An aecc student sentiment survey indicates that more prospective students are choosing New Zealand, Germany, and the United States for their studies, moving away from traditional destinations like Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
The survey, which included 8,312 respondents from 124 countries (excluding China), revealed that 15.53% of prospective international students have changed their preferred study destination in the past year.
Quality of education and job opportunities are the primary motivators for these students, cited by 38.2% and 25.3% of respondents, respectively. Additionally, 11.2% highlighted post-study/graduate work rights as key, with about 80% deeming these rights “extremely important.”
Over 75% of respondents expressed concern about recent policy changes in the UK, potentially influencing their choice of study destination. Canada’s cap on undergraduate students and Australia’s migration strategy, affecting visa issuance, also contributed to this shift.
Key concerns for students regarding the UK include changes to dependent visas, the minimum required income for post-study employment sponsorship, and potential future changes to Graduate Visa Work Rights. Nearly half of the surveyed students indicated they would likely change their study destination if the UK reduced the Graduate Visa duration from the current two years.
Jake Foster, aecc’s chief commercial officer, emphasized the critical importance of post-graduate work rights for international students, warning that unfavorable policy changes could severely impact the UK higher education sector.
A related survey of 7,413 prospective international students found a majority were not interested in studying entirely online. However, there is increasing interest in completing the first year online or in their home country before moving abroad.
Despite many students planning to return home post-studies, graduate visa work rights remain a crucial factor. Foster noted that recent UK policy changes are causing students to re-evaluate their plans, posing a serious risk to the UK’s higher education sector if negative changes to graduate visas are implemented.
Sourced from: https://thepienews.com/student-sentiment-shifting-to-new-zealand-germany-and-the-us/
