Lessons in Australian Culture Shock

This article tells about culture shock issue mostly faced by international students especially if it is their first time study overseas. This article was published on Canberra Times, 2nd March 2008.

I T'S JUST over three years since the badly decomposed body of a 24-year-old Chinese student enrolled at the University of Canberra, Zhang Hong Jie, was found in a Belconnen unit. It was seven months since she had been strangled. It was a tragic story, still playing out in the Chinese legal system, which spoke of isolation and loneliness. It is tempting to draw conclusions from the story about the general experience of international students, who make up a significant proportion of Canberra's university students, but the truth is more mixed and generally much rosier. As one might expect, many international students are homesick when they arrive in Canberra. Most undergraduate students are only 17 or 18 years old and leaving home for the very first time and leaving it thousands of kilometres behind. ''Once they get over the initial euphoria of being here, they get homesick,'' the University of Canberra's international student advisor, Bari Hall, says.

''The next biggest problem would be some of the culture shock. We send them all kinds of information before they arrive, about Australian life, Canberra life, various things like speech differences, food differences all those things [but] they still experience culture shock.'' Culture shock is by no means universal, however. A third-year bachelor of commerce student Junde ''JD'' Li, of Singapore, found it easy to fit in. ''Australians are so laid back that I don't think it's much of a culture shock, and I don't think most students experience it,'' Li, who is also the Australian National University Students' Association's international student officer, says. Hall says that while culture shock was common, some students ''settle in here and lap it up''. About 10 per cent of the UC's 10,000 students are international students, coming from 80 different countries. A quarter of the international students are from China, followed by Hong Kong, India, Indonesia and Pakistan.

At ANU, international students make up almost 22 per cent of the university's student population, coming mainly from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Some student support at the UC has been lost. The university's Students' Association has been without an international student officer for more than a year, a casualty of the Howard government's abolition of compulsory student unionism. Sri Lankan student Samitha Ramanayake is in her third year of the ANU's bachelor of biotechnology course. He is a volunteer in the university's meet-and-greet program, picking international students up from the airport on arrival and helping them settle at the university. He found a marked difference between the initial reactions of Asian students, whom he says looked ''really gloomy'', and European and US students, who were ''really happy to be here''. Unlike Australian students, international students or their parents, usually pay full fees, so they are under considerable pressure to do well. An ANU bachelor of commerce, a popular choice for international students, costs about $65,000. Li says, ''They pay three times the cost of locals. And then there's flight tickets, accommodation, health cover.''

Many work the full 20 hours a week that their visas allow. Canberra's seemingly intractable accommodation crisis does nothing to help students feel settled. The ANU itself has a severe shortage of accommodation. On- campus accommodation is coveted, for convenience and because of the support it offers to first-year students. However, because final room allocations are not decided until just before classes start, some students arrive without knowing where they will be living, and many are forced to live off campus. Some even spend their first few days or weeks in a hotel or hostel. Ramanayake says, ''Most people choose the YHA because it's the cheapest. This time, I don't know why, so many people are not housed on campus. So many arrive without a place to stay.'' English is an obvious challenge for students from non-English speaking countries. Although Canberra's universities require a high standard of English, problems still arise. Li says some students' language limitations mean they have trouble understanding lectures and taking part in tutorials. Ramanayake says some students shock him with their poor command of spoken English.

''For Asian students, it's pretty good, [but some] European students have a problem, like French students this semester. Some people couldn't communicate I had to use pen and paper.'' A lack of confidence in English was one of the reasons why international students sought help from the ANU's student association. Rizvi says, ''Finding accommodation without much English is very tough.'' She encourages international students to bring in their rental agreements, while a full- time lawyer working at the association takes up claims. Although the ANU says international students perform no worse than other students academically, Rizvi says they are disproportionately represented among those who seek the Student Association's help in appealing poor grades. ''I think it's the English thing. People like JD help with the wording of the appeals and we also go along to hearings. A lot of time we're providing moral support.'' For all the difficulties faced by foreign students, Rizvi is full of praise for the ANU's support. ''I think the international education office is very supportive. It's a really big effort, 24 hours a day.'' The office is a drop-in centre and referral service for international students. It provides the meet-and- greet service, a mentoring program, training sessions, and academic help, among a host of
other services.

The office flew Li and Rizvi to Singapore and Malaysia for a three-day pre- departure briefing, allowing fledgling students to learn about Australia and make friends. Each of Canberra's campuses have a number of social and cultural organisations catering to students from particular countries. The Chinese Students and Scholars Association in Canberra, for example, has almost 600 students from the ANU and 63 students from the UC as members. The association organises everything from movie nights to paintball. Some students enjoy their experience in Canberra so much they fear reverse culture shock on returning home. Indonesian PhD student Gita Gayatri, who has spent four years at the ANU, spoke to the Sunday Canberra Times just before flying home. As a Muslim, she was warned to expect hostility in Australia, and while she experienced some verbal abuse off-campus she says she is sad about going home. ''It was a very precious experience for me. [The best thing] was the friendship and the opportunity of learning things from different cultures. In Indonesia I have to go back to a normal life with lots of compromise. I don't know whether I can cope.''

Make Friends during Study in Australia

Studying in overseas means we will have a chance to meet and know many people from different countries. We can make friends with lots of people. It is interesting since people from different countries have different cultures, norms, values and beliefs which shape their behaviors and attitudes. Therefore, while we make friends, at the same time, we can learn new cultures which can broaden our perspectives in seeing the world.

I have a very nice experience in meeting new people while I am studying at the ANU. Some of the new people I met become my close friends, although some of them are already graduated. Most of them are people who I met in the classes. During the semester period, as international students who still find difficulty in understanding the materials of lectures, most of our time is spent to study together. We discuss the topics of the lectures and ask each other if one of us does not understand about the topics. I find this study group can help me much to understand the subjects, especially in the first semester.

During holiday, we always try to find a time which we can do some activities together. Usually, as we are interested in learning each other culture, we try to find activities that can also give us a chance to learn other cultures. We tend to choose cooking together and visiting each other. We cook food from our own country and eat together. I knew that even some of us come from Asian countries, but our foods are different. Unlike me, most of my friends can not handle spicy foods that contain a lot of chilly! When we are hanging out together, we try to learn more about each other by sharing stories of our family, friends back home, occupation, hobbies and lots more. All of the activities done are one of the most precious moments that I have during my study in Australia.

Making friends is always fun!

Foreign students facing tougher tests

This article below is about a possibility of the changes English language requirements that must be met to enter Australia university since it is found that the international students' English skill still below expectation. This articel can be found in this address : http://www.theage.com.au/news/NATIONAL/Foreign-students-facing-tougher-tests/2007/01/29/1169919238933.html#


Australia will toughen up English-language requirements for foreign graduates after a report showed poor language skills among many overseas students.

The report by Melbourne's Monash University found more than a third of overseas students were completing degrees with English so poor they should not have been admitted in the first place.

Report author Professor Bob Birrell, director of the Centre for Population and Urban Research, said the government required those coming directly to Australia to pass an English test.

But a third were entering universities without having passed that test.

"The government is assuming that the various pathway programs they do once they get there will bring their English up to standard. But these results indicate that is not the case," he said.

Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee (AVCC) president Professor Gerard Sutton said a toughened language requirement, jointly developed with the immigration department, will come into effect in July next year.

Professor Sutton rejected any suggestions universities had lowered standards to allow fee-paying overseas students - who contribute around 15 per cent of university revenues - to graduate.

He said only a student with adequate English reading, writing and listening skills could pass university exams.

But students with inadequate spoken English ran into trouble if they sought to remain in Australia and work in their chosen professions.

There are currently 239,000 foreign students in Australia. About a third will seek to stay and work - a process the government encourages to meet skills shortages.

"What has been identified, and one has to accept that this is an issue, is that in some of the professional areas the spoken English is not up to scratch," Professor Sutton said.

"The way this is dealt with is if you wish to remain in Australia and work in the professions, there are more difficult criteria that the vice-chancellors have worked up with the department of immigration."

