Number 2014/01	
Study pathways of international students in Australia
Introduction
In their Australian education experience, the majority of international students undertake study in more than one educational sector. The English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) sector is the first step in an Australian study pathway for two out of every five international students who study in Australia’s tertiary sector. Many other study pathways are also followed by international students. For example, 47 per cent of international students in Australian schools go onto further study in the tertiary sector and
48 per cent of international students in higher education had studied in another sector previously.
This paper presents the findings of the Department of Education’s annual analysis of the major study pathways undertaken by international students through Australia’s education system. To achieve this, the study pathway options of four separate cohorts of international students are analysed in detail, with each assumed to be broadly representative of the whole population of international students in Australia. The key findings of this analysis are presented below, followed by a more comprehensive analysis of each cohort. Lastly, the appendixes detail the methodology used in this study; and present a set of tables showing the most common study pathways undertaken by students in each of the cohorts examined.
Key findings
Study pathways of international students who completed ELICOS in 2012
•	Almost two-thirds (63%) of international students enrolled in an ELICOS course underwent further study in another sector: one-third (33%) moved immediately to higher education; one in five (21%) moved immediately to VET and the remainder moved to the non-award (5%) and schools (4%) sectors. Just over one-third (37%) of ELICOS students did not undertake any further study.
•	Overall, when other indirect study pathways are also considered, 23 per cent of ELICOS students eventually progressed to VET; and 36 per cent eventually progressed through to higher education. 
•	Of the top ten nationalities, 72 per cent of Chinese ELICOS students and 56 per cent of Vietnamese ELICOS students recorded study pathways to higher education. More than half (53%) of Indonesian ELICOS students and 42 per cent of Thai ELICOS students progressed to VET. Students from Brazil, the Republic of Korea, Colombia, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan were most commonly enrolled in ELICOS without undertaking any further study. 
Study pathways of international students who completed school in 2012
•	Two in five (41%) school students did not progress to another sector after school; 38 per cent of school students moved immediately to higher education and 10 per cent moved immediately to VET. 
•	Overall, when other indirect study pathways are also considered, 38 per cent of school students eventually progressed from school to higher education and 10 per cent from school through to VET.
•	About half (52%) of Chinese school students and 62 per cent of Malaysian school students progressed from school to higher education. More school students from Vietnam and Indonesia progressed to VET than any other sector. About one in four (27%) of school students from Vietnam recorded a pathway to VET.  Students from Germany, Italy and Brazil were most commonly enrolled in school without undertaking further study in another sector. 
Study pathways of international students who commenced in higher education in 2013
•	Most international students who commenced study in higher education did not have prior study in any other sector. In 2013, 52 per cent of students moved directly to higher education. In comparison, 28 per cent of the student cohort undertook study in ELICOS immediately before commencing in higher education, 9 per cent were in VET, 7 per cent in non-award study and 4 per cent in school.
•	Overall, 36 per cent of commencing higher education students had some prior study in ELICOS, 10 per cent had prior study in VET, 8 per cent recorded study in non-award courses and 6 per cent in school.
•	Students from Singapore, Malaysia, India and Nepal most commonly enrolled directly into higher education. Students from China, Vietnam and the Republic of Korea most commonly progressed from ELICOS to higher education. One in five higher education students from Pakistan, the Republic of Korea and the Philippines progressed from VET.
•	Over one-third (35.0%) of Bachelor Degree students commenced study in Australia at that level. Of those students with some prior study, larger shares recorded study at the Diploma and non-award levels (29.2% and 14.1% respectively).
•	Two-thirds (66.9%) of Postgraduate Research students did not undertake any prior study in Australia. Of those students who had undertaken prior study, 19.7 per cent recorded non-award study, 14.8 per cent were at Masters by coursework level and 11.4 per cent at Bachelor degree level.
Study pathways of international students who commenced in VET in 2013
•	Of the total cohort who commenced study in VET, the largest share (45%) moved directly into the sector. Just over one-third (36%) of VET students studied in ELICOS immediately before their commencement in VET, 15 per cent in higher education and 2 per cent each were in school and in non-award study. 
•	Overall, 46 per cent of VET students had some prior study in ELICOS, 16 per cent were in higher education, 5 per cent in school and 4 per cent in non-award courses.
•	VET students from China, the Republic of Korea, Brazil, Thailand and Vietnam were more likely to have progressed to VET from ELICOS than any other pathway type. Larger proportions of students from the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and the United Kingdom were VET students without prior study in any other sector. Of the VET students from India, 45 per cent commenced directly in VET and 43 percent recorded prior study in higher education.
Study pathways of international students after completing ELICOS
In 2012, 47,330 international students on a student visa completed an ELICOS course of study in Australia for the first time. One-third of these students moved immediately to higher education and about one-fifth moved immediately to VET. Small proportions moved to non-award study and school (4.8% and 3.7% respectively).
Table 1 shows the overall flow of students from the ELICOS sector through to the higher education, VET, Schools and Non-award sectors. This incorporates students who enrolled in the ELICOS sector and chose not to undertake a pathway to another sector and those students who undertook various study pathways to the other sectors after a period of ELICOS study. Of the students who completed an ELICOS course in 2012, 36.3 per cent progressed from ELICOS to higher education, 22.5 per cent from ELICOS through to VET and 37.1 per cent of students only undertook study in ELICOS and did not progress to another sector. Comparatively small proportions progressed from ELICOS to either the Schools or Non-award sectors.
Table 1. Direct and indirect inter-sector study pathways from ELICOS	 			
Inter-sector pathway*	Students	Share of total	 			
Total in cohort	47,330	100.0%	 			
 	 	 	 			
