A thread on my experience:
1. 90% of students in my economics masters classes are international.
2. Half of them struggle with basic English
3. When I ask in tutorials why they are doing the degree, half tell me that they "need more points for their residency visa" (1/n) https://twitter.com/DrCameronMurray/status/1066450753152118784

4. They tell me they choose economics because they can do the maths but don't need to understand anything or write anything.
5. I always set written essays or reports. Students tell me that they know other students are using paid 'essay writing' services to pass my class (2/n)

6. If half the class can't understand English it brings down standards. It must—unless I fail half the class.
7. Think about the incentives—a casual lecturer who costs $25,000 fails 50 students paying $250,000. Change lecturer next year or reduce intake to keep standards? (3/n)

8. It is frustrating when top international students from foreign governments/central banks come to your class, then sit next to rich Chinese (almost always Chinese) who can't understand a word and are there to buy a visa (4/n)

9. The evidence shows the effect on standards is real. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S027277571200028310. 10. None of this is a secret. That research is from 2011. Here's an article from 2014 https://www.smh.com.au/education/academics-accuse-universities-of-addiction-to-international-students-and-their-cheating-20141112-11lbdi.html (5/n)

10. Unfortunately, this reality conflicts with the widely believed myth that our immigration program brings in "high skilled" workers.
11. 350,000 international students paying $25,000+ per year to study is $9billion being pumped through our top dozen universities. (6/n)

12. Halving the number of international students would keep all the good students, boost standards for all, and remove the visa scams.
13. But this would remove $4.5billion per year of revenue to the universities. (7/n)

14. In sum, universities are being degraded so they can be used as a back-door immigration program, and no one at the senior levels of universities or major political parties want to change it.
15. It is nearly career suicide for younger academics to say anything about it (8/8)

I forgot to add that almost every student I failed or called out for plagiarism got second and third chances until they passed.

After the first chance it is taken out of my hands to higher ups at the faculty.