Issue #3 - May 2024

More bad news for UK #universities as the Tories languish in the polls. Plus there is no guarantee things will be any better under Labour. London Higher’s Diana Beech warned “The battle is not yet won”. With an #election now in full swing, it remains to be seen whether the abolition of the #GraduateRoute will make it into The Conservative Party #manifesto. “The continued silence from The Labour Party on the role of #graduatevisas means the sector cannot yet count on Sir Keir Starmer his party to maintain the UK’s global competitiveness.” As we don’t know how the government will define so called “rip off degrees.” We would like to support UK #universities get out ahead of this damaging policy. Please comment below or message to find out how. It is likely to be a mash up of HESA: Higher Education Statistics Agency’s Graduate Outcomes & LEO data. In the worse case it could also include #university #rankings, but let’s hope not. Both are fundamentally flawed ar best as highlighted by Josh Freeman - Higher Education Policy Institute. If your university has courses at risk ACG can undertake supplementary UK & international #graduateoutcomes data collection & provide you with evidence of successful outcomes. Asia Careers Group SDN BHD

Those working in UK #internationaleducation have a pivotal month ahead with MAC reporting on the Graduate Route on the 14th & net migration figures on the 23rd May. That said commentating on the state of international #education in the UK since 2019 resembles something akin to a slow-motion car crash, as #poststudywork #visas, hailed as essential for the sustained growth of international #studentrecruitment, have become the sector’s de facto crutch in the absence of a strategy to support #internationalgraduates’ transition to successful careers back in their home countries. With UK #highereducation institutions already facing #costcutting & #redundancies, we should all question how we got here. With record numbers of #internationalstudents & the UK emerging from the #pandemic relatively unscathed, those working in #internationaleducation are right to ask those purporting to act in their interests: ‘What went wrong?’ If post-study work is severely curtailed or axed, what is the UK sector’s ‘Plan B’? What is clear is that waiting another five years to act is not an option, particularly when the #future #employment prospects of #overseasstudents, the UK’s international reputation & #university #jobs are at risk. Asia Careers Group SDN BHD

It’s looking bleak financially now for the majority of UK #highereducation institutions! How on earth did we get here? After the UK emerged from the global #pandemic pretty much unscathed & then had three years of record international #studentrecruitment! There is a solution to meet the sector’s funding needs & providing increased support & improved #graduateoutcomes, but this is only possible if UK universities invest in international futures & understanding the graduate destinations of their international graduates returning home into successful careers following their studies. “A #university's finances have been hit by a 40% drop in #internationalstudents following a tightening of restrictions, its vice-chancellor said. David Maguire of the University of East Anglia, said many colleges were being put in "serious financial difficulty" by the loss of #overseasstudents. The government said university #admissions should not be used "as a gateway to #immigration". The Office for Students says as many as 40% of all #universities could be in serious financial difficulty within the next two to three years absent of any further funding of universities.” "It's pretty serious & possible that some universities could go bust.” Asia Careers Group SDN BHD

Thank you Universities UK International