Professor Sutton said there had been a 12-month trial of the new regime.

(IELTS) in Australia, said the onus should fall on universities to ensure students had adequate English ability to study and meet employer requirements.

"Language competency and communications skills should be embedded in the curriculum and should be tested and examined in exactly the same way as the content of the professional and general disciplines," he told ABC radio.

Greens senator Kerry Nettle said the government's systematic underfunding of universities and promotion of the user-pays philosophy had led to the use of overseas students as cash cows to prop up university budgets with little concern for quality.

"The government and the opposition need to commit to a significant indexed boost in government funding to universities and in turn allow universities to change their overseas student profile to favour quality not quantity," she said in a statement.

Prime Minister John Howard said he would seek advice from the vice-chancellors and Education Minister Julie Bishop.

"But I'd like to look below the headline of that research before saying other than that, on the face of it, it's concerning," he said.

However Ms Bishop accused Mr Birrell of an "extraordinary" attack on universities and said international students must meet international benchmarks in language to get a university place.

"I have seen no evidence to suggest that students aren't able to complete their courses because they're failing in English, yet they are being passed by the university - I have not seen any evidence to back that up," she said.

Dealing with Assignments

I knew one thing that most international students will be concern when they are studying in Australia, it is about the assignments. Based on my experience study in Australia, especially at ANU for almost two years, assignments are the most crucial things during the semester. At the first time, I found difficulty in doing the assignments because the assignments are quite different with what I have been done in my previous studies. The requirements of the assignments and the expectations of the lecturers are quite difficult to be fulfilled if we do not have any experience with Western education. However, we can still achieve good marks if we want to give more efforts in understanding how to do a good assignment, whether it is a presentation, essay papers or project reports.

One thing that important in which I discovered as I am experiencing in doing the assignment, especially in essay papers and report projects is we need to clearly stated our arguments or opinions. But, our arguments or opinions must be supported by credible authors or experts from journal articles. This is quite hard for international students that come from Asian education since the education shapes us to be descriptive in stating our opinion when we have to write an essay. We are afraid to state our arguments or opinion because we are not an expert, we are still a student. We are also afraid to make mistake. Changing a descriptive model of writing into an analytical model is very hard because we already experienced the descriptive model for a quite long time. This situation, generally, impedes students to obtain good mark, especially in the high distinction level. However, we can overcome this problem.

Based on my experience, as we have to write more essays, we will attain more sense of what we have to do in creating a good essay. One of my lecturer said that to have a good writing skill, one needs to practice a lot and there is no other way except that. Since we write more, we can figure out the good structure of an essay, the essay or report writing style, or the good presentation. To give more assistance in understanding of doing the good assignments, we can also ask to the education learning centre in the university. Although the consultants may not have the same study background with us, but at some stage they can give suggestions since they know the Australian education and its expectations. In addition, do not afraid to ask the lecturers about the assignment if we do not understand. The lecturers will basically be willing to have a discussion about the assignments with their students.

Assignment is not as a threaten as it looks like! In fact, we may miss it as we graduate!

PhD Scholarships 'Below Poverty Line'

Here is another article which is important especially for those who want to study for PhD degree. It was written by David Curry published in Canberra Times on 1 May 2008. The article can be accessed in this address : http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/phd-scholarships-below-poverty-line/402962.aspx

Hope you still have a spirit to pursue a PhD degree!

The dollar value of PhD scholarships is "in freefall" and projected to drop below the poverty line later this year, the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations says.

Figures released by the council yesterday show that the weekly stipend rate for Australian Postgraduate Awards projected for the December quarter of this year $385 will fall below the projected Henderson poverty line for the same period. And that figure is for a single person with no dependents. The stipend, which does not vary according to circumstances, is well below the poverty line of $581 for a person with two dependents.

The standard annual stipend for a PhD student is $20,007.

The council said the dollar value of the PhD scholarship had fallen, in real terms, from 47 per cent of average earnings in 1992 to just 35 per cent in 2007. "These figures spell out what research postgraduates already know that the basic stipend rate for the APA is, by itself, simply not enough to live on," council president Nigel Palmer said.

At the same time, studies showed that between one-fifth and one-third of academic staff at universities were expected to retire in the next decade, and would need to be replaced by PhD graduates.

The council said the Federal Government needed to follow up its commitment to make research postgraduates a priority, by immediately increasing the stipend rate for all postgraduate awards by 30 per cent. It also called for the exemption of scholarships and awards from assessable income for taxation and income support purposes.

Marcia Keegan, 29, an economics PhD student at the University of Canberra, has two part-time jobs to top up her scholarship. The 29-year-old does research work at the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling at the university and teaches aerobic classes.

Ms Keegan's scholarship is an industry scholarship, which is higher than the standard rate. Having taken out a mortgage before she began the doctorate, she said she would not have been able to make ends meet had she been on the standard scholarship and had her husband not been working full time.

"The base scholarship is about $400 a week, and even in a group house these days it would be hard to get a room for less than $150 a week."

Ms Keegan echoed concerns aired by the council that tutoring, which many PhD students turn to for extra money, resulted in many hours of effectively low-paid work. Students were paid well for the tutorials, she said, but were expected to do several hours of preparation, along with marking and student consultation. Eight one-hour tutorials a week would mean a total of 16 hours of work or more.

ANU PhD student Nicki Munro, 35, who is studying restoration ecology, said she managed reasonably well on a scholarship, but only because she has no dependents, lives in a group house with three others, rarely eats out and usually rides her bicycle.

"It's relatively easy to live in on as a single student, provided you accept that you're going to live as a relatively poor student for the next four years," she said. "I think it would be a lot harder if you were a mature age student with dependents it's very common for people to go back and do PhDs when they're older."

The acting vice-chancellor of the ANU, Professor Lawrence Cram, said the formula for indexing the stipend was inadequate to keep up with the cost of living. "I think questions could be asked as to whether the indexation used is actually appropriate for the salaries of people."

Professor Cram said if the Government was serious about a knowledge economy it needed to increase the number of PhD students, which is low per capita compared with many countries. Most doctoral students regarded the PhD as a job rather than a course of study, and deciding to embark on one was a difficult decision when there was often much more money to be made in the workforce.

Professor Stuart Cunningham, president of the Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, said scholarships also needed to be extended from three years to four, since most PhDs took more than four years. He said the financial hardship of undertaking a PhD was daunting for anybody.

Part Time Job

During their study in Australia, students also work as a part timer. Probably, finding a part time job is not hard for local students. But for international students, especially if it is their first time to study in Australia, looking for a part time job may be quite difficult and time consuming. Based on my experience, it depends on the area students want to work. Most of the part time jobs available are waitress/es, kitchenhand, cashier, cleaner, and housekeeper. In this article, I will not explain how to find a part time job. Indeed, I will highlight some issue that international students must consider when they are looking for part time job so that they can study and work without problem.

In the new regulation, international students will have a working visa attached in their passport directly. They do not have to apply for a working visa when they arrive in Australia. One thing that must be remembered by international students is the working visa only allows students to work twenty hours a week during the semester. But, they can work more that during the holiday. What usually happens is as international students attempt to get money to cover their living cost, they break the rules. Their assumption is that since there are plenty of international students in Australia, the chance to get caught are little. However, we can not rely on this assumption since it is wrong. We must obey the rules especially, we are not in our home country.

Another thing to be considered is find a part time job which is safe. What I mean by safe is student must ensure that the company or business owner also obey the regulation of running business in Australia. I found that some students who are working in the restaurants receive cash on hand. This cash on hand implies that the owner does not report his/her employees’ tax to the taxation office. Thus, it can be said that the employees work as illegal employees. To avoid any problem that can come up because of working in such company, it is suggested to find a credible company to work for even if it is only a part time job.

Good luck in searching the part time job! But do not forget, study comes first!

Students in Distress

Here is an article about one of international student problems when they feel isolated during their study in Australia. I found the article in the Factiva website. The article was published in The Newcastle Herald on 8 March 2008 which is written by Matthew Kelly.

