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UK: Non-EU undergrad applications up 6% says UCAS

The UK’s undergraduate sector has seen solid growth in international applicants for the second year in a row as figures show non-EU applications submitted by the June deadline have risen another 6% this year from 64,940 to 69,060. Malaysian applications in particular are very robust, but some stakeholders observe that applications and enrolments do not always follow the same trajectory.

Malaysian applications climbed 28%, after 26% growth last year, from 4,820 to 6,180

The report shows applications submitted for 2014/2015 full-time undergraduate courses in the UK since early September until the end of June via the UCAS system.

Malaysian applications climbed 28%, after 26% growth last year, from 4,820 to 6,180 placing it just behind China (10,730) and Hong Kong (6,570) in terms of share of overall international applications.

“We’re positive and optimistic but very cautious”

The UK’s history with promoting education exports in Malaysia as well as a young population (about 35% are under 24) coupled with an increasing GDP have contributed to the rise in applications, said Fiona Johnston, Head of International Strategy at UCAS.

“The UK has a long history of successfully promoting UK education in Malaysia, and it is a mature market with a plethora of UK TNE provision much of which is undergraduate and allows students to complete part of their undergraduate degree in the UK,” she said.

Enrolments among UK TNE providers in Malaysia have grown 122% in the last four years with growth lead by Staffordshire University which has a twinning programme with Disted College in Penang, University of East London and the University of Nottingham.

Another source market showing strong interest is the United Arab Emirates where UCAS applications saw an impressive 20% increase from 1,090 to 1,300.

Growth in applications from other major source markets including India was relatively small if at all. Indian applications climbed just 5% and applicants from South Korea fell 1%.

While the rise in applications could be an indicator of what’s to come for 2014 arrivals, Dominic Scott Chief Executive of the UK Council for International Student Affairs warned that an increase in applications doesn’t result in an increase in enrolments.

Indian applications climbed just 5% and applicants from South Korea fell 1%

“We’re positive and optimistic but very cautious,” said Scott. “These figures only represent undergraduate which is the smaller part of the overall market and applications do not equal arrivals.”

Scott also expressed doubt that UCAS figures accurately represent all international applications.  “Perhaps a majority of international applications do not come in through the formal UCAS cycle,” he speculated.

Johnston conceded that there is always a small caveat with UCAS figures in that a number of students apply directly to institutions instead of through the system.

However, she added that “most of these are recorded later and the updated numbers appear in our final end of year reports”.

“I am confident that most international students use our services especially considering that 115,000 applications of 670,000 came from international students this year [2013-2014] reflecting a similar proportion of international students on UK university campuses,” she said.

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