ELICOS and no further^	17,544	37.1%	 			
ELICOS-Higher education	17,188	36.3%	 			
ELICOS-VET	10,626	22.5%	 			
ELICOS-Schools	1,786	3.8%	 			
ELICOS-Non-award	2,381	5.0%	 			
* the inter-sector pathway of students who recorded study in more than one sector are
 not mutually exclusive, therefore the individual components do not add to the total.	
^ includes 568 students (1.2%) who enrolled in another sector before ELICOS and did not move on to another sector after ELICOS.			
Using the distribution of students with inter-sectoral study pathways from ELICOS discussed above, in the event of a 10 per cent increase in the number of students who complete ELICOS shows student numbers progressing to higher education and VET increases by about 1,700 and 1,100 respectively. Conversely, a 10 per cent decline on 2012 figures of the number of students completing an ELICOS course of study would mean that the number of students progressing to higher education and to VET would decline by about 1,700 and 1,000 respectively. 
Table 2 shows 56.7 per cent of students who completed an ELICOS course in 2012 had a study pathway that included ELICOS and one other sector. These were mostly students who undertook ELICOS study before progressing to courses of study in the VET and higher education sectors. A further 7.1 per cent recorded a pathway from ELICOS to two other sectors and a small share progressed from ELICOS to three or more sectors. Just over one-third (35.9%) of the cohort were ELICOS students who enrolled directly into an ELICOS course of study and did not move on to another sector.
Table 2. Students in ELICOS: Number of sectors recorded	
Number of sectors	Students	Share of total	
ELICOS only	16,976	35.9%	
ELICOS and one other	26,844	56.7%	
ELICOS and two others	3,351	7.1%	
ELICOS and three or more others	159	0.3%	
Total	47,330	100.0%	
Of the top ten nationalities by volume of ELICOS students, the majority from Colombia, Brazil and Japan did not progress to any other sector. Three in four Colombian students and two in three students each from Brazils and Japan were ELICOS-only. Similarly, about two in five ELICOS students Taiwan, Korea, Saudi Arabia and Thailand did not undertake study in any other sector. Another two in five Thai students progressed from ELICOS to VET and two in five Saudi students progressed from ELICOS to higher education.
Almost three-quarters of Chinese students and more than half of Vietnamese students progressed from ELICOS to higher education. About half the Indonesian students in the cohort progressed from ELICOS to VET (Table 3). 
Table 3. Top 10 nationalities and their direct and indirect inter-sector study pathway from ELICOS	
								
 	Inter-sector pathway 	 	Total	
Nationality	ELICOS only	ELICOS-Higher Education	ELICOS-VET	ELICOS-School	ELICOS- Non-award	 		
	Proportion of total for each nationality		Students	
China	8.1%	72.2%	7.8%	8.8%	10.6%	 	14,113	
Brazil	66.8%	1.3%	31.1%	0.1%	0.6%	 	4,175	
Republic of Korea 	42.7%	18.2%	33.8%	3.2%	2.5%	 	3,491	
Colombia	77.1%	6.7%	16.4%	0.1%	0.4%	 	2,669	
Thailand	40.4%	19.5%	41.8%	1.7%	0.3%	 	2,651	
Japan	65.8%	8.6%	17.5%	2.5%	5.5%	 	2,595	
Vietnam	15.2%	56.3%	23.7%	8.5%	3.6%	 	1,979	
Saudi Arabia	42.4%	42.0%	11.5%	0.0%	9.8%	 	1,670	
Taiwan	44.6%	27.7%	23.5%	4.6%	3.0%	 	1,064	
Indonesia	13.4%	30.4%	53.0%	1.6%	2.5%	 	992	
								
