Written evidence submitted by the University
of Sheffield Students' Union (SV9)
"I am currently studying in my third year of
a degree course at the University of Sheffield. I am originally
from South Korea and have lived three years in New Zealand and
Australia prior to coming to the UK. I decided to study in this
country due to its well-known reputation for welcoming open minds
towards multiculturalism as well as its rich history and prestige
of its universities. I have not yet regretted my decision of coming
here as I enjoyed everything this country offered immensely. This
experience even taught me to consider completing my PHD here if
there will be any chance.
However, the recent radical change on the immigration
policies proposed by the government rather shocked me. I am deeply
concerned that this proposal will cause a lot of problems not
only for the international students, but also the British public
in general including the universities and employers. I now fear
that if this proposal goes through, no one who is from outside
of the UK will feel welcomed even to be in this country. This
news rather forced me to reconsider all my future plans and once
again, I do not believe this is a rational choice for the future
of this country.
I sincerely hope that the government reconsiders
and can come up with a more rational alternative that addresses
the immigration issues in a way that is not so prejudice towards
people who are coming here to learn."
Undergraduate student, South Korea
SUMMARY
1. The University of Sheffield Students' Union
represents over 24,000 students of whom just under 5000 are international
students from outside the European Economic Area and will be directly
affected by the proposals to reform the Student Immigration System.
Our international students come from over 137 countries round
the world.
2. We agree with the need to tackle abuse in
the student category and support any measures which achieve this.We
understand that students at degree level and above are not the
target of the proposed reforms but are concerned that some of
the proposals will damage the student experience and future recruitment
at this level.
3. We have consulted our current students and
had over 130 direct responses from our international students
to the proposals who are very worried about the impact of the
proposed changes on their future study and work plans. In particular
they are most aggrieved about the proposals to abolish the Post
Study Work Scheme which allows students who have successfully
completed a degree to stay in the UK to work for two years. Many
students chose to come to the UK because of this scheme and now
feel that their plans are about to be shattered by these proposals.
There is no doubt that the way in which current students are treated
by the Coalition government with respect to the PSW scheme will
be pivotal in managing what could be a devastating "own goal"
in terms of future student recruitment.
4. The majority of our international students
study at degree level or above. About 12% study at undergraduate
level, 44% at Masters level and 37% are doing PhDs. They all pay
a higher rate of fee which ranges from around £10,940 for
an Arts degree to just under £15000 for an Engineering degree.
This fee income currently accounts for 12% of the University's
total income which is vital within the context of the funding
changes recently announced for the higher education sector. They
also bring a significant amount of money into the local economy
by paying for their accommodation and living expenses. They are
not allowed to claim public funds and are not allowed to work
more than 20 hours per week.
5. All students are being encouraged to develop
their global awareness and we fear that these changes will deter
international students from choosing the UK for their university
education. This means an impoverished university experience for
our home students who benefit hugely from our diverse international
student body.
"I am a second year PhD student at the
Department of Mechanical Engineering, and am from Iran. I came
to UK about two and a half years ago, and completed a masters
degree in Materials Engineering before starting a PhD.
I believe that the new rules are just disgraceful.
Abolishing the post study work scheme and limiting the rights
to work during term time can strongly affect my life and my future.
[…].
I did not come to this country to increase the unemployment
rate or to commit a crime. I came here for becoming a very successful
scientist who may have a very tiny role in science and probably
help this world to be a better world like lots of other ambitious
scientists. United Kingdom could give many bright international
students the opportunity to use the facilities in some of the
high-ranking universities in the world to reach their potential,
and to help this country to develop more and more[…]I wish
I could have a voice to express my opinions and ask my questions
from this government or those who approve having such rules in
a developed country like UK.
PhD student, Iran
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
1. Many of our students support the aims of tackling
abuse but do not see how restricting their rights will achieve
anything other than reduce the flow of international students
into British universities which will have a significant negative
impact on the economy and the learning opportunities for all students.
These measures make international students feel incredibly unwelcome
in the UK. This is bad for the UK higher education sector and
the wider economy as these students will take their money elsewhere
to the US, Australia and New Zealand in the future.
"I have been to the UK for almost 5 years. I
did start as an English student in a small English institution
in London. Now I am doing a PhD in one of the top universities
in the UK, I have also taken a MA and some courses on law in London.
All this fully founded (sic) by non EU or UK institutions, neither
TAX payers money from the EU.
I guess if there had been those rules, that the new
government wants to implement, I would have had no chance to take
those courses and rather studied in a more immigrant friendly
country such as Australia, Singapore, Canada and even the US.
Thanks God, I did before all these nonsense changes. By the way,
I have no intention to remain in this country after I finish my
PhD."
PhD student, Colombia
2. We recognise the government's commitment to
reduce net migration but do not believe reducing international
student numbers will achieve the desired policy goals. International
students come to the UK to receive our excellent educational services.
They are not permanent migrants and are not a drain on the UK
economy. They pay full fees for their studies and have to bring
sufficient funds to cover all their living costs for them and
any dependants. If they do work part time as allowed under the
current rules they will pay tax and national insurance like any
other UK resident. In addition part of their visa fee already
includes a surcharge of £50 as a contribution towards their
use of public services.
3. We cannot imagine a policy which would support
the reduction of the number of tourists to the UK as they are
seen as a "good thing" as they bring vital income into
the UK economy. International students are the same and much more.
"The immigration laws currently in place already
make us feel undesired, unwelcome and in some ways inhuman; the
new proposals are even worse and would put off many students and
researchers from coming to the UK. The UK economy as whole, and
not just universities, will be negatively affected on the long
run especially if the Post Study Work
scheme is closed given that some occupations where there is a
shortage are mostly filled by international graduates."
