Posted on Monday, November 14th, 2011 at 1:20 pm

Australia has been trying to deal with the latest dip in international student enrollment especially as higher education continues to grow increasingly more competitive worldwide. Australia has seen a 20% reduction in student visas which has primarily affected business programs throughout the country.

Many international students in Australia enroll in business school, either in management or commerce – or in MBA programs. According to the Australian Trade Commission, over 50% of international students were enrolled in management and commerce last year in 2010. Looking at the MBA student population at Melbourne Business School, 70% of full-time students were international students whereas the MBA program at RMIT University of Melbourne’s was approximately 45-50% international students. Australian universities and colleges are no longer sitting on the sidelines watching their enrollment drop. Pressuring the government to change the student visa process, it is hoped that the number of international students in Australia will stabilize and begin to increase.

With the reduction in enrollment, the Australian government announced last month that there would be further changes to the student visa process. This comes after changes back in April eased Australia student visa requirements even further in hopes of changing this data around.

Changes in the visa requirements for international students in Australia will allow those students with a degree from an Australian institution to have an additional two years post-study that will allow students to work overseas. Other changes announced include a quicker and easier visa process along with eased financial requirements. These requirements are anticipated to go into effect the middle of 2012.

Posted by Jennifer Frankel

Jennifer is the International Director at International Student Insurance. Jennifer is a graduate of the University of Florida where she holds a Masters in International Business and a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration. She has lived and worked abroad in Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica and England, and traveled extensively in South America, Europe and Asia.