International students attracted by top service By Shelly Simonds Attracting international students requires more than marketing and recruitment ­ excellent services and support for academics are also essential, said Dr Mary Varghese, Acting Head of the ANU's International Education Office. Top quality student services help draw students and academic support programs enhance retention rates once students arrive on campus, she said. About 42,000 international students came to Australia for university study last year and some 500 to attend the ANU. An ANU seminar on August 1 looked at how the university markets its academic programs abroad, with speakers addressing issues of best practice, global competition and the marketing experiences of several academic programs. The International Education Outlook Seminar was organised by the International Education Office (IEO) and the Planning Office. Dr Varghese said the goal was to raise consciousness around campus about international marketing and to highlight the critical issues for the university as it promotes its programs in the highly competitive international education field. The seminar also emphasised the need for ANU to coordinate a university-wide marketing strategy. Australia captures about 3 per cent of the total international student market, Ms Dorothy Davis of IDP Education Australia told the seminar. She said the United States is the toughest competitor, receiving about 32 per cent of all international students according to 1993 data from UNESCO. Mr Greg Fry spoke on how the Master's in International Relations program in RSPAS has improved its support services for international students over time. "For a while, a surprising number of international students couldn't make it through the program," said Mr Fry. As a result, the program now offers six to 12 month bridging sessions so students can learn the language of the discipline and adjust to Australian academic culture before they begin the program. Professor Mark Dodgson, of the MBA program, echoed the importance of providing quality services to students. "Students tend to remember the bad things that happen at university more than the good," said Prof Dodgson. "If they're inconvenienced at the administrative end, they'll tell their friends back home." Several speakers at the session warned that budget cuts around the university could compromise ANU's student services, making it less attractive for overseas students. "Our best marketing tool is our reputation for quality and service," said Dr Varghese. "We cannot afford to lose this."