Legend (% of total):	40% to <50%	50% to 70%	> 70%					

								

Study pathways of international students after completing School
There were 5,892 international students aged 17 and over who in 2012 completed school level study in Australia for the first time. Of these students, 37.5 per cent moved immediately to higher education and 9.8 per cent moved immediately to VET.
Table 4 shows the overall flow of students from the Schools sector through to the higher education, VET, ELICOS and Non-award sectors both directly and indirectly. Of the students who completed school study in 2012, 37.5 per cent progressed from school to higher education and one in ten (9.8%) progressed from school through to VET. About two in five (41.4%) the cohort who completed school in 2012 did not record a pathway to another sector after school. Smaller proportions progressed from school to either the ELICOS or Non-award sectors (6.0% and 5.3% respectively).
Table 4. Direct and indirect inter-sector study pathways from schools	
Inter-sector pathway*	Students	Share of total		
Total in cohort	5,892	100.0%		
	 	 		
Schools and no further^	2,439	41.4%		
Schools-Higher Education	2,399	37.5%		
Schools-VET	766	9.8%		
Schools-ELICOS	395	6.0%		
Schools-Non-award	368	5.3%		
* the inter-sector pathway of students who recorded study in more than one sector are not mutually exclusive, therefore the individual components do not add to the total.
^ includes 144 students (2.4%) who enrolled in another sector before Schools and did not move on to another sector after Schools.	
Using the distribution of students with inter-sectoral study pathways from school discussed above, a 10 per cent increase in the number of students who complete school show the number progressing to higher education and to VET increases by about 220 and 60 respectively. A 10 per cent decline on 2012 figures of the number of students completing school would mean the number of students progressing to higher education and to VET declines by similar volumes. 
Two in five (39.5%) students who completed school in 2012 had a study pathway that included Schools and one other sector. These were mostly students who completed school and progressed to courses of study in the higher education and VET sectors. A further 28.5 per cent progressed from Schools to two other sectors and 2.1 per cent from Schools to three or more sectors. Almost one-third (29.9%) of all students in the cohort enrolled directly into school and did not move on to another sector after school (Table 5).
Table 5. Students in Schools: Number of sectors recorded	
Number of sectors	Students	Share of total	
Schools only	1,764	29.9%	
Schools and one other	2,327	39.5%	
Schools and two others	1,680	28.5%	
Schools and three or more others	121	2.1%	
Total	5,892	100.0%	

Of the top ten nationalities by student volumes, almost all students from Germany, Italy and Brazil were school only students. In addition, the largest shares of school students from Japan and Thailand did not progress to any other sector. More school students from China, Vietnam, Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia progressed from school to higher education than any other pathway type. About one-quarter of Vietnamese school students progressed to VET (Table 6).
Table 6. Top 10 nationalities and their direct and indirect inter-sector study pathway from school	
 	Inter-sector pathway 	 	Total	
Nationality	Schools only	Schools-Higher Education	Schools-VET	Schools-ELICOS	Schools- Non-award	 		
	Proportion of total for each nationality		Students	
China	14.6%	51.8%	14.5%	9.6%	8.3%	 	3,067	
Vietnam 	15.0%	43.7%	27.0%	9.4%	4.9%	 	618	
Republic of Korea 	29.1%	35.9%	8.4%	3.1%	4.0%	 	323	
Germany	98.2%	1.1%	0.4%	0.0%	0.0%	 	279	
Japan	61.0%	9.5%	3.3%	2.5%	0.8%	 	241	
Malaysia	21.0%	61.7%	11.7%	0.5%	6.1%	 	214	
Italy	96.7%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	 	209	
Thailand 	45.1%	23.0%	10.6%	4.4%	5.3%	 	113	
Brazil	97.9%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	1.1%	 	95	
Indonesia	26.3%	41.3%	11.3%	1.3%	12.5%	 	80	
								
Legend (% of total):	40% to <50%	50% to 70%	> 70%					

Study pathways of international students before commencing higher education
In 2013, there were 68,302 international students who commenced a higher education course of study in Australia for the first time.  Of this cohort, the largest share commenced study in higher education without prior study in any other sector (52.2%). Just over one-quarter (27.7%) undertook study in ELICOS immediately before commencing in higher education, 8.5 per cent in VET, 7.5 per cent in non-award study and 4.1 per cent in school.
Inter-sector study pathways to higher education
Table 7 below shows the overall flow of students from the other educational sectors through to the higher education sector both directly and indirectly. Of the students who commenced a higher education course of study in 2013, 36.0 per cent recorded some prior study in ELICOS. One in ten (9.9%) recorded prior study in VET, 8.3% in non-award courses and 5.8 per cent in school. 
Table 7. Direct and indirect Inter-sector study pathways to higher education	
Inter-sector pathway*	Students	Share of total				
Total in cohort	68,302	100.0%				
	 	 				
