Poaching international students? A study of an Australian university with metropolitan campuses

ABSTRACT

International higher education is the third largest export industry in Australia. Student attrition is an area of concern in higher education institutions. Most research undertaken so far has focused on domestic student attrition in Australia and globally. This study focuses on an Australian university to examine the causes of international students' attrition after their first year of study. It reveals that since 2018, growing numbers of international students have withdrawn from the subject university at the metropolitan campus to enrol in private colleges attracted by lower tuition fees for similar degree qualifications. The paper raises questions about the role of education agents in such student mobility and risks related to academic standards and quality in private colleges. The paper also raises questions about risks to quality and competitiveness in universities that have not sufficiently considered the academic and personal needs of international students.

KEYWORDS:

• International student attrition
• poaching of students
• marketisation
• private colleges
• COVID-19

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mahsood Shah

Mahsood Shah is a Professor and Dean of Swinburne University of Technology, Sydney Campus. In this role, Mahsood provides overall leadership and management of the campus. Mahsood is an active researcher. His areas of research include quality in higher education, measurement and enhancement of student experience, student retention and attrition, student engagement in quality assurance, international higher education, widening participation and private higher education.

Kumaraguru Mahadevan

Kumaraguru Mahadevan is a consultant and he has completed Ph.D., MBA, and BSc in Production Engineering. He has held consulting, operations management, and supply chain management positions at Canon, LGE, Uniting Care, and Sydney Water Corporation. His research interests include supply chain (SC) collaboration, and sustainable SC practices.

Ming Cheng

Ming Cheng is a Professor of Education and the Chair of the Higher Education Research Group at Edge Hill University in the UK. She has over 14 years' international experience of working at British and Chinese universities. Professor Cheng has won 10 external research grants since 2011. She has recently won the prestigious NAFSA Innovative Research Award. Professor Cheng's research interest covers internationalisation of education, curriculum internationalisation, postgraduate learning and supervision, international student experiences, and quality evaluation.