Australian university takes Hong Kong institution’s lead, tightens mainland admission checks
- University of New South Wales says applicants must submit official reports as additional proof for mainland Chinese academic qualifications
A leading university in Australia has required applicants to submit official reports as additional proof for mainland Chinese academic qualifications amid a surge in fake documents, after a Hong Kong institution recently cracked down on the trend.
A spokesman for the University of New South Wales (UNSW) told the Post that it introduced the measure this year after discovering some applicants had submitted bogus papers, adding it upheld very strict admission standards.
“As application volumes have increased over the past few years, we have seen a correlating rise in fraudulent documents submitted to the university,” he said. “Fraudulent documents have only been submitted in a handful of cases.”
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) earlier ramped up admission checks after discovering some mainland students had applied using fraudulent overseas academic qualifications.
Over on the mainland’s answer to Instagram, Xiaohongshu, some education consultants said the saga uncovered at HKU had spread to other overseas universities.
UNSW said candidates with mainland-based qualifications would need a verification report from the mainland’s Centre for Student Services and Development (CSSD).
