By global standards, Australian universities have a well-developed system of financial support for students despite high tuition fees.
Currently, Australia spends around 5.8% of its GDP on education – higher than the OECD average of 5%. Likewise, around one-third of overall spending on tertiary education is set aside for research and development, slightly higher than the OECD average of 29%.
However, a recent survey found that high transaction fees and a lack of payment flexibility are major concerns for international students studying in Australia.
The Aussie Study Experience report, conducted by Brisbane based EdTech business Cohort Go, polled close to 700 international students in Australia, asking them about their experiences studying, living and working in Australia.
When asked to provide feedback to education providers about paying for their fees, the respondents’ major suggestion was to provide payment options that reduced transaction fees (49%) and offer payment plans (42%).
The third largest area of feedback from students centered around having more global transfer options.
So just how significant are these findings for Australian universities?
According to Mark Fletcher, CEO and co-founder of Cohort Go, the findings have big implications given that international education is an incredibly competitive global industry.
“It is impacted by a range of political and economic conditions, including visa policy settings, potential migration outcome opportunities, FX rates and more,” Fletcher told The Educator.
“With this in mind, universities around the world are striving to increase their focus on improving the student experience.”
Fletcher said anything an education provider can do to improve the study experience of their international student base will give them a competitive advantage over their peers.
“By offering payment options that reduce international transaction fees, students can save between 3 and 6% of the cost of their entire course,” he said.
“When you consider that the cost of many degrees equate to hundreds of thousands of dollars, these fees are substantial. Education providers striving to reduce these costs will no doubt gain a positive reputation amongst their students and alumni.”
But is it financially viable for all Australian universities to do this? Maybe, says Fletcher.
“Providing flexible payment plans is something that can be achieved and would certainly be beneficial for the hundreds of thousands of international students studying in Australia,” he said.
However, he said that providing students with the ability to pay for their fees in instalments is very complex.
“Trying to stay on top of who has paid, how much they’ve paid and what is remaining on their account would be challenging enough, let alone reconciling a significant increase in international payments,” he said.
“While payment plans would be greatly beneficial to the student experience, at present it’s not financially viable for universities to take a hands-on role in facilitating this. This is where we are providing value to educators.”