ã Commonwealth of Australia 1996

ISBN 0 644 47256 1

This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Australian Government Publishing Service. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the manager, Commonwealth Information Services, Australian Government Publishing Service, GPO Box 48, Canberra ACT 2601.

This report is funded under the Evaluations and Investigations Program of the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs.

The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs.

List of Abbreviations

Executive Summary

Introduction

1. Australian Context for Internationalisation

2. Conceptual Framework for Internationalisation

3. Stocktake

4. Case Studies

• Case Study 1
• Case Study 2
• Case Study 3
• Case Study 4
• Case Study 5
• Case Study 6
• Case Study 7
• Case Study 8
• Case Study 9
• Case Study 10
• Case Study 11
• Case Study 12

5. Organisational Structures

6. Issues

7. Summary of Findings

Appendix 1: List of Universities in Australia

Appendix 2: Questionnaire for Stocktake

Appendix 3: Good Practice Model for Case Studies

Appendix 4: Internationalisation and Higher Education - Goals and Strategies Case Studies - Schedule of Visits

Bibliography

CWF	All-China Women's Federation
AGPS	Australian Government Publishing Service
AIDAB	Australian International Development Assistance Bureau
AIEF	Australian International Education Foundation
ANU	Australian National University
APEC	Asia Pacific Economic Forum
ASCPA	Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants
AusAID	Australian Agency for International Development
AVCC	Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee
BIES	Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies
CBS	Curtin Business School
CPA	Certified Practising Accountant
CQAHE	Committee for Quality Assurance in Higher Education
DEC	Distance Education Centre
DEETYA	Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs
EAIE	European Association for International Education
EIP	Evaluations and Investigations Program
ELICOS	English Language Intensive Course for Overseas Students
ESOS	Education Services for Overseas Students
GIS	Geographic Information Systems
GISCA	Geographic Information Systems Cooperative of Adelaide
HECS	Higher Education Contribution Scheme
IAS	Institute of Advanced Studies
ICDE	International Council for Distance Education
IDP	IDP Education Australia
IMHE	Institutional Management in Higher Education
IPACE	Institute of Professional and Continuing Education
ISO	International Organisation for Standardisation
ISS	International Student Services
IT	Information Technology
ITC	Illawarra Technology Corporation
MCEETYA	Ministerial Council on Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs
NBEET	National Board of Employment, Education and Training
NCDS	National Centre for Development Studies
NUFFIC	Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education
OECD	Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
OPRS	Overseas Postgraduate Research Scholarship
ORIP	Office for Research and International Projects
OSC	Overseas Student Charge
RMIT	Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
RSPAS	Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
SEAMEO	South East Asian Ministers for Education Organisation
TAFE	Technical and Further Education
TATCon	Technology Aided Teaching Consortium
UMAP	University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific
UNEP	United Nations Environment Program
UNSW	University of New South Wales
USQ	University of Southern Queensland
UWA	University of Western Australia
WHO	World Health Organisation
WWW	World Wide Web

Policy, Planning and Focus Australia's 38 universities, with only one exception, include explicitly a policy of internationalisation in mission statements. All include a policy of internationalisation as part of the corporate plan. The focus of Australia's internationalisation activities is Global. Conceptual Framework Good practice in internationalisation of a university involves a series of organisation and program strategies, integration of these organisation and program strategies and dynamism between the strategies, a flow of funds from the international student program to other programs and an institutional base for internationalisation within the university. Australia's universities are starting to use new technologies and are showing a commitment to quality assurance. Continuous Process Improvement In the mature phase of internationalisation Australia's universities display considerable systemic strength. Universities perceiving weaknesses in their own practices seek out good practice from other universities. This continuous process improvement enhances the quality of practices in internationalisation programs. Australian Government Policy Governments and institutions accept a policy of internationalisation and recognise the benefits. Rhetoric and reality in Australia's internationalised universities are consistent with articulated, bipartisan Australian Government policy.

The project Internationalisation of Higher Education: Goals and Strategies was commissioned by the Australian Department of Employment, Education Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA), and carried out by IDP Education Australia, to: document the internationalisation strategies employed by Australian higher education institutions (program strategies); document the strategic approach taken by Australian higher education institutions towards internationalisation (organisational strategies); identify instances of best/effective practice in the above (which may take the form of case studies) which could be promulgated to Australian higher education institutions; and identify weaknesses in current processes and make recommendations on their rectification. The Introduction describes the development of a process approach to internationalisation where: Internationalisation of higher education is the process of integrating an international/intercultural dimension into the teaching, research and service of the institution and activities identified as key components of internationalisation are divided into: organisation strategies which help to ensure that an international dimension is institutionalised through appropriate policies and administrative systems; and program strategies which integrate an international dimension into the main functions of a higher education institution.

