The International Student Experience in Australian Higher Education: Ongoing challenges and emerging issues

Currently over 5 million students are enrolled in courses outside their country of citizenship (OECD, 2016), and Australia is one of the most popular study destinations for many of these students. While the majority of international students report high levels of satisfaction with their study experience in Australia, recent research significant issues and challenges faced by many international students, particularly in relation to their social integration into the university community and their wellbeing. This paper examines the challenges – old and new – facing international students in Australian universities and discusses the implications for universities in enhancing the international student experience and maintaining their reputation for providing high quality education. It is argued that to sustain Australia’s strong position in the global international student market, institutions must re-balance their efforts from developing strategies to recruit international students, to finding creative solutions for improving the quality of the student experience both within and beyond the university.