Higher Education^	35,655	52.2%				
ELICOS-Higher Education	24,621	36.0%				
VET-Higher Education	6,793	9.9%				
Non-award-Higher Education	5,680	8.3%				
Schools-Higher Education	3,947	5.8%				
* the inter-sector pathway of students who recorded study in more than one sector are not
mutually exclusive, therefore the individual components do not add to the total.
^ includes 572 students (0.8%) who first commenced in higher education and moved to another
 sector in 2013.	
Using the distribution of students with inter-sectoral study pathways to higher education discussed above, a 10 per cent increase in the number of students who complete ELICOS show the number progressing to higher education increases by about 2,400 and a 10 per cent increase in the number of students who complete school would mean the number progressing to higher education increases by about 410.
A 10 per cent decline on 2013 figures in the number of students who complete ELICOS show the number progressing to higher education will decrease by about 2,490 and a 10 per cent decline in the number of students who complete school would mean the number progressing to higher education will decrease by about 380.
Of the students who commenced in higher education in 2013, 37.3 per cent progressed to higher education from one other sector of study. These were mostly students who completed ELICOS study before moving into a higher education course of study. A further 9.9 per cent progressed through two other sectors before commencing in higher education and 1.4 per cent through three sectors before commencing in higher education. The largest share of students (51.4%) in this cohort enrolled directly in the higher education sector (Table 8).
Table 8. Students in higher education: Number of sectors recorded	
Number of sectors	Students	Share of total	
Higher Education only	35,083	51.4%	
Higher Education and one other	25,474	37.3%	
Higher Education and two others	6,761	9.9%	
Higher Education and three or more others	984	1.4%	
Total	68,302	100.0%	
Of the students from the top ten nationalities by volumes of students who commenced in higher education, at least three in four students from India, Malaysia and Singapore enrolled directly to higher education and did not progress from another sector. Larger proportions of students from Nepal, the Philippines, Indonesia and Pakistan enrolled directly to higher education than any other pathway. The majority of students from China, Vietnam and the Republic of Korea recorded prior study in ELICOS before commencing in higher education than any other pathway type (Table 9).
Table 9. Top 10 nationalities and their direct and indirect inter-sector study pathway to higher education	
 	Inter-sector pathway 	 	Total	
Nationality	Higher Education only	ELICOS-Higher Education	VET-Higher Education	Non-award -Higher Education	Schools-Higher Education	 		
	Proportion of total for each nationality		Students	
China	31.4%	57.1%	6.2%	12.6%	10.4%	 	23,767	
India	76.3%	15.4%	8.3%	0.6%	0.2%	 	8,204	
Malaysia	80.1%	2.7%	5.5%	9.8%	4.6%	 	3,833	
Vietnam	30.9%	57.8%	11.1%	6.5%	12.9%	 	3,076	
Nepal	71.1%	11.8%	18.0%	2.4%	0.2%	 	2,918	
Pakistan	55.7%	24.8%	20.8%	1.0%	0.2%	 	2,452	
Indonesia	56.6%	19.4%	15.2%	16.1%	2.7%	 	2,231	
Singapore	88.5%	0.2%	1.8%	7.8%	2.2%	 	1,950	
Republic of Korea	28.1%	52.5%	19.9%	9.1%	18.6%	 	1,741	
Philippines	66.5%	15.3%	19.6%	2.1%	0.8%	 	1,165	
								
Legend (% of total):	40% to <50%	50% to 70%	> 70%					

Pathways to Bachelor Degree
In 2013, there were 35,614 students who commenced a Bachelor Degree course in the higher education sector for the first time.  The chart shows the sectors in which this cohort of students was enrolled immediately prior to moving to the higher education sector. The largest share commenced study in higher education without prior study in any other sector (41.0%). Almost one-quarter (24.2%) undertook study in ELICOS immediately before commencing in higher education, 14.6 per cent in VET, 12.6 per cent in non-award study and 7.5 per cent in school.
Table 10 below shows the direct and indirect inter-sectoral flows of the students who commenced a Bachelor Degree course in 2013. Of these students, 38.8 per cent recorded some prior study in ELICOS, 17.7 per cent recorded prior study in VET, 14.1 per cent in non-award courses and 10.7 per cent in school. 
Table 10. Direct and indirect sector pathway flow of Bachelor Degree students to higher education	
Inter-sector pathway*	Number	Share of total	
Total in cohort	35,614	100.0%	
			
