Report: http://www.hobsonssolutions.com/EMEA/Our-Insight
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UK HE ‘undermined’ by work regulations, PSW, survey finds
The PIE News
Hobsons Solution recently released a report presenting the views of more than 45,000 prospective international students from over 200 countries, to understand the value they place on an international education. The start of the report signposts us to previous research which highlights that international students cannot be pigeon-holed into one homogenous group, but rather have significant differences in their motivations and expectations.
The intention of the report, however, is to provide a set of recommendations for the UK to successfully compete within the global HE marketplace. Results reveal that prospective students ranked five criteria as most important in choosing a country to study: quality and recognition; affordability; post-study options; and safety and hospitality. In fact, the lack of post-study work options is the leading factor at 36.3% of why students do not choose to study in the UK (p 39). Employability and how institutions invest in employability opportunities is a particularly favourable attribute. The report actually advises UK institutions to send a strong and clear message to government regarding post-study work rights, stating that failure for government to address the economic benefits will result in years of damage.
Communication and directly engaging with prospective students are also viewed as important factors. The report suggests that institutions make more effort to understand the environment – i.e. family, friends and culture – as strong influencers in shaping the decisions of students. To address this area, investing more time and energy in one-to-one communication is important.