Conference 2007 - Registrations open NOW!

In response to popular demand for an earlier start to the process, registrations are now open!

What? The premier annual industry networking event. The 16th annual New Zealand International Education Conference – ‘The Big Picture’.

When? 8 - 10 August 2007

Where? Hotel Grand Chancellor, Christchurch

Who? International Education industry representatives and stakeholders.  Including:

• Marketers
• Student Recruiters
• Policy Makers
• Strategic Planners
• Governance
• Senior Management; and
• Anyone else with an interest in New Zealand’s international education industry.

How do I find out more? Find out about PROGRAMME, PRICING, REGISTRATION and ACCOMMODATION online HERE

EEIDF - Completed Research Projects

• Pan-Industry Professional Development Strategy
  
  The above research project, commissioned by the Education New Zealand Trust and funded through the Export Education Industry Development Fund is now available HERE
  
  You are welcome to feedback any comments via email to Kathy Phillips - Industry Development Programme Manager.
  
  
• Leadership Development Programme for Experienced International Education Administrators 
  
  Phase one of the above project, commissioned by the Education New Zealand Trust and funded through the Export Education Industry Development Fund is now available HERE

  This first phase has been undertaken to ascertain the feasibility of a programme for staff engaged in export education.  Prior to moving forward with phase two of this project, which would be the development and implementation of this programme, we would appreciate your feedback on the recommendations contained within this report via email to Kathy Phillips - Industry Development Programme Manager.

Your feedback on both reports is sought by 5pm Friday the 13th of April 2007.

EEIDF - Upcoming Workshops

Workshop - CD10: Best practice methods and techniques in selecting and monitoring homestay providers

A reminder that there are still places available for the above workshops. Workshops will be held in the following locations:

Auckland (North Shore) - Tuesday 1st May 2007
Auckland (Manukau) - Wednesday 2nd May 2007
Hamilton - Thursday 3rd May 2007
Palmerston North - Friday 4th May 2007
Wellington - Monday 7th May 2007
Dunedin - Tuesday 8th May 2007
Christchurch - Wednesday 9th May 2007

If you wish to register for any of the above workshops, please e mail The Knowledge Partnership . You can also download the information about the workshop HERE

• Please note that Code of Practice Signatories will have priority over available places.

EEIP - Upcoming Tender

The following Expression of Interest (EOI) will be available from 2 April 2007.

EOI: Export Education Innovation Programme 2007/2008 - Round 6
Education New Zealand (ENZ) is seeking expressions of interest from high-quality New Zealand resident educational product and service providers interested in undertaking innovative initiatives in the delivery of export education offshore.

The purpose of this EOI is to identify Providers who have the capability to undertake projects which are innovative in the context of the New Zealand Export Education Industry.  For the purposes of the EEIP, innovation is broadly defined as activities that are a significant change and development for an organisation on the previous way of doing things.  This can encompass the development of new markets; new business models and structures, expansion into new modes of delivery; development of new educational programmes and products; or qualitative increases in scale of operation.

The EOI document will be available for download HERE on the ENZ website or on www.gets.govt.nz from 2 April 2007 or by contacting Deryk Holland, Contracts Manager, for more information.

PACE 2007 - Register now!

German Inbound Agents, 13 - 24 May
German agents are very influential within all sectors of the full-fee education market. In 2006 the German Agents visit was restricted to Secondary School participation only, but demand from the market has warranted open access for 2007. Register now as places are filling up quickly. More information is available HERE or contact Genevieve

New Zealand Education Fairs - Thailand & Viet Nam, 8 - 20 June 2007
The Thai fairs take place 8-12 June 2007 in Chiang Mai, Bangkok and Khon Kaen and the Viet Nam fairs are scheduled from 15-20 June in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Danang. New Zealand is a popular destination for Thai and Vietnamese students, with all sectors having good opportunities to market their courses.   Last year 4,360 visitors attended the fairs in Thailand and 1,700 attended our fairs in Viet Nam.   Participation in the fair series will provide excellent opportunities for New Zealand institutions to meet prospective students and agents, as well as increasing institutional knowledge of the markets.  More information is available HERE for Thailand and HERE for Vietnam, or contact Karen.

Chile & Colombian Fairs 2007, 4 - 11 August 2007
The September 2007 ExpoIngles has been moved to March 2008 to coincide with BELTA fairs in Brazil.   Fairs proposed for Bogota and Medellin (Colombia) for early September have been expanded to include Chile and brought forward to August. The fairs will be held in the Chilean cities of Santiago, Antofagasta and Concepcion and then will move on to Bogota, Colombia.  Detailed information is currently being collated and should be online soon, in the meantime if you’re interested please contact Karen

Go Abroad – Canada Fairs, 15 - 18 September 2007
Dates this year for the Go Abroad Canada Fairs are 15 & 16 September in Toronto and 17 & 18 September in Vancouver.  There are some excellent savings with early bird discounts this year!  The early bird discount price is in affect now until 8 June making Toronto NZ$2800 per booth (a saving of approx NZ$495) and Vancouver NZ$2280 per booth (a saving of approx NZ$400). More information is available HERE or contact Genevieve

Scholarships - News and Deadlines

• Spanish Government Scholarships Programme
  The Spanish Government is offering up to 53,000 scholarships for Spanish students aged 18 - 30 to study English overseas.  The total value of the scheme will reach approximately 85 million Euro. This is the first time a scholarships opportunity of this size has been made available by the Spanish government.
  
