Foreign students unable to enter Australia could undergo extended transit in Malaysia under plans being developed by the University of Wollongong (UOW). ?

International education executive Kath McCollim said that Wollongong was looking into whether its Malaysian campuses could serve as a ¡°stepping stone¡± for overseas students ¡°who may still have destination Australia in mind¡±.

¡°We are looking at¡­the opportunities to potentially start people¡¯s education in Malaysia and [then] finish in Australia,¡± Ms McCollim told a webinar organised by the Asean Australia Education Dialogue.

The option may not be restricted to students enrolled at Wollongong if the university¡¯s Malaysia operations prove ¡°of value¡± to other Australian institutions. ¡°Under these unprecedented circumstances [it is] ultimately about the needs of students,¡± Ms McCollim said.

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Malaysia is reopening its borders to international students long before they can expect to gain admission to Australia. Yazrina Yahya, deputy director of the Higher Education Leadership Academy in Malaysia¡¯s higher education ministry, said that foreign students were already able to enter her country ¨C subject to immigration ¡°processes¡± ¨C and all higher education institutions were expected to be fully open by October.

Meanwhile, pilot plans to fly hundreds of students into Australia have been shelved?after a resurgence of the coronavirus in Melbourne. Some university leaders doubt that their foreign students will be allowed back in to the country before early next year ¨C and even then, only in small numbers.

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Wollongong is one of four Australian universities with extensive operations in Malaysia. Ms McCollim, also executive director of business transformation with UOW¡¯s Global Enterprises arm, said that the stepping-stone proposal would be discussed with other New South Wales-based institutions.

¡°It¡¯s not a blanket solution but would suit some students,¡± she said. ¡°Some would probably prefer to stay in their own countries and be online until the borders lift. Other students would see a benefit in being able to have the face-to-face experience.

¡°The challenge is going to be very clear communication around articulation arrangements, visa requirements [and] post-study work rights. But if we get it right it could be a great opportunity for a cohort of students that are really ready to engage.¡±

Bernadine Caruana, who recently concluded a posting as education and science counsellor at Australia¡¯s High Commission in Malaysia, said that education providers must ¡°use the assets at our disposal¡±. Branch campuses in Malaysia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia ¡°allow flexibility¡±, she told the forum.

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¡°The thing is to continue learning as much as possible and to try and reduce the number of days, weeks or months that students aren¡¯t learning.¡±

But Andrew Walker, head of Monash University¡¯s Malaysia campus, flagged ¡°significant regulatory uncertainties¡± around the stepping-stone proposal. ¡°The Malaysian government is currently only letting existing students enter, not new students, and we are seeing a trickle of students coming in,¡± he observed.

¡°We don¡¯t yet know when they¡¯re going to start opening up for new students, whether they¡¯re going to allow us to host students from third-party universities ¨C frankly, I think that¡¯s a step too far.¡±

Professor Walker said that there were also questions over students¡¯ preparedness to undergo quarantine to earn places on campuses where social distancing was still being enforced. Meanwhile, Malaysia was ¡°quite rightly looking at Victoria¡± in assessing the risks of allowing foreigners in.

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¡°This can turn on a dime,¡± he said. ¡°Universities are wisely planning for all sorts of scenarios.¡±

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com