Isolation 'leads to drugs'

SOME international students are turning to alcohol and drugs as a result of social isolation and disillusionment with their study experience.

Others, who are paying between $20,000 and $50,000 a year to study in Australia, are quitting within the first year because of difficulties fitting in.

Several international students at the University of Newcastle raised their concerns about their experiences with The Herald this week.

Second-year Kenyan student Brian Iseme, 23, said he found it difficult to settle into his studies when he arrived.

"I expected more [help] when I came here," Mr Iseme said.

Moroccan student Jawad Chafil, 24, said many international students were under the impression that Newcastle was a global city.

"They should be doing a lot more in the area of extra-curricular activities for international students, things like recreation activities and shopping," said Mr Chafil, who admitted he used to smoke marijuana to deal with the the isolation.

"That's what I thought before I arrived but it's very different."

Other students had turned to stronger drugs with disastrous consequences, he said.

A university spokeswoman said overall feedback from its 3500 international students indicated most were positive about their experience at the university.

"However, at times, they have raised concerns about their reception from the broader Newcastle community," she said.

Newcastle University Students Association president Beth Maloney said the university needed to invest more resources to help international students.

"If international students are contented and performing well it's only going to benefit the university," Ms Maloney said.

The university spokeswoman said it was continually improving and expanding the services available to international students.

The university regularly promoted counselling and other services.

"Importantly, the university recognises that, in some cultures, asking for help is a sign of failure and stress, particularly international students," she said.

"An important message for all students is that asking for help at this university is not a sign of failure."

Pressure on PhDs to Meet Grade

The article below may be beneficial for those who want to study at PhD degree. I found it from : http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,22324208-12332,00.html
This article is written by Bernard Lane


STUDENTS may have to defend their PhD theses orally and examiner panels could be audited for quality under reforms being considered by elite universities.

The ideas floated by Group of Eight executive director Mike Gallagher come amid claims that the once respected qualification lacks relevance, suffers from dubious quality and gives candidates false hope of employment.

These claims have dominated a lively debate on the HES website after Curtin University of Technology academic Richard Nile declared the PhD "a dinosaur from a previous age of elite education" in an HES online article.

Mr Gallagher told the HES that the PhD had undergone so much change it was high time for a fundamental review.

"There are a lot of PhDs going into universities that don't have much of a performance record in research, and that's a worry," he said.

"I don't know what level of confidence there is in the community any more."

The Go8, not expecting much help on standards from politicians or the Australian Universities Quality Agency, was carrying out its own fact-finding survey.

Yesterday, federal Education, Science and Training Minister Julie Bishop said it was the responsibility of universities to work with industry to give graduates the skills they needed and to "focus on the quality of their programs, including their PhD programs, to ensure the sector is able to compete internationally for students and academics".

"It is up to individuals to decide whether a particular qualification has relevance for their career prospects, whether in the private sector or academia," she said.

AUQA executive director David Woodhouse said: "Just like the Go8, we are concerned about standards."

Although AUQA looked at processes for enrolling, supervising and examining research students, the agency had not yet carried out "a sample check" on the standing of overseas examiners.

This might be done during a 2008 second-cycle audit. But as yet no institution had suggested the relevant audit theme of research training, despite the advent of the research quality framework.

Mr Gallagher said it was possible the Go8 would audit examiners to make sure they represented centres of strength in the fields examined. This would underpin quality and include an element of public accountability.

"If your PhD examiner panels
are made up of people from second-rank institutions in that field (under examination), then that will be known," he said.

"There's (also) a lot of discussion of panels reverting to the viva voce, (which would mean) you have to demonstrate that you can actually defend your propositions."

As part of a broad review of the PhD, the Australian National University was looking at a logistically manageable viva, according to pro vice-chancellor Mandy Thomas.

Professor Thomas said it would not be feasible to fly in all the international examiners. (ANU had about 500 PhD completions a year.)

A few months before they submit, candidates might defend their work before a panel of supervisors and experts in the field. But if this practice were adopted it would be as an "internal quality measure" and not part of the examination.

Nigel Palmer, president of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations, said: "Students are always going to be cautious about anything that looks like a viva.

"Particularly towards the end of their candidature, PhDs are close to exhaustion. It's a very daunting proposition to come out and give a stunning presentation. Also, (a viva) disadvantages international students."

Mr Palmer said a key issue was the unrealistically tight time frame for PhDs imposed by the federal research training scheme and scholarships.

"The pressure of shorter completion times has had an impact on quality," he said. "The message from supervisors is: forget this being your life work, forget this being an original contribution to the field, it's just got to be good enough to get you across the line and ... in time."

Mr Gallagher also criticised the research training scheme: "The Government's timing of 3 1/2 years is at least one year tooshort."

Professor Thomas said it was possible completion times might get longer as the university put more emphasis on skills.

"We're boosting professional training within the PhDs; that is useful for people who will become academics as well as for those who will leave the university and join industry or government," she said.

This training might involve dissemination of research results, commercialisation, journal editing or conference organisation.

Within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Australia had very short completion times; the longer PhDs of the US were thought to be one reason for a decline in domestic candidates. It was possible that the duration of PhDs in Australia and the US would converge.

Mr Gallagher said Australia's leading universities were struggling to find domestic PhDs in essential fields such as mathematics. He was not a critic of trends such as the professional, work-focused PhD; it was a matter of striking a balance between depth and breadth and re-establishing the relevance of the qualification.

"You hear reports where people say: 'I didn't disclose in my job application that I have a PhD.' In the labour market it's seen as a nerdy thing to have," he said.

Even if the thesis were given less weight by examiners to make room for more coursework, the essential nature of the PhD had to be preserved.

"I think the capacity to undertake original research and to demonstrate that you are in command of your field, that you can critically evaluate the literature, that you can construct a hypothesis and defend it, the discipline of it, in the old academic sense, is fundamental," Mr Gallagher said.

Tips to Find an Accommodation

The critical thing that can take a lot of energy for international students in their first time of arrival to study in Australia is to find place to live. I have five tips to make finding accommodation become easier which are explained as follows:

1. Apply to University Halls
This can be a choice for those who are single or married without children because most university hall only provides room for singles or couples. In the case of those who are married with children, they do not have any other option except finding outside university accommodation.

2. Search Accommodation Website
Based on my experience, allhomes website (www.allhomes.com.au) is very helpful in giving details information about accommodations that are available in specific areas or suburbs.

3. Takeover Other Students’ Accomodation
Students who are going to finish their study usually offer their accommodation for the prospective students. This can be found through university advertisement or student’s organisation mailing list. Be active to find students who will graduate to takeover their accommodation! However, new international students who do not need a preparation stage to enter the university usually come close to the date of the first semester. If it is the case, finding the accommodation will be tougher because most of the available accommodation already rented by new students that come earlier.

4. Ask to the University Accommodation Services
Each university usually has an accommodation service which is very helpful in assisting student who have problem in finding the accommodation. Do not hesitate to come to this place and ask them any kind information regarding accommodation, especially when you are new to the environment.

5. Go to the Agent
This is usually rare to be done. But, if you still find problem to find accommodation, this tip is worth to try. However, search information about the agent, first. It is because some agents do not treat students well.

Hopefully these tips can help you to find the nice accommodation to support your study success!

Slipping through the safety net

Here is another article I found from theAge website. The article tells about a case which then explain about problems usually faced by international students. By reading this article, it is hoped that those who are going to study in Australia can make a good preparation prior their departure to Australia. The article can be found in : http://www.theage.com.au/news/Education-News/Slipping-through-the-safety-net/2005/05/21/1116533578743.html#

It was January when they found Zhang Hong Jie in her apartment in the Canberra suburb of Belconnen. Neighbours had complained of a smell.

The 24-year-old Chinese student was dead, murdered - as police investigators alleged - by her Chinese boyfriend, Zhang Long.

The alleged murder itself was shocking enough, but it was the facts surrounding the discovery of the University of Canberra student's body that were also deeply disturbing.

Police believe Ms Zhang, also known as Steffi, was murdered in June last year - her body remaining undiscovered for seven months.

