BACKGROUND

The aim of the research was essentially to investigate the problems faced by students attending a university managed by the private arm of a public university.The objective of the research was to use the knowledge gained as the basis for future improvements in service delivery.An important part in this was the investigation of how staff was coping.As they are the“face”of the university，it was essential that this knowledge also be obtained.This was important from both the marketing and service delivery side.

This particular campus of the university is an international student campus with over 95%of its students coming from overseas.Thus it is different from many other universities.However it is part of an increasingly large sector of Australia's education system.Students at this campus are predominantly from India，Indonesia，China，Taiwan，Thailand，Vietnam，Sri Lank Pakistan and a small number from the Middle East.Thus，it can be seen that it is certainly not a homogenous group.It must also be noted that the students at this campus may differ from many others who come to study in Australia in that the majority who are in are often older than most native born students，they are often doing a second or even third degree and a number have studied in overseas countries prior to coming to Australia.Some are also studying after many years in the workforce，often running family businesses.Thus this research differs from much of what has preceded it，as the nature of the students is so different.

Whilst there has been relatively extensive research into the difficulties faced by overseas students studying in Australia，the bulk of the studies are in mainstream universities where the international student body makes up the minority not the majority.So it was found that there were great differences in how the students at this campus coped.The research showed that at this campus the Chinese，Taiwanese and Thai students experienced the greatest difficulties.However，participants from these groups also varied in the degree of difficulties faced.An interesting aspect of this was that whilst these students lacked the English skills of the Vietnamese，Indians，Indonesians and Sri Lankans and this created some difficulty for all of them，it was not the main reason for their difficulties.In fact，the research found a direct correlation between the students whose families，rather than the students themselves，made the decision for them to study in Australia and the degree of difficulties faced.It was these students who expressed the greatest level of feelings of isolation and related emotional problems which previous research into the area has mentioned.On the other hand，students who came to study having made the decision themselves，even if they had poor English skills，stated that they had few problems and any frustration experienced was the result of negotiating the university's bureaucratic process.

Ballard and Clanchy's（1998）work would probably be the most extensive undertaken in this area.However，their research also seems to focus mainly on undergraduate students in universities where the international student was the minority.However their work was always important for the fact that it moved research away from just looking at the international student using the deficit model（the deficit being their lack of English language skills）into focusing on the context in which these students would be studying，thus stressing that universities needed to acknowledge that they also needed to make adjustments.This research supports this contention by showing how complex the situation actually is for international students.A number of interesting findings resulted.

Much research（such as，Bayley et al.，2002；Borland and Pearce，2002；Hellsten and Prescott，2004；Wong，2004；Sawir，2005；Sherry，et al，2010；Marginson，et al 2010；Alavi ＆ Mansor，2011）in the past has focused on language difficulties creating problems for all international students.The research undertaken here shows this is not the case for all students at this campus.Whilst this research does not want to underplay the significance of English language skills in helping international students cope better when studying in Australia，it seemed that to focus solely on English language skills is to oversimplify the problem，especially for those students whose parents made the decision for them.For these students it seemed like poor English skills intensified an already existent insecurity rather than being in itself the reason for difficulties.Staff seemed to see that language was still the only problem and felt that if that could be corrected，then all problems would be solved.It was also noted that even though staff saw this as the problem，few made any substantial modifications to their teaching strategies nor did they seek the assistance of‘experts’in this area.It was generally found that staff either lacked the skills or motivation（and sometimes both）to do this.Furthermore，like staff at many other universities，they saw these students as a homogenous group：that being 4 Asian Students.The majority stereotyped them as“rote learners”who rely on memorisation，lack critical analytical skills and seldom question the content of what they read（Pearson 2000）.