Global 'export education' on the rise, NZ benefitting

With tertiary education fast becoming a global commodity, many economies are reaping the rewards, New Zealand included.

In New Zealand, the foreign exchange earnings from international (or ‘export’) education – tertiary and school level – are currently calculated at $2.3 billion.

The industry is reportedly more than 400 per cent larger than it was a decade ago.

It currently supports 32,000 full-time equivalent jobs; and universities have a 32 percent share of export education’s contribution to New Zealand’s GDP, according to the Vice Chancellor’s Committee.

About 13 per cent of international students who come here to attend secondary schools go on to study at a New Zealand university.

International student applications at the University of Auckland are up 20 percent on last year and AUT University has had a 17 percent increase in international student applications, according to the New Zealand Herald.

The big recent drop in the value of the New Zealand dollar has again made this country an proposition for international students Many students who had the United States, Canada or England as their preferred destination were now looking to come to New Zealand.

Recent Australian Bureau of Statistics show education as Australia’s third largest export industry behind coal and iron ore. Education exports from that country increased from AU$12.2 billion in 2007 to A$15.5 billion in 2008, making it the leading service industry export ahead of tourism.

For the past decade, Australian education exports have been growing by an annual average of 15.7 percent, compared to 10.8 percent for total exports.

The New York Times reports that universities worldwide are competing for affluent, well-qualified students. Institutions in Canada and the United Kingdom, in particular, were doing well from international students, the newspaper said.

Representatives from Waikato University were among those mingling with college counsellors, who help shape American high school student’s college choices, at a recent National Association for College Admissions Counseling conference in Seattle.

Waikato University has a significant proportion of international students: close to 2,200 from more than 70 countries in a total student population of about 13,000.

At the start of this month there were 67,530 international students with valid student visas in New Zealand compared with 63,271 at the same time last year, and 63,146 at the same time in 2007.

Resources

A New Zealand Vice Chancellor’s Committee paper, ‘Universities key to building export education industry’, is at this web page.

A New Zealand Herald piece on recent growth in New Zealand international education is at this web page.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics figures are at this web page.

A New York Times article on international education is at this web page.

The Ministry of Education’s International Education Agenda is at this web page.

An opinion piece from Robert Stevens, the head of the government’s international education body, Education New Zealand, is at this web page.