Universities must bridge the gap between promises and international student realities

In recent years, we’ve seen a growing reliance on international student fees to prop up the UK higher education sector.

With rising costs and 40 per cent of universities in deficit last year, universities are scrambling to find ways to cover their financial gaps.

We’ve seen surveys like the National Student Survey (NSS), Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), and international rankings used as selling points to attract students from overseas.

But for all the emphasis on broad metrics, there’s an important question the sector should ask itself – and it’s not just how universities will continue to cover their costs.

It’s why they’re not doing more to improve the student experience for international students.

Feel the glow

Universities have long relied on glowing scores from broad surveys to showcase their achievements. But these surveys, including the NSS and TEF, are general measures of student satisfaction and teaching quality that either lump together home and international students, or exclude them.

For many international students, these metrics paint a picture that doesn’t reflect the reality they encounter upon arrival. Prospective students use these scores as a guide when choosing where to study, but they don’t realise that their own unique needs and challenges as international students aren’t being considered in the data.

We’ve heard the same story over and over again from international students: the experience just doesn’t match the expectations set by universities. They’re sold on the idea of a robust support system, comprehensive resources, and a seamless integration into university life, only to arrive and face significant gaps in the services offered to them.

The disconnect not only misleads prospective students but also damages the reputation of universities when those students share their disappointing experiences with peers back home. And yet, the agents employed by universities continue to push metrics like NSS and TEF as indicators of institutional quality without ever mentioning the lack of differentiation between international and domestic student experiences.

Getting here

One of the most glaring issues international students face is the lack of proper pre-arrival support. Universities seem content to send students glossy brochures and polished web pages, but what’s missing is an honest conversation about the practical challenges these students will face when they get here.

Take the cost of living crisis, for example. International students often underestimate just how much living in the UK will cost – especially for those with specific dietary needs, like eating halal or requiring gluten-free options, both of which are more expensive in this country.

Students arrive unprepared, unaware of just how high their living expenses will be, and with little in the way of guidance from their universities on how to navigate these financial pressures.

Then there’s the issue of banking. Many international students come from countries where cash-based transactions are the norm, and where banking systems operate quite differently from what we have in the UK.

Students arrive here with limited knowledge of how to set up a bank account, which is essential for everything from receiving payments to securing part-time employment. The UK’s banking system, which requires a robust paper trail to track funds, is completely foreign to them.

Universities could easily provide resources and guidance to help these students transition smoothly, but too often they fail to do so, leaving students to figure it out on their own.

Agents of confusion

Meanwhile, the way universities use recruitment agents raises other concerns. Agents often promise a dream experience, but what they don’t explain is that these metrics don’t account for the specific challenges faced by international students.

The result is that many students arrive with an inflated sense of what they’re going to receive, only to be met with a system that isn’t designed with their needs in mind. The real experience of international students is often far from the polished picture presented by universities.

From inadequate academic guidance to poor mental health resources, international students often find themselves adrift, with little in the way of meaningful help. And it’s not just about money or logistics – the lack of a clear, comprehensive support structure and large single country cohorts make it difficult for these students to integrate into university life, both socially and academically.

Universities cannot ignore the role that transparency plays in addressing these problems. Without a clear and honest portrayal of what international students can expect, both in terms of support and the challenges they’ll face, universities are setting themselves up for failure.

More troubling still is the UK government’s recent consideration of eradicating the post-study work visa route, coupled with negative perceptions arising from the UK riots – all heavily publicised on social media. These developments make it even more critical for universities to step up and show international students that they’re valued, supported, and that their needs are taken seriously.

Next steps

There are plenty of steps that universities could take, both individually and as a sector. They could, for example, begin publishing separate metrics that specifically measure international student experiences, so that prospective students get a clearer picture of what to expect.

Universities could also be more transparent about their use of recruitment agencies, ensuring that the promises made by these agents align with what students will actually receive when they arrive. The more information universities provide upfront, the more confidence prospective international students will have that they’re making the right choice.

The work that needs to be done to support international students is clear. From pre-arrival guidance on the cost of living and banking, to more transparent recruitment practices and better on-campus support, universities must start prioritising these students if they hope to maintain their financial stability and global reputation.

Universities must take a hard look at the real experiences of these students and make the necessary changes to ensure that they feel welcome, supported, and able to succeed. Because without those changes, the very future of the UK higher education sector could be at risk.