“Robust” UK interest endures despite immigration white paper
Analysis of search data and student survey responses by the Keystone Education Group has revealed continuing “robust” interest in the UK, despite concerns that the government’s immigration white paper would hamper attractiveness.
“We’re still seeing substantial year-on-year growth in the UK’s ‘share of search,’ reflecting the relative appeal of the UK in a turbulent international study environment,” Mark Bennett, Keystone vice president of research & insight, told The PIE News.
“Relative search interest for the UK is still up more than 50% [on the previous year] since the proposals were made,” added Bennett, with data based on active search behaviour of thousands of users.
The highly anticipated white paper, released on May 12, proposed cutting the graduate route from 24 to 18 months and raising English language requirements for dependants and skilled workers.
What’s more, its plans to implement stricter compliance metrics for universities and introduce a 6% levy on institutions’ income from international students, have alarmed institutions, which the government expect to pass on the levy to students as increased tuition fees.
And yet, until the plans are implemented, the proposals are “a matter of optics,” said Bennett, maintaining that institutions won’t necessarily increase international fees, and reassuring students that English language requirement increases do not apply to them.
There isn’t another rabbit coming out of the hat … the UK has set out what it’s going to do
Mark Bennett, Keystone
“How students understand and react to these plans will be very important – including appreciating that, for now, they are just plans,” he said.
When it comes to the graduate route, 42% of prospective master’s students surveyed by Keystone said the shortened route would make “no difference” to their study plans, with just 21% saying they would be “much less likely” to consider the UK.
While awareness has presumably increased, less than half of the 400 students initially surveyed were aware of the Graduate Route changes.
In a world where negative news tends to travel quickly among international audiences, the fact that the proposals weren’t rapidly picked up by students suggests it may not be critical, said Keystone.
According to Bennett, limiting the Graduate Route was the “least worst” change that the government could have made, with concerns circulating prior to its publication that the white paper would tie graduate visas to skills-based jobs.
Meanwhile, although the UK’s offering to international students is worse than it was two years ago, as policy restrictions dominate other major markets, Keystone’s data indicates that the UK is being perceived as a relatively stable choice.
“There isn’t another rabbit coming out of the hat… the UK has set out what it’s going to do,” said Bennett, highlighting Canada’s study permit caps, fears that Australia will follow suit, and a US policy environment that is “almost impossible to predict”.
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