students without needing to leverage immigration benefits (which are shrinking in many Western destinations).

With that in mind, this article looks at progressive and interesting scholarship programmes geared at more balanced mobility, as well as the similarly intentioned transnational education framework in China. There are many more examples out there, but these can serve as examples and inspiration.

The Australia Awards Scholarships

These are long-term awards administered by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. They are given to emerging leaders from developing countries for study, research, and professional development in Australia and the region. Their goals are to:

• Contribute to the development of Australia’s partner countries in line with bilateral and regional agreements.
• Allow leaders to return home and contribute to their nations’ development. All awardees return home on completion of their studies so they can contribute to development in their country for at least two years.

For more information, visit this .

The Emerging Leaders in the Americas Scholarships (Canada)

These are aimed at providing students from post-secondary institutions located in Latin America and the Caribbean with short-term exchange opportunities for study or research at Canadian post-secondary institutions. A goal is also to strengthen the linkages between post-secondary institutions in Canada and the Americas.

For more information, visit this .

Study Scholarships – Master Studies for All Academic Disciplines (Germany)

These provide funding for a postgraduate or master’s degree programme completed at a state or state-recognised university in Germany or one year of study in Germany as part of a second or master’s degree completed at students’ home university. Academic credits gained in Germany are recognised by students’ home university.

For more information, visit this .

Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships

The New Zealand government, though New Zealand Aid Programme funding, offers both full academic scholarships and short training scholarships to international students from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Students from Pacific countries (Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu) have the option of studying at a New Zealand institution or a Pacific university in one of the following regions: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji (postgraduate only), Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

Awardees are required to return to their home country for at least two years after the completion of their scholarship to apply the new skills and knowledge they have gained through their Manaaki New Zealand scholarships in government, civil society, or private business organisations.

New Zealand also offers English-language training scholarships to officials from Africa (10 weeks) and Asia (5 months).

For more information, visit this .

Commonwealth Scholarships (UK)

The Commonwealth Scholarships programme is aimed at students from across the Commonwealth who would not otherwise be able to afford to study in the UK. By funding postgraduate studies in a range of different study formats, the scheme is meant to support future innovators and leaders. All Commonwealth Scholarships are offered under six CSC development themes:

• Science and technology for development
• Strengthening health systems and capacity
• Promoting global prosperity
• Strengthening global peace, security, and governance
• Strengthening resilience and response to crises
• Access, inclusion, and opportunity

There is no restriction on what students can study but the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission gives priority to applicants whose studies are most relevant to their development criteria.

For more information, visit this .

China’s TNE foundations

Along with scholarships, transnational education arrangements can also be designed to be more mutually beneficial. For example, as reported in in August 2024:

“In China, TNE is termed ‘Chinese-Foreign Cooperation in Running Schools’ and emphasises ‘cooperation’  between the two parties, while requiring degree-awarding from the international partner to be part of the essential requirements.

Critically, a genuine and often equitable collaborative partnership with the international institutional partner is a prerequisite in TNE delivery and success nowadays in China, manifested in the four one-third rules (stipulating the requirement for international partners to commit no less than one-third of teaching and education resources) relating to the whole running of TNE, from teaching and learning, staffing, curriculum development, administration, resources and quality control for all levels of education.”

The is well worth reading, and examines the question: “Despite its complex requirements and resource investment from UK universities, why does this set-up still attract UK universities or international universities?”

This year, we are seeing a trend where in destinations characterised by tightened immigration settings, more institutions are exploring TNE, whether through joint degrees, exchanges, or branch campuses. China’s requirements offer an indication of the likely evolution of how TNE agreements will be structured around the world.

For additional background, please see:

• “Study shows link between study abroad and poverty alleviation”

The post International student scholarships aimed at encouraging a more equitable world appeared first on ���Ϲ��� Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

Above all, international students expect their degree to lead them to a desirable job when they graduate. But research shows that most of them aren’t turning to traditional career services departments at their institutions. This reality leaves educators with a choice: evolve their thinking about career services or risk the possibility that graduates will be disappointed and blame their alma matter for not doing enough to prepare them for the real world of work.

