Foreign Students in Italy: a focus on the universities in the Piedmont region Berlin 1 st July 2008 Federica Laudisa and Daniela Musto

2 OUTLINE OF THIS PRESENTATION 1.Italy vs other OECD countries 2.The Italian Government Policies: which effect they have on mobility 3.A successful case: universities in Piedmont 4.Conclusions

3 ITALY VS OTHER OECD COUNTRIES Comparing 2005 with 2000, Italy is one of the countries in which there has been a significant growth (from 1.4% to 2.2%), above the average of other countries. Nevertheless, it is still one of the countries with the lower percentage of foreign students. From 2004 to 2005 the number of tertiary students enrolled outside their countries of citizenship increased by 4.9%. Source: Education at a Glance, OECD Indicators 2007.

4 Where are foreign students in Italy from? Almost 30% of total foreign students enrolled in Italy come from only 3 countries: Albania, Greece and Romania. More than 20% from Albania alone. Source: MIUR, Statistic agency, survey July 2007.

5 Trend of foreign students enrolled in Italy Over an 8 year period, the number of foreign students in Italy increased by an average of 11% a year. From 2000 to 2007 it more than doubled. Source: MIUR, Statistics agency, survey July 2007.

6 Recognition of equal rights for Italian and foreign students in higher education and also in student support (Act 1998 n° 40) HAVE THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT POLICIES HAD AN EFFECT ON MOBILITY? YES, THANKS TO… Before that time, foreign students could have access to financial aid only if there were mutual agreements between Italy and the countries of the students’ origin Since introduction of the issue of international mobility within the University Funding A few years ago - realization of the website

7 Recognition of equal rights for Italian and foreign students: which impact/1 2000/12001/22002/32003/42004/52005/62006/7 NON-EU GRANT- HOLDERS 2,479 3,788 5,437 6,597 8,085 9,034 10,494 TOTAL GRANT- HOLDERS IN ITALY 131,176136,896137, , , , ,189 % OF NON- EU GRANT- HOLDERS The number of international grant-holders (excluding EU) quadrupled in six years: increasing from 2,500 in 2000/1 to 10,500 in 2006/7. In contrast, in the same period, the total number of grant-holders increased by 17%. International grant-holders in 2000/1 amounted to 1.9% among the total grant-holders in Italy, in 2006/7 there were nearly 7%. Source: MIUR, Statistic agency.

8 Recognition of equal rights for Italian and foreign students: which impact/2 Moreover, 42% of eligible non-EU students have accommodation in the University Residences: it is the same percentage as that of Italian/EU eligible students. In 2006/7, approximately, 22% of international students received the regional grant, compared with 8% of the total Italian/EU students. N ° OF STUDENTS N ° OF GRANT- HOLDERS % NON-EU 48,756 10, EU/ITALIAN STUDENTS 1,760, , Percentage of grant-holders out of the total enrolled students (2006/7) Source: MIUR, Statistic agency.

9 How do the UK and France differ from Italy? UKFRANCEITALY EU Students/migrant worker from an EEA country International Students Foreign students The same support as UK students, if they have lived in the UK for more than three years before the course starting. If the student doesn’t satisfy the condition of residence, he can still receive a Tuition Fee Loan or a Grant for Tuition Fees Many Institutions, including the British Council, give grants/financial help, specially for postgraduate courses Bourse sur critère sociaux under some conditions* Many different types of grants, specially from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (about 22,000 grants per year) The same support as Italian students (grant, accommodation, canteen). Grants from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Usually, “home” fees From £4,000 to £18,000 (depending on the institution, the level of course and the type of course). The same as French students: from €160 to €500 per year. Free-fees for grant-holders. The same as Italian students: on average €1,000 per year Free-fees for grant- holders. *If EEA students: to be eligible the student must be a migrant worker or ordinarily resident in France for five years or the students’ parents must be migrant workers; if international students: to be eligible the student must have been resident for two years in France and the fiscal domicile of parents must have been in France for more than two years. STUDENT SUPPORT TUITION FEES

10 Every three years the Ministry of Education defines some objectives for the universities, giving specific funds: since 1998, the development of international mobility has been included. University Funding by the Ministry of Education/1 Ministerial Funds for the University system aimed at the promotion of international mobility 1998/02001/32004/62007/9 FUNDS million euros 10 15? No. OF UNIVERSITY PROPOSALS CO-FINANCED PROPOSALS Source: La mobilità internazionale degli studenti, De Rita, G. and Budriesi, A. (a cura di), Il Mulino, Bologna, 2006.

11 From 2007, the new rules state that the ministerial funds for mobility will be allocated on the basis of the university’s results in terms of: - proportion of foreign students enrolled on master’s degrees (out of all students enrolled at the master level) - proportion of foreign students enrolled on PhD courses (out of all students enrolled at the PhD level ) University Funding by the Ministry of Education/2 The Ministry of Education also finances some university projects concerning countries which it has previously had a ministerial agreement with: in 2007, this funding amounted to around €1 million.

