Chinese Students Don’t “Get” British Education

By Elizabeth Gasson. In spite of having world class universities, Britain has seen a major decline in the growth of new students from China, while America has continued to see impressive growth. Poor utilization of agents and online resources by British universities combined with confusion over new visa policies has sent many students west of the Atlantic. Immigration crackdowns, post-study work visas cancelled and out of control tuition fees. Is the British higher education industry still standing?
Recently, there’s been a severe slowdown in the number of Chinese applying to study in Britain. In 2011, there was only a 0.4 percent increase in applications; compared to a 25 percent increase in 2010, according to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). According to China’s Hurun Report, 85 percent of wealthy Chinese parents plan to send their children abroad to study, and Britain is second only to the US as their preferred destination. However, confusion over new visa policies and comparatively weak marketing by the British universities themselves may be sending more first-rate students to the west side of the Atlantic than is necessary. More...