Increasingly, institutions are choosing the first option: a total rethink of career services.

The need to evolve

Tribal i-graduate’s 2022 International Student Barometer (ISB) survey – based on feedback from 98,200 students in 12 countries – found that 96% of first-year students chose where to study based primarily on “future career impact.” However, only 66% of final-year students said they were well prepared for their career.

The ISB Report authors write:

“This clearly signals the importance of getting…career guidance and support right; understanding it is more than ‘just’ a careers advice workshop in the last semester is key to this, and institutions should be integrating employability into the DNA of the entire learning experience.”

First jobs matter

A 2021 Inside Higher Ed/College Pulse survey revealed that only 25% of students had used career services in the past 18 months despite the “vast majority” feeling concerned about getting a “meaningful first job” after graduation. It is worth focusing on the word “meaningful” in the survey question. According to Burning Glass Technologies/Strada research, 43% of surveyed US graduates were underemployed – i.e., overqualified – in their first job. Of those graduates, two-thirds remained underemployed five years later. Michelle Weise, a senior executive at Strada Education Network, said, “[This] highlights just how important it is to position graduates well in that first job.”

All of this has implications for recruitment. Graduates who end up disappointed with their career trajectory are also less likely to express satisfaction with their study experience and to recommend their alma matter.

Is the solution to devote more budget and staff to a standalone career services department? Not
necessarily.

A 360-degree approach

A growing number of institutions around the world are now stretching the concept of career services across facilities, programmes, course requirements and composition, faculty training, and community and employer outreach.

For example, at the University of Florida, students taking a geographic information systems course had to research listings for their ideal job and then write a cover letter articulating why they would be perfect for the position. One student submitted her letter not only to her professor but also to her dream employer – the prestigious Smithsonian Institution. The result? An internship.

At Virginia Commonwealth University, students can obtain 18 credits towards graduation by pursuing a minor called Interdisciplinary Career Readiness Skills.

Creating space and atmosphere

According to US News, the University of Denver designed its 23,000 square-foot Burwell Center for Career Achievement “to end the dentist-office vibe of a typical career center: a sterile place students visited only for an appointment.” Students can book the executive lounge for meetings with employers or use a variety of other rooms for networking and consultations with alumni. There’s even a “career closet” that students can borrow clothing from for job interviews!

The building’s architects say their design “encourages flow into and through the building, promoting chance encounters and serendipitous collaborations.” It makes sense: important professional moments often occur simply because we’re in the right place at the right time.

Atmosphere is also top-of-mind at Indiana University, where students attend “Discover” events – which Joe Lovejoy, director of the university’s Walter Center for Career Achievement, says are “intentionally informal conversations about a career community.” He explains:

“You can come in your pajamas. There may be ten students sitting around the table with a pizza in the middle talking to an alum about a career in that area. Discover events provide opportunities for students to start interacting with alumni professionals in low stakes environments where there’s not a job or internship on the table.”

Connecting with employers

Reimagined career services extend beyond the campus, providing students with far more than resume-writing and job-interview skills. Today’s career services often include employer advisory boards and meaningful relationships with employers in the larger community.

At Point Loma Nazarene University, career preparation is woven into every academic major on campus, and the university has extensive linkages with employers. University provost Kerry Fulcher, who has overseen the transformation of career services at the university, says the focus on career prep impresses parents:

“Simply knowing that PLNU has developed recruiting partnerships in which firms in San Diego’s thriving biotech scene will give hiring consideration to our science graduates goes a long way toward reassuring parents that we see our responsibility as extending from core academics to starting careers.”

Institutions that can credibly claim to offer a direct pathway to students’ ideal careers have a powerful recruiting edge they can leverage through graduate employability stats on their website, videos featuring successful alumni, or any other communication with students.