Murders happen. But it is the staggering delay in the discovery of Ms Zhang's body that has raised serious questions about the duty of care universities have to international students.

More than 200,000 international students study in Australia, becoming the financial saviours of our universities, their fees keeping them afloat.

The tragic case of Ms Zhang has started an overdue debate, not only in Canberra but around the nation, about the level of support and care universities are providing international students.

Certainly, universities are aware of their pastoral care responsibilities for students, particularly those transplanted from other cultures. The question is whether the support services are working as an adequate safety net for the inevitable problems such as isolation and social adjustment.

Discovering just what went wrong at the University of Canberra has proved difficult. The university has refused to discuss Ms Zhang's case in anything but the broadest of terms.

"On the surface it looks like one thing," says Jandy Godfrey, the university's development and international executive director. "But the actual facts of the case make more sense. But we're not at liberty to talk about the facts of the case."

Ms Godfrey argues this is because of privacy laws preventing the university discussing individual students, the privacy of Ms Zhang's family, and the fact that the case is in the hands of the police.

She confirms that the university had recently "opened its books" to the federal Department of Education, Science and Technology, which is charged with ensuring institutions enrolling international students meet certain standards, including support services for the students.

According to Ms Godfrey, the department recently wrote acknowledging "the throroughness of our policies and procedures".

The department confirmed it had made a "compliance visit" to the university in February, one of 94 conducted this financial year. Asked if it had any concerns with the duty of care provided by the university to Ms Zhang, the department replied it did not comment on individual cases.

What is publicly known is that the Shanghai-born Ms Zhang arrived in Australia in 2000, first studying at the Canberra Institute of Technology, and moving to the University of Canberra in 2003.

A statement by her family last month talked of her as a "kind girl", who "always did her best to care for everyone around her, and those who needed help, and she never cared about her own interests".

The critical question is why Ms Zhang's absence from her studies was not noticed by the university. Students are treated as the young adults that they are, and rolls are not marked. But there were other signs that Ms Zhang had simply vanished from the university.

"You can't stop murders, of course," says Di Adams, the head of the university's branch of the National Tertiary Education Union. "(But) the fact that a student slipped between the cracks, that no one noticed, that she hadn't re-enrolled for the next semester, that she hadn't been putting in her assignments and things like that ..."

The university staff were "all pretty devastated", Ms Adams says. "It's a very small university and one where we'd always seen ourselves as a very caring and student-oriented university. So this shatters the self-image."

The university has been doing "a lot behind the scenes" on procedures, says Ms Adams, who thinks that in a break from usual practice, the university may start marking rolls.

She understands that already, some people have been asked to do it informally. One report has suggested that the federal department has asked the university to keep a roll in a particular subject.

University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Glyn Davis says he was horrified by the unnecessary tragedy of Ms Zhang. Could it happen at Melbourne with its 7000 international students? Professor Davis would like to think the university's tracking systems and students' support would pick up not hearing from a student.

"I'd like to tell you it couldn't happen but I can't guarantee it," he says.

The Canberra case has left universities closely examining the vast student support services they provide.

"What happened was the extreme end," Professor Davis explains. "You can't just explain it away but it's an extreme case not the general case."

Universities are similar to schools in the responsibility they feel for students, he says.
"Students are not just customers coming through the door. They're part of us in that sense of loco parentis (in place of the parents) even though we're a very big organisation," he says.

Professor Davis says universities go to great lengths to provide a complete educational experience for international students. Like many other institutions.

The University of Melbourne runs country induction programs and conversational language courses before students leave for Australia, as well as providing academic, accommodation and welfare services.

"We're all very conscious that reputation is the only thing we're trading on, and if Australia gets a reputation about being cavalier about taking people's money and not providing service, it's self-defeating," Professor Davis says.

Aditya Tater, from the National Liaison Committee for International Students, rates the support services provided in Australia at a six or seven out of 10. He points out that it isn't simply good teaching and the degree the students want - they come to Australia for the overall education "experience" and personal development. "People don't just come here to pass," he says.

As the international student market softens, Mr Tater suggests that one of the reasons is that students don't feel they are getting adequate support for the money they're paying - that they are not getting value for money.

Student Cheung Hei, who has studied at both Monash and RMIT, says universities take the approach that students are able to take care of themselves. The standard of teaching is good, but he laments the level of support available.

"Sometimes really there's no help, there's no one we can talk to if we have a problem," says Mr Cheung, from Hong Kong.

The economics student puts it in market terms. "We're buying a product. We're paying the money for services and support. We're getting product, but we're not getting enough support."
Director of student services at Victoria University, Stephen Weller, says international students have become a vital and vulnerable source of revenue for universities, but income isn't the only reason universities want to attract overseas students.

International students also "internationalise" the domestic curriculum, expose local students to international issues and add to their education experience, he says.

Mr Weller says the notion that all international students have large amounts of money is no truer than it is for domestic students. "The typical international student isn't from Hong Kong doing business, there are students from across the spectrum," he says.

One of the most pressing issues for international student welfare, Professor Davis says, is the impact of the new Federal Government legislation making student union fees voluntary. He says the majority of the fees go to support services, such as overseas student organisations, that are under threat from the new laws.

"It's an odd thing to have such a big (international student) export market and then decide to cut off one of its major selling points, which is the quality of the experience," he says.

"Even if for ideological reasons, you feel student unions should be voluntary, a reasonable proposition, the notion that in order to get to that you would be prepared to take out as collateral all the other services that have been offered using the amenities fees is a big leap."

Last month, Melbourne University student newspaper Farrago published its international edition. One article, "The unspoken divide: new racism", starkly describes the lack of integration between international and local students.

"Black heads and yellow faces dominate the union tables while brown or blond heads and white faces rule the lawns," it states.

"Sights of international students sticking together and international students (overwhelmingly Asians) huddling by themselves is commonplace, be it in lectures, social clubs and even tutorials."

It's a separation that arts/law student Kelvin Tran sees daily. There's no real mixing or interaction between the two groups, the 21-year-old local student observes. And it's a separation that extends from the university lawns to the separate law students and international law students society.

Mr Tran, who attended Maryland High school in Reservoir, is less sure about why. He wonders if some international students see their experience in Australia as a transaction - somewhere to come for a degree and then return home. But he also understands the safety of staying within a familiar and supportive culture in a new and foreign country.

"Even though they came here to experience a new culture, when international students come here it's natural to stick together," he says.

His take on the attitudes of local students is also based on comfort zones. Local students don't see the need to go out of their way in making international students welcome.

Last year, at several Australian campuses, the issue of racism wasn't as subtle as segregation on the university lawns. A right-wing group began an ugly campaign against international students, who were subject to racial vilification, which included an attack on an African student at the University of Newcastle. The international students committee knows of at least two students at Newcastle who decided to abandon their studies and return home.

Back in China, Ms Zhang's boyfriend has given himself up to police in Shanghai. There is no extradition arrangement between the two countries, and Chinese officials are conducting their own investigations. Australia will assist only if Chinese authorities give an undertaking he will not face the death penalty should he be convicted.

Her family says it believes justice will be done and the boyfriend will be severely punished. "We hope that with the concerted effort from all, similar tragedies will not happen again."

Shane Green is Education editor of The Age. David Rood is The Age's Higher Education reporter.

Traps for international students
Problem gambling and mistreatment in the private rental market are two developing welfare issues for international students in Australia.

In recent years, the number of international students coming forth with gambling problems at the city office of Gamblers Help has started to ring alarm bells.

The numbers aren't huge but the manager of the service's city office, Tim McCorriston, says problem gambling among international students is a significant issue.

International students meet many of the criteria of high-risk groups. Problem gambling is often associated with times of transition and isolation, Mr McCorriston says, when gambling can be a form of escape and dealing with emotional pressure.

"International students have moved to another country and culture, away from normal support mechanisms and often close to CBD gambling establishments," he says. "They are often dealing with financial responsibility for the first time and have high expectations on them to perform well."

