Soft Money Projects Hard Times for Universities. (October 15, 2010)

Monash University must cut $45 million out of its budget according to Vice-Chancellor Ed Byrne because of a larger than projected decline in international student numbers.

And according to Professor Byrne: "The indications that we're getting from (our major markets in) Southeast Asia and China is that this is not a Monash issue, this is an Australian issue."

Three Go8 Vice-Chancellors contemplating financial woes

Fred Hilmer, University of New south Wales V-C told The Australian that the loss of foreign students could force budget cuts on other universities in the Group of Eight unless the government made it clear to potential students overseas they were welcome, while Glyn Davis, Melbourne University's vice-chancellor believes that a number of institutions face "significant falls" in overseas enrolments beginning next year with Indian student numbers possibly showing up to a decline of  90%: "The entire Australian higher education system depends on revenue from international students, so the people who will lose out from this are the Australian students whose study is strongly supported by income from international students."

One suggestion offered by Professor Davis is that domestic students might end up paying higher fees.

Jeannie Rea, the newly installed president of the National Tertiary Education Union, perhaps pointing out the obvious says: "The universities that have become more reliant on international student income are more exposed now. The chickens are coming home to roost."

In Professor Byrne's opinion the new tougher rules and checks for visas lack discrimination thereby discouraging bona-fide applicants who wanted to study in Australia, but not migrate: "There's been an unintended overshoot and the quality university providers are starting to be caught up in it."

Why is it that one is left with the impression that our university administrators are approaching the shepherding of  their institutions as an exercise solely in budget balancing. The fact that their pandering to the desires of an international clientele cheapens the goods provided to the nation is of little consequence, and make no mistake, protestations to the contrary claiming fees from international students subsidises locals, the product as regards the humanities and STEM subjects is degraded.

Overall we are witnessing a remarkable example of a corollary of Gresham's Law perpetrated by government and its handmaidens in the guise of university administrators.