To understand whether online learning would be a deterrent to enrolling, respondents were asked whether they would be interested in starting their studies this year even if the beginning of the course was conducted online.

Answers for this question have remained consistent throughout the year, with 43 percent of respondents indicating that they were interested in starting their studies online. 11 percent were extremely interested, 9 percent were very interested, and 20 percent were somewhat interested.

Prospective international students were asked whether they would consider enrolling if they knew online learning would be for a maximum of six months before they could begin face-to-face classes.

Positive responses fluctuated from 32 percent in May to 45 percent in September and 43 percent in November, suggesting many students see six months of online study as an acceptable compromise.

Interestingly the proportion of students who wouldn’t consider this fell substantially from 38 percent in May to 31 percent in November.

If their course would have to start online, the majority of prospective students did say that they would expect their tuition fees to be discounted. This demonstrates that although prospective international students are more open to studying online, they do not place the same monetary value on online learning as traditional face-to-face learning.

We noticed an increased demand for discounts for online tuition, rising from 76 percent in April to 84 percent in November. When asked how substantial a tuition fee discount should be, the majority of respondents chose between 21 percent to 50 percent.

However, only 12 percent of surveyed current international students were offered tuition fee discounts in September and 15 percent in October.

Moving forward, more institutions should try to engage with applicants on this topic, either explaining the need for fees to remain at their current level or showing more flexibility in what they charge students.