Push–Pull factors influencing student selection of higher education

The Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report suggests, around 5 million students are studying globally, leaving their home country. These numbers are expected to reach 8 million by 2025 (adge et al., 2015).??

The UK is the second-largest recipient of international students after the USA, which economically boosts the UK. Naturally, China and India are still the primary growth source to the UK... In fact, for the first time, the total number of international students in the UK was higher overtook to reach 556,625).

This prompts a pertinent question:?What drives international students to study abroad, and more importantly, what can international educational institutions do to attract and sustain international student numbers.

Traditionally, Many see International students to study abraod mainly driven based on the expectations of its capability to improve and empower the social and economic status of the students.?

The Higher Education sector comprises a varied assortment of educational providers (at all levels), with universities positioned at their apex. In recent years, the industry has developed into what is now recognised as a ‘mature industry’ as identified by such commentators as Altbach, Gumport and D Bruce Johnstone (2001, pp.38–39).

Past studies of marketing show that the cost to attract new customers is six times more than that of retaining current customers (Ginn, Stone and Ekinci, 2010). In the case of universities, this can be prohibitively costly in marketing and branding (and without yielding anticipated results!). It is all the more imperative given the increasingly challenging market conditions grounded on PESTEL (Aguilar, 1967) and business efficacy considerations

Decision-making process for a student

As with any product buying, An Individual(buyer) typically try to acquire and maintain an assortment of products that meet their present and future needs. The same goes with higher education context; students and their families consider that a degree from a renowned institution is crucial because it lasts for life (Astin & Oseguera, 2004).

For me, who has been part of the same process ( being a student in an overseas country and a seasoned education consulting professional with more than 14 Yrs of experience in guiding students for their study abroad ambitions), always suggested three stages of the decision-making process. Choice of the country(s); institution choice and course to study.

1.“Push” drivers to study abroad:?

Push?or, let's call it "reasons not to study at the home country" could be :

1.1 Personal reasons: personal reasons could be one of the push factors that impact students' decision to study abroad. A few years back, I remember one of the conversions when a student approached me and asked why you wanted to study overseas. And he said "I am keeping education in the UK as an option as my father is a business man and he visits London a lot for his work, studying in London will help both of us mutually as in when he comes to London?

1.2 Education system: Many students feel that the University education system is better in the UK than in their home country. I often hear a student saying, "I want to study in the UK because I suppose that our education system for higher education is not as good as in the UK or other countries. This could be the second Push factor for studying abroad.?

1.3:?Limited number of acceptances at home universities:?Steep cut-offs make it tough to bag DU seats; students below 90% may not get admission into popular courses. You would see this sort of headline more often every year in India when the academic cycle starts. Not accepted and home universities is another push factor.?

1.4 Program (Major of study) not available at home country:?Loosely related, but some student finds that going overseas give them more option to choose a major than at their home country.?

Other factors pushing students going abroad could be Government encouragement to study abroad, Home Universities overall global ranking, and etc but not limited to these only.

2.“Pull” drivers to study abroad:?wrt select UK

2.1: Recognition of UK qualification:?One of the main reason the UK remain a desirable destination for international study, especially for Indian students, is - International recognition of UK qualifications. Students emphasized that one of the main drivers to choosing the UK is that its degree is recognized internationally. Therefore, this will help them have a better prospect to proceed with their programs.?

2.2: Post study work opportunities in the UK: From 1 July 2021, international students who have successfully completed an undergraduate or master’s degree will be able to benefit from two years’ work experience in the UK upon graduation, through the new?Graduate Route?. Students who complete their PhD will be able to stay for three years. this has been major pull factor for the UK and it could be widely seen in their overall international enrolment numbers for last two year i.e 2020 and 2021.

2.3: Excellent teaching?resources:?Studying in the UK offers many advantages students.They offer state of the art technology in teaching and IT services.The learning environment adopted in the UK is obviously different than that one could experience in their home country.

2.4: The proximity of the UK: One has to choose between the USA, Canada and the UK for higher education. It would be the UK because it is just an 8-9 hours'?direct flight between India and the UK. that means one can quickly fly back home more often.?Studying in the UK as an International Student.

2:5:?PART-TIME JOBS:?The rules on part-time jobs are that part-time jobs are NOT there to finance a student’s education. That is why the Embassy requests students to show evidence that they will not rely on a part-time job when they make their visa application. Do read: Practical information for study in the UK.

2.5: Easiest visa application compared to other countries: Easier visa application process compared with other countries is one of the factors that encouraged students to come to the UK.?

Conclusion:

Evidently, many students come to the UK to study, not only because they foresee gaining an unprecedented experience in international higher education, but because they believe that getting a degree from a well-recognized international university could give them a better chance to have leadership positions when they return home and serve their countries.?By understanding the needs and perceptions of these international students, universities in the UK could create programs that would be delivered to their specific needs, which can in turn increase student satisfaction and positive word-of-mouth flowing back to the GCC regions and their nationals

Fethke and Policano (2013) notes the reliance educational institutions on conventional commercial practices to generate revenue and “in the case of public institutions, it meant receiving consistent state appropriations, in addition to tuition revenue”. Wang et al. (2019) notes the increasingly prohibitive cost of engaging with such traditional methods. Fig 1.1 illustrates the increased urgency for universities to take ownership of their revenue generation in recognition of reduced public funding combined with a negative trend of student enrolment in the UK. The rapid expansion of the IoT combined with an exponential growth in the 4 knowledge economy has further intensified the pressure to be self-sustaining in a sector already in flux. The continuingly changing economic environment, made all the more erratic by the COVID -19 pandemic, now requires the sector to develop a paradigm to sustain their competitivity and income streams. Simply put, in economic terms, it is a case of input / output budgeting or in layman’s terms for performance, what is the maximum gain for the minimum spend.