Most of the students seen by the Gamblers Help office have Asian backgrounds, but Mr McCorriston baulks at the notion of branding people from Asian cultures as being more prone to gambling problems. He explains the prominence of Asian students as a simple reflection that the majority of international students have Asian backgrounds.

"Gambling is more of an issue of the culture that international students are going to, rather than where they've come from," he says. "Our culture is as much a gambling culture as anywhere in the world."

Gamblers Help now has a high presence at university orientation week and works closely with student welfare officers.

A research and policy officer with the Tenants Union of Victoria, David Imber, regards many international students in the private rental market as being in the category of vulnerable and disadvantaged.

International students who decide to enter the rental market face problems such as wrongful eviction, being charged illegal fees, harassment and discrimination, he says.

Their knowledge of their rights is very low, and often the information they receive from consumer affairs and universities about housing is poor.

"People who are from non-English-speaking backgrounds, who are not aware of the cultural practices of renting, are at significant risk of discrimination," he says. "Students are more likely to occupy housing in the lower end of the market, where a lack of housing provides a greater opportunity for property managers to make assessments based on the types of students they would like to have in their property."

Plagiarism

Plagiarism may become the issue that international students need to be cautious when they are studying in Australia, especially those who come from a different education environment. In my previous education experiences, the issue of plagiarism does not taken seriously. Therefore, I know less about this issue. I become more aware about plagiarism issue and how to handle this issue as I am studying at ANU.

For international students who do not know about this issue, they may become shocked if they do not try to find how to cope with this issue. This happens to me at the first time during my first semester. However, I know how to avoid this issue, as I learn how to write essays, quote others’ opinion and make citations in the assignments.

Based on my experiences, the difficult thing is to express others’ idea in our own words and readers can understand our words, especially international students may still struggle to cope with language barriers. One strategy that can assist international student to avoid plagiarism issue is by practicing a lot through assignments given by lecturers. As in the assignment students ought to present their ideas supported by credible sources, students can exercise to rephrase others’ opinion and use correct citations and references. Practice makes perfect!

New Visa Arrangements for Foreign Students

Here is an article about new regulation for international student visa. The article is available on April 25, 2008, from : http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23596724-662,00.html

FOREIGNERS studying in Australia will automatically be allowed to work part-time under new visa arrangements.

From tomorrow, all student visas will be granted with work rights attached, removing the need for people to make an additional application.

Immigration Minister Chris Evans said all international students would be allowed to work up to 20 hours a week while their course is in session.

"It means that international students can apply for part-time jobs in Australia as soon as their courses start,'' Senator Evans said.

"It will reduce red tape for students wanting to work in Australia and allow more efficient use of department resources.

"Making it easier for international students to work while they study will also assist industries currently suffering serious labour shortages.''

New streamlined processes for people applying for student visas from India, Indonesia and Thailand have also been introduced. The immigration department has granted 228,592 student visas to people from 191 countries in the year to June 2007.

Learning journey - POSTGRAD HIGHER EDUCATION SPECIAL REPORT

Here is another article I found from Factiva.com which was publish by The Australian 9 September 2006. It was written by Kate de Brito.
It is a short article, but it has much information about what the important initial things that international students should do at the first time of their entrance to Australian universities environment. Have a look and hope you get a big picture of studying in Australia!

Preparation is everything, writes Kate de Brito

INTERNATIONAL students in Australia benefit from a vast learning environment and a range of new cultural experiences. But lack of preparation means some struggle unnecessarily with everything from getting around a strange city on public transport to speaking up in class.

Betty Chow, associate director of International Student Services at UNSW, says even experienced students need to equip themselves with as much information as possible before starting their studies, including reading material forwarded by their institution. "You'd be surprised how many students don't read the information," Chow says.

She encourages students to arrive early to orient themselves with their new environment and attend all orientation services to learn about local transport and the university. "People often think because they've studied before they don't need to attend orientation, but orientation is different for every university," she says.

Most universities now have dedicated services for international students to provide information on the cost of courses, living expenses and accommodation advice.

Major institutions also offer language support for students lacking confidence in English, and some offer intensive pre-course English programs that begin just prior to the academic year.

Eric Pang, national convenor of the International Students Association, says students need to be sure before applying that they've chosen the right course. "Spend a lot of time researching the course you want to do, whether it will be recognised in your home country and whether it will help you getting a job," Pang says.

Education agents can help streamline the process of applying and organising overseas study. But these agents are not regulated by the Government so check they are authorised to work with the institutions you are applying to and that they are offering realistic advice about courses. "Students need to be careful if using an education agent they are getting what they paid for," Pang says. "Some less reliable agents market courses to overseas students without providing complete information about increasing costs, the quality of the lecturers or whether the course will meet requirements for later employment."

Students should also ask questions about libraries and study facilities, access to computers, laboratories and research facilities.

Bob Birrell, head of the Centre for Population and Urban Research at Monash, says students should brush up on how proposed changes to Australia's skilled migration program may affect their studies. Changes to come into force in 2007 will require higher English competency from students and more extensive vocational training.

Don’t be Ashamed to be Stupid

The title above was stated by one of my lecturers in the first class. The lecturer said that as the lecturer saw that all of the students are international student. The lecturer wanted to encourage us as the international students to express freely our opinions or ask questions in class without be ashamed. It because a person that asking questions tend to be seen by other people as a stupid person. Therefore, sometimes students especially the international ones, rarely ask question or state their opinion in class.

As an international student, I understand the situation above because sometimes I had that experience, too. International students may have several obstacles that may hinder them to be active in class. Language barriers may become the big obstacles for international students to be active in class, especially for those who speak other languages beside English as their mother-tongue. Occasionally, it is hard for us to state our thoughts in the correct English to make our lecturer and our classmates understand what we are talking about. Thus, when we have that kind of problems several times, we feel that it is better to be quiet and ask our classmates who may be more understand.

The experience of previous education environments may also impede international students to express their thoughts. I could said I was raised in the culture in where the education environment was different to Australian education environment. In my case, the environment was built to make students only listen and write and teachers are the one who speak in class. It was since in the kindergarten up to the university. I could say that that kind of education environment likely happens in most Asian countries. Therefore, as we tend to be get used with that situation, when we enter a new environment, such as Australian education environment, we may need much time to adapt given the fact that we already have a different education environment for a quite long time.

However, at a point in time, as we involve and engage in class, those obstacles can be solved. One thing that needs to be kept in mind for international students is that we are learning in the new environment. We are not the only one who has those kind of situations. So, don't be afraid to state our opinions!

Campus Critical

This article is found in : http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Campus-critical/2005/05/06/1115092690378.html#.
Although it is a quite long article, but it discussed about teaching quality, plagiarism and marking criteria which can give more understanding about study in Australia. Enjoy!

The privatisation of learning has come at a huge cost, write Debra Jopson and Kelly Burke.

THE LIFT smells of beer - not surprising, since its first stop is a big city bar boasting pool tables and an aquarium. On the fourth floor, the Eureka flag, transformed into a university logo, hangs over a swanky reception desk fronting a suite of computer-filled rooms. Welcome to the University of Ballarat's Liverpool Street campus in Sydney.

It wasn't what Aman Malik expected when he decided to study at an Australian university. The 22-year-old Indian, with a bachelor of business from Maharashi Dayanand University, Haryana, picked Ballarat for his two-year, $24,000 master of information technology course because it looked good on the internet. But the reality of studying above the barn-like Shark Hotel in an office-block campus with just a few books to hand was a disappointment.

"I chose Ballarat University because it's in the centre of the city. I never knew it was such a small branch of a university. I thought it would be like a big university in a big building with facilities like a gym and swimming pools and playing grounds," he says. "The university should not be so close to the bar. It should not be in a hotel, at least."

One in five Australian university students is foreign. Eight out-of-town universities have versions of the Shark Hotel campus in office blocks in the Sydney CBD - housing more than 7500 fee-paying students from overseas. International student leaders say we should treat these students well - they are the saviours of our tertiary education system.

Most of Australia's 37 public universities have been forced to seek fee-paying foreign students since the great campus crunch of nine years ago, when the Federal Government began to slash their funding.

