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Predicting the Impact of COVID-19 on Australian Universities Thatcher, Arran; Zhang, Mona; Todoroski, Hayden; Chau, Anthony; Wang, Joanna; Liang, Gang

Abstract

This article explores the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) upon Australia’s education industry with a particular focus on universities. With the high dependence that the revenue structures of Australian universities have on international student tuition fees, they are particularly prone to the economic challenges presented by COVID-19. As such, this study considers the impact to total Australian university revenue and employment caused by the significant decline in the number of international students continuing their studies in Australia during the current pandemic. We use a linear regression model calculated from data published by the Australian Government’s Department of Education, Skills, and Employment (DESE) to predict the impact of COVID-19 on total Australian university revenue, the number of international student enrolments in Australian universities, and the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions at Australian universities. Our results have implications for both policy makers and university decision makers, who should consider the need for revenue diversification in order to reduce the risk exposure of Australian universities.

Item Metadata

Title
Predicting the Impact of COVID-19 on Australian Universities
Creator
Thatcher, Arran; Zhang, Mona; Todoroski, Hayden; Chau, Anthony; Wang, Joanna; Liang, Gang
Publisher
MDPI
Date Issued
2020-08-19
Description
This article explores the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) upon Australia’s education industry with a particular focus on universities. With the high dependence that the revenue structures of Australian universities have on international student tuition fees, they are particularly prone to the economic challenges presented by COVID-19. As such, this study considers the impact to total Australian university revenue and employment caused by the significant decline in the number of international students continuing their studies in Australia during the current pandemic. We use a linear regression model calculated from data published by the Australian Government’s Department of Education, Skills, and Employment (DESE) to predict the impact of COVID-19 on total Australian university revenue, the number of international student enrolments in Australian universities, and the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions at Australian universities. Our results have implications for both policy makers and university decision makers, who should consider the need for revenue diversification in order to reduce the risk exposure of Australian universities.
Subject
COVID-19; Education; Australian universities; Revenue; International student enrolment; Full-time equivalent employment
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2021-10-01
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0402363
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/79817
Affiliation
Education, Faculty of; Non UBC
Citation
Thatcher, A., Zhang, M., Todoroski, H., Chau, A., Wang, J., & Liang, G. (2020). Predicting the impact of COVID-19 on Australian universities. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 13(9), 188.
Publisher DOI
10.3390/jrfm13090188
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Researcher; Undergraduate
Copyright Holder
Authors
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Attribution 4.0 International