AEI looks to its strengths – overseas

AEI will have its work cut out even without its promotional and regulatory responsibilities, a new “discussion starter” argues. Australian Education International (AEI) is refocusing its role at a time of unprecedented change in the industry, according to a consultation paper on its future. ‘Re:New AEI’, described as “a discussion starter”, looks at the changes hovering over international education at the very time AEI itself faces restructure in the wake of the Bradley review. In line with Bradley recommendations, the federal government plans to transfer AEI’s promotion and marketing responsibilities to Austrade, and its regulatory functions to the new Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). Austrade is scheduled to take over promotion of international education – along with a fair whack of AEI staff and resources – from July this year. TEQSA will ramp up operations from next year. But AEI will continue to be “an active player” in international education, the paper stresses. “The changes in governance arrangements provide AEI with the opportunity to refocus its core role onto government-to-government relationships, and to refresh its profile in the policy sphere of international education.” This policy sphere will be well rounded, the paper says, because of the numerous legislative and regulatory changes sending the industry into a spin. They include the outcomes of the Baird review – which AEI will implement – and other amendments to the Education Services for Overseas Students Act, new skilled migration settings and student visa processing arrangements, the establishment of TEQSA and a national VET regulator, revisions to the Australian Quality Training Framework, and COAG’s international student strategy. Capacity issues may also come into play, the paper says, as institutions review their international intakes in the context of the domestic higher education attainment target. But global developments are even more important, the paper argues, with the number of people studying outside their home countries projected to multiply from an estimated three million last year to eight million by 2025. And Australia is on the doorstep of the main area of growth – the Asia-Pacific region – whose economic development has been the “stand-out global success story in the post World War 2 era,” the paper says. “Australia’s education system can play a key part in the economic and social development of the region as nations focus increasingly on sustainable development,” it says. “The importance to Australia of staying informed and involved with developments in the near region is reflected in the location and composition of AEI’s International Education Counsellor Network. “In the foreseeable future, the main focus of AEI’s international activities is likely to be in the Asia-Pacific region. National and multinational education policies in the region are often in an early or intermediate stage of development. This provides a unique opportunity for Australia to grow its collaboration with regional counterparts.” The paper also notes that Australian higher education punches above its weight in university league tables, international student numbers, research citations and policy innovations like the Higher Education Contribution Scheme. But it needs an advocate to ensure it gets due respect from overseas pugilists – and to protect it from the battering it’s received over issues like the recent attacks on foreign students. The paper was developed to support consultations aimed at developing a five-year plan, mission statement and operating priorities and procedures for AEI. It poses 10 discussion questions around six themes including “building strong bilateral and multilateral education relationships” and “developing world’s best practice in the regulation of education services for overseas students”. While there’s no formal call for submissions, responses are welcomed by an April 1 deadline. Go to www.aei.gov.au/AEI/Re_New_AEI_pdf