AGM – 28/29 April 2016 Agenda Item 6 (i) Action required – for information

Update for Utrecht Network: ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2016

AEN Secretariat General Update

Secretariat Update

The AEN Secretariat transitioned form Deakin University to Western Sydney University in late 2015 for the current 2016/2017 term. Since this transition there have been a number of staff changes at Western Sydney University. The AEN Secretariat role was handed over from Anouk van der Vorst to Western Sydney International staff member Alana Christoff. In January 2016 Alana Christoff left Western Sydney University and Caroline Reid took on the Secretariat role. Significant staff changes and shortages at Western Sydney University have created a number of continuing delays in the actioning of day-to-day AEN Secretariat functions.

AEN Agreement Renewal

The AEN Agreement is due to be renewed, and has now been signed by all AEN members, except for Western Sydney University (WSU). WSU received the signed agreement from University of Tasmania last week, and the agreement is now pending signature from the Vice Chancellor, who will be returning from overseas work in the next two weeks. Once signed, the agreement will be forwarded to the Steering Committee of Utrecht Network. The agreement should be with the Steering Committee of Utrecht Network within the month.

AEN Website

The AEN website is due to be updated with the latest factsheets. The website was in need of updating at the time of handover to Western Sydney University. As a result of the handover of website licencing and access, Western Sydney University only gained access to the AEN website in March. The AEN website will be updated over the course of the coming months and should not impact AEN recruitment for the Spring 2017 round.

During the course of the website being updated, we will liaise with UN partner universities to confirm the currency of information.

Bogazici University on Hold

There has been some ongoing confusion around the participation of Bogazici University in Turkey in the Australian-European Network exchange program. The AEN Secretariat recently received nominations for Bogazici University, after which we reminded the Australian university in question that Bogazici University, although still a partner of the Utrecht Network, no longer partakes in the exchange program between UN and AEN partner universities.

Limited Exchange Places at University College Cork and Utrecht University

In the Fall 2016 nomination round, there was very high demand for both University College Cork and Utrecht University. A lack of places available at these institutions led to a number of students not getting their 1st or 2nd preference and resulted in a number of students withdrawing their applications to the AEN program. To avoid this in future rounds, the AEN Secretariat will remind AEN partner universities of limited places ahead of each recruitment round so that student expectations can be better managed. The AEN Secretariat will also communicate to AEN members that their students should nominate a genuine 2nd and 3rd host university preference to minimise withdrawals.

AEN Member Fees

There will be another increase in membership fees for Australian AEN members in 2016. In 2011 the biennial membership fee was approximately $1000 per member university. In 2013 the biennial membership fee was approximately $1680 per institution.

The annual membership fee covers:

 AEN website hosting and domain renewal through CIBIS  NAFSA AEN-UN Luncheon costs  Expenses associated with the AEN Hand-Over  Presentation costs associated with participation in the UN AGM

Annual costs are divided covered by membership fees from all Australian member universities, excluding the Australian member university hosting the AEN Secretariat. Invoices are to be sent out after NAFSA if possible.

The reason for the likely 2016 increase is due to the cost of hosting the AEN NAFSA Luncheon. In looking for appropriate venues and to continue the event format used in previous years, we have been limited in venue options. It has been our assessment that venues in Denver may be artificially inflating prices to capitalise on the NAFSA conference. In addition to this, the weakened Australian Dollar has increased the cost of this event to Australian members over the past two to three years. In 2014 the annual membership fee was $636, and in 2015 $805 per member university. In 2016 we anticipate the membership fee to increase to around $905 per Australian member university.

NAFSA 2016

Following a successful and enjoyable catch-up hosted by Deakin during NAFSA 2015, Western Sydney University would like to invite all partner universities to save the date for this year’s AEN-UN NAFSA Luncheon:

AEN-UN NAFSA Luncheon 2017

What: Luncheon: 12.00pm – 2.00pm Lunch and bar complimentary When: Tuesday, 31 May 2015 Where: Panzano 909 17th St, Denver, CO 80202 Phone: +1 303-296-3525 Website: http://www.panzano-denver.com/

An official invitation will be sent out shortly. If you and your colleagues (max 2 per institution) wish to attend, please RSVP by Sunday, 15 May 2015

Final Figures AEN/UN Exchange Cycle 2015-2016

Definitions and explanations: for the purpose of reporting figures:

 Outgoing AEN students to UN means all Australian students going on exchange to a UN partner university  Incoming UN students to AEN means all European students coming on exchange to an AEN partner university  Home university means sending institution  Host university means receiving institution  Exchange Cycle: final figures are presented per exchange year (July and January), rather than calendar year (January and July)

AEN – UN Outbound Summaries

2015/2016 Academic Year:

By Home University

By Host University

Total Student Comparison 2014/2015 and 2015/2016

Outgoing AEN-UN 2015/2016 Academic Year Notes:

A total of 72 Australian students were sent on exchange to a UN partner university between Fall 2015 and Spring 2016; that is 11 fewer students than during exchange cycle 2014/2015. Together they counted for 86 semester places, 6 fewer than last year.

Figures show that Macquarie University, University of Wollongong, and Griffith University again share the highest outbound participation rate, Western Sydney University has the lowest outbound participation rate.

The top three receiving institutions this year consists of Eötvös Loránd University, Aarhus University and Jagiellonian University in Krakow, which is an interesting shift from the prior 2014/2015 cycle, in which University of Hull, Utrecht University and University of Bologna were the most popular sites.

UN-AEN Inbound Summaries

2015/2016 Academic Year:

By Home University

By Host University

Incoming UN-AEN 2015/2016 Academic Year Notes:

Figures show that 59 European students chose to study at an AEN partner university between Fall 2015 and Spring 2016; a slight decrease compared to exchange cycle 2014/2015 when 61 European students chose to study in Australia.

University of Ljubljana, Universitaire Instelling Antwerpen, Ruhr University Bochum and Universiteit Utrecht all sent the highest number of students, at 5 (9%) each.

The top three receiving universities again for this year are University of Wollongong, Griffith University and Macquarie University. Edith Cowan University did not receive any students in the 2015/2016 cycle according to the Secretariat records.

Nominations for 2016/2017 Academic Year

Inbound/Outbound nominations for the coming 2016/2017 Academic Year are currently in progress and are not yet finalised. An update and stats on the coming academic year will be provided in the AEN AGM presentation.