  ASEPROCE, the industry representative of education agents in Spain, will be coordinating a website to provide information on the scheme to students.  ENZ are making arrangements to ensure a prominent New Zealand profile on this site.  More information including the link to the site will be disseminated in the next edition of E-news.
  

• New Zealand Undergraduate Study Abroad Award (NZUSAA)
  The NZUSAA are available to students enrolled in an undergraduate diploma or degree programme at a New Zealand institution who wish to complete part of their qualification overseas.  The 2007 NZUSAA are available to students enrolled at universities, institutes of technology and polytechnics.
  
  Close date for nominations is 1 May and 1 November 2007
  
  Please direct all interested students to www.newzealandeducated.com/scholarships
  
  
  
• New Zealand Postgraduate Study Abroad Award (NZPSAA)
  The NZPSAA are available to postgraduate students enrolled fulltime in either doctoral or master’s degree programmes at a New Zealand institution whose research programme would benefit significantly from a short-term period of study or research abroad. 
  
  Close date for applications is 1 May and 1 November 2007
  
  Please direct all interested students to www.newzealandeducated.com/scholarships

If you would like further details about the NZUSAA and NZPSAA, please email Camilla Swan at Education New Zealand.

Regular Feature - Just the Stats

Over the past couple of years, the number of students coming to New Zealand from India has climbed sharply. 

First Time Students (India; FFP**)
Year    No.
03/04    819
04/05    735
05/06    1,142
06/07*  933
* = First 8 months of the year
** = Full Fee Paying

Analysing the offshore application data gives a more detailed look at application numbers and approval rates:

Offshore Student Application Data (India; FFP)
Year                Applied            Approved        Decline Rate 
03/04                  1011                  750                     26%
04/05                   907                   653                     28%
05/06                  1464                 1087                    26%
06/07*                1321                 1025                    22%
(05/06)**            (927)                (699)                 (25%)
* = First 8 months of the year
** = equivalent 8 month period from 05/06 year

This data (which has a monthly breakdown available) is tracking for a 50% year on year increase over the last two years. Decline rates are trending down, suggesting that agents are promoting better qualified applicants.

Agents are a very important part of the Indian market. An approval rate of 90% is required for the NZIER agents to maintain inclusion in the group. However, many institutions have relationships with a range of agents, not all of which are NZIER members. Students also come through other pathways.

An analysis of the last ten years transition data shows that 31% of Indian students transition to a work visa and 33% gain residency (note that some may have work status prior to residency, so the numbers do not aggregate). Immigration policy moves to encourage well qualified students to transition to work and residency have been helpful in this market.

Indian fee paying students are currently well distributed across the University (33%), Polytech/ITP (24%) and PTE (43%) sectors. Although the institutions that participate in generic activities such as Fairs have good numbers of students, other non participating institutions are also getting increased numbers. This supports the contention that the generic campaigns are benefiting all institutions that are active in the market, not just those that attend specific events.

News from Abroad

UK slashes student visa fees
The UK Government has cut visa costs for international students. The move is a result of stiff resistance from university heads who attributed the fall in international student applications to a hike in student visa fees in 2005. The charges have been reduced to £99 (US$191) from £129 (US$249).

According to Universities UK, Britain's higher education action group, the move will make UK visas competitive with countries such as US and Australia. Fees for postgraduate students wishing to extend their visas are to rise from £250 (US$483) to £295 (US$570). These fees are still fairly stiff by NZ standards – whether they will help the UK re-stimulate demand remains to be seen!

Source: "Government cuts visa costs for international students,"
The Guardian, March 8, 2007, www.education.guardian.co.uk

• This story also ran in ‘The Australian’ newspaper.
  

900 SAT Scores Cancelled in Korea
The Educational Testing Service (ETS) is once again facing the compromise of its examinations. ETS has cancelled the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores of all 900 students in Korea as an unknown number of students are reported to have seen the test before the exam date on 27 January this year. Students will be able to retake the test or get a refund.

Instances of cheating during ETS' tests are not uncommon. In the early '90s, Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores were cancelled across India and in 1992, 10,000 Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores were cancelled in China. Four years ago, Chinese and South Korean hackers are reported to have broken into the ETS database, stealing and posting tests on a number of websites.

Source: "South Korea: 900 Sat Scores Cancelled,"
The New York Times, Mar. 13, 2007