International students feel like they have been treated like “cash cows”, and the president of NZISA (the New Zealand International Students Association), Sabrina Alhady, believes that New Zealand universities should expect some of their international students to transfer to Australia. She also believes that New Zealand universities “absolutely” prioritise perceived reputation over actually delivering reputable services.
The day after Sabrina officially became the president of NZISA , the travel ban was announced. Since then, her large team of international representatives from around the country have been “hectic” supporting international students and their concerns as New Zealand’s Covid-19 response has evolved. “We have been receiving increased reports [from international students] that there are tertiary institutions that aren’t sufficiently communicating or supporting them,” Sabrina said. She believes that this “highlights a hypocrisy” from tertiary institutions, particularly as recently there has been a number of news articles and politicians pointing to international student fees as being the make-or-break of the universities’ financial security. “They want more international students, but where is the support to actually meet that demand for students? There is no point in bringing them in if they aren’t going to be adequately supported … that directly impacts on [New Zealand’s] international reputation.”
“This is the last time they should be thinking about profit[ing of students]. They should be thinking about the students who are here,” she said.
Some universities are “worse than others”, Sabrina reported. In some cases international students have only been communicated with through “generalised emails” that had nothing pertaining specifically to international students. “As an international student, you come to the uni and sometimes [services] have an asterique on them. You don’t always know if something is applicable to you. That is why the communication with the international office is important.”
International students have told their student representatives that if they had known what little support they would receive over lockdown, they would have “definitely” gone home. Sabrina points out that universities “literally” have an obligation to pastoral care if they want to take on international students.
Sabrina said that how much support is offered to international students directly shapes New Zealand’s international reputation. She said that the international community has been keeping tabs on how Australian universities have supported their students, and it turns out that they are doing a better job than New Zealand. Not only have Australian universities put money into international student support, but so have their states and local governments; for example, the Victorian Government in Australia have introduced a $45 million support package specifically for international students. In comparison, the New Zealand Government’s increase in course related costs is only accessible by domestic students. The $20 million Government package for all tertiary students was announced over a month after lockdown began.
This financial support is important for international students as well as domestic students. “The global environment has shifted so much due to Covid-19 … it really changes their situation. Whether that means their financial supporters aren’t able to support them as much as they could before, or at all, and they’re really stressed because their options are so limited.” She preemptively addressed those who suggest that these international students should just go home. She suggested that domestic students should imagine themselves in international students’ shoes: do you go to your home country, and study online, and risk campus opening up and you miss out on opportunities and experiences? International students had very little time to make that call. “It’s really difficult to make that decision,” she said.
But because of the reported lack of support for international students, Sabrina’s personal opinion is that students will move to a different country to continue their studies. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there was an influx of students going to Australia rather than staying in NZ to continue their education,” she said. “Because you can just see from the responses [of Australian institutions] that they are investing in the wellbeing of students, rather than looking at them like bags of money here to bail them out of this issue.”
Sabrina said that it feels “awful, honestly” to be thought of by tertiary institutions as cash cows. International students are reportedly being told by their education providers that their fees are directly saving peoples’ jobs. “It feels really crappy,” she said. She said that international students should not bear that responsibility. Sabrina believes that it is the “basic responsibility” of institutions to ensure that they have sustainable financial practices. “At the end of the day it shouldn’t boil down to more international students or fewer staff. Like that shouldn’t be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”
“We don’t want to be the bail out option and we shouldn’t be.”
And if tertiary institutions were to ignore the calls for improved wellbeing support systems, and to keep considering themselves as businesses, “then consider the age old adage of ‘the customer is always right’”.
“International students as customers, their needs are not being met,” she said.
Sabrina and NZISA are calling for fee refunds for all students, including domestic students, who are paying for a service they can’t access and an experience they aren’t receiving. “It’s not to place blame, but to recognise that there needs to be consistency in the way students are treated and in the way institutions perceive students as well … I think [a fee refund] is one way that they can recognise that this is a difficult time for students. This would recognise students beyond the economic.”
International student representatives have been regularly meeting with government officials, Sabrina said, but said that it is clear that the government does not want to tell universities what to do. “There is a lot of respect for their autonomy,” she said, “but at the same time, universities aren’t exactly being responsible, bringing in international students without considering how that would impact their international reputation. Because at the end of the day, if they’re not focusing on student wellbeing and experience, then they’re not going to get more students.”
Sabrina believes that New Zealand universities “absolutely” prioritise perceived reputation over actually delivering reputable services. She said that universities need evidence to back up these reputations. “I think Otago’s done much more than a lot of other unis,” she said, referencing the $1.5 Pūtea Tautoko hardship fund, which is due to open any day now and is available to international students as well as domestic students. Sabrina also praised Otago for listening to international students after concerns were raised about a lack of communication. “Now, they have dedicated time and resources and dedicated sessions with international students,” she said. “But there are some unis who are straight up not acknowledging the hardship of international students or aren’t talking to them, or aren’t dedicating time to asking how they’re feeling or checking up on them.”
Sabrina believes that Covid-19 has revealed the ugly side of New Zealand universities’ growing reliance on international student fees, which can be around four or five times as expensive as domestic student fees, depending on the area of study and the institution. “There is a rising rhetoric from institutions that they want more international students and more revenue,” she said, “but when you scale up that size, you need to scale up the support services available.”
“This could have been a really good opportunity for unis to step up and show their support for international students who are facing hardship during this time. That could have really changed the whole game and have done wonders for New Zealand’s international reputation.” Sabrina said tertiary institutions can’t expect students who have had a terrible experience to not leave and tell other students about that experience.
Even as we move away from quarantine life, “there needs to be more focus on wellbeing”. Sabrina said international students are consistently reminded of the value they bring New Zealand tertiary institutions, and how they enrich the experience of domestic students on campus, “but where is the investment in our wellbeing? Where is your investment in our non economic value?”