Methodology

The study is set in an Australian Context for Internationalisation (Chapter 1) and a Conceptual Framework for Internationalisation (Chapter 2), which also introduces two themes - use of new technologies and quality assurance programs.

The study comprised three components:

• a Desk Study of relevant literature, policy reports, institutional materials and submissions;
• a Stocktake of strategies for internationalisation in Australia's 38 universities through a questionnaire (Chapter 3 and Appendix 2); and
• Case Studies of good practice in each of the organisation and program strategies (Chapter 4).

Some limitations in methodology are mentioned in Issues (Chapter 6).

Stocktake

All 38 Australian universities responded to the questionnaire, providing a comprehensive Stocktake across six program strategies and the overall organisation strategy. Chapter 3 and Appendix 2 summarise the responses to the questionnaire. Major outcomes include:

• international students in Australia's 38 universities in 1995 made up 8.4% of total student populations, providing 6.6% of total university income;
• 34 of 35 universities reported that, in the allocation of fees from international student programs, their faculties received half or more of these fees; 26 universities had procedures or costing models in place to determine the cost of international student places;
• in setting targets for international student programs, universities take into account policy factors, capacity considerations and market factors; from 31 responses, 24 mentions were made of policy factors, 17 of capacity considerations, and 21 of market factors;
• 30 of 35 universities had strategies in place for internationalisation of the form and content of the teaching curriculum, and 21 universities gave themselves at least a pass mark in assessing their achievement of these strategies; all 38 universities reported a total of 1,256 international student exchange agreements with universities overseas, but 33 universities reported a total of only 1,307 students participating as outgoing exchange students in 1995;
• seven universities reported offshore campuses involving 1,400 students, 27 universities reported twinning arrangements with overseas partners involving 13,000 students and 24 universities provided distance education to 5,000 students overseas in 1995;
• in international technical assistance and training in 1995, 21 universities managed aid projects overseas, 25 universities provided staff to aid projects overseas and 26 universities provided aid-based customised training. On the basis of responses from 30 universities, 15% of international students in 1995 were scholarship holders including 12% whose scholarships were funded from within Australia;
• Australia's universities have established a total of 1,020 international research links, and 28 have set up a total of 519 research centres with international links. In 1995, 30 universities hosted a total of 886 Overseas Postgraduate Research Scholarship (OPRS) students;
• all 38 universities provide international student support services, with 32 providing a specialist centre for the support of international students and 390 full time equivalent (FTE) staff employed by 36 universities specifically for the support of international students;
• all but one of Australia's 38 universities reported a policy of internationalisation in their mission statements, and all included a policy of internationalisation as part of the corporate plan. Most (25 of 37) have an explicit commitment to quality assurance or international bench marking for their internationalisation activities. All but four of the universities have active committees for the development of internationalisation strategies; and
• the focus of Australia's internationalisation activities is global. In their international student programs, internationalisation of teaching, offshore and distance education and internationalisation in research, universities responded that the focus of their programs was global. Only in respect of international technical assistance and training was the focus on Asia.

Case Studies

Like the Stocktake, the Case Studies covered six Program Strategies:

International Student Program

Internationalisation of Teaching

Offshore and Distance Education

International Technical Assistance and Training

Internationalisation in Research

International Student and Community Support Services

plus the overall

Organisation Strategy of the University in respect of Internationalisation.

Eleven universities were selected as Case Studies and visited by members of the Project Team (Chapter 4).

Findings of the Stocktake and Case Studies are included in Summary of Findings (Chapter 7).

Organisational Structures (Chapter 5) looks at policy, planning and management of internationalisation activities in universities, and in particular at the structure of International Offices, and suggests a model for an organisational structure to support internationalisation in a university.

Issues for Further Study (in Chapter 6) suggests several topics for specific studies arising from this report:

• a follow-up study using benchmarks and baseline data from this study;
• an annual stocktake as an input to policy and strategy on the part of government and institutions;
• similar studies of internationalisation in other education sectors;
• benchmarking of international student and community support services;
• a compendium of innovations in respect of international students in Australia; and
• a study over time of any effects on Australia's international student program of changes to international education policy.

