The release of IDP Education’s Emerging Futures data is always a welcome opportunity to emphasise how international students view our sector and to put their perceptions and motivations into sharp focus for all stakeholders. In the sixth iteration of our in-depth bi-annual study, students’ increased willingness to change or postpone their plans amid policy uncertainty and instability that has come to the fore.
One of the headlines arising out of Emerging Futures 6 is that students are willing to pivot on their destination choice so they can maintain their dreams of an international education. Globally, two thirds of students are now considering more than one destination to study in or receive their international qualification from, which means they are looking at more options, different destination countries, searching out the best fit and, undoubtedly, hoping for some certainty and clarity around the ROI on their significant investment. It’s clear that the top four destinations must do all they can to remain competitive and appealing as students search out alternatives including New Zealand, and Ireland.
Almost two thirds of students (62 per cent) told us they would be willing to change their study destination if the alternative choice meant they would be able to apply for a post-study work visa, 58 per cent told us they would change to a destination that required a lower amount of savings to be able to apply for a student visa, and 57 per cent told us that cheaper student visa fees and associated costs would make them willing to change.
So, as many in the sector warned, policy changes being made by governments are affecting destination choice and students will change their minds if the policy landscape impacts their plans, hopes and dreams – not just in relation to study, but regarding the longer-term goals as well.
There’s probably no need to reiterate how difficult the shifting policy landscape and cost-of-living pressures have been recently for both students and our sector, Yet anything institutions and partners can do to communicate with students that we appreciate their challenges and we are facing policymakers head-on to seek stability and are determined to provide them with quality education and positive outcomes is welcomed.
Reassuring applicants
As a sector, we are doing our utmost to find the best ways to support international students, so we can continue to sustain their leaps of faith and ensure that “Destination UK” remains a top choice. One of the ways we are striving for this is through the Agent Quality Framework (AQF). A joint initiative led by the British Council, BUILA, UKCISA and UUKI, the UK AQF is a charter to develop and enrich the partnership between agents and counsellors and the UK education sector. It recognises and extolls best practice in the fields of organisational behaviour, ethical business practice, objectivity, student-centred practice, and organisational competence.
Pledging to the AQF has been hugely significant for IDP and underpins our commitment to help every student fulfil their global potential. We do this by providing objective advice and guidance tailored to each student’s qualifications and interests; helping to deliver a study abroad journey that allows students to thrive and achieve. It’s a high stakes service and the principles of the framework are our guiding light in empowering student choice and informed decision-making that will match their aspirations.
The broader question we should ask though, is one of continual assessment – as a sector – is the AQF enough to ensure the best for students? What else could we do – can the AQF iterate over time to ensure even more scrutiny is applied at the right stages so that student decision-making is informed by clear, transparent, relevant and straight-forward information and process?
This includes an imperative around transparency in counselling processes and recruitment practice in market, which is a large part of IDP’s focus within our role commitment to the AQF. It also includes a push on quality around entry requirements, including consistency in English-language testing which strikes the balance between properly assessing abilities (through high-stakes tests such as IELTS) or recognising proficiency through prior learning in a robust way.
Emerging Futures captures student perceptions about important factors including “quality of education”, “value for money”, “graduate employment opportunities”, “post-study work visa policies” and “international student policies”. In this latest study, USA and UK continue to be the front-runners in student minds for the first two categories’ but these perceptions are declining. Alarmingly, perceptions of the UK are lowest in two key factors: “graduate employment opportunities” and “post-study work visa policies” .
In the summer, Bridget Phillipson’s positive and encouraging words welcoming international students to these shores, and the new government’s position on keeping the graduate route as is were music to the sectors’ ears. Now, it is important to share this positivity with prospective students, tell them of the opportunities that are available to them in the UK, the warm welcome they will receive, and the value we place on their contributions, to our universities, our communities and our economy. The current more-balanced outlook is something to shout about loudly.
Critically, the UK must do all it can to re-emphasise the quality of our education systems and the fantastic institutions available — the UK continues to lose ground on being seen as the number one quality destination and that has to be tackled collaboratively. Coming must together to get that message in front of students will be key
As part of this aim in November, IDP is running a student-facing webinar with UK International Education Champion Steve Smith, University of Glasgow principal Anton Muscatelli, University of Birmingham vice chancellor Adam Tickell, UUK International director Jamie Arrowsmith, Sanam Arora (NISAU), Alison Barrett (British Council) and Piyush Kumar (IDP) to speak directly to students about the UK as a quality destination, with a focus on employability. We must all seek opportunities to press ahead with consistent messaging, so students, parents, influencers and alumni are reminded of all that is so good and cherished about higher education in the UK.
Now is the time for us to seek clarity and assurance from the government and to persist in the narrative that stable policy will provide certainty for students – this in turn will help improve perceptions of Destination UK and ensure that students are confident in the quality offering, warm welcome, and nurturing environment they will receive.
It is also time for the sector to see the AQF as the gold standard for agents and counsellors, so that the UK’s brand shines with integrity amid the plethora of choices students have available to them. There’s no doubt about the global recognition of Destination UK’s academic provision, our universities have a bolted-on reputation for excellence in research and scientific advancement, in groundbreaking arts and humanities programmes, and for creating some of the world’s greatest future leaders, entrepreneurs, engineers, artists, and humanitarians. But, as ever, we must not rest on our laurels.
You can read more about IDP’s Emerging Futures and download the latest infographic report here