It has been a move onto shaky ground. The cuts and the Government's push to create entre-preneurial universities may threaten the survival of some universities, a Herald investigation has found.

"We are now reliant in dollar terms on that international student income. If that does not continue at least at the levels it's at now, then there will be a financial crisis in the Australian university sector," says Gerard Sutton, vice-president of the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee.

The reduced funding and the influx of foreign students are driving down the standard of education at some universities. In some cases, entry requirements have been lowered, courses have been made easier and marking has been softened to help overseas students cope with language problems. Meanwhile, there is overcrowding in lectures and tutorials because student-staff ratios have soared.

Standards are suffering in many ways.

TEACHING QUALITY
Student-staff ratios continue to rise, leading to drops in the quality of teaching. The number of students to every university teacher soared from about 14 in 1993 to 21 in 2003, according to the vice-chancellors' committee. This state was the second-worst, after Queensland, according to the NSW Auditor-General, with more than 26 students per teacher.

Resources are so stretched that some tutorials - meant to be about small-group learning - have grown to 60 students. Academics from the University of Western Sydney say they are under mounting pressure to cut face-to-face teaching hours after an $18 million shortfall in income in 2004 - due, in part, to static enrolments of international students. Multiple-choice and short-answer assessments are on the rise.

The university's senior management has dismissed the claims, saying there is no overall policy on academic consulting hours. But lecturers in some faculties say they have been told they "over-assess" their students and have been advised to spend no more than one hour per semester on marking, plus a maximum of 30 minutes of consultation, for each student.
At Sydney University, there were 48 students in a third-year nursing tutorial, where subjects included the mathematics required to measure medicine doses for patients, the university's Students Representative Council says.

An acting course at Charles Sturt University that once had three full-time teachers for 60 students now has one, according to the academics' union.

An engineering student at Newcastle University, Evan Walpole, attended tutorials holding as many as 50 students last semester.

THE LANGUAGE PROBLEM
Universities are struggling to deal with growing numbers of foreign students who often lack the English skills needed for their courses. International students claim they often do not get enough support. Their failure rate is 5 to 20 per cent higher than that of domestic students.

The University of Newcastle's international students' association has case studies of international students fighting to remain in the country after consistently failing subjects. One student has been at the university for five years, passing just one out of 24 subjects. Yet, contrary to the university's policies, these students have not been placed on an "at-risk" register, nor have they been offered counselling and access to additional support services.

The university's pro-vice-chancellor (international), Bill Purcell, admits some international students are falling through the cracks. "But students fail for all sorts of different reasons c not all problems are academic or to do with teaching."

 Universities need $1.7 billion from foreign students every year to stay afloat.
 China, the biggest market, is upgrading universities to keep students at home.
 A fall in the number of full-fee-paying international students is already affecting some universities.
 Federal funding will not grow to meet costs over the next three years.
 Standards have been lowered to ensure income from fee-payers, many of whom have poor English.
 Just over 10 years ago there was one university teacher for every 14 students. Now there is one for every 21 students.

A Macquarie University professor of economics, Peter Abelson, fails 40 per cent of students in his second-year course. "We have students who have failed the course four to five times. At least one student has failed it six times," he says. "It is an absurd situation."

Foreign students who get second-year entry to Macquarie after completing their first year with the Sydney Institute of Business and Technology (SIBT) - a private provider on campus - have a failure rate of 66 per cent.

Abelson says it is "a scandal" that the faculty's summer school takes in students who are getting less than 50 per cent in their courses. "The summer school has failure rates of 60 to 70 per cent. It's dishonest because we have allowed people into courses simply to take their money. In my view, we are close to trading fraudulently."

James Hazelton, an accounting lecturer at Macquarie, says: "As the entry criteria have become much more relaxed - and, in particular, many overseas students are admitted with poor English skills - in my view this has unquestioningly led to a lowering of standards and has disadvantaged local students entering through the usual Universities Admissions Centre system."

However, Tony Adams, Macquarie's pro-vice-chancellor (international), describes the claims as "rubbish". He says: "There are various ways in which you make allowance for students from non-English speaking backgrounds [but] I don't believe there has been a drop in our standards."
The English level required of Macquarie's 7500 international students is higher than the average for most universities and academic entry requirements are also high, he says. The university's main source country is "China, China and China" - from where it gets more than 3000 of its students, plus 900 from Hong Kong.

Students from SIBT "would be expected to have equivalent English to someone entering directly", he says, adding that those students generally perform well.

Adams says the university is obliged to report students who fail 50 per cent of their units to the federal Immigration Department, which can cancel their visas. Once this happens, most improve their performances. "It's a kick up the bum, if you like."

He says he does not know about summer school failure rates, but believes many students might prefer to be somewhere else, such as Manly on a summer's day, so he would not expect a high pass rate.

PLAGIARISM
Academics report that internet plagiarism grows as foreign student numbers rise. A senior lecturer in communication at Charles Sturt University, Chris McGillion, says: "It's a bigger problem than they [universities] are letting on."

Further, a form of plagiarism that is difficult to detect - using foreign texts translated into English - is becoming more prevalent, says Stuart Rosewarne, a political economy lecturer at Sydney University.

According to an internal document from Central Queensland University: "Lecturers are constantly dealing with issues concerning plagiarism and irregularities of referencing practices."
One of the university's lecturers says: "There's pressure not to ping plagiarism."

Tom Valentine, director of the Centre for Applied Finance at the University of Western Sydney and the former chairman of its disciplinary committee, has failed six foreign students for plagiarism in the past eight years. "You've got somebody with not terribly good English and suddenly you've got three pages of perfectly written material that would do Peter Carey credit."
The university is not doing enough to equip them with the skills for primary research and the development of independent and critical thinking, he says. "They don't want to spend that much on international students; they just want to take their money."

Diane Dwyer, the director of the university's International Office, says international students are offered free workshops and mentoring services that cover plagiarism. The university nevertheless deals with as many as 50 cases of plagiarism a year, she concedes. "[But] there is no indication that incidents of plagiarism are higher amongst international or local students."

SOFT MARKING
As the NSW secretary of the National Tertiary Education Union, Rosewarne has reignited claims of soft marking in universities driven by money-hungry managements.

Staff in his own faculty of economics and business have reported that marking standards have been lowered, he claims. They say this has been done to cater to international students whose poor English makes it difficult to perform well in assignments and even to learn critical skills.
"We expect a normal distribution of marks in the high distinction, distinction, pass, credit, fail rate. If you can imagine a normal distribution shaped like a hill, what's happened is it's moved down. They've moved the whole hill."

Abelson says the same thing has happened at Macquarie.

More than half the academics and other staff from 12 universities surveyed by Don Anderson, emeritus professor at the Australian National University, two years ago said they believed grades had been inflated and "the intellectual level required for a degree had declined".

Professor Anderson says: "I have no reason to think things would have changed for the better."
In his survey, "there were reports of pressures from management on academics to pass students who, in their opinion, should fail. An edict from top management in one university directed that, henceforth, HDs [high distinctions] and Ds [distinctions] should be awarded at lower marks." Among the reasons academics gave for declining standards were "lower quality of admissions, poor resources for teaching and pressures from above".

Anderson contends that it is unlikely to improve. "Small classes and face-to-face teaching will remain the exception."

University curriculums have been skewed by increasing privatisation. While vocational courses favoured by fee-payers grow, more traditional subjects, particularly in the arts and "soft" sciences, fight for survival.

Even if foreign fees are used to subsidise less popular subjects, such as languages and philosophy, those subjects are prone to be cut if fees drop off or if a faculty is trimming its costs.

At the University of NSW, human geography was under threat last year because it was not considered financially viable. After a battle to save it, the subject found safe haven in a new faculty.

At Newcastle University, 19 postgraduate degrees have been singled out for the chop, according to a steering committee report that examines likely cuts to programs.

All postgraduate programs with 12 or fewer students are defined in the report as "cost neutral" or unprofitable. It recommends that all "financially burdensome [postgraduate] courses should be eliminated, as they draw students from courses that may offer a greater return with greater numbers".

