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International students: not the 'cash cows' you have in mind

It is a recurring trend across higher education circles to complain that international students

are treated by universities as 'cash cows'. As it happens with trends, it comes and goes every

once in a while, depending on the prevailing mood across the industry. This time it is

research conducted byThe Complete University Guidethat has sparked once again adebate

over international students.

The data suggest that in some cases international undergraduate students pay almost one-

third more than UK and EU undergraduates, while international postgraduates pay nearlydouble the fees charged to UK and EU students. Not surprisingly, these numbers have been

followed by headlines about international students being treated as'cash cows'.

But is that a fair assessment? Comparing the fees paid by UK and EU students with those

charged to international students misses the point that this is a global market, with tough

competition from other exporting countries such as the US, Australia, France and Germany.

What sets the price in this case is the global forces of supply and demand. In a job market

that is increasingly globalised and where workers are increasingly mobile, having a degree

from a reputable university in the UK can significantly improve a student's career prospects,

particularly in Asia, where a big chunk of international students come from. This explains,in part, why international students are still willing to pay for a UK degree.

This is evident by a quick look at the numbers of students coming to the UK. As HESA data

show, the number of international students coming to the UK has steadily increased from

nearly 230,000 in 2007-08 to 300,000 in 2011-12. Reputations today are made in real time; if

it wasnt good, they wouldnt come.

So, it is important factor to consider what international students think about the product

they buy. Data collected fori-graduate's International Student Barometer (ISB),which

includes feedback from over 650,000 international students who have studied in the UKsince 2005, show that international students highly appreciate the experience offered at UK

universities. In all ISB categories measuring satisfaction, including arrival, learning, living

and support satisfaction, the UK's satisfaction rate is higher than the global average. For

example, 84% of surveyed students who have studied in the UK would recommend their

university; the global average is 82%.

The cost of postgraduate courses may be worrying, but examples picked by the press, such

as a costly MBA at Oxford University and a 38,532 postgraduate clinical course at Queen

Mary, University of London, are not representative. MBAs are much more expensive than

the average postgraduate degree, and are mostly attended by executives equipped withseveral years of work experience. Most MBA programmes, including the Oxford MBA

http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankingshttp://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankingshttp://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankingshttp://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/features/international-and-postgraduate-student-fees-survey-2013/2006262.fullarticlehttp://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/features/international-and-postgraduate-student-fees-survey-2013/2006262.fullarticlehttp://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/features/international-and-postgraduate-student-fees-survey-2013/2006262.fullarticlehttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10230732/Foreigners-charged-up-to-35000-to-take-degrees-in-UK.htmlhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10230732/Foreigners-charged-up-to-35000-to-take-degrees-in-UK.htmlhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10230732/Foreigners-charged-up-to-35000-to-take-degrees-in-UK.htmlhttp://www.i-graduate.org/services/international-student-barometer-and-student-barometer/http://www.i-graduate.org/services/international-student-barometer-and-student-barometer/http://www.i-graduate.org/services/international-student-barometer-and-student-barometer/http://www.i-graduate.org/services/international-student-barometer-and-student-barometer/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10230732/Foreigners-charged-up-to-35000-to-take-degrees-in-UK.htmlhttp://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/features/international-and-postgraduate-student-fees-survey-2013/2006262.fullarticlehttp://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings

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charge no premium for international students. Clinical courses require investment in

infrastructure that significantly increases the cost of a degree.

More than anything else, high tuition fees enable UK universities to do what they are good

at: world-class research. According to arankingof higher education systems around the

world, published by U21 in 2012, the UK is ranked 2nd in the world in terms of output, just

behind the US, despite its poor ranking in resources (27th, including 41stfor government

expenditure). The lead author of the report, Ross Williams, noted in an article for the

Guardianthat this discrepancy between output and resources is the greatest for all 48

countries and reflects very high productivity.

Higher education is one of the most successful export industries of the UK. In order to

maintain their leading position, UK universities need to charge fees that reflect the quality of

the product they offer to international students.

Alex Katsomitros

http://www.obhe.ac.uk/newsletters/borderless_report_may_2012/u21_ranking_national_higher_education_systems_2012http://www.obhe.ac.uk/newsletters/borderless_report_may_2012/u21_ranking_national_higher_education_systems_2012http://www.obhe.ac.uk/newsletters/borderless_report_may_2012/u21_ranking_national_higher_education_systems_2012http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2012/may/11/universitas-21-rankings?newsfeed=truehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2012/may/11/universitas-21-rankings?newsfeed=truehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2012/may/11/universitas-21-rankings?newsfeed=truehttp://www.obhe.ac.uk/newsletters/borderless_report_may_2012/u21_ranking_national_higher_education_systems_2012