higher education

A new report released by the British Council today has predicted huge increases in the number of international students coming to study in the UK over the next ten years. With growing concerns over tighter visa restrictions, unwelcoming governmental rhetoric and increased tuition fees at UK universities, this forecast is hugely encouraging.

In the next decade it is expected that the UK will attract an extra 126,000 international students, making it one of the world's fastest growing destinations by 2024. It will cement its place as one of the leading countries for higher education in the world alongside the US and Australia, though it is predicted that all three will face stronger and stronger competition from China.

On a global level, despite the economic struggles, the overall number of students choosing to study abroad has exceeded expectations in the last five years, and such growth is expected to continue. Amazingly, by 2024, China and India will be sending a combined total of almost 4 million students to other countries, contributing a third of the global total.

However, the UK is expected to perform most strongly in the developing markets of Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan where it is currently pushing its higher education sector.

The latest global university rankings have been released, with record numbers of UK universities appearing in the prestigious list. The annual QS world university rankings table places six British universities in the top 20 and 15 in the top 200, though Cambridge has slipped from second to third as the highest ranked UK institution.

The list was topped by two American colleges- MIT pipping Harvard to claim the top spot for the second year running. Four further US institutions are in the top 10 and this American domination continues throughout the list, with over 50 US colleges appearing in the top 200. However, UK universities are a clear second, with Cambridge, UCL, Imperial and Oxford all placed in the top 10 in the world.

A report from Universities Scotland has emphasised the "positive social, cultural and educational impact" that international students have at universities in Scotland. Titled ‘Richer for it', the report is a reaction to the way that overseas students have recently been portrayed simply as a way to make money.

Universities Scotland is the representative body for Scotland's universities and higher education colleges, and together with a number of prominent figures in higher education, they have created the report which will be presented to MPs at Westminster.

With threats to international student visas a constant problem, the standard argument against change has been the amount of money that these students bring to the UK. Indeed, it is estimated that the 28,500 international students in Scotland bring £337 million every year in fees and an estimated £441 million in off-campus expenditure.

However, Head of the University of Aberdeen, Professor Sir Ian Diamond, explains:

UK universities have seen a record number of non-EU students gaining places on courses through ‘clearing' this year. Meanwhile, EU student clearing numbers are up on last year, but yet to reach their peak in 2011.

‘Clearing' is a process in the UK for students who either didn't get any university offers or who do not get the exam results they need for their offer. Basically it is a system to get applicants without an offer to find a university course that still has spaces available. Students can find a uni clearing list to discover the courses that still have vacancies and then contact the universities directly to try and gain an offer.

Busiest Year Ever

Overall, this has been the busiest year ever for clearing, with over 430,000 students being placed on courses since UK A-level results were released just five days ago. Non-EU international students have mirrored this trend, with clearing numbers increasing by 7% compared to this time last year. Similarly, EU student clearing numbers are up 9% on 2012. You can see the numbers over the last five years in the table below released by university admissions organisation UCAS.

The cost of university fees for international students has been under discussion over the last week, after it emerged that some students will be paying up to £35,000 a year to study in the UK from September. However, despite this huge cost, it has been revealed that the UK is not the most expensive place to study for overseas students.

The Complete University Guide surveyed 110 universities across the UK and the results were predictably startling, with international students being charged up to four times as much as home and EU students.

Though international undergraduate fees start at just £7,450 for lecture based courses, the annual cost goes as high as £35,000 for medical degrees at King's College London. Indeed, undergraduate medical fees are over £30,000 at a number of universities including UCL, Sheffield, Southampton, Glasgow, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol and Cambridge.

There is a similar range of costs for postgraduate students, with international students being charged anything from £7,900 to a massive £38,500 (for postgraduate medical students at Queen Mary University London).