The COVID-19 pandemic temporarily halted many students' plans to study abroad due to border restrictions and lockdowns across countries. Now, more than a year into the pandemic, universities are steadily revisiting their enrolment processes.
With governments worldwide focusing on vaccinations, there will likely be controlled and continued movements of students to key study destinations like Australia, the US, the UK and Canada.
For overseas students who prefer Australia as their study destination, it is reassuring that Australia, with its diverse multicultural population, remains to be one of the world's best study destinations. Australia's education providers' response to international students during COVID-19 has been generous and positive. Some universities have even provided financial support as concessions, scholarships and flexible payment options to their existing international students.
Australia has many reputed universities and high quality education providers to choose from. Besides world-class education and excellent academic programmes, students experience vibrant cities rich in culture and diversity. Melbourne is ranked as one of the world's best cities to live in and is also a very popular choice for domestic and international students.
Pramesh Khadka, Founder and Chief Technology Enabler of Educonnect, a tertiary education comparison platform based in Australia, commented, "Overseas education will continue to be strong post-covid. Despite all uncertainties, students are undeterred in pursuing higher education abroad. Undoubtedly, the pandemic and border lockdowns have affected the study plans of many students worldwide. As vaccination speeds up and the process of safe overseas arrivals is in place, international students will be welcomed, most likely from October 2021."
Education bodies around the globe are gradually relaxing norms for international students. The rules on travel for educational purposes are changing depending on the country's response to the pandemic. Therefore it is crucial for aspiring students to be regularly updated with the changing protocols. As of now, the use of facemasks, social distancing, hand hygiene are the commonly recommended protocols. In the future, students will likely be required to travel with identification such as digital health passports, verifying their COVID-19 vaccination and/or test results.
The Australian government is currently issuing visas for international students. The acceptance letters will allow students to justify their attendance mode if travel is restricted and they have to study remotely. Studying remotely is now incorporated in the university curriculum worldwide, meng while part of the course is conducted in a classroom setting when possible, the rest is delivered via learning management systems or virtual lectures.
Pramesh Khadka, Founder and Chief Education Enabler of Educonnect stated, "The credit-bearing, gap year programmes will increase worldwide. We project a positive trend in international student applications owing to the sharp rise in the number of students taking GRE and TOEFL tests.''
Every institution and course has specific entry requirements such as academic qualifications, English language proficiency, and other admission requirements such as financials, education background and work experience. Education providers generally issue unconditional offers when students meet all the criteria for entry to the course of their choice. Some programs, such as the certificate/diploma level or undergraduate level courses, may have year 12 requirements. However, English language requirements are essential for all undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Australia. A student may be allowed to defer a course because of unavoidable circumstances such as visa issues or compassionate reasons. Each provider has their enrolment terms and conditions set out in the offer letter that defines the deferral process.
Those students who have opted to begin their undergraduate/post-graduate courses in 2021 may apply for their student visas, keeping their options open to travel as soon as travel restrictions are lifted.
Most international universities have comprehensive guidelines for admission processes and course initiation details on their websites. Understanding how a university plans to cope with the new norms is becoming a bit of a challenge for students. The simple answer to this is to reach out to course advisors or to log on to an education comparison site like Educonnect and seek up to date information. They link education providers and students across the globe, students can also search, compare, shortlist and select from various courses. Once the courses are selected, the course advisors help them with their admission process and visa application.
To know more about Australian universities and education providers, their courses, the visa and immigration processes, visit:
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( With inputs from ANI )
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