Future studies should seek more formally to sample opinion of international students.

Weaknesses and Lessons Learnt (in Chapter 6) suggests that, in the mature phase of internationalisation in Australia:

• there is considerable systemic strength in the internationalisation of Australia's universities; and
• universities perceiving weaknesses in their own practices seek out good practice in other universities for implementation. This continuous process improvement enhances the quality of practices in internationalisation programs in all Australian universities. Weaknesses become relative, in the sense that a university which is not up with best practice in a specific program strategy is seen as having a relative weakness.

This is not to say that the system is perfect:

• 26 of 37 universities (covering 72% of international students) have costing models in place to determine the cost of an international student place; a further 11 universities (covering 28% of international students) do not have these in place and, presumably, do not know their cost of a place;
• while 29 of 38 universities (covering 86% of international students) have cross-cultural training programs in place for staff, nine do not have these programs; further, of 35 respondents, 60% do not have strategies in place to maximise the participation of staff in these programs; and
• while 38 universities reported an aggregate 1,256 student exchange agreements with overseas universities, 33 universities reported only 1,307 outgoing international exchange students in 1995.

Summary of Findings (Chapter 7)

Central to the findings of the study is that the Garnaut vision of the scope of internationalisation is manifested throughout the Australian university sector today.

The findings of the Stocktake and the Case Studies, which were directed to the six program strategies and the organisation strategy, are summarised and the conclusion drawn that the four concepts in the Conceptual Framework for Internationalisation are supported.

Good practice in internationalisation of a university involves:

• a series of organisation and program strategies;
• integration of these organisation and program strategies, and dynamism between the strategies;
• a flow of funds from the international student program to other organisation and program strategies; and
• an institutional base for internationalisation within the university.

In respect of the themes, the Stocktake and Case Studies confirmed that, in their internationalisation strategies, Australia's universities are starting to use new technologies and are showing a commitment to quality assurance programs.

Internationalisation is now part of the Australian university system. Governments at all levels and institutions in all sectors accept a policy of internationalisation and recognise the benefits of broader internationalisation activities. Rhetoric and reality in Australia's internationalised universities are consistent with articulated, bipartisan Australian Government policy.

The possible exception is in respect of international exchanges for Australian students. While there is a recognition of the benefits of two way flows, numbers of outgoing students remain small. The agreements are in place, universities are setting themselves targets and the Australian Government in August 1996 committed funds to an International Awards and Exchanges Program.

Challenges ahead are:

• to continue to develop a vision of the scope of internationalisation in Australian higher education;
• to meet the forecast demand for international student places in Australian universities onshore and offshore; and
• to best use new technologies, with their potential to reduce the costs of delivery of education services, for widespread borderless access to higher education, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.

The project Internationalisation and Higher Education: Goals and Strategies was commissioned by the Australian Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA) which recognised the interest world-wide in strategies for internationalisation of higher education, and in the Australian approach. It is the first comprehensive study and analysis of internationalisation strategies in Australian higher education although several papers have documented the scope of internationalisation of higher education.

The European Association for International Education (EAIE) and the Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have taken the lead role globally in studying Strategies for Internationalisation of Higher Education.

The work of IMHE on a project entitled Institutional Strategies for Internationalisation has been concentrated around a series of international meetings including a seminar in Washington DC in 1994, and a follow-up conference in Monterey, California in 1995 with the title Strategies for Internationalisation in Higher Education - A Global Comparison. The reference document for the Monterey conference was the EAIE publication Strategies for Internationalisation of Higher Education - A Comparative Study of Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States of America.

IMHE is now extending the focus of the project to internationalisation of education in some of the rapidly growing economies in Asia. It will hold a conference in Melbourne, Australia, in October 1996 with the theme Comparative Analysis of the Internationalisation of Higher Education in the Asia Pacific Region.

The Process Approach

In their opening chapter Strategies for Internationalisation of Higher Education: Historical and Conceptual Perspectives in the EAIE publication, Jane Knight and Hans de Wit suggest a process approach to internationalisation.

At the Monterey Conference, Knight's definition of internationalisation won general acceptance:

Internationalisation of higher education is the process of integrating an international/intercultural dimension into the teaching, research and service of the institution.

