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INTERNATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION

The Comparative Academic Performance of International Students in Australia

Alan Olsen, Zena Burgess, and Raj Sharma
Alan Olsen is director of Strategy Policy and Research in Education Limited, 3H Old Peak Mansion, 5 Old Peak Road, Hong Kong. E-mail: Alan.Olsen@spre.com.hk. Zena Burgess was director of international operations at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia. Raj Sharma is associate director and senior research fellow at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia.

International students do just as well as Australian students. This is the key finding from a study of the academic performance of 338,000 full-time students at 22 Australian universities in 2003.

The results of the study are important to international education professionals globally at a time when there have been allegations that Australian universities were dropping standards to favor foreign students. The Sydney Morning Herald claimed in June 2005 to have found evidence of quality falling at universities to cater to international students with poor English seeking degrees so as to be accepted for migration.

The research proved these allegations to be untrue. Australian students passed 89.4 percent of courses attempted, international students 88.8 percent. The results suggest that in their recruitment of international students Australian universities set their standards at about the right level.

Consistent with research globally, the study found a gender difference. Female students passed 91.6 percent of courses attempted, male students 86.5 percent. Simply, girls did better than boys.

The Study
Australia uses the “student progress rate” as the indicator of the extent to which students complete their studies with maximum efficiency. The student progress rate for a student, between 0 percent and 100 percent, is the proportion of study load passed to study load attempted or, simply, courses passed as a percentage of courses attempted. The student progress rate is a key performance indicator in the Australian university system, with all universities maintaining the rates for all students.

In 2004, the 38-member universities of the Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee, the council of Australia’s university presidents, were asked to participate in a study using student progress rates for 2003; 22 universities took part.

For both Australian and international students, the study included only students studying full time on campus in Australia. There was no international student population with which to compare Australian students studying part time, and there was no Australian student population with which to compare international students studying at offshore campuses.

The 22 participating universities provided student progress rates for 2003 on 338,445 full-time students on campus in Australia: 264,516 (78 percent) Australian students and 73,929 (22 percent) international students; 184,002 (54 percent) females and 154,443 (46 percent) males.

The research compared student progress rates for Australian students and international students. The 264,516 Australian students passed 89.4 percent of what they attempted, the 73,929 international students 88.8 percent. Overall, there was no difference.

Institutions
Australian students outperformed international students at 13 universities, international students outperformed Australian students at 5 universities, and at 4 universities there was no difference

Field of Education
Australia conforms to an international classification on broad field of education. Student progress rates vary across these fields, ranging from 82.9 percent for students in information technology to 94.5 percent for students in health sciences.

The research compared student progress rates for Australian and international students in each broad field of education. In architecture/building, health, and business, Australian students outperformed international students. In science, information technology, engineering, education, arts, and agriculture/environment, international students outperformed Australian students; and in creative arts there was no difference.

Gender
The 148,963 Australian female students passed 91.7 percent of courses attempted, the 115,553 Australian males 86.4 percent. The 35,039 international female students passed 90.9 percent of courses attempted, the 38,890 international males 86.8 percent. Overall, the 184,002 female students passed 91.6 percent of courses attempted, the 154,443 males 86.5 percent. Simply, girls did better than boys.

The gender makeup of the Australian and international cohorts differs: 56 percent of Australian students are female, and 47 percent of international students are female. The Australian cohort, relatively heavy with females, might be expected to outperform the international cohort. But the research found no difference overall.

The 148,963 Australian female students passed 91.7 percent of courses attempted, the 35,039 international females 90.9 percent. The 115,553 Australian male students passed 86.4 percent of courses attempted, the 38,890 international males 86.8 percent. Overall, there was no difference: the 264,516 Australian students passed 89.4 percent of courses attempted, the 73,929 international students 88.8 percent.

Levels of Study
There were 1,908 postgraduate research students in the study. Progress rates for postgraduate research students need to be treated with caution, so these 1,908 postgraduate research students, 0.6 percent of the study, were removed from this analysis by level of study.

The 16,839 Australian postgraduate coursework (i.e., not postgraduate research) students passed 94.7 percent of courses attempted, the 246,127 Australian undergraduates 89.3 percent. The 22,592 international postgraduate coursework students passed 92.9 percent of courses attempted, the 50,979 international undergraduates 87 percent. Overall, the 39,431 postgraduate coursework students passed 93.7 percent of courses attempted, the 297,106 undergraduates 88.9 percent. Simply, postgraduates did better than undergraduates.

The makeup by level of study of the Australian and international cohorts differs: 6 percent of Australian students are postgraduate coursework students, 31 percent of international students are postgraduate coursework students. The international cohort, relatively heavy with postgraduate coursework students, might be expected to outperform the Australian cohort. It is perhaps because of the makeup by levels of study that the research found no difference overall.

The 246,127 Australian undergraduates passed 89.3 percent of courses attempted, the 50,979 international undergraduates 87 percent. The 16,839 Australian postgraduate coursework students passed 94.7 percent of courses attempted, the 22,592 international postgraduate coursework students 92.9 percent. Overall, there was no difference: the 262,966 Australian students passed 89.6 percent of courses attempted, the 73,571 international students 88.8 percent.

Conclusion
The key finding from this study is that at the 22 universities in 2003 international students performed as well as Australian students. Two other results are very clear. Female students performed better than male students, and postgraduate coursework students performed better than undergraduate students.

The Australian cohort, relatively heavy with females, might be expected to outperform the international cohort, but the international cohort, relatively heavy with coursework postgraduate students, might be expected to outperform the Australian cohort. Overall, there is no difference: Australian students passed 89.4 percent of courses attempted, international students passed 88.8 percent.

A report of this study, rich in tables and charts, can be downloaded from the International Education Association of Australia website: www.ieaa.org.au/news/.

[Online] Available: http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/soe/cihe/newsletter/Number42/p11_Olsen_Burgess_Sharma.htm