The changes are designed to help genuine students, and to stop those who go to the country on a student visa just to try and pursue residency.

Immigration minister Jonathon Coleman said: ‘’The majority of people are here to legitimately study, but some just see a student visa as a short cut to gaining access to New Zealand. Some education providers have been enrolling students who are not capable of successfully completing their courses, have poor attendance and who are recording poor learning outcomes’. This affects our reputation as a high quality study destination, and our ability to attract more genuine students who have the skills New Zealand needs.”

International students bring about NZ$2.3 billion to the New Zealand economy, so care must be taken so that visa changes don’t negatively affect those genuine students going to the country to study. Dr Coleman explained: “Export education supports about 32,000 jobs and providers received nearly $600 million in fees last year from over 90,000 students – it’s a significant earner for New Zealand so these changes are about ensuring we maintain the sector’s reputation and attract genuine students.’’

The changes, which will mostly come into place in July 2011 but some of which will come into place in 2012, are intended to strengthen student visa requirements and conditions, improve access to study and training, and improve pathways to residence. The new measures include:

• Students will have to prove genuine access to funds to support themselves during their course
• More emphasis on making sure students are able to complete their course, by tightening criteria
• Visa conditions for attendance and academic progress will be strengthened
• The validity period of medical and police certificates for PhD students, their partners and dependants will be extended from 24 to 36 months
• Students will need to study in New Zealand for at least two years to qualify for Study to Work visas, unless they have postgraduate qualifications or credit-transferred bachelor’s degrees – those studying one-year diplomas will not qualify
• Students who obtain a second, higher qualification at bachelor’s degree or postgraduate level will be able to acquire two Graduate Job Search visas, rather than just one

For more information about student visas and updates on the new changes, please visit the Immigration New Zealand website.

The Guardian asked Paul for his thoughts on the effects of the higher fees – now that it has emerged all universities will charge at least £6,000 – on the number of British students going abroad for their education, and how universities overseas are responding to the increase in demand. They quoted him as saying:

“Meanwhile, it has emerged that overseas universities are redoubling their efforts to recruit English students to their universities.

Paul Loftus, managing director of i-studentgroup, which helps universities in the UK, Australia, Canada, the US and New Zealand with their recruitment, said foreign universities were targeting the UK. “If overseas universities haven’t started lifting their recruitment efforts to try to get British students, they are now.”

Loftus said more British students than in the past were considering going abroad for university, in part because of higher fees. “Although the Australian dollar is strong, many British teenagers are enrolling on courses in Australia, Canada and New Zealand in particular.” ”

To see the full article, please click here.

For more information about studying abroad, please see the i-studentgroup website

University of Adelaide vice-chancellor and president, Professor James McWha, says he was pleased to be able to help saying that: “[Our] sympathy and understanding extends to the people of Christchurch, and we see this as an opportunity to strengthen the ties between our two institutions at a time when it is most needed.”

The university is prepared to expand the programme to reach 1,000 students should they need to, but are currently working on the basis of 500 students attending their university for one semester.

No extra tuition fees will need to be paid, however, they may have to pay for their own lodgings. The university has called upon its staff, students and former graduates to offer cheap or free accommodation to the New Zealanders making the trip to Adelaide.

Australian airline, Qantas has also made a plane available this weekend to transport the students across the Tasman.

Three other New Zealand universities have also offered their assistance including the University of Otago, who have offered 50 places for students, some of whom have already settled in Dunedin.

The University of Canterbury, which remains closed after the earthquake, has recently published its annual net surplus of $12.4 million despite the reparation costs of $26.4million. They have also announced that they are going to bring in new hi-tech buildings to assist in the progressive re-start to the university year.

They are also hoping to install an additional 8,000 square metres of space on the University Oval. These spaces will make up sixty individual 12×12m spaces available for lectures, seminars and study groups, as well as open plan office spaces for members of staff.

