The University of Wollongong, Edith Cowan and La Trobe are
among the institutions that have written to students, who have been approved
for study in 2024, asking them to withdraw their application or defer their
offer.
Experts say one reason behind the move could be that
stricter policing of visas and higher refusal rates since the government
released its migration strategy last year could negatively impact that
university’s risk rating.
To apply for a visa, potential students must prove a genuine
offer of entry – known as a certificate of enrolment – which is issued after
the university has vetted the application and the student has been deemed to be
genuine.
All universities and colleges that are registered to educate
international students are given a risk rating by the Department of Home
Affairs. Those that are considered to enrol genuine, high-quality students
receive a tier one rating.
The visa applications of tier two and three institutions
take far longer to reach approval status as migration officials put them under
more intense scrutiny for fear they are not genuine students.
Approval times have increased dramatically in the aftermath
of the December review, as have rejection rates, which hit 82.5 per cent in
2023.
Universities that have an increase in rejections are more
likely to lose their tier one rating.
”We are facing a massive pile-on in rejections,” said Dirk
Mulder, an international education expert. “The government has indicated
they’re going to move to a visa assessment regime where level one institutions
will be prioritised. These universities are worried about losing their tier one
status because of the number of visa rejections.”
Students unfairly treated
In an email to some students who had not yet had their visa
approved but which the university had sent a confirmation of enrolment to
commence in semester two, 2024, Wollongong University said: “In order to
achieve the best outcome for your future, you were given the ‘option to either
withdraw your offer and receive a refund, or defer your offer’.”
It says becausee the federal government has “recently
implemented substantial changes to its migration strategy”, the university “has
determined that you are unlikely to meet the new criteria to obtain a positive
visa outcome”.
La Trobe University told affected students it had
“encountered an overwhelming surge in acceptances for the 2024 academic year”
and that greater scrutiny of visa applications “have resulted in our decision
to withdraw your certificate of enrolment certificate”.
A spokeswoman for the university said it affected only a
small number of students.
A full degree in information technology at Wollongong costs
international students $110,016.
Nishidhar Reddy Borra, president of the Association of
Australian Education Representatives in India, said students were being treated
unfairly by universities.
“A university can any time cancel the CoE if they find that
the student has any fraud [in their] submission or misleading claims, or if
there was a lapse in their own admission or genuine student test vetting
system,” Mr Borra said.
“But asking the students to withdraw without any reason is
not the way.”
Immigration expert Abul Rizvi said recent tales of
exploitation of the visa system by some students and agents show it was a good
thing that universities were being “more careful about which students they
issue a CoE to”.
“But it should not have taken threats from the government to
bring that about,” Mr Rizvi said.
International Education Association of Australia CEO Phil
Honeywood said the government’s push to get migration numbers and international
student numbers could have unintended consequences.
“We are concerned that an over-reliance on risk rating may,
in some cases, result in quality education providers [being] punished for
circumstances beyond their control,” he said.
“We’re hoping to see a compromise that will factor in the
quality of providers over the blunt instrument – increased rejections – that
appears to be an outcome of the government’s new strategy.”
The Department of Education has been approached for comment.