What pull factors does the UK international higher education sector retain?
Post-COVID-19 and UK graduate routes undoubtedly shifted the landscape. The HEPI report just out, brings home the impact our sector has and we know the value is much wider than just the financial gains. Higher demand from India, Nigeria and other Asian countries creates new challenges for the sector in relation to diversification, student experience, retention, staff support, accommodation challenges and so on.
Meanwhile, the neoliberal macro environment forces universities to be fiscally responsible themselves while delivering public service for society and responsible for the next generation. Our sector strives for a proactive approach to manage all this turbulence, but so often we are forced into reactive responses and the best we can hope for is to keep our agility.
It is enough to make us gloomy. The media is keen to focus on the 'failures', 'dissatisfaction', and 'inadequacy’ in order to grab the spotlight of the public. But my recent conversations with parents and employers overseas reminded me of the reasons of international students choose to study in the UK and the life-changing opportunities it offers to students, being employability, global perspective, friendship, and social mobility. These pull factors for the students can also serve as a reminder to the sector of why we’re in this business.
A recent research project with colleagues focusing on the pulling factors for Chinese students choosing to study for a Postgraduate course in the UK, revealed that the primary reason of UK study being ‘shorter, cheaper and less competitive’. They also listed the pedagogical approaches of UK education, intercultural learning and work opportunity as their key decision-making factors. The reputation of the UK higher education, in particular, THE and QS ranking still play a great factor in determining their immediate and long-term employability and life skills.
However, the growing number of international students from India and Nigeria portray a different rationale for choosing to study in the UK. Academics from India and Pakistan, with whom I interviewed, all showed extremely positive appreciation of the UK higher education for students, from critical thinking to the global experience of studying and living in the UK. This all subsequently translates into higher employability and social mobility back in their home countries. The prospect of any chance of longer term or even permanent stay in the UK can also be very attractive.
After extensive interviewing with professionals working in the sector in the UK as well as in India, the number one driving force in choosing to study in the UK is the employability in the UK and back in the home country. Studying in the UK is achieved with personal and family pride, in pursuing a qualification with higher credentials than back in the home country. In most Asian countries, studying abroad is only viable for elite or middle-class families for financial reasons. In comparison to families in China, students from India are more willing to borrow money in order pursue their international education dream in the UK.
The table below shows some interesting differences in pull factors between Chinese and Indian prospective UK PG students.
Should our sector be proud to enable these opportunities? We certainly need to keep in mind that the pull is by its nature, only a perception. Speaking with some current students who are in the UK now, they told me a different story of the challenges they face. For most of them, it is about the economic pressure to earn extra money to support their study and life in a very expensive country. For them, support from the universities has often been limited and they feel left alone to find solutions to their own problems in a new country. The pressure of cheaper shared accommodation, and close approximate to part-time jobs meaning long commute to the campus, naturally compromise their student experience and even their academic success. Despite all the challenges, they do not regret their choice and they spoke highly of their experience in studying in the UK.
Even with all the perceived and real challenges and failures in the sector, I do hope we can be mindful of why we work in international education in the first place. I know for me the sector still has some big pull factors. The HEPI report just out, brings home the impact our sector has and we know the value is much wider than just the financial gains. I think it is important to reflect on what we can really do to make an impact on one person's life a day if possible.
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