Following on from a report I prepared for the UKCISA Board a couple of months ago, I was prompted in the last few days to once again reflect on how the challenge continues for international mobility and the recent responses from across the UK to this. The prompt was provided by the findings from the QS International Student Survey (2018) which, whilst not exactly unexpected or unsurprising, they nevertheless made for a yet another disappointing read for anyone in UK HE. The Survey found that out of 67,172 students surveyed, 39% of prospective students within the EU and 10% of prospective international students were less interested in studying in the UK as a result of Brexit. As the report points out, although 10% might not sound like a major deal, in terms of numbers this represents 16,424 out of the 161,020 non-EU students who came to the UK for study in 2016-17. The report goes onto suggest that this cohort might think twice before applying to the UK in future years leading to a tuition fee-related income reduction of some £250 million.
As the report points out, 10% represents 16,424 (out of the 161,020 non-EU students who came to the UK for study in 2016-17) and suggests that this cohort might think twice before applying to the UK in future years leading to a tuition fee-related income reduction of some £250 million.
Why is this important?
International mobility of staff and students is the foundation for higher education (HE), with economic, political and social changes driving an increasingly global knowledge economy. Worldwide approximately five million students are studying outside of their country of origin (ICEF Monitor, 2017). The UK currently hosts 438,000international students studying for qualifications at higher education institutions (HEIs), the equivalent to 19% of all HE students (Higher Education Policy Institute, 2018). In the last five years the landscape of international education has begun to shift due to a change in UK study visa issuance across major markets, indicating an overall decline in student recruitment (British Council, 2017a).
Brexit has created further uncertainty in the HE landscape with international staff from other European countries no longer certain about their personal immigration status and work prospects in the UK, and a wider concern about the possibility of delayed funding opportunities and HEIs ability to attract and retain international staff (Universities UK, 2017). These changes have left UK HEIs swimming against a strengthening tide in an unpredictable global environment.
UK policy has to date failed to adapt to the changing landscape of international mobility and is consequently creating a negative perception of the UK HE system; the number of international students overstaying their UK visas has been hugely overstated based on flawed International Passenger Survey statistics together with the unfortunate demise of the two-year post-study work visa route in 2012; and, despite increasing pressure from the Russell Group and UK universities more widely, the Prime Minister fails to remove students from net migration figures.The current uncertainty of international mobility is threatening the foundations of UK HEIs and its dependence on international staff and students which, long-term, could create negative implications on the education and research impact of UK HEIs (Universities UK, 2017).
The current landscape of international mobility in UK higher education
Despite the changing landscape the UK at present remains one of the most attractive destinations in the world for talented international staff and students (Universities UK, 2017). Although the proportions of students from outside the UK vary across the four administrations. English HEIs currently retain the highest proportion of non-EU students (14%), while Scottish providers host the highest proportion of other EU students (9%). Welsh HEIs have experienced a significant 25% decrease in the number of non-EU students between 2013/14 and 2016/17, although over the same time period Scotland had a 9% increase in the number of non-EU students. Northern Ireland experienced a decrease of non-EU students of 12% between 2013/14 and 2016/17 (HESA, 2018).
Alongside students, international staff are a thriving feature of the UKs HE system; 29% of staff working in the UK HE sector are international, with European staff currently accounting for 17% of academic staff and 6% of professional services (Universities UK, 2017). However, a University and College Union (UCU) survey of over 1,000 lecturers and professors has suggested that 42% of academics – and three-quarters (76%) of non-UK EU academics – were more likely to consider leaving UK higher education following the vote to leave the EU (University and College Union, 2017).
Addressing changing dynamics
Value for money and modes of study are increasingly becoming drivers for choice (British Council, 2017b). The UK must address current policy to avoid international staff and student mobility growth from dwindling over the next decade particularly as the global trend for mobility is expected to slowdown in the period to 2027 (British Council, 2018).
