The challenge of academic writing for Chinese students within ...

perspective of higher education, too often prestige substitutes for quality. Institutional
league tables play an important role in raising the profile of universities and colleges.
The increasing tendency of HEIs‘ to seek prestige and higher rankings in the league
table is said to give rise to a system which is ‗less responsive, less diverse and less
innovative‘ (Brown, 2006). The quality of higher education, it is argued, decreases in
the process of institutional obtaining prestige since institutions are inclined to
sacrifice provisions that help improve students‘ learning experience but are less
contributive to reputation building (Brown, 2006). The institutional pursuit of higher
ranking in the league table continues to augment the market steering of higher
education.
Brown (2008) has identified a number of other potential negative impacts of increased
marketisation, namely causing social stratification, threatening or reducing
institutional diversity, reducing value for money and reducing overall levels of
quality: Increased market-driven higher education can widen the gaps of different
social and ethnic groups when one particular group of students is concentrated in the
most/least prestigious institutions, which is very evident in the US. With increased
market competition, institutions are likely to become homogenous since less
successful institutions imitate the successful ones, which can have a detrimental effect
on meeting the demands for mass higher education and widening participation. From
a wider perspective, increased market competition can reduce value for money. Last
but certainly not least, increased market steering of higher education can reduce
overall levels of quality of learning and teaching, and students‘ learning experiences
are compromised.
International students, as part of a diverse student body, would certainly share some
of the benefits marketisation brings, but would be inevitably become a victim of the
higher education market. Despite the potential limitations of league tables, for
international students they still represent an indispensable reference in the process of
choosing a university since these students have very limited access to information
about a university and its programmes. It is more likely that in China a graduate from
a top-ten university on a league table has more chances of securing well-paid
employment than the one from less prestigious universities. Also in China parents of
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