Vice Chancellors at Leading UK Universities Claim International Students are ‘Key’ to Success

28 May 2010, London – International students are crucial for future university performance and growth according to vice-chancellors from three of the UK’s most successful universities in yesterday’s Good University Guide published by The Times.

Professor Paul Wellings, vice-chancellor of Lancaster University, which broke into the Good University Guide's top 10 for the first time said: "International students form over half of Lancaster's graduate school and we're proud to have over 100 different nationalities studying on campus, boasting an 80% student satisfaction rate. We consider international students to be very important to Lancaster University's continued growth and outstanding performance."

Scott Davidson, pro vice-chancellor at the University of Lincoln, which saw the biggest rise in the rankings jumping 24 places, says: “International students scrutinise league tables. The Times Good University Guide is seen as the gold standard and therefore has the greatest impact. Our rankings accomplishment will make the University of Lincoln an even more attractive proposition to international students and their parents, as they search for HE institutions in the UK. We believe academically motivated international students will be key to the university’s future success.”

However, James Pitman, Managing Director, Higher Education UK and Europe at Study Group, the organisation that prepares international students for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at Lancaster University and the University of Sussex, and has a planned partnership to perform the same function at the University of Lincoln from September this year, warns: “Recent changes to the international student visa system have made it more difficult for genuine international students to gain access to our courses and programmes at British universities. Study Group is currently working with UUK, UCISA, Study UK, English UK and AoC as well as the UK Border Agency, to make sure that the UK doesn’t cut off the route to higher education for thousands of legitimate international students, and see world-leading universities like Lancaster, Sussex or Lincoln suffer as a result.”          

Prof. Michael Farthing, vice-chancellor at the University of Sussex, which saw the biggest rise in the top half of the table from 35th to 21st, notes: "The fact that Sussex is home to staff and students from 100 different countries across the world is an absolutely fundamental part of what makes us such a great place to work and study. We have seen a 45% increase in overseas  numbers at Sussex over the last 3 years - as we improve the student experience further, and as we develop new programmes that are attractive to all students, home and overseas.

"We have placed internationalisation as one of our three major goals for Sussex. As well as growing our overseas student numbers, this means strengthening academic links and building new partnerships and collaborations with universities in countries such as China, India and America.

"Undergraduate applications from overseas for 2010 are already up 65% and postgraduate up 26% - even before this latest rise in the rankings. The Times is rightly a highly-regarded table of the standings of UK universities. I would hope that this would encourage even more students overseas to recognise the quality of what we offer and consider Sussex when looking at the best quality UK universities for their studies."                                                                                                                  

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