December 2024

Welcome to Studyportals Higher Ed Data into Insights - data and market insights for international higher education professionals.

In this month's edition:

• We bring you new research from Studyportals and British Council showing online English-taught programmes have more than doubled since 2019.
• We highlight the key findings of the Global Enrolment Benchmark Survey, featuring input from 365 institutions across 66 countries.
• And we take a closer look at how top 500 universities enrolments performed against those outside of the top 500 - with some surprising results.

Online English-taught programmes more than double since 2019?

By Ameena Ali

A new report from British Council IELTS and Studyportals maps the supply of online English-taught Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees around the world.?

Since 2019, the global supply of online English-taught programmes has surged by 123%. The Big Four study destinations—the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia—lead this charge, offering 92% of all online programmes.

Yet, a quiet transformation is happening outside these traditional hubs. Non-Big Four countries have nearly doubled their online offerings, growing from 623 programmes in 2019 to 1,212 in mid-2024. This shift highlights the growing global appetite for flexible, quality education.?

For students and institutions alike, the message is clear: online English-taught programmes are not just here to stay—they may be reshaping the future of higher education.?

?? Read more about the key findings

Inaugural Global Enrolment Benchmark Survey shows impact of restrictive government policies and student visa challenges

The survey, conducted by Studyportals Analytics and Consulting in partnership with NAFSA: Association of International Educators and Oxford Test of English revealed that a large number of participating institutions indicated a drop in enrolments for the August/September intake compared to last year at this time.

Featuring input from 365 institutions across 66 countries, the survey provides unique insight into international enrolment trends and the likely effects of major shifts in government policy.

Key Findings from the Global Enrolment Benchmark Survey include:?

• At the Master’s/Postgraduate level, 41% of institutions reported a decline in international student enrolment compared to last year’s intake, while international Bachelor’s/Undergraduate enrolments show more mixed trends: 31% of institutions reported a decline while 38% reported higher enrolments.?
• The average change reported in each country/region for Undergraduate enrolments ranged from -27% in Canada to +2% in European countries.??
• The average enrolment change for Postgraduate enrolments reported in each country or region ranged from -30% in Canada to +12% in Asia. ??
• 93% of universities surveyed in Canada, 58% in the US, and 61% in the UK cited restrictive government policies and/or problems obtaining a student visa as a significant issue. This was a challenge for over half of all higher education institutions surveyed.
• ?10% of responding institutions indicated that BOTH more aggressive enrolment goals AND budget and/or staff cuts were likely over the next 12 months which suggests universities will have to do more with less.

??Responding institutions received an exclusive report with insight tailored to their institution and peer group. You can register for the next survey here

??Download the Global Enrolment Benchmark report here

Missed our webinar on the findings of the Global Enrolment Benchmark Survey and the outlook for 2025?

Watch the recording now

Enrolment trends: How the top 500 universities stack up against the rest

By Cara Skikne

When it comes to global enrolment trends, the performance gap between the world’s top 500 universities and other institutions tells an intriguing story of student preferences.

About a quarter of responding institutions for the Global Enrolment Benchmark survey, who provided a percentage change in enrolments, are from the top 500 universities globally*.

The findings from the Global Enrollment Benchmark Survey reveal contrasting trends between Undergraduate and Postgraduate enrolment levels across these two groups.

Undergraduate enrolments: Non-top 500 institutions perform better

Undergraduate enrolments at institutions outside the top 500 performed better on average than institutions?in the top 500. Top 500 institutions saw enrolments rise 1% on average while non-top 500 institutions saw enrolments rise by 4%

Postgraduate enrolments: Top 500 universities have the upper hand

For Postgraduate enrolments, institutions in the top 500 performed better on average than institutions outside of the top 500. Top 500 institutions saw enrolments rise by 1% on average while non-top 500 institutions saw enrolments drop 7%.

Other factors at play

It’s worth noting that top 500 universities are not evenly distributed across the globe. They are heavily concentrated in certain regions, such as North America and Western Europe, while being underrepresented in others.

Despite this geographical imbalance, the trends observed in the survey hold true even when isolating data for the United States. This suggests that institutional prestige plays a role in influencing Graduate and Undergraduate enrolment patterns.

*Studyportals Meta Ranking combines rankings from:

• World University Rankings by Times Higher Education,
• QS World University Rankings by Topuniversities,
• Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University,
• Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News.

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