Higher education	14,609	41.0%	
ELICOS-Higher Education	13,819	38.8%	
VET-Higher Education	6,307	17.7%	
Non-award-Higher Education	5,033	14.1%	
Schools-Higher Education	3,797	10.7%	
* the inter-sector pathway of students who recorded study in more than one sector are not mutually exclusive, therefore the individual components do not add to the total.	
Over one-third (35.0%) of Bachelor Degree students commenced their course of study without any prior study at another level in Australia. Of those students with a pathway through more than one level of study, 46.4 per cent recorded some prior study at the non-award level, most of this was in ELICOS; and 29.2 per cent had some prior study at the Diploma level (Table 11).
Table 11. Main direct and indirect level of study pathway flow of students to Bachelor Degree	
Level of study pathway*	Number	Share of total				
Total in cohort	35,614	100.0%				
						
Bachelor Degree only	12,454	35.0%				
Diploma-Bachelor Degree	10,400	29.2%				
Advanced Diploma-Bachelor Degree	2,595	7.3%				
Certificate IV-Bachelor Degree	3,866	10.9%				
Senior Secondary Schools-Bachelor Degree	3,609	10.1%				
Non-award-Bachelor Degree	16,538	46.4%				
* the study pathway of students through the different levels of study are not mutually exclusive, therefore the individual components do not add to the total.	

Pathways to Postgraduate Research level
In 2013, there were 4,121 students who commenced at the Postgraduate Research level for the first time. The chart shows the sector in which this cohort of students was enrolled immediately prior to first commencing in higher education. Four in five (79.9%) Postgraduate Research students commenced study in higher education without prior study in any other sector. The second largest group of students recorded a period of study in ELICOS immediately before commencing in higher education (15.0%). Only small numbers had progressed from non-award study, school and VET. 
Table 12 below shows the direct and indirect inter-sectoral flows of the students who commenced at the Postgraduate Research level in 2013. Of these students, four in five (79.3%) recorded some prior study in ELICOS, 16.6 per cent recorded prior study in ELICOS, 4.1 per cent in non-award courses and 1.2 per cent in VET. Few recorded a pathway from the Schools sector (0.9%). 
Table 12. Direct and indirect pathway flow of Postgraduate Research students to higher education	
Inter-sector pathway*	Number	Share of total				
Total in cohort	4,121	100.0%				
						
Higher Education	3,292	79.9%				
ELICOS-Higher Education	686	16.6%				
VET-Higher Education	48	1.2%				
Non-award-Higher Education	170	4.1%				
Schools-Higher Education	36	0.9%				
* the inter-sector pathway of students who recorded study in more than one sector are not mutually exclusive, therefore the individual components do not add to the total.	
Two-thirds (66.9%) of Postgraduate Research students commenced their course without any prior study in Australia. Of those students with a pathway through more than one level of study in Australia, 19.7 per cent recorded non-award study, mostly in ELICOS; 14.8 per cent were at Masters by coursework level; and 11.4 per cent at Bachelor degree level (Table 13).
Table 13. Main direct and indirect level of study pathway flow of students to
 Postgraduate Research level	
Level of study pathway*	Number	Share of total					
Total in cohort	4,121	100.0%					
							
Postgraduate Research only	2,755	66.9%					
Bachelor Degree-Postgraduate Research	471	11.4%					
Masters Coursework-Postgraduate Research	608	14.8%					
Non-award-Postgraduate Research	813	19.7%					
* the pathway of students through the different levels of study are not mutually exclusive, therefore the individual components do not add to the total.		

Study pathways of international students before commencing VET
In 2013, 34,000 international students commenced a VET course of study in Australia for the first time.  Of this cohort, 35.6 per cent undertook some study in ELICOS immediately before commencing in VET, 14.9 per cent in higher education immediately before VET, 2.3 per cent in school and 1.7 per cent were in non-award study in the non-award sector. 
Table 14 below shows the overall flow of students from the other educational sectors through to the VET sector, both directly and indirectly. The largest share (45.6%) of the students who commenced a VET course of study in 2012 undertook some prior study in ELICOS.  A further 16.1 per cent recorded some higher education study prior to commencing in VET, 4.7 per cent in school and 3.6 per cent in the non-award sector. 
Table 14. Direct and indirect Inter-sector study pathways to VET		
Inter-sector pathway*	Students	Share of total		
Total in cohort	34,000	100.0%		
	 	 		
