UUK to review international foundation programmes after exposé

Universities UK (UUK) has announced a review of the quality of international foundation programmes, amid claims that international students are using them to buy their way into British degrees with lower grades than UK applicants.

An investigation by The Sunday Times secretly filmed representatives of Russell Group institutions discussing “back door” routes used to recruit overseas students, who pay much higher tuition fees than their UK counterparts.

The report claimed that foreign students can buy their way on to degree courses with as little as a handful of C grades at GCSE, while British students would need A or A* grades at A level.

In a statement issued shortly after the publication of The Sunday Times piece, UUK said that the story failed to distinguish between entry requirements for full degrees and those of international foundation years, which are designed to prepare students for degree-level study but do not guarantee entry.

But a statement issued on 2 February indicated that UUK felt the need to respond to a story that had caught the attention of politicians, students and parents.

“While many aspects of the reporting misrepresented the admissions process and criteria, we recognise the concern this has caused for students, their parents, and the public and it is vital that they all, along with government, have confidence that the system is fair, transparent, and robust,” said the statement, issued by UUK’s board.

UUK said it would commission the Quality Assurance Agency to undertake a “rapid review” of international foundation programmes, comparing their requirements – including entry grades – to pre-entry foundation programmes offered to domestic students.

UUK said it would also review the Agent Quality Framework and make recommendations on how it could be revised to “improve resilience and identify bad practice”.

And UUK said that it would also update its admissions code of practice to “clearly state its applicability to international recruitment”.

Earlier this week Times Higher Education revealed that the University of Nottingham had introduced “reduced offers” for some international students, with the stated aim of widening access. This came after the University of York told staff to take a “more flexible approach” to overseas students who missed their offer grades, in light of “current financial challenges”.

The moves have been seen as a sign of the cash crunch facing even leading English universities, as a frozen domestic tuition fee forces institutions to pivot towards more lucrative overseas learners.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com