The Scottish government have already responded to these dynamics by recently extending the guarantee of free tuition for EU students to those starting in the 2019 to 2020 academic year and the establishment of further international branch campuses. Eligible students will have their fees met for the duration of their studies, even after the UK leaves the EU (Study in Scotland, 2018). In Wales the Welsh Government continues to collaborate with Universities Wales, British Council Wales and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales as a global Wales partnership to promote Welsh universities in overseas markets with a specific focus on increasing visibility.Public sector austerity in countries such as Spain and Greece will entail restricted career progression and research funding, which provides opportunity to encourage ambitious academics to work in the UK HE sector.
We have also seen English universities, such as Oxford and Warwick, considering the establishment of their first foreign campuses in mainland Europe in response to Brexit. This coincides with a Hobsons study which highlights that there is potentially significant demand for branch campus provision in post-Brexit Europe – 76% of EU students said that if a UK university opened a branch campus in an EU country other than their own they would be likely to consider this option (Wonkhe, 2017). However, do we really have a credible strategic response for post Brexit international mobility – either as a sector or as individual institutions? Do we run the risk of doing too little too late?
What to do?
What we need to see still more of from the sector as a collective, is a more compelling and evidence-based narrative which demonstrates the importance of international staff and students as living bridges that connect economies to promote thriving trade and international relations. The international movement of people, especially with regard to education, is a vital component to the long-term success of any future partnership with other countries and the UK economy.
Success in the international student market outside of the UK is being led by English-speaking countries such as the U.S., Australia, Canada and New Zealand, in addition to the developing university systems in Singapore, China and India. All of whom are competing with us for staff and student talent. These countries are not limiting their ambitions for internationalisation. Many are redoubling their market efforts in response to Brexit, developing strategic plans on how to succeed in the market so as to attract foreign staff and students. China, as an example, has introduced new policies improving foreign students’ ability to work after graduating and eased residence and entry policies for foreigners (ICEF Monitor, 2018). By endangering the quality of UK HEIs through the loss of skilled and talented staff and students, we risk displacing our position in global HE to competitors. The UKs future will depend on differentiating our strategies and communicating a confident, cohesive and compelling value proposition for both staff and students for Great Britain truly being a ‘Global’ Hub for world class education and research; until then the currency of ‘Education Brand Britain’ will continue to slip against the shifting sands of global HE dynamics.
References:
British Council (2017a). Student mobility: UK markets continued to shrink in 2016. Available at: https://siem.britishcouncil.org/insights-blog/student-mobility-uk-markets-continued-shrink-2016.
British Council (2017b). Broadening Horizons 2017: Addressing the needs of a new generation. Available at: https://ei.britishcouncil.org/educationintelligence/broadening-horizons-2017-addressing-needs-new-generation
British Council (2018). EI Feature – International student mobility to 2027: Local investment, global outcomes. Available at: https://ei.britishcouncil.org/educationintelligence/ei-feature-international-student-mobility-2027-local-investment-global-outcome
HESA (2018). Higher Education Student Statistics: UK, 2016/17 – Where students come from and go to study. Available at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/news/11-01-2018/sfr247-higher-education-student-statistics/location
Higher Education Policy Institute (2018) The costs and benefits of international students by parliamentary constituency.Report for the Higher Education Policy Institute and Kaplan International Pathways. Available at: http://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Economic-benefits-of-international-students-by-constituency-Final-11-01-2018.pdf
ICEF Monitor (2017). Measuring up: Global market share and national targets in international education. Available at: http://monitor.icef.com/2017/04/measuring-global-market-share-national-targets-international-education/
ICEF Monitor (2018). Increasing numbers of Chinese graduates returning home from overseas. Available at: http://monitor.icef.com/2018/02/increasing-numbers-chinese-graduates-returning-home-overseas/
Study in Scotland (2018). Funding and Fees. Available at: http://www.studyinscotland.org/how-to-apply/funding-and-fees/
University and College Union (2017). Brexit Higher Education Bill Survey. Available at: http://www.ucu.org.uk/media/8436/YouGov_Brexit_HE_bill_survey/pdf/YouGov_Brexit_HE_bill_survey
Universities UK (2017). The Brightest Minds – why our universities need the vital contribution of EU staff Available at: http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/brexit/Documents/the-brightest-minds.pdf