Universities are begining to tap huge market of students who want prestige of a British degree but cannot afford to come to UK to study
Pier. an on-line study in this area. said British universities are exporting their sought-after degrees to hundreds of thousands of overseas students who can’t afford to study in the UK.
Nearly 200,000 offshore students studied for qualifications from 112 British universities last year, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa), earning the sector more than $382 in fees.
British universities have long relied on the roughly $3.66 billion that overseas students bring when they come to the UK to study, but the new figures reveal for the first time the extent to which students are taking UK higher education qualifications overseas.
With student numbers at home restricted by the government, many British universities are looking to expand their offshore operations to reach a potentially enormous market of students seeking the prestige of a UK degree but without the means to travel abroad.
Liverpool University has set up a joint university with Xian Jiaotong, in China, that awards its degrees.
Kalvin Everest, director of academic affairs, said: ‘The UK system is small in global terms, with very high quality teaching and research. Lots of students will want to come to the UK, but we need to take what we offer to other countries as well. There’s an incredible undersupply of providers given the demand out there in the world.’