Tag: enrolments

  • International enrolments at UK business schools on the mend

    International enrolments at UK business schools on the mend

    UK business schools continue to be buffeted by hostile immigration policies, with some institutions noting two consecutive years of declining overseas enrolments, according to 2025/26 results from the 2025 Chartered Association of Business Schools (ABS) annual membership survey of 48 members.

    But the picture seems to be improving. Almost half of the schools surveyed (46%) reported an increase in international enrolments, up from just 11% the previous year. At undergraduate level, 45% reported rising numbers, compared with 64% at postgraduate level.

    Nevertheless, the association has pointed to policies affecting international students in the UK as continuing causes for concern for business schools as promises made in Keir Starmer’s immigration white paper become a reality.

    While international enrolments at the undergraduate level were down on 2024/25 for 14% of respondents, this is far lower than the 39% who reported the same trend in 2024/25.

    Similarly, while a sizeable chunk of respondents (39%) said overseas enrolments for postgraduate students were down year on year, this is still a noticeable improvement than over three quarters of respondents the year before.

    But the Chartered ABS noted that international enrolments will still be lower than before 2024/25, with some schools reporting two years of decline in a row.

    The Chartered ABS pointed to hostile policies in the UK as a potential reason for declining international enrolments. The UK government’s decision to reduce the Graduate Route by six months is already having an effect, it said, with 60% of survey respondents saying the incoming policy has had a negative impact.

    “The shortening of the Graduate Route, the ban on student dependants, and the proposals for the international student levy will continue to have a damaging impact on business school finances, and by extension, their parent institutions,” warned Stewart Robinson, chair of the Chartered ABS and dean of Newcastle University Business School.

    “These results reveal that while some institutions are seeing student numbers grow and finances stabilise, many institutions continue to face significant challenges. Budget cuts, restructuring, and redundancies will continue, and many business schools will face another year of declining student numbers and income,” he added. 

    The survey revealed that many UK business schools are feeling the pinch, with an increasing number (48%) reporting a drop in year-on-year income in 2025/26 compared to 36% in 2024/25.

    Budget cuts, restructuring, and redundancies will continue, and many business schools will face another year of declining student numbers and income
    Stewart Robinson, Chartered ABS and Newcastle University Business School

    However, more than half of the schools surveyed (58%) said they expected income to increase in 2025/26 – an improvement on the previous year, when more than half expected further decline.

    A slew of policies affecting the international education sector were announced as part of the immigration white paper, with stakeholders concerned that each could have a serious impact on overseas enrolments.

    The government has decided to cut the Graduate Route from two years to just 18 months, shaving six months off the visa route for international graduates from UK institutions.

    A levy on the income institutions make from international student fees was also announced as part of the changes, with a later decision to ringfence this cash to spend on maintenance grants for domestic students. Critics have warned that the move could decimate international enrolments if students are put off by the higher fees many institutions will have to set to cover the cost of the tax.

    An earlier decision to ban almost all international students from bringing their dependants to the country with them on a student visa. Since 2024, when the policy was announced, net migration numbers in the UK have seen a steep decline.

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  • UK’s international fee levy could slash enrolments by over 77k

    UK’s international fee levy could slash enrolments by over 77k

    Some 16,100 international students could be deterred from studying in the UK in the first year universities are levied 6% of all their international student fees, comes the stark warning from a new report from the think tank Public First.

    Should the government make good on the proposal – outlined in the immigration white paper earlier this year – this figure could rocket to more than 77,000 students in the first five years of its implementation, the report predicts.

    The government expects universities to pass the increased costs onto international students themselves by raising fees. But Public First cautioned that such a move would have catastrophic consequences by driving international students away, hitting the UK’s economy by £2.2 billion over five years and leading to a reduction of 135,000 university places for domestic students.

    The think tank projected that a 6.38% international student fee increase – necessary for universities to pass on the entire cost of the levy – would have a far greater impact on students’ decision to study in the UK than the government has anticipated.

    This is because the government’s forecasts were based on data for EU students. However, Public First noted that price elasticity of demand for non-EU students is greater than their EU counterparts – meaning they would be more likely to be look elsewhere if they found UK fees too expensive.

    Jonathan Simons, partner at Public First and author of the report, noted that the projected impact of the levy “is much more severe than had been predicted previously”.

    It is not widely understood just how much our economy is supported by international students and it’s really crucial that any policy that could affect international student numbers is considered through this lens

    Jonathan Simons, Public First

    “This, of course, will hit our universities, around 40% of whom are already in deficit, and that could lead to a further loss of jobs, a loss of university places for UK students and a loss of vital research investment,” he added.

    “Perhaps even more significant, though, is the hit an international student levy could cause to local, regional and national economies across the UK. It is not widely understood just how much our economy is supported by international students and it’s really crucial that any policy that could affect international student numbers is considered through this lens.”

    Henri Murison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership and chair of the Growing Together Alliance, said that the levy was opposed by all of England’s major regional employer organisations “because the resulting decline in international students would be hugely damaging to all the regions of the country”.

    “The Chancellor should take note of the economic damage of this policy which undermines a critical UK export and we have requested an urgent meeting to raise our concerns,” he said.