VET^	15,450	45.4%		
ELICOS-VET	15,493	45.6%		
Higher Education-VET	5,465	16.1%		
Non-award-VET	1,227	3.6%		
Schools-VET	1,599	4.7%		
* the inter-sector pathway of students who recorded study in more than one sector are not mutually exclusive, therefore the individual components do not add to the total.
^ includes 327 students (1.0%) who first commenced in VET and moved to another sector in 2013.	
Using the distribution of students with inter-sectoral study pathways to VET discussed above, a 10 per cent increase in the number of students who complete ELICOS would mean the number progressing to VET increases by about 1,560 and a 10 per cent increase in the number of students who complete school show the number progressing to VET increases by about 160.
A 10 per cent decline on 2013 figures in the number of students who complete ELICOS show the number progressing to VET will decrease by about 1,540 and a 10 per cent decline in the number of students who complete school would mean the number progressing to VET will decrease by about 160.
Of the students who commenced a VET course in 2013, 42.0 per cent progressed to VET from one other sector of study. These were mostly students who completed ELICOS study before moving into a VET course of study. A further 11.2 per cent progressed through two other sectors before commencing in VET and 2.3 per cent progressed through three or more sectors before commencing in VET.  The largest share of students (44.5%) in this cohort enrolled directly to VET without prior study in any other sector (Table 15).
Table 15. Students in VET: Number of sectors recorded	
Number of sectors	Students	Share of total	
VET only	15,123	44.5%	
VET and one other	14,282	42.0%	
VET and two others	3,824	11.2%	
VET and three or more others	771	2.3%	
Total	34,000	100.0%	

Of the top ten nationalities by volumes of students who commenced VET in 2013, larger proportions from China, the Republic of Korea, Brazil, Thailand and Vietnam recorded some study in ELICOS prior to commencing in VET than any other pathway type. More students from India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and the UK enrolled directly to a VET course without any prior study in another sector. High proportions of Chinese and Indian VET students undertook prior study in higher education before moving to VET (Table 16).
Table 16. Top 10 nationalities and their direct and indirect inter-sector study pathway to VET	
 	Inter-sector pathway 	 	Total	
Nationality	VET only	ELICOS-VET	Higher Education-VET	Non-award-VET	Schools-VET	 		
	Proportion of total for each nationality		Students	
China	17.2%	68.5%	47.5%	12.1%	20.7%	 	4,696	
Republic of Korea	45.2%	49.5%	6.3%	1.7%	3.2%	 	3,179	
India	45.1%	19.8%	42.9%	1.7%	0.7%	 	2,086	
Brazil	16.8%	81.9%	0.6%	0.2%	0.1%	 	1,684	
Thailand	6.4%	92.1%	10.7%	0.4%	1.3%	 	1,651	
Philippines	74.6%	8.0%	9.2%	9.8%	0.6%	 	1,644	
Vietnam	10.7%	77.5%	28.1%	4.2%	17.5%	 	1,493	
Malaysia	65.4%	21.2%	9.2%	3.6%	3.6%	 	1,314	
Indonesia	47.9%	43.4%	8.1%	3.3%	1.7%	 	1,206	
United Kingdom	97.4%	0.6%	1.8%	0.6%	0.2%	 	1,035	
								
Legend (% of total):	40% to <50%	50% to 70%	> 70%					

Appendix 1:  Methodology
The data used in the analysis for this paper are based on information from the Provider Registration and International Student Management System (PRISMS), the source of the federal Department of Education’s International Student Data series. As such, it is limited to international students studying in Australia on a student visa only.  
This paper examines the study pathways of four separate cohorts of international students.
The first cohort was the students who completed a course of study in the Australian ELICOS sector for the first time in the year 2012. The analysis was focused on the sector to which students moved to immediately after their ELICOS study was completed and the study pathways they undertook from the sector in the period through to the end of the following year.
The second cohort examined were the students aged 17 years and over who completed a course of study in the Schools sector for the first time in the year 2012. The cohort was age limited to ensure that the results of this analysis were not influenced by those school students who come to Australia only on short term study exchanges. As with the earlier discussion on students who completed ELICOS study, the analysis of the cohort of school students highlights the sectors to which students moved to immediately after their school study was completed and the study pathways undertaken by the cohort through to the end of 2013.
The third and fourth cohorts were the students who commenced study in the higher education and the VET sectors respectively for the first time in the year 2013. The analysis highlights their study pathway prior to their commencement in higher education or VET sectors in that year.
The analysis of the cohort who commenced in higher education was additionally extended to students commencing a Bachelor Degree and to those commencing at Postgraduate Research level in 2013. The levels of study pathways of these students are also highlighted.
Readers should note that for the purposes of this research paper, a period of study in a particular sector or at a particular level signifies a student has undertaken a course of study in the sector or level. It does not necessarily indicate they have completed or been awarded a qualification for that course.

