International Exeter
annual report 2010/11
UK Border Agency consultation process A robust regulatory environment is to be welcomed so long as it is fair and proportionate. In December 2010 we were alerted to proposed regulatory developments that posed significant risks to the implementation of the Internationalisation Strategy to which we had to respond rapidly. That month the UK Border Agency (UKBA) announced a consultation process on proposals to cut the number of international students obtaining Tier 4 visas to study in the UK. The University of Exeter was supportive of the Government’s efforts to clamp down on abuse of the system, but of particular concern was the potential impact on foundation programmes, which the draft proposals had not considered fully. The University was heavily involved in marshalling a number of sophisticated arguments to present to the UKBA in early 2011. Members of the University’s senior management team were involved in regular meetings at the Home Office between January and March 2011, supporting the Vice-Chancellor’s lobbying in his capacity as President of Universities UK. Our strategy was to concentrate on establishing the notion of separate ‘pre-degree’ pathway exemptions in the minds of senior civil servants. We worked closely with Universities UK and the 1994 Group to co-ordinate responses, but real progress was made by collaborating with our partners at INTO University Partnerships. Working together we were able to demonstrate to civil servants the benefits of the joint venture approach, and we secured an outcome that has put both the University and the INTO-Exeter Joint Venture in a stronger position relative to its peers.
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For example, we were able to secure alternative English Language proficiency entry levels for ‘pre-degree’ INTOExeter students (at B1 level) compared to direct entrance University students (who must attain B2). Exeter’s language requirements have always been high and our decision to raise standards further last year has paid dividends in the new post-UKBA review environment. We were unsuccessful, however, in our lobbying to retain the Post Study Work visa. We remain concerned by the way the press overseas has covered these changes in immigration policy. Feedback from the University’s agents in-country, along with alarmist press coverage in the Times of India and other local media, leads us to believe that in key recruitment countries such as India UK universities may experience a fall in demand as students turn to countries with visa regimes perceived as more friendly by comparison, notably the USA and Canada. We will not know the outcome for some time to come, but the University has been playing its part in seeking to counter misinformation: in April 2011 the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Internationalisation) was interviewed by an Indian journalist in an attempt to explain the impact of the changes and counter some misleading press commentary in that country and, in May 2011, the Vice-Chancellor conducted a press conference at Universities UK for international press on the new UK visa regime. Our lobbying had a measurable impact, and we emerge in a better position than was feared in early 2011. As a result, the immediate level of risk from the new regulatory environment has reduced and was duly reflected in the University’s risk register in June 2011.