http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/80eb3786-4223-11dd-a5e8-0000779fd2ac.html


Warning on push to lure foreign students

By David Turner
Education Correspondent

June 25, 2008

Efforts by universities to boost the number of foreign students – a core strategy of some of Britain’s most elite institutions – have been branded “unsustainable” by a body charged with maintaining standards in higher education.

The news throws into question the viability of a valuable source of income for the UK. It is second only to the US as a magnet for bright overseas students – many of whom stay in the country after finishing their studies to become top talent in the labour market.

Universities can also charge students from outside the European Union unregulated fees that are usually higher than those for native applicants, helping to finance facilities.

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, which is funded partly by the government, warned in a report of “concerns [that] the number of international students was being increased in an unsustainable fashion at some institutions”.

The agency called for “more attention [to be paid] to the impact this would have on their services to support international students and the student body overall” – raising fears that some universities might be swamped by the special needs of foreign students.

The QAA also suggested universities should “give greater attention to English language support for international students”.

The comments question a trend towards internationalisation at both UK and US universities.

University College London, one of the UK’s most prestigious institutions, has raised its proportion of foreign students to about one-third as part of plans “to make the university more global”. UCL said on Tuesday the resulting cultural exchange benefited British as well as foreign students: “It is important for a university to educate students from all over the world, when increasingly people will be living abroad, studying abroad, and working abroad.”

Richard Levin, president of Yale University, one of the top US colleges, recently told the Financial Times he wanted more foreign students at the country’s elite universities to combat the “tremendous insularity” of political leaders educated there.

“If our educational leaders had pushed this [internationalisation] earlier they might have changed America,” Mr Levin said.

Imperial College London said on Tuesday it had a high proportion of foreign students because it chose on “merit” rather than nationality.

The number of foreign undergraduates at British universities leapt 8 per cent to almost 50,000 last year.

UCL, whose rollcall of foreign alumni includes Indian politician Mahatma Gandhi and former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, runs a three-day “bespoke orientation programme” for overseas students.

QAA also repeated its worries that universities were not awarding the right degree class marks. Critics have attacked universities for succumbing to grade inflation to please students.

The association is bankrolled by UK universities and higher education funding councils, which are financed by government.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008