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Alan Olsen is a
Director of SPRE. He is a
researcher, strategist and policy adviser on international
education, transnational education and international student
programs, now based in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. He has worked in international
education in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong and has
published extensively, with 60 publications listed on Australia's Database of Research on International Education
http://opac.acer.edu.au/IDP_drie/index.html.
In 2025
he was author of
•
Education as an Export for Australia
on the value of education as an export for Australia. Education in
calendar year 2024 was Australia’s fourth largest export behind
Iron Ore, Coal and Natural Gas, more valuable than Gold. Education
remains the only top export that captures Australia as more than a
quarry with a view.
But the value of education as an export was
flat in second semester 2024. The value of education as an export
in calendar year 2024 was $51.518, from $51.032 billion in
financial year 2023/24, indicating there was virtually no growth
in second semester 2024.
•
Global Rankings of Australian Universities 2025,
analysis from Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
26% of students in Australian universities are at universities in
the world’s top 100, 26% of students in UK
universities are at universities in the world’s top 200
and 23% of students in US universities are at universities in the
world’s top 500.
•
International Student Revenue 2023,
on the finances of Australian universities in 2023. 25.4% of
Australian university revenue in 2023 was from international
student fees. This release covers the boom year 2023, ahead of the
impact of the 2024 perfect storm.
•
International Students: Bachelors & Doctors,
on levels and fields of study of international students in
Australian universities in 2023.
In total 31.1% of
students at all levels of education in 2023 were international.
39.7% of postgraduate research students were international.
In total 31.1% of students in all fields of education in 2023
were international. 60% of students in IT were international, 54%
of students in Business were international and 39% of students in
Engineering were international.
In 2024
he was author of
•
The Gender Agenda,
on the extent to which gender is a key factor in outcomes of
higher education in Australia. 61% of Australian Bachelor degree
graduates each year are women, 56% of Australian PhD and Masters
by Research graduates are women. 47.1% of 25 to 34 year olds in
Australia have at least a Bachelor degree in 2023, because 53.7%
of young women are graduates and 40.7% of young men are graduates.
•
International Students in US: Open Doors 2024,
following the release of Fast Facts from Open Doors 2024. Incoming
to US in 2023/24, the number of international student enrolments
grew 7% from the previous academic year to the new record high
number 1,126,690. India is the top-sending country, ahead of
China. India and China together made up over half of all
international students in the United States. Outgoing from US in
2022/23, numbers equivalent to 9.3% of completing U.S. domestic
undergraduates pursuing bachelor degrees undertook study abroad in
2022/23, still down from 16.1% in pre-pandemic 2018/19.
•
International Student 2023,
on numbers of international students in Australian universities.
In the boom year 2023, there were 453,796 international students,
onshore and offshore, in universities in Australia, up 15.2% from
393,988 in 2022, and back up to the pre-pandemic 453,833 in 2019.
These international students in 2023 made up 31.0% of the students
in Australian universities, from 27.4% a year earlier and back up
to the figure 30.6% in pre-pandemic 2019. Included in the growth
of 15.2% in the number of international students is growth of
35.7% in the number of commencing international students, from
162,588 in 2022 to 220,638 in 2023.
•
International Students: Academic Performance,
on success rates of international students in Australian
universities. In 2023, for the first time since 2007,
international students commencing bachelor degrees underperformed
their domestic colleagues. Domestic students passed 86.2% of what
they attempted, and outperformed international students, who
passed 84.2%.
Other recent snapshots and opinion pieces are at the What’s New page of
www.spre.com.au
In 2014 he was author of
2014 Research Agenda: Australian Universities International Directors’ Forum the October 2014 Australian International Education Conference paper on benchmarking of international operations of Australia’s universities.
In 2011 he was joint author, with Melissa Banks and the late Tony Adams, of
Benefits of International Education: Enriching Students, Enriching Communities, and joint author, with Melissa Banks, of
Australia’s International Students: Characteristics and Trends, both chapters in
Making a Difference: Australian International Education, edited by Dorothy Davis and Bruce Mackintosh, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney, 2011.
In 2011 he was joint author, with Melissa Banks and the late Tony Adams, of International Education in Australia: from aid to trade to internationalization in
International students and global mobility in higher education: national trends and new directions edited by Rajika Bhandari and Peggy Blumenthal, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2011.
