Responding to the Sunday Times
article about the recruitment of international students
on pathway courses, Vivienne Stern MBE, Chief
Executive of Universities UK said:
“International students do not reduce the number of places
available to home students. Although the number of international
students in our universities has risen, the number of places for
home students has also increased. In fact, since universities in
all parts of the UK lose money teaching home students, they need
other sources of income to ensure that they can continue to
increase home places.
The UK a popular destination for international students due to
the fact that they are internationally recognised for their high
quality. The fact that our universities attract students from
around the world is unequivocally a good thing. It is good for
other students, who learn alongside peers from many other
countries; it is good for universities, and it is good for the
economies of towns and cities right across the UK. Overall, in
2021/22 international students contributed £42bn to the UK
economy, and international education is one of the UK’s most
successful export sectors.
International pathways are a small but important part of this
picture. They support student success by helping prepare students
coming into our universities from different education systems.
They are not a guarantee of entry into a full degree.
International students on pathway courses have to achieve the
academic standards required to pass the course, and not all
students manage this. Pathway providers report that, even after
one year of intensive study, 20–25% of students do
not progress from the pathway programme onto a full
undergraduate programme at the partner university.
However, we recognise the importance of maintaining public
confidence that the admissions system is fair and transparent,
which is why we have commissioned an external review by the QAA
into International Foundation Programmes and International Year
One Programmes, including their entry requirements. This work is
underway and will report in the coming months.”
Notes to Editor:
- In the 2023 end of cycle report, UCAS data shows 271,735 UK
18-year-olds have been accepted, an increase in 30,000 (+12.5%)
since 2019. Meanwhile, there has been a decline in the number of
accepted international students from outside the EU with 61,055
acceptances, down from 62,455 last year (-2.2%). UCAS end of cycle
report
- In 2023, 35.8% of UK 18-year-olds were accepted into higher
education via UCAS. This means UK 18-year-olds are now 24% more
likely to go to university than they were 10 years
ago.
- The UK student acceptance rate (i.e. the proportion of
applicants who are accepted) has been consistently substantially
higher than the international student acceptance rate over the
last 10 years. While UK acceptance rates have increased slightly
to 80.5% (from 77.8% in 2013), international has fallen to 47.1%
(from 54.2%).
- Between 2014/15 to 2017/18 continuation and completion rates
between domestic and international students are broadly similar.
For non-UK students, continuation rates across all OfS registered
providers were 90.3% (compared to 90.5% for UK students) and
completion rates were notably higher at 91.4% for non-UK students
(compared to 88.5% for UK students).
Link to full response can be found here: Universities UK responds to
Sunday Times article on recruitment of international students on
pathway courses