Appendix 2:  Main study pathways
Table A2.1. Top 20 sector pathways of students who completed ELICOS in 2012	
Sector pathway	Students	Share of total	
ELICOS	16,976	35.9%	
ELICOS-Higher Education	14,041	29.7%	
ELICOS-VET	8,095	17.1%	
ELICOS-Schools	1,582	3.3%	
ELICOS-Non-award	1,166	2.5%	
ELICOS-Non-award-Higher Education	815	1.7%	
ELICOS-Higher Education-VET	477	1.0%	
ELICOS-VET-ELICOS	421	0.9%	
ELICOS-VET-Higher Education	405	0.9%	
VET-ELICOS-Higher Education	394	0.8%	
VET-ELICOS-VET	370	0.8%	
VET-ELICOS	275	0.6%	
ELICOS-VET-ELICOS-VET	168	0.4%	
Higher Education-ELICOS-Higher Education	161	0.3%	
Higher Education-ELICOS	154	0.3%	
ELICOS-Higher Education-ELICOS	143	0.3%	
VET-Higher Education-ELICOS	126	0.3%	
ELICOS-Non-award-VET	104	0.2%	
VET-Higher Education-ELICOS-Higher Education	87	0.2%	
Non-award-ELICOS-Higher Education	85	0.2%	
Other pathways	1,285	2.7%	
Total all pathways from ELICOS	47,330	100.0%	

Table A2.2. Top 20 sector pathways of students who completed Schools in 2012	
Sector pathway	Students	Share of total	
Schools	1,764	29.9%	
Schools-Higher Education	1,184	20.1%	
ELICOS-Schools-Higher Education	934	15.9%	
ELICOS-Schools	632	10.7%	
Schools-VET	245	4.2%	
ELICOS-Schools-VET	241	4.1%	
Schools-Non-award	130	2.2%	
ELICOS-Schools-Non-award	109	1.8%	
ELICOS-Schools-ELICOS-VET	59	1.0%	
ELICOS-Schools-ELICOS	52	0.9%	
Schools-ELICOS-Higher Education	49	0.8%	
Schools-ELICOS-VET	42	0.7%	
Schools-ELICOS	39	0.7%	
ELICOS-Schools-ELICOS-Higher Education	37	0.6%	
Non-award-Schools	35	0.6%	
Non-award-Schools-Higher Education	34	0.6%	
ELICOS-Schools-Higher Education-VET	30	0.5%	
Schools-ELICOS-Non-award	27	0.5%	
ELICOS-Schools-VET-Higher Education	22	0.4%	
ELICOS-Schools-Non-award-Higher Education	19	0.3%	
Other pathways	208	3.5%	
Total all pathways from Schools	5,892	100.0%	

Table A2.3. Top 20 sector pathways of students who commenced higher education in 2013	
Sector pathway	Students	Share of total	
Higher Education	35,083	51.4%	
ELICOS-Higher Education	17,217	25.2%	
Non-award-Higher Education	3,122	4.6%	
VET-Higher Education	2,884	4.2%	
ELICOS-VET-Higher Education	1,856	2.7%	
ELICOS-Non-award-Higher Education	1,527	2.2%	
Schools-Higher Education	1,511	2.2%	
ELICOS-Schools-Higher Education	1,169	1.7%	
Higher Education-VET	466	0.7%	
ELICOS-VET-ELICOS-Higher Education	387	0.6%	
VET-ELICOS-Higher Education	350	0.5%	
ELICOS-Higher Education-VET	251	0.4%	
ELICOS-Schools-VET-Higher Education	234	0.3%	
ELICOS-Schools-Non-award-Higher Education	157	0.2%	
ELICOS-Non-award-ELICOS-Higher Education	148	0.2%	
Schools-VET-Higher Education	141	0.2%	
Schools-Non-award-Higher Education	133	0.2%	
ELICOS-VET-ELICOS-VET-Higher Education	117	0.2%	
ELICOS-Higher Education-ELICOS	115	0.2%	
ELICOS-Non-award-VET-Higher Education	103	0.2%	
Other pathways	1,331	1.9%	
Total all pathways to Higher Education	68,302	100.0%	