In 2010 he was joint author, with Stephen Connelly and Jim
Garton, of
A Transnationality Index for Higher Education Institutions published online by the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, London.
In 2009 he was author of
The Nature of International Education in Australian Universities and its Benefits with Tim Dodd for Universities Australia. The report documents important non-economic benefits of international education – to the Australian higher education system, its students and graduates, and to the wider Australian community. The benefits of international education go far beyond the immediate economic contributions made by students who come to Australian universities to undertake their studies. The report shows how international education enriches and changes Australian education and deepens relationships between nations. These social and cultural benefits are clearly of paramount importance in a world where international relations are undergoing rapid changes, and where Australia’s future depends critically on its ability to establish diverse and productive international connections.
In 2009 he was author of
The Gaokao: Research on China’s National College Entrance
Examination
with Cathryn Hlavka for Australian Education International. The
report aims to explain to Australian international education
providers, peak bodies and government, how China’s National
College Entrance Examination system works in practice and
identifies opportunities to streamline the admission of high
performing undergraduate students from China. The report is
available to subscribers to the Austrade Market Information Package at
Austrade.
In 2008 he was
the author of
•
Chapter 1 Impacts and Outcomes for Students in Outcomes and
Impacts of International Education: From International Student
to Australian Graduate, the Journey of a Lifetime, edited by
Melissa Banks and Alan Olsen and published by IDP Education Pty
Ltd. In the Group of 8 Australian universities, 195,694 students
in 2007 passed 91.8% of what they attempted. The 46,812
international students on campus in Australia passed 91.6% of
what they attempted, and did just as well as the 140,903
Australian students, who passed 92.0%.
•
Staying the Course: Retention and Attrition in Australian
Universities. In this study of 485,983 students in 32
Australian universities in 2006, 89.5% of students stayed the
course, either completing the course in 2006 or continuing to
2007. 10.5% dropped out.
• Nearly 6% of undergraduates in
37 participating Australian universities undertake an
international study experience by the time they complete their
degrees.
In 2008 he was also the author of International
Mobility of Australian University Students: 2005, Journal of Studies in International Education, Vol.
12, No. 4, 364-376 (2008)
http://jsi.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/12/4/364
In 2007 he was
joint author with Melissa Banks and David Pearce of
Global Student Mobility: An Australian Perspective Five Years On,
the third study by IDP Education P/L to forecast demand for
international higher education.
In 2007 he was also joint author of
Ten Years On: Satisfying Hong
Kong's Demand for Higher Education (see What’s New), the
paper by Alan Olsen of SPRE Limited and Peter Burges of IDP
Education P/L published in Hong Kong on 30 June 2007, ten years
after the handover of Hong Kong to China. Ten years into Chinese
rule, ten years since the last British Governor sailed out of
Hong Kong, it is still difficult to get into university in Hong
Kong.
In 2006 he was joint author of
Models and Types: Guidelines for Good
Practice in Transnational Education published online by the
Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, London,
and
The Comparative Academic Performance of International Students in
Australia for the Winter 2006 edition of International
Higher Education, showing that there is no difference
between the academic performance of international students and
their Australian counterparts.
In 2002 he was author of
e-Learning in Asia: Supply and Demand,
published online by The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education.
In 2001, he was author of a chapter Online Education in the
Context of Globalisation in Transnational Education: Australia
Online, a research study on the critical factors for success
in online delivery of higher education.
In 2000, he was joint author of Transnational Education: Providers,
Partners and Policy on the challenges for Australian
institutions offering courses offshore.
He is joint author of chapters in Peter Scott's Higher Education
Reformed (Falmer Press, London, 2000) and Keith Harry's Higher
Education through Open and Distance Learning (Routledge, London,
1999).
He is joint editor of International Education: The Professional
Edge (1999), and Outcomes of International Education: Research
Findings (1998), two series of commissioned research papers.
His earlier publications as joint author include:
- Becoming
Internationally Competitive: The Value of International Experience
for Australian Students (1999)
- Internationalisation and
Tertiary Education in New Zealand
(1998)
- Comparative Costs of Higher Education Courses for International Students
in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Canada and the US (1997)
- Skills Recognition Directory for Professional Occupations in ASEAN
and Australia (1996)
- Internationalisation and Higher Education: Goals and Strategies
(1996).
He commissioned
and edited the 1995 IDP Education Australia study International
Education: Australia's Potential Demand and Supply.
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