Memorandum submitted by Universities UK
1. Universities UK is pleased to contribute
to this enquiry into the points-based system by the Home Affairs
Committee.
2. Universities UK is the representative body
for universities in the UK with 132 members. The President of
Universities UK (2007-09) is Professor Richard Trainor, Principal
of King's College, London and the Chief Executive is Diana Warwick
(Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe).
3. Higher education institutions (HEIs)
will be the largest volume users of the new immigration system
in their role as educators of international students, employers
of international staff and hosts of visiting international staff.
HEIs are international organisations with diverse student and
staff communities, international research collaborations and global
partnerships with universities around the world.
KEY POINTS—IN
RESPONSE TO
THE CONSULTATION
— UK HEIs are international organisations
and as such are dependent on the mobility of people to and from
the UK;— the higher education sector has sought to engage
extensively with the Home Office to raise awareness of the sector's
international activities and to provide effective input into the
policy development process;
— the higher education sector welcomes
many aspects of the new immigration system;
— the higher education sector would
like to see a more considered and staged implementation of Tier
4;
— the higher education sector would
like to see a more flexible approach to the certificate process
for Tier 4;
— the higher education sector would
like to have greater involvement in the design, development and
testing of the IT to support Tier 4;
— the higher education sector would
like to be able to sponsor researchers entering the UK through
Tier 5; and
— the higher education sector would
like to see evidence of plans for communication activities overseas
about the new immigration system.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
4. In 2006-07 there were 239,210 international
students (non-EU) studying at UK HEIs. These students make a vital
contribution to the academic, cultural, social and financial aspects
of UK higher education.
5. International students make a significant
academic contribution to our higher education institutions. At
the postgraduate level international students make a critical
contribution to the sustainability of many academic areas. These
academic areas also match, in a number of cases, the subject areas
designated as being "strategically important" by the
Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).[20]
6. To illustrate this importance, in 2006-07
at the postgraduate taught level in engineering and technology
there were 11,240 UK students and 10,680 international students.
At the postgraduate research level in engineering and technology
there were 6,430 UK students and 6,670 international students.
In 2006-07 at the postgraduate taught level in computer science
there were 7,770 UK students and 8,300 international students.
At the postgraduate research level in computer science there were
1,620 UK students and 855 international students.[21]
7. International students make a significant
cultural and social contribution to our higher education sector.
In terms of diversity UK HEIs are the second most international
among OECD countries. Seventy-eight UK HEIs have students from
100 or more countries and three have 150 countries represented
in their student intake[22].
8. International student fee income is a
critical component of the sector's income. In 2005-06 fees from
non-EU students contributed 8% of higher education's budget of
£19.5 billion.[23]
In addition to fees international students make a significant
contribution to their local economies and the wider national economy,
in 2003-04 the off-campus expenditure of international students
attending UK HEIs was estimated to be £1.5 billion. This
was equivalent to 9% of all UK receipts from overseas visitors
to the UK for 2004.[24]
INTERNATIONAL STAFF
9. In 2005-06 there were 31,477 non-UK nationals
in academic posts in UK HEIs, representing 19.1% of the total
number of academic staff in the UK.[25]
Again many are working in strategically important subject areas
such as engineering and technology, mathematics and computer science.
International staff recruitment is also helping the UK to overcome
issues around an ageing academic workforce as international staff
tend to be younger than UK staff.[26]
INTERNATIONAL VISITING
STAFF
10. Every year UK HEIs welcome many thousands
of international visiting staff. These colleagues may come for
a few weeks or for an entire academic year. They often work with
colleagues in the UK on research collaborations, give a series
of lectures or use our facilities.
11. These statistics indicate that UK HEIs are
international organisations and that mobility of staff and students
is key and critical to the activities of UK HEIs and to their
continued success.
ENGAGEMENT WITH
THE HOME
OFFICE
12. As immigration is such a critical area
for UK HEIs, Universities UK has worked hard to develop a relationship
with the Home Office and with the various guises the immigration
division has had in the last few years. This engagement has been
designed to increase the Home Office's understanding of the international
activities of UK HEIs and to try to ensure that there is improved
consultation with the sector during the development and implementation
of policy proposals.
13. This engagement has taken a number of forms.
Universities UK has participated in the Joint Education Taskforce
(JET), a Government-led forum for the education sector to raise
issues and be consulted through. Universities UK has organised
a number of events for member institutions to receive briefings
from the Home Office on the proposals. Universities UK has disseminated
information on the new proposals to its members and actively participated
in a number of consultations.
14. HEIs were the largest group of respondents
to the consultation on the points-based system in 05-06. HEIs
have responded in significant numbers to further consultations
on immigration fees and the future shape of the visitor route
to the UK.