    The proposed levy has been widely criticised by higher education institutions.

    Last month, a HEPI analysis predicted that UK universities could take a £621m hit if the policy goes ahead, with those situated in big metropolitan cities set to be the worst affected.

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  • Costello ‘baby bonus’ kids boost enrolments – Campus Review

    Costello ‘baby bonus’ kids boost enrolments – Campus Review

    University commencement numbers have hit a record high, excluding the Covid-19 pandemic years, Department of Education data released on Wednesday shows.

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  • Judge halts ban on international enrolments at Harvard

    Judge halts ban on international enrolments at Harvard

    In the latest move in the government’s dramatic feud with the US’s oldest university – and a major victory for international education sector – district judge Allison Burroughs issued a temporary restraining order yesterday, halting the directive stripping Harvard of its eligibility to enrol students from overseas.

    It follows the institution’s swift decision to mount a legal challenge against the administration’s demands that it hand over all disciplinary records for international students from the last five years if it wanted to regain its SEVP status.

    In its lawsuit, Harvard said: “With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission.” The next hearing in the case will be held in Boston on May 29.

    If it comes to pass, the ban on international student enrolments would significantly harm Harvard’s financial situation – with last year’s 6,793 overseas students making up a sizeable 27% of the student body.

    With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission
    Harvard University

    Orders from the Trump administration would not only prevent Harvard from enrolling any F-1 or J-1 students for the 2025/26 academic year, but also force current international students to transfer to another university if they want to stay in the country. 

    The move cause widespread panic among international students – especially given that some are set to graduate in just one week.

    Students told The PIE News that they were worried about what was happening, but trusted Harvard to “have our backs”.

    The institution’s row with Harvard stems from the stand it took – one of the only US institutions to do so – against the administrations raft of demands, including that it reform its admissions and hiring practices to combat antisemitism on campus, end DEI initiatives and hand over reports on international students.

    When the institution refused to do so, the government froze $2.2 billion in the university’s funding, threatened to revoke its tax-exempt status, and demanded international students’ records if it didn’t want to lose its SEVP certification. 

    Although Harvard did send over some student information on April 30, and maintained that it had provided the information it was legally bound to supply, this seems to have been insufficient for the Trump administration.

    In US homeland security secretary Kristi Noem’s letter to Harvard, she said: “This action should not surprise you and is the unfortunate result of Harvard’s failure to comply with simple reporting requirements”.  

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  • Govt. data error sparks doubt over US international enrolments

    Govt. data error sparks doubt over US international enrolments

    The reliability of federal datasets is under scrutiny after an error was identified on the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) website that appeared to show stagnating international student numbers from August 2024 to the present.  

    The error, brought to The PIE News’s attention by EnglishUSA, casts doubt on recent headlines and media reports about declining international student enrolments in the US, with SEVIS data appearing to show an enrolment decline of 11% between March 2024 and March 2025.  

    “Starting in August 2024, the data appears to be duplicated month after month, with flatlined totals for students on F and M visas. These figures show virtually no fluctuation during a period when natural enrolment shifts would be expected,” explained EnglishUSA executive director, Cheryl Delk-Le Good.  

    “This irregularity comes at a time of heightened concern within the field, particularly as educators and administrators manage the fallout from widespread SEVIS terminations and the resulting confusion around visa status for international students,” added Delk-Le Good.  

    The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which runs SEVIS, was alerted to the error on April 14 and said it was “working to resolve the issue”.  

    As of April 25, the dataset has not been updated, and DHS has not responded to The PIE’s request for comment.  

    US International Trade Administration. Market Diversification Tool for International Education. 2023. Retrieved: April 11, 2025.

    Notably, the inaccuracies begin in August 2024 and span both US administrations, suggesting “a computer glitch rather than an intentional act,” said Mark Algren – interim director of the Applied English Center at the University of Kansas and a contributor to EnglishUSA’s data initiatives – who noticed the anomaly.  

    However, Algren added that he had “no idea why someone didn’t catch it,” with the considerable timeframe of the glitch likely to hamper confidence in federal datasets that are relied on by institutions and that ensure transparency in the system.  

    Total F&M visa holders in the US: 

    Month  Total F&M  Change from previous month 
    August 24   1,091,134  -59,822 
    September 24   1,091,137  +3 
    October 24  1,091,141  +4 
    November 24  1,091,144  +3 
    January 25  1,091,142  -2 
    February 25  1,091,155  +13 
    March 25  1,091,161  +11 
    Source: SEVIS

    It is important to note that each monthly dataset recorded by SEVIS is a snapshot of a given day that month, and the drop recorded in August 2024 (which is considered the last accurate figure) could have been taken before many students arrived for the fall academic term.  

    For this reason, “it’s hard to say that an August report is representative of the following fall term,” said Algren, with the true figures yet to be seen.  

    At the start of the 2024/25 academic year, IIE’s fall snapshot reported a 3% rise in international student enrolment, building on sustained growth over the last three years. 

    Despite recent uncertainty in the US caused by the current administration’s recent attacks on higher education, the period of SEVIS’ misreporting represents an earlier timeframe before the impact of Trump’s policies came into effect.  

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