- Scottish university writes to agents to inform them of “pause” on course recruitment, along with withdrawal of offers and refunds of depsosits
- Only courses that don’t meet the new BCA metrics are impacted – but they have not been named yet
- The move comes as British universities audit the threat to sponsor licence following a compliance crackdown outlined in Keir Starmer’s immigration white paper.
Writing to its network of global recruitment partners, Glasgow Caledonian University has acted upon its own internal analysis of visa refusals, enrolment and course completion rates by pausing recruitment to specific courses where there could be a risk to BCA compliance.
Communications seen by The PIE News quote the vice-chancellor, Stephen Decent, as saying: “In order to ensure that the [university] is able to achieve the more stringent requirements of the white paper, and ensure our ongoing and future compliance with our legal responsibilities as a sponsor of international students, we have taken the decision to implement a number of short-term and temporary changes to international student intake.”
“We have identified a number of courses at risk of non-compliance with the new UKVI metrics – and we have made the decision to pause recruitment to these courses for September 2025,” he continued.
The communication goes on to say that the university will be withdrawing offers on these courses for September 2025 and refunding deposits paid in time for students to source alternative courses. However, it remains unseen as to which courses will be impacted. The university has reached out to all affected students and its overseas partners and stressed that “everyone directly impacted has been fully informed”.
“While Glasgow Caledonian remains highly attractive to students from around the world, and we both welcome and value our international students, we have taken the decision to temporarily pause international student recruitment to a number of postgraduate programmes for the September 2025 intake,” a spokesperson for the university confirmed to The PIE. “This is a proactive and strategic step in light of anticipated changes outlined in the UK government’s immigration white paper.”
While the new BCA metrics – which would see the minimum pass requirement for each metric tightened by five percentage points – are not being formally enforced yet, delegates at last month’s UKCISA conference were told by compliance officials that they fully expected all policies set out to be enacted in the future.
We have identified a number of courses at risk of non-compliance with the new UKVI metrics – and we have made the decision to pause recruitment to these courses for September 2025
Stephen Decent, Glasgow Caledonian University
Policy changes such as BCA metric boundaries would not require legislative change and therefore could be introduced and enforced quickly. As a result, many universities have been conducting their own internal audits to see if they would be compliant or not.
“These new thresholds will present a greater challenge for many institutions, including our own, particularly if implemented without transition time or additional support mechanisms. Doing nothing is therefore not an option,” the Glasgow Caledonian University spokesperson said.
They added that the move represented only a “short-term pause”, giving it the time it needs to “review and, where necessary, adjust” entry processes for international students to make sure the institution is in “the strongest position possible” to meet the tightened thresholds.
Universities continue to be concerned about the proposed timing of the new metrics and their potential impact on smaller institutions. More clarity is needed on how non-completion is recorded, especially if a university is punished for students who legitimately decided not to continue with their studies and return home.
The immigration white paper outlines more stringent metrics for Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA):
- Reduction of visa refusal rate from 10% to 5%
- Increase of course completion rate from 85% to 90%
- Increase of enrolment rate from 90% to 95%
While Glasgow Caledonian University has not yet revealed the courses that will be subject to a pause in recruitment, it is well documented that postgraduate programs such as Masters of Research (MRes) courses have been attracting applicants seeking to bring dependants.
The PIE has previously reported on other institutions curtailing MRes recruitment mid-cycle, in a bid to reduce compliance risk.
Speculation has increased about institutions potentially facilitating students to switch to MSc programmes in a bid to reduce numbers enrolled on MRes programs in recent intakes, although this tactic would not help impacted students who need to obtain dependant visas for their loved ones.
The university has explained that the recruitment pause will enable time for the work to be undertaken to ensure that all courses are compliant with the new UKVI metrics.
“This will have a short-term impact, and we are aiming to reopen these courses as quickly as possible, primarily from Trimester B onwards and on the proviso that any reopened activities put us in as strong a position of compliance and success as possible” the university stated in its letter to stakeholders.
Colleagues from across the sector continue to be concerned about the BCA reforms, calling them “arbitrary“.
Last month, The PIE reported that former Home Secretary Jack Straw had warned that unscrupulous recruitment practices at some mid-ranking UK universities were having real-world consequences for the sector.
Speaking at Duolingo English Language Test’s inaugural DETcon London conference, he raised concerns that some universities has “expanded dramatically” in terms of their international intake – and that “the rest of the sector will pay the price” as the government clamps down on compliance.
