Corruption Matters - June 2015 - Issue 45

Corruption in the classroom: tough lessons to learn

Corruption in the classroom

In April, the ICAC released its findings on a research paper into corruption risks associated with international students at universities in NSW. The underlying message of the report is clear: it is unsurprising that problems are emerging but there are no simple solutions.

Universities in NSW – like those in other states and, indeed, other countries around the world – have come to rely heavily on a steady revenue stream of fee-paying international students. Currently, these fees account for around 17% of the operating budgets of NSW universities; income that has become integral to funding a broad range of activities around campus.  

Australian universities have had to compete increasingly with universities in the US, Canada and the UK, among others, to attract students looking to study abroad. Today, one in every five students studying at a university in NSW is an international student; a figure that has skyrocketed since the late 1980s when Australian universities first entered foreign markets.

Fierce competition over the years has meant that the global supply of university places has outstripped the number of students with suitable academic capabilities and adequate English-language proficiency.
In order to preserve or even build on their international student quotas, therefore, some universities in NSW are entering markets where document fraud and cheating on proficiency tests are known to exist and using large numbers of local intermediaries – sometimes more than 200 agents – to market to and recruit students.    

The result is a regular intake of students, on the one hand, who are struggling to pass because they lack the necessary academic and language skills, and universities that cannot afford to fail them, on the other – a tension that can drive some to inducement offers and misconduct. When combined with due diligence, control, compliance and financial challenges, corruption is highly likely if not inevitable.

Internal students publication

Although there are no simple solutions to these problems, the ICAC has identified 12 corruption prevention initiatives that NSW universities should consider adapting and adopting as appropriate to their organisation, for example:

In the course of its research for the report, the ICAC met with representatives from all publicly-funded universities in NSW as well as two interstate universities. More than 40 academics and administrators with significant experience in teaching and administering international students were interviewed, along with university risk and audit staff, senior staff from international student offices, pro-vice chancellors with responsibility for international students and relevant Australian and NSW government agencies.

The report, Learning the hard way: managing corruption risks associated with international students at universities in NSW, is available from the ICAC website.

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