UCAS processed over 100,000 applications from international students to UK HEIs last year. Sally Mansell explains more about UCAS’s evolving international strategy and the services it offers its members.
The PIE: In case any of our readers don’t know what UCAS is, can you tell me how long UCAS has been working internationally to receive international applications?
SM: UCAS is the central organisation for which all applicants from throughout the world apply for HE undergraduate studies in the UK. For as long as institutions have recruited internationally, they have been able to apply through UCAS. But more pro-actively I would say we’ve been supporting our members internationally for about 10 years or so.
The PIE: And do you have any idea what proportion of international applications do come through UCAS?
SM: The vast majority do, because we have a process called record of prior acceptance (RPA), so it allows institutions to have flexibility to admit applicants directly if they need to and then let UCAS know retrospectively through the RPA process.
The PIE: Ok, So I’m interested in hearing about your new international strategy. I know you have a board tasked with exploring this..
SM Yes, It’s an International Advisory Group really. It’s chaired by Dr Tim Westlake from University of Manchester who is Director of Student Experience there. We have cross-sector representation from across HEIs [higher education institutions] in the UK but also Universities UK (UUK), the British Council and UKCISA.
“We are looking to make significant changes to the process by 2016”
We committed to the sector to review “international” and hold a separate consultation which we are now doing via the international advisory board.
The PIE: What has happened so far?
SM: Where we are at so far is we have collated initial information; the second stage of which, that we have also completed, is a survey that has gone out to all 324 HEIs, it’s gone to heads of Admissions as well as Directors of International departments, asking them how to respond so we can shape our application process, to best serve their needs.
This is all underpinned by a steering group – again with cross-sector representation from HEIs – they will look at our analysis, put together some regional focus groups, and we are looking to make significant changes to the process by 2016.
The PIE: Ok, what sort of changes do you think you’ll be making?
SM: It’s hard to say at the moment. But things coming out fairly strongly would be for institutions to have the ability to make offer to an applicant as and when they want in-country.
Certainly working with UKBA and the issuing of CaS is something we want look at
And that we have greater efficiencies through working more closely with UKBA and perhaps other agencies such as BIS through their strategies and the British Council.
Certainly working with UKBA and the issuing of CaS [Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies] is something we want look at in terms of perhaps being able to streamline that process as well.
[To explain, at the moment HEIs confirm to UKBA that a CaS has been offered and UKBA then issues a CaS number for the student back to the university].
The PIE: That’s really interesting. You also mentioned something about a qualification verification system at your presentation at the BUILA conference..
SM: At the moment, we have a fraud and verification system and one of the reasons why UCAS is held in such high esteem is that all applications go through fraud and verification checks; this picks up any plagiarism in applications and this is notified to institutions.
In the same regard, because we have links to awarding bodies in the vast majority of cases, such as A levels, some IB and through to the Hong Kong diploma, we get those results directly from awarding body, so we are able to populate students’ applications [with exam results] once they have fulfilled requirements.
The other process we have is UCAS Tariff, run by a separate team, and we are looking at being able to provide fuller information to members to be able to equate overseas qualifications with British qualifications.
The PIE: Is UCAS is funded by membership fees? [more >]
SM: We are a charity. The way we are funded is by application fees from the applicant and then when they are placed and enrol at a university, the university pays capitation fees. Any profits we generate tend to be through the UCAS Media service, and these are put back and regenerated back into the business.
The PIE: So can you tell me more about the UCAS Media service?
SM: They offer various solutions to realise institutions’ recruitment campaigns. If a university wanted to target specific students from specific regions, they are able to geo-target adverts and access a whole wealth of statistical information for that region.
“Applications from non-EU students to highest tariff-tier universities were up by 11% on the last cycle”
We also have products and services such as our Application Tracker. We have over 3,5000 UCAS centres overseas, and we have a product which HEIs get as part of being a UCAS member that allows them to track how many applications these centres have sent through to the UK, with various levels of information available.
The PIE: Can you tell me more about your 3,500 UCAS centres overseas
SM: They’re ordinarily international schools or local schools, so it’s normally a careers advisor within the school. It could be a local agency.
The PIE: So essentially members can get granular information about who is applying and from where?
SM: Absolutely. And the difference is that HESA data is quite old by the time it comes to market. We don’t provide current cycle information but we do produce an end-of-cycle report. We do lot of analysis in terms of student decision making, for example, what kind of tariff institutions students are applying to so we can plot trends.
For example, applications from non-EU students to highest tariff-tier universities were up by 11% on the last cycle.
And we can see which regions are showing the best growth in demand (such as southeast Asia) and when in the year applications are made.
The PIE: Another question about the UCAS Media service – how exactly can institutions students target international students by country?
SM: It’s through the application process, student applicants have an opportunity to say they would like to receive information from UK universities that we support. We’re very careful that they only get a certain amount of information in a certain timeframe. So it’s the ability to target current applicants, to give them as much information as possible.
“A lot of what UCAS does isn’t just the application process, it’s the information and advice service”
Obviously during clearing time a lot of applicants are left unplaced [should they fail to meet entrance criteria to their selected institutions]. A lot of what UCAS does isn’t just the application process, it’s the information and advice service, which starts at UCAS.com/coursesearch.
The PIE: Lastly, please tell me more about your international conference?
SM: Every year UCAS runs an international conference, aimed predominantly at the advisor market. These are people located in UCAS centres overseas.
They have a very important relationship with students, helping them make the right choices about the right universities. We provide a conference to allow them get up-to-date information about process but also about what’s going on in the international landscape in the UK. Normally it is chaired by Dominic Scott from UKCISA and we also have HEI participation – in terms of enabling them to impart their knowledge of the selection process.
We also have networking event between international officers and advisors so they can make their own relationships between schools and universities.
The PIE: And in October you are also staging an event with Universities UK?
SM: Yes it’s the first time we’ve done it. UUK and UCAS are holding a joint conference at the end of October to produce a platform for discussion on transnational education (TNE) opportunities. We aim to produce what we hope is a fairly innovative programme for senior HEI delegates.
The PIE: So TNE is an area you are looking at with regards to your new agenda?
SM: Certainly it’s come out in terms of the consultation. We have to be reactive to what our members are doing. If universities are teaching internationally we need to be able to support them in that activity. Specifically branch campuses, we are looking at how we can support our universities better. There are 25 universities with IBCs and more in the pipeline.
We are assessing whether it’s needed that there is an admissions service for UK overseas branch campuses, or whether it’s a service we could offer universities to list such opportunities on our course search.
