Why international students are taking the ‘back door’ route into England’s top universities

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Using secret film of recruitment agents, the newspaper reported on a “back door” route which lets international students into Russell Group universities with “far lower grades” than students from the UK.

Metadata

Provider:

The Conversation

URL:

https://theconversation.com/why-international-students-are-taking-the-back-door-route-into-englands-top-universities-223019

Retrieved on:

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Information

Tags:

Doug, Education, The Sunday Times, Student, Government, Perception, Russell Group, Ivy League, School, Diplomacy, Research, University, Medicine, Tutoring

Geotags:

UK, ENGLAND, USA

Summary

Key Points:

Using secret film of recruitment agents, the newspaper reported on a “back door” route which lets international students into Russell Group universities with “far lower grades” than students from the UK.
The “back door” enables international students to enter a year-long foundation course with lower entry grades, then apply for progression onto an undergraduate degree.
This is leading to concerns that they are favouring international students through the foundation year route.

Foundation years

There are foundation years run by independent companies with partnerships and recognition from universities.
Russell Group and other English universities also run foundation years themselves, often linked to specific subjects such as medicine and physical sciences.
Foundation years are becoming increasingly popular, with the number of entrants increasing from 8,000 to around 70,000 during the last decade.
By helping less-advantaged students enter university, foundation years increase opportunities and improve the supply of highly skilled graduates.

Student recruitment

In real terms, the fee for each student has reduced by around one quarter in this time.
In contrast, there is no cap on international student fees.
Universities are recruiting more students through this route because they rely on them to fund domestic student places.
Yet the government now funds only £1,600 of the average £10,200 that English universities receive for each domestic student.

Chris Millward is employed by the University of Birmingham, which is a member of the Russell Group. For four years prior to his appointment to the University of Birmingham in 2022, Chris was the Director for Fair Access and Participation on the executive and board of England's higher education regulator, the Office for Students. He has, therefore, been directly involved in the issues addressed by this article.