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UK: non-EU undergraduate applications up by 6%

Non-European Union undergraduate applications submitted by the June deadline have climbed 6%, in a sign that toughened visa policies are not deterring students at tertiary level. However, Dominic Scott, CEO at UKCISA, said that the figures represented only a proportion of the overall market and the sector was “holding its breath” about enrolments in the autumn.

Overall there were 64,680 non-EU applications this year, up from 61,041 in the same period last year

While more applications are yet to come through the UCAS system, around 92% of non-EU applicants had applied by the June deadline in the 2010 to 2012 cycles, making it a good indicator of final demand.

“It would be great if this suggested an upturn…but of course the UCAS numbers only cover a modest sub section of the overall market”

Overall there were 64,680 non-EU applications this year, up from 61,041 in the same period last year. Regions that grew included Africa where applications climbed by 4.8%, the Middle East, 7.8% and Far East, 2.6%.

There was particularly strong growth from Malaysia (up 25.8%) and India climbed 11.7% – a good sign given postgraduate and undergraduate enrolments combined fell 24% last year. That said, applications from Pakistan were down and Chinese applications (the UK’s biggest market) climbed only slightly.

The results suggest that toughened student visa rules – such as the removal of the Post Study Work visa in April 2012 and the roll out of credibility interviews in 2013 – are yet to dent interest in the UK’s higher education sector (although the same cannot be said of the language and FE sectors). They also allay fears of a slowdown after applications fell at the beginning of the 2013 cycle for the first time in six years.

However, Scott warned that the eventual number of enrolments in the autumn could be less positive.

“In other good news, there was a 4.3% rise in applications from other EU countries”

“It would be great if this suggested an upturn in interest and we very much hope that it does. But of course the UCAS numbers only cover a modest sub section of the overall market and we did hear last week that whilst China student visa applications are up again, those from India and Pakistan are down – even on the substantially lower figures of last year, which does sound as if positive messages may not be getting through in those countries,” he said.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency reports that total non-EU enrolments in 2011/12 grew at their lowest rate since 2007/8, climbing from 298,110 to just 302,680. By comparison, UCAS applications grew 3.5% in 2011 (and 8.5% in 2012).

In other good news there was a 4.3% rise in applications from other EU countries, which climbed from 41,543 to 43,332. EU applications fell by 13% in 2011 ahead of a rise in the domestic fees cap which applied to those from within the Union as well.

A Home Office spokesperson said that overall, the statistics showed the government was attracting “the brightest and best” to study in the UK. “Our changes to the student visa system have favoured the UK’s excellent universities. We welcome genuine students and there is no limit on the number of international students who can come here,” they said.

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