For additional background, please see:

• “���Ϲ��� Podcast: The growing importance of career opportunities for international Students“
• “Survey says career transition services are a major competitive advantage for educators“
• “Agents indicate significant international student interest in working while studying“

The post Reimagining career services for international students appeared first on ���Ϲ��� Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

Entitled Do changes in cost-sharing have an impact on the behaviour of students and higher education institutions?, the report makes clear that financial support for students – in the form of grants and/or loans – is crucial in offsetting the negative consequences of rising fees on university enrolments, particularly from vulnerable groups.

Carried out by independent researchers for the European Commission, the study looks at the impact of changes in student fees in nine countries over the past 15 years. Data and policy changes, including the introduction of fees or changes in fee structures, were analysed in Austria, Canada, England, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, and South Korea. In particular, the research team examined different models of cost-sharing (that is, the split between public and private funding in higher education) and highlighted trends in participation and completion rates among various demographic groups.

“Student fees are a reality for a large proportion of students in Europe – and a controversial issue,” said Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport. “This study questions some common assumptions and provides valuable evidence for the on-going debate in the EU on how best to fund higher education to ensure institutions provide the highest quality of education to increasing numbers of students, while guaranteeing fair access.”

Study methodology

from the European Commission explains, “The study was undertaken by Hanover-based Deutsches Zentrum für Hochschul – und Wissenschaftsforschung (DZHW) and Higher Education Strategy Associates () in Toronto. The study used both quantitative and qualitative data to examine the impact of changes in tuition fee policies on higher education applicants, students, and institutions. In each case, the research team used the available evidence to test common theories about the impact of tuition fees.”

More specifically, the study team considered four hypotheses with respect to tuition increases in higher education institutions (HEIs):

• Hypothesis A: As private funding increases, total revenue of HEIs increases;
• Hypothesis B: As the incentives to earn private funding increase, HEIs become more responsive to student demand;
• Hypothesis C: Increasing private funding has a negative effect on student demand;
• Hypothesis D: Increasing private funding affects student choice of how and what to study.

The report is part of the follow-up to the agenda for the , adopted by the Commission in September 2011. “It does not advocate a particular system of funding or cost-sharing in higher education,” notes the official news release. “In Europe there is a diversity of funding systems; it is for Member States to decide which is the most appropriate for them.”

The nine country case studies provide a variety of settings in which to study the effects of certain policy changes such as the introduction of, or increase, in fees. Countries were chosen for the study according to several criteria, such as:

• geographic coverage;
• economic strength;
• population size;
• enrolment numbers;
• share of students in private higher education;
• degree of public funding of institutions;
• changes to private funding;
• tuition fee policy;
• student financial aid provision.

The executive summary to the report adds:

“It was surmised that the countries with the biggest and most rapid shifts in tuition fee policy would be most interesting to study in order to best determine impact on student and HEI behaviour. For this reason the cases were split into ‘discontinuity countries’ (Austria, England, Germany and Portugal) and ‘continuity countries’ (Canada, Finland, Hungary, Poland and South Korea) for the analysis.”

The chart below offers an overview of tuition fee policy changes in the case study countries:

Overview of tuition fee policy change in case study countries. Source: European Commission

Notes: When no year is given it means that any change was gradual. (England 2012)*: The 2012 tuition fee reform in England is outside the period of investigation of this study, but will be included where data are available and relevant.

Key findings

The report sets out a number of general findings across education systems. One key finding which had an impact on the study was that data systems in several countries were found to be incomplete, making robust evidence-based conclusions a challenge in certain cases.

The study determined that the introduction of tuition fees typically makes the system better overall by increasing the total amount of resources available. The researchers also found, however, that these new resources were not always invested in ways that can be expected to improve the student experience. Revenues derived from increased fees, for example, are often dedicated toward expansion of the system or toward investments in research, rather than improvements geared to existing students.

Another key finding is that institutional behaviour is not necessarily impacted by changes in fee revenue. Other factors, such as competing financial or prestige incentives (the reputation of a long-standing academic programme, for example) also have an impact on how HEIs respond to their mission. Some institutions may avoid closing certain under-performing programmes or creating new programmes with wider appeal. Real change comes about, the report argues, by allowing institutions themselves to evolve in new directions.

How do fee increases impact student enrolment?