Although the majority of our buildings have passed initial visual inspection, not all UC teaching facilities will be certified safe within the next six to eight weeks. Vice Chancellor, Dr Rod Carr was quoted on the stuff.co.nz website saying  that “because of the comprehensive process we are required to undertake to achieve building certification to reoccupy. These buildings will take us one step closer to the progressive re-start of our teaching and research programmes,”

The University of Canterbury Students Association has once again stepped into action inviting students to join the volunteer army via its Facebook site.  Volunteers from the age of 16 onwards are able to put themselves forward to help. They are encouraged to bring along shovels, wheelbarrows, gloves, raincoats, sunblock and drink bottles. The Facebook page also includes information on how to donate to their cause.

The Auckland University Students Association (AUSA) has launched an immediate appeal to help raise money for those affected by the earthquake. President of the AUSA Joe McCory said “no words can express the horror of the scenes we have seen coming in from Christchurch.” Any students at the University of Auckland who wish to volunteer to help raise money for the cause are encouraged to contact the AUSA.

The people of Dunedin and Wellington have also reached out to those in need – offering packed lunches to volunteer workers and housing for displaced Cantabrians.

If you wish to make a donation please visit any one of these websites (the Red Cross website has been crashing due to extensive traffic so please be patient):

Red Cross online

GrabOne website

fundraiseonline.co.nz

Britons can donate to the New Zealand Red Cross online here.

Alternatively UK Vodafone customers can give £5 by texting “NZQUAKE” to 70801. UK Vodafone will donate an extra £1 for each text.

The UK slipped from third highest to fifteenth in the years between 2000 and 2008 with the Russell Group of leading universities in the UK warning further cuts to the higher education system could lead to a “lower division of higher education quality from which it would be difficult to ever recover”.

The OECD also expressed fears that having fewer people with qualifications would lead to long-term economic problems in the UK, as short-term cuts in higher education would also reduce the tax returns of the future.

Steve Smith, president of the universities group Universities UK, is also concerned about the nature of the findings and the cuts, saying: “At a time when many of our competitors are investing in higher education and research as a way out of the recession, we cannot afford to be left behind.”

Universities Minister, David Willetts, believes that the report shows that higher education shows some real challenges which he says the government is “ determined to tackle”. Willetts added that the government had taken action to boost numbers by funding an extra 10,000 places.

However, with the UK now falling behind Poland, Iceland and Slovakia in the list of the proportion of young people graduating, and countries like Australia and New Zealand doing well owing to increased investment in higher education, some people are starting to worry.

Aaron Porter, president of the National Union of Students said: “With the UK already being left behind other countries in its graduation rates and public funding, a double whammy of short-sighted funding cuts and arbitrary limits on student places will make matters far worse in the years ahead.”

This view is echoed by Sally Hunt, head of the UCU lecturer’s union who warns that the governments refusal to fund sufficient places at universities will “come back to haunt us”.

How do you feel about the UK higher education system? Do you think that cut-backs are the wrong answer and the government should be investing for the future? Let us know what you think below.

Our sister site, i-studentenquiry.com, is a simple online search service to help students find their ideal institution overseas without the stress.

By completing one simple form, listing their study level, personal details, educational background and study preferences, i-studentenquiry can help match students to a range of institutions, in the USA, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy and Germany, who exactly match their search criteria.

i-studentenquiry then forward a list of matching institutions onto the student, and also forward the student details onto the institutions, who will then contact each individual student within days of them submitting their form.

Over the past month, i-studentenquiry have upgraded the design and added lots of additional features to the website, including a new links page, a help page and tool tips to help students who may not understand all the educational terms used in the forms.

To visit the i-studentenquiry website, go to: www.i-studentenquiry.com and select undergraduate, postgraduate or English language to begin completing a form.

Or if you have any further questions or queries about the i-studentenquiry search service, please contact one of our representatives on the following e-mail address: info@i-studentenquiry.com

If you are an international student currently going through the application process, then why not let us know how you are getting on in your search.