Undergraduate student, Morocco
ABOLITION OF
POST STUDY
WORK SCHEME
1. The vast majority of respondents were
concerned about the possible abolition of the PSW scheme. Many
had chosen to come to the UK precisely because of the offer of
this scheme.
"I can still remember that when British Council
held seminar in Pakistan on Studying in the UK, getting a PSW
was highlighted as one of the main advantages of coming to UK.
We were told that it will be a big advantage for our future career
if we also get a UK work experience after completion of studies.
Honestly, I prefer UK over USA only for this reason, realising
the importance of gaining work experience as part of UK study
experience."
Masters student, Pakistan
These students were sold a package which promised
them - come to the UK, get a great education and get some work
experience before you return home. As one student succinctly puts
it: "degree + work experience = world class education".
Our students now feel cheated by the UK government and worried
about their futures.
"For an international student, studying in the
UK is not just about a degree, but an international experience.
Working for a short while at the end of one's course is an integral
part of that experience, and also provides practical context to
the course studied."
Masters student, India
2. We have evidence from students who already
have job offers from companies such as National Grid, Jaguar Land
Rover and Proctor and Gamble for their graduate trainee programmes
to start in the summer of 2011. These offers were made on the
basis that they would be eligible for the PSW. These students
who were all were offered these jobs through a highly competitive
recruitment process are now extremely worried about their future.
The employers have limited room to manoeuvre as they cannot easily
convert these prospective employees into Tier 2 due to the cap.
The abolition of PSW will adversely affect the operation of UK
based global businesses who cannot always recruit the necessary
skills from within the UK/EEA.
3. The PSW scheme is also vital to our Architecture
students who typically study a three year BA degree in Architecture
followed by a year of work experience before doing their MArch
for two years. Up until this point they are covered under the
Tier 4 provisions. Following this they must do a further 12 months
work placement in the UK before they can take Part 3 of the Royal
Institute of British Architects examination. It is only after
successful completion of the Part 3 exam that a person can finally
call themselves a registered architect. Currently the only way
for any architecture student to do this final work placement is
using the PSW scheme. There is no possibility of such work experience
placements being covered under Tier 2. If students cannot meet
the final requirements there is no doubt that British universities
will not be able to recruit any international students to their
courses.
"If an exception is not made for non-EU architectural
students, we could study and still not be qualified. It is frustrating
for us because we have spent many years in the UK and worked hard
with the hope of being a qualified Architect only to suddenly
find ourselves shortchanged by the clashes in regulations between
the UK Border Agency and the RIBA. I believe British Schools of
Architecture should be aware of this situation as it suggests
all non-EU overseas students to stop applying to study RIBA-accredited
Architecture courses in British Universities."
MArch student, Malaysia
4. Recent UKBA research suggested that the vast
majority of international students on the PSW scheme were not
in highly skilled jobs. We do not think this research was sufficiently
robust. For instance, it did not compare a cohort of UK/EEA recent
graduates to see the numbers who actually had graduate level jobs
on completion of their studies. Our international students value
the PSW scheme highly as they see it as a way to add value to
their degrees before they go home. They do not want to work in
unskilled job but they have been encouraged to get any work experience
rather than none at all.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. We urge the government to consider the retention
of the PSW scheme for students in skills shortage areas and courses
where there is a mandatory requirement for work experience in
the UK such as Architecture.
2. We also believe it is vital for the government
to retain the PSW scheme for all existing international students
who commenced courses before the publication of these proposals.
This is particularly important for those students who are due
to graduate this year as many of them have already formulated
plans based on staying in the UK.
OTHER PROPOSALS
1. We also wish to comment on the potential negative
impact of other proposals which while not being the direct concern
of the inquiry will nonetheless have a devastating impact on our
students and indirectly on future recruitment.
2. Rights to work during studies—all students
are encouraged to gain work experience to enhance their overall
academic experience. Currently all students on a degree course
have the right to work up to a maximum of 20 hours per week for
any employer. Under the new proposals, students will only be allowed
to work on campus during the week in term time. They would be
allowed to work off campus during weekends and vacations. We fear
these proposals will make it even more confusing for employers
and mean that fewer of our students are able to have this valuable
work experience. Our Jobshop at the University has also reported
that most jobs are available off campus during the week.
3. Dependants—Currently, students doing
any course of more than six months can be accompanied by their
dependants. The Government proposes to only allow students on
courses of more than 12 months to bring dependants. This will
impact on some of our students who come to do pre-sessional courses
(particularly English language) of a duration of between six and
12 months. We are really concerned about the proposal to remove
the rights to work for dependants and to only allow them to work
if they qualify under Tier 2 or Tier 1 General (which is being
largely abolished from April 2011). Put bluntly if our student
dependants are not allowed to work it is very likely we will lose
a significant number of research students who will go to other
countries which have more family friendly immigration policies.
Most of the dependent are actually professional/skilled
worker , however due to some restriction such as children care,
they choose not to work professionally and choose to work part
time ( for example as cleaner which they can work out of office
hours). That why it's not fair to ask them to apply for tier 2.
If my dependent is not allow to work, I would say that I''ll feel
the stress financially.
PhD student, Malaysia
4. Requirement to return home to apply for visa
for new courses—many of our students are very concerned
about this proposal due to the additional cost and delay in getting
visas from abroad. This may mean that some students are not able
to proceed smoothly from their first degree to a PhD. We see no
justification for this proposal as it penalises genuine students
who are making progress.
5. No visas for degrees at same level—we
cannot understand the logic behind this proposal. This would prevent
our international students from taking another Masters degree
if they decided they wanted to develop another career path or
set of new skills if they already hold a UK degree.
January 2011
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