Even the federal Minister for Education, Brendan Nelson, describes higher education as "bleeding" because of the struggle to keep science and humanities subjects alive.

He wants universities to cut units with few students. But he is furious at decisions such as that taken by the University of Western Sydney when it dropped its podiatry degree. He blames poor decision making on universities pandering to populism, rather than considering "the core needs of Australian society". "You can do the paranormal, scepticism, surfboard riding. You can do make-up application for drag queens at Swinburne."

Student-teacher ratios are not a reflection of quality, he says, and it is up to universities to set their own English-language entry levels. "I get more complaints about students who can't understand the lecturer than I do about the students who are in the class with English-language issues."

Nelson denies the Government has cut funding to universities - rather, the rate of growth has slowed since 1996. He says that under his reforms, they will get $2.6 billion more in the coming five years.

He makes it clear the enterprise university is here to stay. "The universities are competing commercially and they need to have extremely good business management. It isn't good enough to simply provide high-quality education."

To help them expand beyond Asia - source of eight in 10 international students at Australian universities - the Government has a $113 million package to support moves into the Middle East, Europe and Latin America, he says.

However, there are warning signs that local students and academics are not the only ones unhappy with the quality of education in universities.

Gerard Sutton says some commentators argue that international student income peaked in 2004.

The number of overseas students arriving at Newcastle University dropped by almost 9 per cent this year. The University of Western Sydney had 2000 fewer international students, onshore and offshore, last year than it did in 2002, representing an estimated drop in the university's income of almost $8 million.

Studies have shown that international students are often disappointed because language and cultural difficulties - or isolation in a separate city campus - mean there is little mingling between locals and foreigners.

The convener of the National Liaison Committee for international students in Australia, Aditya Tater, says: "They want to have the Australian experience, which they don't get. It's not happening. It's just in the rhetoric."

There is a growing perception among international students that they are not getting value for money, which is dangerous because the universities' reputations overseas are based on word of mouth, she says.

"There is an issue with the quality of education. People are not satisfied. If you don't get a job with the qualification itself, it's not worth it."

Ali Abusalem, an education officer with the committee, says that marketing aggressively to students, only to have them find that their specially created campus for fee-payers has little more than a virtual library, creates a bad impression.

"It's no longer people thinking about quality. It's a business and they are thinking we have to make money to sustain our operations without knowing that slowly, slowly we kill this brand name."

In his little outpost of Ballarat in Sydney's heart, Malik is so isolated from mainstream student life that he believes Australians do not do masters degrees - because there are none where he studies.

He enjoys the city, the climate, the low cost of study here compared to Britain or the US, and the possibility of getting a job here when he finishes his degree in November. But if he were choosing again, he would apply for Sydney University: "It's got a proper campus."

A New Life in Canberra

When I decided to study in Australia, I never thought about the city which I wanted to live in. My only concern was the quality of the university. That’s why I choose Australian National University (ANU). I knew that ANU is located in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. I never knew what Canberra would be like. Most information that I found from friends, news and colleagues said that Canberra is a very calm city compare to other big cities in Australia like Sydney, Melbourne or Perth. Only around 350,000 people live there. Besides it is a quiet city, the weather is very cold during the winter season. Sometimes, the temperature can below zero degrees of Celsius. I could not imagine how cold it would be.

As I arrived at the first time in Canberra, I could feel the atmosphere of a quiet city. I suddenly knew that I would have a new life because Canberra is totally different with Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, the city in which I spent most of my life. Jakarta is like Sydney. It is very crowded, hectic, people everywhere, lots of shops and entertainments and traffic jam during office hours. Canberra is far from those situations, though sometimes traffic jam happens during rush hours, but it is still reasonable. From what I know until today, Canberra has around 5 big shopping malls and 3 cinemas. Most of its interesting places are museums and parks. In the weekend, only shopping malls that tend to be busy and the rest of the city will be very quiet. Less people will go out compare to weekdays. Probably, it will be seen as a bored city for people who already get used with a hectic city life.

It is true about the weather. It is very cold during the winter. In the first month of my arrival, the temperature was almost -11 degrees of Celcius! At the first time, I feel the weather was so terrible because I come from the country which only has two seasons; rainy and dry season. So, I needed to adapt quite hard with this cold weather. But, I get used with it now. Infact, I like the winter season in Canberra. Well, living in Canberra is good for me. There are less temptations compare to other big cities in Australia in which I can concentrate more to my study. It is nice to have a very different life experiences with what I had before. I know I will miss this city a lot as I finish my study.

Students Get a Helping Hand to Understand

Another article that I found good to enrich our understanding to study and live in OZ. I found this article from:

Illawara Mercury, 4 March 2008, written by KATELIN McINERNEY


Helping international students to feel welcome in the Illawarra makes them feel more comfortable and it can also benefit the region, writes KATELIN McINERNEY.
Komal Chen knows what it is like to start out at a strange university half a world away from family and friends.
"I was very lucky though, I met a lot of people who were happy to help me with things like train tickets and when I was confused, people would often stop to help me," she said.
But the Illawarra Committee for International Students (ICIS) co-ordinator said not all students had it as easy.
Researchers from Melbourne and Monash universities recently interviewed 200 international students from nine different Australian universities and found two-thirds felt lonely and isolated and had problems making friends across cultures.
Apart from the personal impact on students, the findings are important because education (worth $12.5 billion last year) has replaced tourism ($11.5 billion) as Australia's top services export.
The report suggested improving "relations with locals might be the key to moving forward", and Ms Chen agreed that building positive relationships between international students and the community were crucial to a student's success and emotional wellbeing.
"I know students who have been studying at Wollongong for three or fours years who have never set foot inside an Australian home," she said.
"They come here expecting to mix in with the Australian community, but it is much harder than they thought it would be."
Ms Chen said it was often very difficult for international students to take the first step.
"A lot of students are very shy and worried about their English," she said.
"But it is hard for Australian students too because they don't want to just go up to somebody who doesn't want to be approached."
ICIS organises low-cost daytrips to destinations like Canberra and the Blue Mountains for students who want to see the sights and expand their network of friends but do not have a car.
"Many of these students do nothing on the weekends, they just sit at home and can get very depressed," Ms Chen said.
"We also do sightseeing around the region and visit places like the Nan Tien Temple."
Ms Chen said becoming part of the friendship program and helping an international student was a useful way for domestic students who had an international focus to their studies to gain an insight into the way things work in different countries.
"I sometimes get local students studying things like international business asking me can I find them a student from China to speak to," she said.
"By helping them, you get to know all about the country and the culture and they get to practice their English."
Ms Chen said the problem was that most students from the Wollongong area already had a solid social network.
"Many of the ICIS volunteers are people who know what it is like to move from outside the area to Wollongong," she said.
"Not too many students are local."
But ICIS could only do so much for students and Chen said she often had students in her office in tears and no idea where to turn.
"There are services on campus to help them, but they just not aware of them, and that is the problem," she said.
An innovative approach
A group of Wollongong academics and students have undertaken significant research into the experiences of international students.
The Welcome to Wollongong working group conducted a series of interviews with international students and found, along with issues about personal safety, accommodation, employment and their academic success, they were very concerned about not fitting in.
"We found that when students felt they had a connection to the community, they felt much happier, they felt like they belonged," project co-ordinator Associate Professor Peter Kell said.
In response to findings, the W2W project was created with the aim of making international students feel welcome in the region. To help achieve that aim, a civic reception and Welcome to Wollongong Festival was held in the Crown St Mall last week to officially welcome the students to the region.
"Many international students come from countries where a welcome by the city's establishment and elders is important," Prof Kell said.
"They are very vulnerable, very anxious and in a new and strange environment, so a symbolic welcome by the city and the community, is very, very important to them."
The project also included the launch of a website designed by international students with the information and forums on accommodation, transport, where to buy food, and safety issues.
"The website is going to be a really useful tool, because we need to ensure that students are getting the correct information," Prof Kell said.
The website also has a listing of the specialist international services UOW offers.
"Things like English language assistance, professional counselling, first-rate teacher advice and people who can help with the strict visa regime here in Australia," he said.
Student Equity and Diversity Liaison Officer (SEDLO) Virginie Schmelitschek welcomed the project and said the Illawarra community were largely unaware of the cultural and economic contribution international students make.
"What I don't think people realise is that the university would not survive without that 23 per cent of overseas students - they are full-fee paying students,and pay upwards of $10,000 a semester in university fees alone."
Ms Schmelitschek said it was vital for the region's economy and tourism that students had a positive experience in Wollongong.
"They are ambassadors of our city, " she said.
"If they go home and tell just three people about the city the word of mouth will spread and if they have negative experiences here, we potentially stand to lose a lot of money."
Ms Schmelitschek believes more locals needed to become involved with the international student community.
"We need more local people to become part of our friendship program and take a international student out for the day," she said.
"Taking students home for Christmas or taking them sightseeing is one way they can help - even showing them where the shops are is great.
"I think people are afraid international students will want to move in with them or something! That's just not the case at all - although if you've got spare space at home, having an international student for a homestay is a great way to make a bit of money and get to know more about their culture."
A more pressing problem for many overseas students was coping with the financial pressures they encountered.
"Many are not prepared for the cost of living in Australia," she said
"The perception that all international students are rich is just not true, and the reality is a lot of students are out here on a scholarship from AUSAID, or through their own government."
Ms Schmelitschek said the cost of living was particularly hard on many mature-age students who have to bring their family with them.
"Their scholarships only cover so much, and there are 'hidden' costs like public education for their children, that they often do not know about," she said.
The fact international students do not receive travel concessions also added to the financial burden of studying abroad and made everyday life more difficult.
"This is a big problem for many who do not have their own means of transport," Ms Schmelitschek said.
"A lot of students think Wollongong is a beautiful place when they arrive but it is a village compared to where some of these students come from.
"Add to that issues with transport, large gaps in bus services and train services and it can compound student's feelings of isolation."
Ms Schmelitschek acknowledged some international students had trouble striking up a friendship was a two-way street.
"Some local students are ready to help international students and the truth is many international students don't like to take those first steps and speak English to local students because they are afraid people will laugh at them,"
"Understandably, they tend to live with people of their own language groups, but we tell them in order to get the most out of their time here, they need to speak English as often as possible - in class, at the shops, around other people,"
"We tell them "go and talk to people, because you speak English a whole lot better than they speak Chinese!"
Ms Schmelitschek said international students were encouraged to join clubs and societies to help them interact.
However, some social events were hard for international students to access.
"Many international students felt that personal safety was a problem and when I asked why they didn't take advantage of things like the Unimovies more, many students replied they would not feel safe walking at night from their accommodation to the campus," she said.
Ms Schmelitschek also deals with reports of students being taken advantage of by unscrupulous real estate agents, landlords and employers.
"These students are very vulnerable and some people take advantage of them," she said.
One first year couple Ms Schmelitschek had spoken to rented what they had been told was a fully furnished house, but upon moving in found there was no dining room table, no doors on the kitchen cupboards and their washing machine didn't work.
"Their landlord had told them they didn't have to pay rent until he had fixed the place up - but of course he expected it all back when he had finished the work," she said.
"They said they weren't sure if they could say anything about it because in many countries people don't complain because they feel lucky to have a flat at all."

Culture Shock

Here is a brief article about culture shock which I found quite helpful to be a first guideline to live overseas. I found this article from : http://www.qce.qld.edu.au/one/document/culture_shock.pdf

A few students may experience culture shock when they first arrive. This is understandable as the food, weather, lifestyle and customs may be different from their home country.
Some symptoms may include anxiety, confusion, feeling angry or lost. You may also have physical symptoms like feeling sick, tired and not being able to sleep. Some students even feel like going home at first.
But hang on. Remember that culture shock is not unusual. Remember that it will quickly pass.
Here are some tips to help you handle culture shock:
• Talk to someone in Student Services or your teacher at college about how you feel – this can make a positive difference in your attitude
• Spend some time with people from your own country, they may have experienced similar feelings to you
• Do things that make you feel more comfortable, like eating at a restaurant that serves food from your country
• Be active and involved in your new country’s lifestyle, play sport, go sightseeing, accept invitations to social events
• Learn as much as you can about Australia
Do these things and before long you will feel right at home in Brisbane!

Study in Australia : Happy, Anxious and Sad

I arrived at the first time in Australia on 6 June 2006. In the next two years, I will study for Master of Commerce at Australian National University (ANU) which is located in the capital city of Australia, Canberra. I could not describe my feeling as I arrived in Canberra because I felt happy, anxious and sad at the same time. Frankly speaking, sad and worry were the feelings that I felt most. I felt sad because I was far away from my families, I had to face everything just by myself. I felt anxious because this my first time to study abroad in which the language use is not my mother-tongue. Furthermore, I had to pass 70% marks in the first year to continue to the second year of my study which I thought it was very tough.

However, I was trying to overcome those hard situations. I found that by making lots of friends will reduce sadness and anxiety. I knew that other international students who were in their first semester also had those kinds of feelings, so it was not only me. I also tried to find more information about facilities provided in the university to assist my study. I went to the libraries, learning centre and international education office. Although before I came to Canberra, I already searched for information about ANU and facilities provided, but it would be better if I came directly to the places. I also tried to find a student community from my country. This one was a quite helpful as I could meet other students who speak same language in whom I could ask and obtain clear information about many things especially study strategies.

As an international student, it is common to have situations like I mentioned above. It is because we will live for a quite long time in a place which may have many differences such as culture, language, habit and even food! Sooner or later, we will need to adapt with those differences. The way we make adaptation will then determine whether we can survive or not in this new place. Based on my experience, make an on-going adaptation as we get used to our surroundings.

Foreign students isolated, friendless

Here is an interesting news about a study of international students about their experiences study in Australia. I found this article from : http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23161031-12332,00.html

Milanda Rout February 05, 2008

MORE than two-thirds of overseas students in Australia feel lonely and isolated, and universities need to urgently try to address the problem by encouraging more friendships between foreign and domestic students.

New research shows 67 per cent of female and 62 per cent of male international students experience "periods of loneliness and isolation" while studying in this country.

Researchers from Monash University and the University of Melbourne interviewed 200 students at nine universities across the country and found a failure to form friendships with domestic students was a key factor in loneliness.

The researchers found that students from Singapore were the most lonely, with 100 per cent of those interviewed saying they felt isolated and left out. Young people coming to study from Malaysia also report high rates of friendlessness and desolation, along with students from Indonesia and China.

Some students told researchers they felt they were "in a very strange place" and had the sense of being "lost in a jungle" when they first arrived in Australia. "I just stay in my room ... sometimes I cry and when I cry out, I feel better," said one student from Malaysia.

An Indian student interviewed for the study said the loneliness experienced by overseas students "gets to the point of depression".

The five research authors, including Erlenawati Sawir and Simon Marginson, found that culture shock, personal isolation and an inability to make friends with local students contributed to loneliness among overseas students. "It is significant that 65 per cent of those who had experienced loneliness or isolation had faced barriers in making friends across cultures," the research states.

The study recommends that universities make sure they have "adequate" student services and classroom strategies to help overseas students cope with loneliness by offering counselling, helping students learn English, and setting up social clubs and buddy systems.

"Yet relations with locals might be the key to moving forward on loneliness," the report states.

"If a stronger social bridge between international students and their local context is to be built, this (friendships with domestic students) is the place to build it."

The authors recommend that universities help domestic and foreign students bond "more effectively" by setting up more shared classes and encouraging involvement in sporting and social clubs.

What is this blog about?

This blog is created to share news, stories and experiences of study and life in Australia. Hopefully, this blog will be beneficial for those who want to gather information about study and life in Australia as International students like me ^-^ There are many topics will be posted in this blog which I think important for those prospective students. So, read n enjoy this blog!!Cheers (",)