15. Many HEIs have actively sought to invite
account managers from the Home Office to visit their institutions
to understand their international activities. This was with the
expectation of receiving guidance about the requirements that
the new system will place on HEIs.
HIGHER EDUCATION
SECTOR VIEW
OF THE
POINTS-BASED
IMMIGRATION SYSTEM
16. HEIs welcome many aspects of the new
points-based system. It should lead to a more objective and efficient
system that enables genuine migrants to navigate through the process
more easily and supports the international activities of UK HEIs.
17. In particular, HEIs welcome the move to have
institutional visas where the visa is linked to a specific HEI
as this will diminish institutional switching and enable institutions
to predict enrolment numbers more accurately. HEIs welcome the
more objective focus of the new system that should remove the
questioning of academic suitability by immigration officers, an
area outside their competence. The greater use of online systems
should ensure an easier process for applicants and expedite decision-making.
The new system should also enable the Home Office to develop better
risk profiling about applicants that can effectively gauge the
different risks posed by different groups of applicants. HEIs
welcome the implementation of mandatory accreditation for all
organisations that wish to bring international students to the
UK. This is a long overdue move by Government, and it should remove
many dubious providers from this area of activity and in doing
so hopefully contribute to maintaining and enhancing the reputation
of the UK as a high quality destination for international students.
CONCERNS
18. However, there remain a number of concerns
shared by Universities UK's member institutions. Universities
UK recently consulted our members on some key aspects of the new
system and received responses from over 80 HEIs throughout the
UK.
TIMESCALE
19. One very pressing concern raised by
institutions is the current timescale for the implementation of
the system. In relation to Tier 4 for students the "Statement
of Intent" that will provide further detail about the Tier
and its operation has not been published yet. It is due to be
published by 22 July before the Parliamentary recess.
20. As the Statement has not yet appeared, HEIs
have not been able to review their policies and processes. The
timing of its publication during the summer vacation and just
before the busiest time of the year with the admission of new
students is very problematic for HEIs.
21. There is another timing difficulty as
the registration process for Tier 4 sponsors is due to start from
the end of July, again cutting across the busiest time of year
for HEIs. Before an organisation can join in relation to its Tier
4 activities, (it should be noted that many HEIs are already separately
engaging on the process for joining the register in relation to
their Tier 2 activities), the Home Office are stating that each
organisation will have to be visited by Home Office account managers
who will check policies and processes to ensure compliance with
the new system.
22. In addition to 168 HEIs in the UK there
are several hundred further education colleges active in international
student recruitment, several hundred English language providers
and probably several thousand private education and training providers.
Every one of these organisations will have to be visited in time
for the start of the operation of Tier 4 and Tier 4 is due to
start operation in the first quarter of 2009.
23. HEIs are already reporting delays in
responses from Home Office account managers to queries and invitations
to visit institutions so it would be useful to know what number
of staff are assigned to this area of activity. If there are not
sufficient staff assigned to this area to cope with the volume
of queries and visits required not only by the education sector
but also from the even larger numbers of businesses then sponsor
registration will be a difficult and protracted process and a
number of HEIs may not be able to join the register in time for
the start of Tier 4.
24. It would be helpful if the Home Office
could re-consider the timescale for the implementation of Tier
4 to allow all HEIs time to consider the Statement of Intent when
it is published and to enable any changes that might be necessary
to be made in advance of the start of the operation of the Tier.
If the delay of an entire Tier is not possible then a staged implementation
could be a sensible approach that enabled both the Home Office
and HEIs to prepare properly for the start of Tier 4 and avoided
the dangers of introducing a system in which that neither the
Home Office or HEIs had confidence.
25. In contrast it should be noted that
when bodies such as the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
or the University and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS) wish to
introduce a new element into their requirements on HEIs they operate
on an eighteen month timescale that enables appropriate discussion,
dissemination of information and testing.
CERTIFICATE PROCESS
26. Universities UK members are concerned
about the current proposals relating to the issue of certificates
of acceptance of studies. The current proposals have the potential
to seriously damage the recruitment and admission of international
students. They are modelled on the relationship between an employer
and employee rather than the institution and student relationship
and are likely to lock students into relationships too early,
disempower students, reward the fastest institutions to respond
and disadvantage institutions that set certain conditions either
in the form of deposits or particular academic standards.
27. Universities UK together with colleagues
from the sector have been proposing a number of alternative approaches
and we would be keen to see a more flexible approach in this area
based on the following principles:
— Decision-making resting with students
supported by validation from HEIs.
— HEIs free to offer to sponsor students
without being blocked by other institutions.
— Move away from fastest institutional
response secures students.
— HEIs using deposits or setting certain
entry conditions not being disadvantaged.