The report looks closely at how changes in institutional fee structures impact student enrolment. Almost without exception, the study found that participation rates rose throughout the analysis period, regardless of changes in fee policy. In some countries (notably Poland and South Korea), the introduction of fees quite clearly facilitated expansion of the higher education system.

The only clear-cut example of a fee increase affecting demand was England in 2012 (the timing of which was outside the main period of the study). The British government effectively removed a previous cap of £3,290 on tuition fees in 2012, allowing fees to increase up to a new ceiling of £9,000. This significant increase in fees in the years following.

The 2012 example aside, the impact of increased fees on accessibility and overall composition of the student body remains less clear. The authors note that due to insufficient data, it is difficult to conclude with certainty that fee increases will not affect certain demographic sub-groups based on family background, social class, ethnicity, or other factors.

They also point out that during the analysis period, fee increases did not affect the participation of women, and did not appear to have an impact on older students (with the notable exception of England after 2012).

Total enrolments, 1995-2010. Source: European Commission

Notes: *Counts for Canada are based on Statistics Canada’s definition of Full-Time Equivalency (FTE). **Hungary count for 2000 is actually 2001.

Notably, the report contends that domestic enrolments remained unaffected during periods of fee increases in part because these increases were offset by additional funding to students in the form of grants and/or loans.

In England, for instance, increases in tuition fees were fully offset by loans. In Canada, changes were more or less offset by grants and changes to tax credits.

Aggregate data suggests that policies regarding fee increases cannot be taken in isolation, as students are sensitive and responsive to the combined affect of fee changes and concurrent changes to student aid structures.

Unsurprisingly, then, the report calls for cost-sharing strategies that take a more integrated approach by factoring in adjustments to institutional funding and student aid. The following table reflects this broader view of per-student funding impacts in a sample of the case study countries:

Increases in funding per student by source, shown in Euros. Source: European Commission

Notes: Full-time equivalents where possible. *(Germany): Averaged across fee-charging and non-fee charging Länder. **(England) Only full-time students. Constant prices (2011).

How do fee increases impact international students?

The tuition policy changes examined in the report did not explicitly address impacts of fee increases on international student enrolment in the countries under study. Caution is therefore warranted in applying the findings to questions of international tuition. We might imagine, however, that the broad conclusions of the study regarding the offsetting effects of expanded student aid in easing the impact of fee increases could often usefully factor in fee policies for international students as well.

In addition, other studies have examined the impact of fee increases on international student behaviour. Last year, for example, we reported on some current cost analysis for study in Australia that concluded that cost remains one of the key drivers of international education in Australia and that high tuition costs present a barrier to Australia’s goal of increasing growth in international student numbers to 520,000 by 2020.

Nevertheless, price sensitivity and the reality of an ever-more competitive global marketplace means that cost will continue to be an important differentiator for both countries and institutions. These factors could combine for a notable curb on tuition increases going forward, or at least encourage institutions toward more comprehensive fee policies that reflect shifts in institutional funding models and factor in questions of financial aid for students as well.

The post Tuition increases should be paired with increased student aid, says new report appeared first on ���Ϲ��� Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

For Canadian universities, it’s a chance to add bright recruits from a country with a growing middle class, in the hope that increased research and academic links will continue long past the four years of the scholarship programme. But it will also mark a major expansion of ties with an emerging nation that Canada has struggled to bring closer.

Up to 12,000 students will go to Canadian universities and colleges under Brazil’s Science Without Borders scholarship programme, that country’s ambitious effort to send 100,000 students to study abroad. The United States has already signed up to take 20,000; Britain, France, Germany and Italy will take 6,000-10,000 each. In Canada, it is being led not by governments, but by universities, especially that have seized the Brazilian offer.

Students will be taking up subjects such as biotechnology, ocean science and petroleum engineering, which the government regards as essential for the nation’s future. The programme will cost , a quarter of which will come from businesses and the rest from the Brazilian taxpayer.

Source:

The post Canadian universities bridge foreign student tuition gap to attract thousands of Brazilian students appeared first on ���Ϲ��� Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.