Dear members,
I delayed writing this month until we had had the latest meeting with the Home Office (and you’d had a bit of a break) so let me start with some ‘highlights’ from that.
Home Office: Education Sector Forum
This was in fact the last to be chaired by John Thompson (current Director of Migration Policy) before he moves on to other things and there seems in fact to be or have been quite a lot of staff changes in related departments and divisions. As well as a successor to him, there will shortly be a new Head of Student Policy (being selected we were told from a ‘very strong field’) and following some UKVI re-organisation, Oliver Carlisle now heads up ‘PBS Study’ covering both Tier 4 sponsorship (including Account Managers) and Tier 4 casework.
(Those coming to the AISA event on 11 April will have a chance of meeting him and his colleague Oliver Rae – and then we have arranged for him to come and meet us here, later in April, to talk through various parts of the system).
At the meeting we were told that:
- It is now formally agreed Home Office policy not to change English language levels or dependants’ work rights.
- It was most likely that the government would not accept the MAC recommendations to make Tier 4 students switching to Tier 2, subject to the cap or Resident Labour Market Test (and then this was confirmed in a Ministerial Statement on 24 March and that employers taking on such students would not have to pay the Immigration Skills Charge – both extremely good news and following concerns many of us had registered).
- An analysis had been done on visa refusal rates in 2015 and of those who issued more than 50 CASs, the average for public HE was 3.9%, for schools 4.3%, for private providers 5.9%, for public FE 6.7% and overseas HEIs 0.2% (but of course quite wide variances in each category).
- The Premium Customer Service Team had received over 30,000 queries in 2015 - but with only some 10% on aspects of policy and most about individual circumstances or areas of difficulty (such as BRPs or the Immigration Health Charge).
- We would be consulted in confidence, just before Easter (and we were, and commented) on new guidance following the recent rule changes and especially as it relates to Academic Progression – although several of us challenged the Home Office on why all these detailed rules were required at all, if the concern was about students staying on for too long, when the maximum years of study rules (and indeed ‘credibility’) already address that.
There wasn’t time to make real progress on this but I hope we have put it on the agenda for the future………….
We welcomed though the changes which allow student union sabbatical officers and postgraduate doctors and dentists to show lower maintenance (as they are moving to paid posts) which were issues we and others raised when established presence was abolished.
But we weren’t so convinced by the report that the Immigration Minister had apparently concluded in his recent visit to India that it was not the immigration rules which was limiting recruitment but a lack of effective marketing compared to our competitors. It seems sometimes as if we live in parallel universes!
Student recruitment – and the UK brand
Talking of recruitment three interesting nuggets this month.
- Firstly we see that sadly, after HESA showed a 3% decline in first year arrivals in 14/15, what is called the Higher Education Early Statistics Survey apparently shows another 1.7% drop for 15/16. Not good news (and nor is the recent report by the Chartered Association of Business Schools – which I have forwarded to the Home Office and BIS).
- Secondly a British Council analysis of Home Office statistics for 2015 shows a 2.6% reduction in student visas with seven out of the top ten countries showing a decline and if it had not been for China the decline would, apparently, have been 8%.
- But in part because of all this there is currently much thought being given to refreshing the UK brand and getting our message out more effectively. We have been attending meetings chaired or co-chaired by BIS and the British Council and the HE International Unit to agree on how this should happen, some new key messages and a totally re-designed UK Education website (and possibly strategy) for 2017. And it may well be that the ‘Education is GREAT’ brand may increasingly take over from ‘Education UK’ to avoid two brands operating, and possibly ‘competing’, in the same field.
The central dilemma, of course, is that we have some of the top ranked universities (and doubtless colleges), our research is universally well regarded and the latest report from the HE International Unit shows that we have, in virtually every area, higher international student satisfaction than any of our competitors. But as we all know wider policies – and especially around access to work and work experience – hold us back.
Something which we will be debating at an International Student Experience conference being arranged by the Unit, with our support, on 15 June (date for the diaries).
Members Forum – London
And interestingly all this – and much else – was covered in the last of our Members Forums, in London this month and many thanks to all those who came and contributed views.
We had again a great student panel but many of us noted that much of what they had to say again related to work – one who had as a result of his University of the Arts PG qualification, acquired a ‘Graduate Entrepreneur’ visa, another whose field was so specialised that he could really only work in the UK (or the USA) and another who came to do an events management course at an FE college just as the rules were changing and part-time work abolished hugely limiting both work experience and even volunteering opportunities.
April news and events
The next big event for us, however, will of course be the Annual Conference which I mentioned last month but just to say please do look out for the full information which we will be publishing by the end of next week, when bookings will open.
And also during April all members will be receiving – and some in multiple quantities – copies of the UKCISA Manual 2016, the bumper volume to keep all educated (if not entertained!).
New website
Much of the relevant information of course, and especially recent changes, is already on the website and the newly re-designed Students Zone (and Newswall) seems to have been very well received both at home and overseas.
In fact we have received over 190 detailed responses to our survey, 36% from students overseas (from Brazil to Tajikistan), 48% had not seen our website before (so we must be getting to new areas) and 60% said they were either satisfied or extremely satisfied with the information they had found (though some did say that by its very nature, some of it was a bit complex!).
Paul Webley and the Paul Webley Award
Finally you may already have seen that very sadly our former Chair, Prof Paul Webley, died in early March and as we said he will be very much missed by very many UKCISA members and associates.
That is why, when the Board met on 15 March, it agreed that we should establish a ‘Paul Webley Award – for innovation in international education’, in his memory and, at least for the first two years, award this to the most impressive of the projects in our Research and Grants scheme and announce the winner at conference.
New Chair of UKCISA Board
We also though have to now fill the position of Chair of the Board of Trustees and we are very grateful to Prof Nigel Healey, PVC at Nottingham Trent University who has agreed to act as Interim Chair until the summer.
For the longer term, however, we are now searching for a new Chair and details on the position are now available.
Members may therefore, if appropriate, like to bring this position to the attention of heads of their institutions and, as we say, Nigel or I would be happy to hear informally from anyone interested or to receive any expressions of interest. A sub committee will be aiming to make a recommendation to our full Board at or before its next meeting in June.
Best wishes - and trust Easter was a good break for all!
Dominic
Dominic Scott, Dominic Scott, Chief Executive, UKCISA
