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Main Office2nd floor, Fry Building, Avery Hill Campus

Student /Staff Drop In OfficeRoom QM061, Greenwich Campus

International OfficeOur Locations

Maxine Davis HeadJoanne Wall International Regional DirectorMark Blakemore International Regional DirectorSue Edwards International Recruitment ManagerNicola McCarthy International Officer (Part Time)Joanna Dyal International Officer (Part Time)Natasha Abreo International OfficerHelen McCormack International OfficerApril Moore International OfficerYvette Fofah International AdministratorAndrew Dickson International AdministratorShan Shan Zhang International AdministratorEvelina Lopes Rodrigues International Administrator

International Office - Staff

What we do…• Enquiry Management – email (min of 150 emails a day), phone (call centre),

face to face

• Tier 4 Visa advice to applicants including CAS and ATAS

• Assessment of International (including EU) Applications – Quick turnaround, greater conversion

• Specialist in-country knowledge of qualifications and education systems

• Working with Faculties and Departments

• Marketing of university to International Students.

Overseas Activity

• On the Spot Admissions

• Representative Visits

• Institution Visits

• Alumni Events

• Other Promotional/ Networking Events

• Exhibitions

What is the International Student Applicant Journey?• How does a student start making a

choice?

• Internet/ third party websites (Masterstudies & Bachelorstudies.com)

• Social Media – Facebook

• Word of mouth (alumni)

• Representatives – 70% of students recruited

• Education Fairs

Making an Application

• Language Barriers

• Which programme to choose

• Finance

• Visa

• Accommodation

Language Barriers

• Need for IELTS • Costs of test

• Availability of Test (UKVI testing centres)

• Time Scale

• Pre-Sessional English courses at Greenwich

IELTS

International English Language Testing System(IELTS)

Assesses the English language proficiency of people who want to study or work where English is used as the language of communication.

It is a UKVI regulation that a student whose first Language is not English achieve a required level

Assessment includes Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing.

We require 6.0 – 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in each area

Pre-Sessional English courses at GreenwichProgrammes available are 14 week, 9 weeks, 5 weeks and 2 weeks

Dependant upon the level achieved and required.

Run from June to September for September intake and October and November for January intake

Added cost for the student are tuition fees and accommodation, also the availability of accommodation

Which Programme to choose.

Programme choice – Not all programmes are available to International students

Credit Requirement – different requirement in different countries

Programme titles – students may have secured a scholarship for a specific programme title

Location – some students chose a programme due to the location of the campus

Employability prospects – professionally recognised programmes

Overseas Qualification

Misunderstanding of Overseas qualification – Use of Naric

Specialist Knowledge of the translation for qualifications into UK equivalence

Knowledge of Overseas education systems

Finance

• UG Fees £10,850

• PG Fees £11,700 - £12,500

• Maintenance Costs - £7,380

• Nationality Scholarship £1,000 off feesBangladesh, Cambodia, Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, India, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Mauritius, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan,

Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam

• Alumni Progression Bursary

• First Class Honours Scholarship

• US Federal Student Aid programme

• Gurkha Personnel Bursary

• David Fussey Choral Exhibition

Tier 4 (General) Student Visa application

• Pre-registration deposit of £3,000

• Confirmation of Acceptance of study (CAS)

• CAS Checking sheet sent to the student

• Unique CAS number sent to the student.

• NHS Surcharge must be paid £150 per full year

• Visa logged and paid

• Visa received/refused

• Administrative review (appeal)

• Immigration at arrival

Visa Refusal Rates - Compliance

10% refusal rate allowed – going over this we may lose our license

Visa refusals 14/15 – 53 not seen as genuine student

18 Maintenance, not enough funds available

5False Fraudulent documents

How to reduce this?Representatives to assist with applications in high risk countries such as Nigeria.

Check students bank statements before issuing a CAS

Visa workshops for student applying from the UK

Accommodation

• Halls of Residence– Receive log-in details

– Make application

– Pay deposit

• Private Accommodation– Secure appropriate accommodation

– Make sure Landlord is registered

External Barriers

A recent comment from the biggest Representative in Nigeria:

“Honestly Mark, the market in Nigeria is looking very gloomy, NHS, IELTS centers and hiked fee  , increased exchange rate, increased visa application fee, increase in tuition and now applicants are asked to pay almost 20,000naira in cash when submitting visa applications, this is different from the embassy fee, all of these are affecting the numbers greatly including the fact that more schools have come to UKEAS, UKEAS is under pressure to satisfy all their partners and Greenwich is not doing badly at all compared to the others.” Nigerian Representative

Internal Barriers

Mandatory phone and skype interviews – delay in decisions on application

Delays in responses to applications referred to Faculties – International students expect a prompt reply and will generally accept the first offer made to them

Misunderstanding of International Qualifications – Use of NARIC can often be incorrect.

Marketing• International Prospectus – Individual from Home Prospectus

• International Student Accommodation Guide

• International Tuition Fees Leaflet

• Pre Sessional English Leaflet

• Banners for exhibitions

• Magazine, newspaper, online advertising and social media

Any Questions?