Robert Stevens, chief executive of Education New Zealand attributes the rise to the tendency for people to stay in education for longer or re-enter tertiary education from the labour market during times of economic hardship.

However, the rise may also be due to some intensive marketing strategies implemented over the course of the last few years. Stevens said that his organisation and other education providers had worked hard to attract new students from China, India, Vietnam, North America, Brazil and Germany last year.

One notable campaign saw Education New Zealand run secondary school cricket competitions in New Delhi. Stevens said: “Those competitions really helped put New Zealand on the map for education options and it was through a very simple marketing campaign.” Although he added that it was too early to have any firm statistics about the success of such campaigns he also said that anecdotal evidence and feedback had been very positive.

Similar to Australia, the bulk of international students in New Zealand come form China, Japan and India with the majority choosing to study English. However there were also significant numbers studying business and tourism. New Zealand and Australia have traditionally been very popular destinations for international students because of the high standards of education and equally high standards of living in the countries but it would seem that current difficulties with Australian student visas are encouraging more students to choose New Zealand as their study destination.

Have you chosen to study in New Zealand over Australia? Let us know what influenced your decision.

Kapil Sibal, India’s Minister for Human Resources Development, signed the deal yesterday with Anne Tolley, the Education Minister for New Zealand. The agreement is the result of talks between the two nations earlier this year in Delhi, which should lead to the exchange of officials and personnel.

The deal will also include teacher training, distance learning, development and quality assurance and collaboration on educational projects between India and New Zealand.

“A formal agreement such as this is a significant achievement for New Zealand considering the relative size and scale of our two nations and is testament to our high quality education system,” said Tolley, remarking that India’s large, young population could provide a key education market for New Zealand.

Education is the fifth largest export for New Zealand, and has proved vital to the healthy growth of their economy.

Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce said: “It’s essential we maximise our opportunities in this area and that we are able to compete with other countries for international students.”

To find out more about studying in New Zealand, read the latest i-studentadvisor New Zealand edition.

In fact, whilst applications from traditional markets in the Far East have declined in the past year, the number of students applying from India to study in New Zealand has risen by 42%.

Education New Zealand has attributed the increased interest as proof that diversifying the market has had a positive impact, citing not just the rise in Indian applications but also the surge from other locations such as South America and the Middle East.

In the last two years the number of international students in New Zealand has risen by over 8000.

The rise in Indian applicants has also been encouraged by Immigration New Zealand, who recently amended their application processes to reduce the visa application period from as much as five months down to just 22 days.

With the number of young Indian people under the age of 25 now at the 500 million mark, the market for Indian students is vast, and New Zealand are eager to see numbers rising.

Education New Zealand chief executive Robert Stevens said: “New Zealand is seen as a safe, welcoming country by most Indian students and we enjoy a good reputation in India for the quality of our institutions.”

John Key announced that the government will be assessing the education market in New Zealand to ensure that the $2.78bn the nation spends on tertiary (higher) education is being used effectively, and determining where New Zealand can get more value for their money.

Courses will be re-examined to ensure that they teach relevant skills necessary for employment, in order to ensure students have the knowledge and expertise required in the job market. Students themselves will also come under the microscope; those who fail to put in the required work and effort may find their applications for student loans and allowances refused in a move designed to ensure that government aid is only granted to those who are serious about their education.

Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce confirmed that the details of the edcuation reform have not yet been finalised, but has assured students and families that New Zealand’s policy of zero interest student loans will remain in place:

“The Prime Minister has signalled previously that the principle of the student loan scheme as zero interest remains the same. What we are looking at is around the edges where there are potentially issues in terms of whether it’s being used effectively to advance people’s studies or not.”

The New Zealand governments draft education strategy has also proposed funding institutions based on the performance of their students and their ability to satisfy key skills demands in the graduate sector.

Find out more about studying in New Zealand in our latest i-studentadvisor guide.