In the process approach, Knight and de Wit suggest that the many different activities identified as key components of internationalisation are divided into two major categories - organisation strategies and program strategies (Knight and de Wit 1995, p. 17). Organisation strategies include those initiatives which help to ensure that an international dimension is institutionalised through appropriate policies and administrative systems. Program strategies refer to those academic activities and services which integrate an international dimension into the main functions of a higher education institution.

Internationalisation of Higher Education - Goals and Strategies

In this context, DEETYA called for proposals in January 1996 to carry out a study of internationalisation of Australian higher education under the Evaluations and Investigations Program (EIP). The Project Brief mentions the process approach.

The project was to seek to:

• document the internationalisation strategies employed by Australian higher education institutions (program strategies);
• document the strategic approach taken by Australian higher education institutions towards internationalisation (organisational strategies);
• identify instances of best/effective practice in the above (which may take the form of case studies) which could be promulgated to Australian higher education institutions; and
• identify weaknesses in current processes and make recommendations on their rectification.

Project Team

IDP Education Australia put forward a proposal which was based on the work previously carried out by two members of the project team, Ken Back and Dorothy Davis, on internationalisation strategies in higher education in Australia. IDP Education Australia was successful with its proposal, and was commissioned to carry out the study.

The IDP Project Team comprised:

Emeritus Professor Ken Back, Higher Education Consultant (Project Director);

Dorothy Davis, Director, International Students Division, IDP Education Australia; and

Alan Olsen, Consultant, IDP Education Australia.

Methodology

The study comprised three components:

• a Desk Study of relevant literature, policy reports, institutional materials and submissions;
• a Stocktake of strategies for internationalisation strategies in each of Australia's 38 universities through a questionnaire developed by the Project Team; and
• Case Studies of good practice in strategies for internationalisation which were identified, undertaken and documented in eleven universities.

The Stocktake and Case Studies examined both program and organisational strategies for internationalisation covering a wide range of activities including international students on campus, the internationalisation of the curriculum, student and staff exchange, offshore and distance education, international technical assistance and training, internationalisation in research links and international student and community support services.

Structure of Report

Chapters 1 and 2 set the context for the study. Chapter 1 describes the Australian Context for Higher Education and Internationalisation. Chapter 2 suggests a Conceptual Framework for Internationalisation of higher education in Australia.

Chapter 3 describes and reports on the Stocktake providing an overview of the extent to which internationalisation strategies have been adopted across the higher education sector .

Chapter 4 describes the selection process and methodology, and documents the thirteen Case Studies at eleven universities.

Chapter 5 Organisation Structures is concerned with policy-making and management of internationalisation in universities, and in particular the structure of the international office.

Chapter 6 Issues raises a number of methodological issues in the study, documents lessons to be learned and points to areas for further studies.

Chapter 7 presents the Summary of Findings of the study, in the context of the conceptual framework of Chapter 2 and the policies of the Australian Government.

Readership of the Report

This report has been prepared for three audiences:

• educators globally who are interested in internationalisation;
• Australian universities, enabling benchmarking and implementation of good practice; and
• government, business, academic and community circles in Australia, showing that internationalisation strategies within the universities go far beyond the trade or export orientation of overseas student programs.

Acknowledgments

Universities responded generously to the requests for information through both the Stocktake and the Case Study visits and it was generally accepted that benefits would flow from the survey and the good practice identified in the Case Studies.

Each of the 38 universities in Australia responded to the Stocktake Questionnaire, enabling the study to be comprehensive. The Project Team is grateful to Heads of International Offices and to staff members of the universities who completed the questionnaire.

Eleven universities hosted members of the Project Team during the Case Study visits. All these universities were generous with their time and their documentation, and open and frank with the Project Team, in the interest of adding to knowledge of the processes of internationalisation.

Ian Harris, Director of the International Education Office at the Australian National University in Canberra, contributed from his own experience to the discussion in the report of Organisation Structures for internationalisation in universities.

Yvette Devlin and Peter Davies of the Higher Education Division of DEETYA, Lois Sparkes of the International Division of DEETYA, Anne Baly of the Higher Education Council Secretariat, Professor Tony Adams of Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Ian Harris of the Australian National University gave valuable advice on the study as members of the Project Advisory Committee.

The Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee made available to the Project Team its most recent data on Formal Links and Offshore Programs.

Danielle Aeuckens and Bret Sutcliffe, students at the Australian National University and Researchers with IDP Education Australia, contributed their research and analysis skills and their enthusiasm to the study. A special thanks to Gloria Kenneth for undertaking the complex word processing task.