12 ministerial funds to promote mobility were limited HAVE THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT POLICIES HAD AN EFFECT ON MOBILITY? NO, BECAUSE… the absence of a coordinated and systematic policy by the Ministry of Education the website has a style which is far too bureaucratic and the information regarding financial aid seems superficial – it is not user-friendly for studentswww.study-in-italy.it there has only been a formal assessment of the projects’ results the tendency was to finance at least one project for each University presenting a proposal: it was, in the end, little financial help AND

13 Percentage of foreign students in the Italian universities Source: MIUR, Statistics agency, survey July 2007.

14 A SUCCESSFUL CASE: UNIVERSITIES IN PIEDMONT Over the last 9 years in Piedmont, the number of foreign students has increased from about 800 to more than 5,000. This growth has been significantly greater than that of Italy from 2006/7, as shown in the table above. % foreign students out of all students enrolled YearPiedmontItaly 1999/ / / / / / / / /85.3- Source: MIUR, Statistics agency, survey July 2007.

15 Trend of foreign students in Piedmont: undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD courses Foreign students enrolled on undergraduate and postgraduate courses Foreign students enrolled on PHD courses Politecnico di Torino Università di Torino Università del Piemonte Orientale

16 Moreover, after analyzing the relationship between countries of origin and subjects chosen, we found that predominantly Albanian and Rumenian students tend to choose the Faculty of Economics, while almost all Chinese and Cameroonian students enrol at the Faculty of Engineering. Peruvian students choose the Faculty of Medicine, in particular, healthcare courses. Source: Universities in Piedmont, survey December Country of origin % of students foreign students ALBANIA17.0 ROMENIA10.3 CHINA7.1 PERU4.7 CAMEROON4.6 MAROCCO4.3 BRAZIL4.1 OTHER COUNTRIES 47.9 Faculty of % of foreign students out of Italian FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE 10.1 ENGINEERING7.8 MEDICINE7.0 ARCHITECTURE6.1 VETERINARY SCIENCE5.4 POLITICAL SCIENCE5.0 ECONOMICS4.4 PHARMACY4.3 LAW3.6 MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL AND NATURAL SCIENCES 3.0 INTERFACULTY COURSES2.7 EDUCATION SCIENCE2.4 HUMANITIES2.3 PSYCHOLOGY2.1 AGRICULTURE1.5 Foreign students enrolled in Piedmont: countries of origin and subjects chosen

17 Among all foreign students, almost 31% received the regional grant, compared with 12% of Italian students. 13.5% of total regional grants was given to foreign students in Piedmont in 2007/8. Foreign students: how many receive the regional grant in Piedmont?

18 Foreign students’ performance in Piedmont Foreign (vs Italian)-7.8% Scientific disciplines (vs humanities)-3.8% Scientific school-leaving certificate (vs other institutes) -10.1% Classical school-leaving certificate (vs other institutes) -8.0% Age years old (vs 21 or less)15.0% Age over 30 years old (vs 21 or less)18.2% Male (vs female)5.4% Note: Results statistically significant at the 95% level. Using a regression model, we estimated that the probability to drop out is 7.8% less for foreign students than Italian students. ItalianForeign Up to 50% credits30.1%42.5% Over 50% credits69.9%57.5% Total100.0% Foreign students have more difficulties obtaining University Formative Credits than Italian; 42.5% of them obtain less than half the credits expected in a year, compared with 30.1% of Italian students. In the first year of their university course, 19% of Italian students drop out, compared to 16.5% of foreign students. BUT… Source: F. Laudisa, Regional grant, guidance and tutoring: the impact on the students’ drop out rate. Research in course of publication.

19 What have the Piedmont Universities done to increase the number of foreign students? 3.WELCOME TO FOREIGN STUDENTS.. 1.BILATERAL AGREEMENTS....between Piedmont and foreign universities, which enable students from other countries, especially non–EU, to study in Italy for a period of time. 2.USE OF ENGLISH....in the courses...in the universities’ web sites. The Polytechnic of Turin has also set up the apply- web site, a specific section dedicated to foreign students who wish to submit an on-line application...by the establishment of the Student Mobility Offices in the universities, which support foreign students before arrival and during the period of their stay in Piedmont.

20 HAS THE PIEDMONT REGION CONTRIBUTED TO PROMOTE MOBILITY? In 2006, the website was created and a “studying in Piedmont” promotional tour visited some universities overseaswww.studyinpiemonte.it An agreement between the Region and the Piedmont Universities was stipulated in 2007: its aim was a synergic development of the regional area, including the attractiveness of the Piedmont university system abroad In the same year, the Region allocated around €24 million in total to the Piedmont Universities, for bursaries for young foreign researchers or post- doctorate students

21 CONCLUSIONS 1.If the universities plan a strategy aimed at international mobility, it is not a “mission impossible” to increase foreign students in Italy 2. A successful strategy requires that universities have a different “attitude” towards foreign and Italian students: the former need English courses and a good welcome (help with enrolment, accommodation, etc.) – more than the latter 3. Could the Italian Government do more to promote mobility, instead of only giving out few funds, without an organized policy? We think so.

22 Contacts Federica Laudisa Daniela Musto