Table A2.4. Top 20 level of study pathways by Bachelor Degree students, 2013	 	 	
Level of study pathway	Students	Share of total	
Bachelor Degree	12,454	35.0%	
Non AQF Award-Bachelor Degree	7,970	22.4%	
Non AQF Award-Diploma-Bachelor Degree	2,809	7.9%	
Diploma-Bachelor Degree	2,052	5.8%	
Senior Secondary Certificate of Education-Bachelor Degree	925	2.6%	
Non AQF Award-Senior Secondary Certificate of Education-Bachelor Degree	692	1.9%	
Certificate IV-Bachelor Degree	471	1.3%	
Certificate IV-Diploma-Bachelor Degree	417	1.2%	
Non AQF Award-Certificate IV-Diploma-Bachelor Degree	379	1.1%	
Non AQF Award-Diploma-Advanced Diploma-Bachelor Degree	270	0.8%	
Non AQF Award-Advanced Diploma-Bachelor Degree	240	0.7%	
Non AQF Award-Senior Secondary Certificate of Education-Diploma-Bachelor Degree	230	0.6%	
Advanced Diploma-Bachelor Degree	227	0.6%	
Diploma-Advanced Diploma-Bachelor Degree	192	0.5%	
Non AQF Award-Diploma-Associate Degree-Bachelor Degree	175	0.5%	
Senior Secondary Certificate of Education-Diploma-Bachelor Degree	153	0.4%	
Certificate III-Diploma-Bachelor Degree	146	0.4%	
Non AQF Award-Junior Secondary Studies-Senior Secondary Certificate of Education-
     Bachelor Degree	145	0.4%	
Junior Secondary Studies-Senior Secondary Certificate of Education-Bachelor Degree	139	0.4%	
Non AQF Award-Diploma-Non AQF Award-Bachelor Degree	132	0.4%	
Other level of study pathways	5,396	15.2%	
Total Bachelor Degree students	35,614	100.0%	

Table A2.5. Top 20 level of study pathways to Postgraduate Research level, 2013	 	 	
Level of study pathway	Students	Share of total	
Doctoral Degree	2,522	61.2%	
Non AQF Award-Doctoral Degree	265	6.4%	
Masters Degree (Research)	233	5.7%	
Bachelor Degree-Doctoral Degree	178	4.3%	
Masters Degree (Coursework)-Doctoral Degree	178	4.3%	
Non AQF Award-Masters Degree (Coursework)-Doctoral Degree	161	3.9%	
Non AQF Award-Bachelor Degree-Doctoral Degree	88	2.1%	
Non AQF Award-Masters Degree (Research)	52	1.3%	
Non AQF Award-Masters Degree (Coursework)-Masters Degree (Research)	48	1.2%	
Masters Degree (Coursework)-Masters Degree (Research)	44	1.1%	
Bachelor Degree-Masters Degree (Research)	39	0.9%	
Non AQF Award-Bachelor Degree-Masters Degree (Research)	33	0.8%	
Non AQF Award-Bachelor Degree-Masters Degree (Coursework)-Doctoral Degree	17	0.4%	
Non AQF Award-Masters Degree (Coursework)-Non AQF Award-Doctoral Degree	15	0.4%	
Bachelor Degree-Masters Degree (Coursework)-Doctoral Degree	14	0.3%	
Non AQF Award-Graduate Diploma-Masters Degree (Coursework)-Doctoral Degree	10	0.2%	
Graduate Diploma-Doctoral Degree	10	0.2%	
Non AQF Award-Diploma-Bachelor Degree-Doctoral Degree	10	0.2%	
Non AQF Award-Bachelor Degree-Masters Degree (Coursework)-Masters
  Degree (Research)	8	0.2%	
Graduate Diploma-Masters Degree (Coursework)-Doctoral Degree	8	0.2%	
Other levels of study pathways	188	4.6%	
Total Postgraduate Research students	4,121	100.0%	

Table A2.6. Top 20 sector pathways of students who commenced VET in 2013	
Sector pathway	Students	Share of total	
VET	15,123	44.5%	
ELICOS-VET	10,970	32.3%	
ELICOS-Higher Education-VET	2,086	6.1%	
Higher Education-VET	1,877	5.5%	
Schools-VET	357	1.1%	
ELICOS-Schools-VET	353	1.0%	
Non-award-VET	339	1.0%	
ELICOS-VET-ELICOS	332	1.0%	
ELICOS-Schools-Higher Education-VET	219	0.6%	
ELICOS-Higher Education-ELICOS-VET	201	0.6%	
Non-award-Higher Education-VET	182	0.5%	
ELICOS-Non-award-Higher Education-VET	175	0.5%	
VET-ELICOS	159	0.5%	
Schools-Higher Education-VET	154	0.5%	
ELICOS-Non-award-VET	136	0.4%	
VET-Higher Education	129	0.4%	
ELICOS-VET-Higher Education	117	0.3%	
ELICOS-Schools-ELICOS-VET	88	0.3%	
Higher Education-ELICOS-VET	82	0.2%	
Schools-ELICOS-VET	62	0.2%	
Other pathways	825	2.4%	
Total all pathways to VET	34,000	100.0%