Mobile students ‘not prepared to pay full quarantine costs’

Prospective international students are still holding out for in-person teaching, but the majority expect universities and governments to cover at least some of the costs of quarantine and Covid-19 vaccination, according to new research.

A survey of more than 6,000 aspiring overseas students from over 57 countries, conducted by IDP Connect, found that just 10 per cent of respondents were willing to study on programmes that were fully online. However, 43 per cent said that they would be willing to start studying online as long as they could later transfer to face-to-face teaching. Almost a third of respondents (31 per cent) said that they would defer their studies until in-person classes became available.

Thirty-nine per cent of students said they were likely to switch destination if it meant they could learn in-person sooner, while 30 per cent said that they would do so even if it meant forgoing a scholarship offer.

However, attitudes to online study differ depending on the destination country of choice, with students looking to study in Canada and the UK much more likely to be willing to start studying online and transition to face-to-face. Those interested in studying in Australia, New Zealand and the US are much more likely to defer until face-to-face teaching is possible.

Despite this, 75 per cent of respondents said that they expected to start their studies as planned, a drop of 5 percentage points since October 2020. Of those who were current students and who had commenced their studies online in their home country, 57 per cent expected to transition to full-time on-campus teaching by September 2021.

Almost two-thirds of respondents (64 per cent) said that they had either already been vaccinated against Covid-19 or would get a vaccine as soon as they were able to so they could get a vaccine passport, but a significant minority (30 per cent) said they needed more information about the vaccine before deciding on their next steps.

While 48 per cent of students said that they were prepared to pay the full cost of receiving the vaccine, 51 per cent said they expected to pay only a portion of the fee or were not willing to pay at all. Just 28 per cent of respondents said they were prepared to pay the full cost of quarantining in a hotel, with 58 per cent of those not willing to pay the full fee saying that governments and institutions in their destination country had shared responsibility to shoulder all or most of the costs.

The survey was carried out between 16 March and 5 April. All respondents aspire to study at higher education institutions in either Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK or the US.

Andrew Barkla, chief executive of IDP Education, said the research showed that “an online offering cannot replace the on-campus experience” and he urged Australia in particular to “outline a roadmap for how international students are able to enter the country safely and commence on-campus learning”.

“Students have shown a real willingness to quarantine and vaccinate and are open to starting their studies online. This flexibility and commitment should be repaid with clear and welcoming policies that acknowledge their enormous contribution to the Australian community,” he said.

ellie.bothwell@timeshighereducation.com