Valuing International Students — Vice Chancellor's blog
Happy New Year and welcome to the new term! I hope that everyone was able to get some rest and time with family and friends over the recent holiday season.
One of my first external engagements since Christmas was joining a panel of MPs and experts at the launch of the HEPI/Kaplan sponsored report on the Economic Benefits of International Students. I would like to devote this month’s blog to the implications of this report and the benefits that international students bring to the University of Nottingham.
The report proved that there is an overall 1:10 cost/benefit ratio to local economies of international students in the UK as a whole. Based on analysis of 231,000 international students registered at UK universities in 2015-16, this is an astonishing ratio and one that the lead author of the report had rarely seen in similar work performed with private companies and other organisations.
Presenting the data at the level of every parliamentary constituency in the UK, the report implicitly reveals just how important international students are for some areas of the UK that otherwise have struggling economies.
It was pleasing to see that the Nottingham South constituency was ranked third highest in the UK in terms of the economic benefit of international students to our community. This is reflected in our own economic impact study where we have found that each year our 9,000 international students studying in the UK generate: £130 million for the national economy; 2,200 jobs locally; and a further £2 million in spending by friends and family visiting them. I imagine that any similar study of international students at UNNC and UNMC would yield equally positive results.
The HEPI/Kaplan report focused only on direct economic value. In my presentation at the HEPI launch, I and other speakers outlined a different - and equally important - kind of value. The report explicitly does not tackle contribution to tax and national insurance, soft power, long term investment and business links or wider social and cultural impact.
International students come to our country; they pay large fees for their education; they contribute to local economies both directly and indirectly; they help create a cosmopolitan environment that is enriching for all students; and they are more likely to volunteer in the local community. They go back to their home countries, take up leadership positions and retain an affection for the UK which leads to business, political and cultural partnerships in all professional spheres. We should cherish their enormous value for our University life.
There have been some welcome recent signs that this may be being recognised by government. Shortly before Christmas, the University of Nottingham was among an additional 24 Universities invited to join the second phase of the Tier 4 pilot visa scheme, allowing international students to stay in the country longer after graduation and to submit less evidence in order to work here.
Furthermore, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is consulting on the economic and social impacts of international students. The deadline for submissions is 26 January, and we are hoping that the overwhelming evidence of benefit will enable the government to make decisions that will ensure that the UK remains an attractive place to study and work for students from other countries.
I have recently had conversations with Alan Holey, President of our Students’ Union, and many colleagues about how we can better support our students in general, and our international students in particular. We all agree that the transition period of coming to Nottingham for the first time - whether you are a fresher or an international postgraduate student - can be a daunting experience.
I have asked Breda Walls, the Chief Student Management Officer, to convene a task group, working with PVC Education & Student Experience Sarah O’Hara, the Students Union, Campus Life, hall wardens, and senior tutors. This will consider how we can ease the transition for all our students, but with particular sensitivity to international students studying in the UK for the first time. More information about this will be forthcoming in due course.
Update
In previous blogs, I made a number of announcements, and I would like to let you know how they are progressing:
- Vice-Chancellor Mentoring Scheme: I have offered to mentor a number of staff with university leadership ambitions. Initially open to staff at Level 7 or above who are from under-represented groups, application details are available from the Leadership and Management Academy.
- Timetabling Review: led by Professor Phil Shipway, the review has done excellent work and reported to the University Executive Board at its 8 January meeting. We have agreed that a task group should continue the work under Phil’s leadership, and that we should bring a green paper to Senate shortly.
- Organisational Review (Student Support): thank you to everyone who has submitted evidence, and to the task group and its Chair Professor Sarah Sharples for devoting so much time to this important task. The group will report soon to the University Executive Board where we expect to undertake an action plan of improvement on the basis of the group’s recommendations.
- University Executive Board Transparency: minutes for each meeting of the University Executive Board are now routinely published for staff here and we exploring what other information could be included in future on this site, for example agendas and supporting papers.
- Staff Engagement: following the results of the Staff Engagement Survey, I have commissioned a new approach to staff engagement that will involve more listening, more consultation and more direct engagement with staff on the big issues which affect the University. The full programme will be launched in the Spring, but I hope you will begin to see early changes sooner than that. It will include a 21st Century University conversation with staff to identify our goals for the decade beyond Global Strategy 2020; a review of the volume and nature of "all-staff" email communications; new digital and face-to-face communication channels; and an interim intranet solution ahead of wider website reforms to give staff easier access to essential news and information.
- VC-Engagement Email: thank you to everyone who sent thoughts so openly to my early engagement account. I have collated a list of the major issues raised for action with University Executive Board colleagues. While this address is now closed, I hope that anyone who wants to be in touch will not hesitate to contact me through my main email address
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: Marion Walker has launched her task group looking at ED&I issues in staff recruitment, and I have invited all Heads of School and Departments to a meeting later this month to consider how else we might improve staff recruitment and promotion, and student attainment and employability. Trevor Philips, former head of the Equality Challenge Unit, will be visiting the University in early February to help challenge our thinking in this area.
Professor Shearer West
Vice-Chancellor
16 January 2018
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