The investigation will look into reports of university agents offering ‘back door’ routes to recruit overseas students, who typically pay higher fees.
The Department for Education will launch an “urgent investigation into bad practice” by UK university representatives, recruiting international students.
The investigation will review reports that UK university recruiters allegedly offer places to international students with lower grades than domestic applicants.
Education Minister Robert Halfon
told MPs on Monday that he wants “a level playing field for all domestic students as well.”
The minister referred to the
Sunday Times article alleging that “foreign students can buy their way onto highly competitive degree courses.”
International students typically pay higher fees than students from England, whose maximum tuition fees has been
capped at £9,250 per year for full-time undergraduate courses.
The Sunday Times article suggested that Russell Group universities agents would offer “back door” route to recruit overseas students, who on average
pay £22,200 per year and can face costs as high as £38,000 for undergraduate degree courses.
“I was very disturbed with what I saw, and what we want—as I say—is absolute fairness of entry for domestic students as much as international students,” Mr. Halfon
told the lawmakers in the House of Commons.
He said he was “appalled” by the report and called the bad practice in the use of agents “not acceptable.”
MPs heard that Mr. Halfon was a “strong supporter of international students,” who would however like to ensure “fair” entry requirements for UK university applicants.
In 2022, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)
recorded more than 150,000 international undergraduate students who applied for UK degrees.
Amid reports that at least 30 percent of overseas students entering UK universities use “back-door routes,” this would amount to tens of thousands of applicants.
Responding to allegations, the Russel Group
said that the Sunday Times article discussed international foundation year programmes as opposed to degree programmes.
An
international foundation year is a stepping stone to undergraduate study, which can be completed during one academic year. Graduates are then often
guaranteed a place in undergraduate degree programmes.
The Russell Group, however, maintained that “entry to main degree programmes from these courses is not guaranteed.”
“Universities maintain robust admissions policies to ensure an equitable and consistent process for all applicants,” said the group’s spokesperson.
Revenue Flow
International students constitute an “important part” of the Russell Group student body, said the spokesperson.“Revenue from international students is reinvested into high-quality teaching and learning to benefit all students,” he added.
Last year, a higher education regulator, the Office for Students (OfS),
warned that over-reliance on international students, particularly from a single country such as China, puts England’s universities at financial risk.
The
OfS report showed that the financial sustainability of the higher education sector was “significantly” underpinned by income from overseas students’ fees and vulnerable to any interruptions to the flow of international applicants.
Another form of financial contribution to UK higher education institutions comes in the form of anonymous donations. Analysis of donations to Russell Group universities
has revealed that at least £281 million was received from anonymous donors since 2017.
The donated money could be tracked back to donors from Azerbaijan (£10 million), a U.S. organisation (£13.3 million) and an organisation in China (£4.2 million).
Some MPs argued that universities should disclose any gifts from “overseas counterparty” worth more than £50,000. In response, the Russell Group spokesperson
assured that while the universities prefer to publicly recognise the donors, in some cases it was not possible due to privacy considerations.
Competition
Last year, ten Russell Group universities were reported to have more courses on offer for international students than domestic applicants the weekend before the A-level results day. This included Durham University, Liverpool University, and the University of Leeds.
Around 13 percent of those who apply for undergraduate courses in Britain are overseas students.
Last year, the head of UCAS at the time, Clare Marchant,
said she didn’t expect the percentage to “change hugely.”
“We need to be welcoming to those undergraduate international students who want to come and study here,” Ms. Marchant said.
In March, UCAS reported that there could be up to 30 percent more higher education applicants over the remainder of the decade, leading to greater competition for places.