CONCERNS OVER
IT
28. There has not been adequate discussion
between the HE sector and the Home Office regarding the new IT
system underpinning the points-based system. Basic details like
the data that will be required on each migrant for the new system
are not yet finalised and there have not been any opportunities
for HEIs to provide detailed input into the specification process.
This is extremely concerning and against all recommended practice
in the development of new systems.
29. In particular the new sponsor management
system must be able to receive data from and have an interface
with HEIs' own student record systems. HEIs will be handling several
thousand migrants each year and it is both inefficient and insecure
to expect HEIs to re-enter data into the new Home Office system
when the data is already in HEIs own systems and could be transferred
to the new Home Office database.
30. Some HEIs have estimated that they will
need to employ four or five additional staff simply to undertake
manual data entry onto the Home Office system. HEIs have considerable
experience of managing and transferring data in agreed formats
to national bodies (examples include the Higher Education Statistics
Agency, UCAS and the Student Loans Company) so the process is
entirely possible but the Home Office do not appear willing to
take on board this need.
31. HEIs are also keen to be able to test
the new system to ensure it is robust as the consequences for
the sector of an IT failure during the peak student visa application
period would be severe. If students are unable to obtain visas
to travel to the UK in August and September they will be unable
to join their degree programmes and would either have to wait
for an entire year or may choose not to come to the UK at all.
It would be helpful if the Home Office could be encouraged to
seek expert input from the higher education sector to the design,
development and testing of the new IT system.
POSITION OF
SPONSORED RESEARCHERS
32. HEIs are concerned about the position
of sponsored researchers within the new system. They will not
qualify to enter under Tier 2 as they are not coming to the UK
on the basis of specific job offers and they are unlikely to qualify
for Tier 1 so they may have to enter through the "Government
Authorised Exchange" sub-category of Tier 5. The proposals
under this sub-category would require migrants in this category
to have sponsorship from a third party organisation and not from
the organisation where they will be based. The proposals also
suggest that mobility in this category will need to be aligned
with Government objectives. This will have implications for sponsored
research staff who come to UK universities on a temporary basis
with funding from their own universities or grants from other
bodies.
33. It makes no sense and is less secure for
these migrants to have sponsorship from a third party organisation
not located where they are based when HEIs are willing to be their
sponsors and will already be sponsors for thousands of international
staff and students. This proposal seems to be entirely contrary
to one of the key principles of the new system around the critical
importance of the relationship between a migrant and their employer
or education institution. There are also no existing national
third party organisations that would be able to act as sponsors
for this group of migrants.
34. The proposals for mobility linked to
Government objectives are also concerning. All research may ultimately
contribute in some way to Government objectives but it is interference
in academic freedom and institutional autonomy to try to align
mobility to specific Government aims. Much research is pure and
its implications may not be visible for 10, 20 or 50 years long
after any objectives devised by today's Government departments
have ceased to be meaningful. In practical terms it is not clear
how different Government departments and the departments in the
devolved administrations would handle this activity or indeed
if they are aware of the role they may have to play in this area.
35. It would be helpful if the Home Office
could drop the third party sponsorship requirement for sponsored
researchers coming to HEIs and the Government objective alignment
for migrants coming to UK HEIs through the Tier 5 exchange sub-category.
COMMUNICATIONS OVERSEAS
36. There is an urgent need to begin effective
communication both in the UK and overseas about the new system.
For example, prospective international students often begin to
research study destinations many months in advance, gathering
information not only on institutions, but also country specific
requirements. The new system should bring benefits to genuine
migrants in terms of a more efficient service but we need to be
careful that the perceptions are positive and not that the UK
is making it more difficult for migrants or that we are unwelcoming.
It would be helpful if information on the communication plans
for the new system could be shared with the higher education sector
and with bodies such as the British Council. Already prospective
international students will be investigating their options and
gathering information in preparation for programmes starting in
September 2009 and currently there is no information about the
new system to re-assure and inform them.
July 2008
20 HEFCE, http://www.hefce.ac.uk/aboutus/sis/ongoing.htm Back
21
HESA (2008), Student Record 2006-07. Back
22
OECD (2006) Education at a Glance, Chart C3.1, Paris and presentation
by Professor Brian Ramsden to the Universities UK Longer Term
Strategy Group March 2006 based on 2004-05 data from the Higher
Education Statistics Agency. Back
23
Higher Education Statistics Agency (2007): Resources of Higher
Education Institutions 2005-06. Back
24
Universities UK (2006), The Economic Impact of UK higher education
institutions, London. Back
25
Higher Education Statistics Agency (2007): Staff record 2005-06. Back
26
Universities UK (2007), Talent Wars: the international market
for academic staff, London. Back
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