Recruiting Students from Mainland Europe

John F PoultonSubject Leader, Computing

Glyndŵr University

Agenda

• Why me?• Why Europe?• Where in Europe• How

Europeans @ Glyndwr

• Of just 7,300 people studying in 2006-07, 1,300 were from overseas - with by far the largest number from France and Spain.

• Glyndwr has more Spanish students - 600 - than any other UK university - almost a tenth of the 6,350 Spanish students in the UK.

• It is also top for French students, with 520 studying here out of 13,070 in the UK.

• Again, more French students study at Glyndwr than at any other UK university.

• Together the two nationalities make up more than 15% of Glyndwr’s students

Why Europe

• Since September 2003 there has been a 50% reduction in student applications to UK Computing (source - UCAS data)

• The number of students taking A-Level Computing courses has fallen even more sharply

Why Europe

• A-level Computing students declined by 10 per cent to 5,068 in 2008, compared with the year before and by 50 per cent compared with 2003.

• The number of students taking ICT at A-level dropped to 12,277 in 2008, from 18,029 in 2003.

• Computing A-levels now make up just 0.6 per cent of all A-levels taken in the UK

Why Europe • There are approximately 325 institutions in the UCAS

scheme including universities, colleges of higher education and further education colleges that offer HE courses

• Universities UK has 133 members

• UCAS - 3327 Computing courses. (5 per course?)

• (In 2007-08 there are estimated to have been nearly 50,000 fewer full time male students aged 18-20 than female (and over 100,000 fewer full time students of all ages), whereas in the population at large there were 70,000 more males than females aged 18-20. )

France• There are 87 universities and over 300 Grandes Ecoles in France• - In the UK - In France

After 2 years - HNC, HND,FdSc - DEUG, DUT, BTSAfter 3 years - BSc - Licence Professionnelle

• Universities and the Instituts universitaires professionnalisés (IUT) attached to them offer two year vocationally based courses

The main qualifications - Diplome Universitaire de Technologie (DUT) and the Diplome d’Edudes Universitaires Scientifiques et Techniques (DEUST)

• Lycées also offer non-university higher education courses leading to the Brevet de Technicien supérieur (BTS)

• At the start of the 2006 higher education year, France had 2.287 million enrolled students including 1.357 million in the universities, 113,500 in the university institutes of technology

Spain

• Spain has 70 universities ( universidades), 48 of them state-run and 22 run by private enterprises or by the Catholic church. 88 per cent of students attend state-run universities.

• Two-cycle studies with an intermediate diploma: - The first cycle leads to the award of the Diplomatura

(Bachelor), or Arquitectura Técnica and Ingeniería Técnica (Bachelor degree in Architecture or Engineering),

- Students can continue to the second cycle for the award of the degree of Licenciatura (Masters degree),

• They are distributed throughout the country but the cities with the highest number of universities are Madrid (13), Barcelona (8) and Valencia (4).

Spain

• There are four different types of university establishment in Spain:

- University Schools ( escuelas universitarias) – offering three-year courses of a vocational or non-academic nature leading to a diploma;

- University Colleges ( colegios universitarios) – offering five -year courses of an academic nature leading eventually to a licenciatura or tesina and two-year courses for those with a diploma

- Faculties ( facultades) – offering five-year academic courses leading to a licenciatura or tesina

- Higher Technical Schools of Engineering & Architecture ( escuela superior de ingeniería y arquitectura) – offering five-year vocational and technical courses leading to an ingeniero superior y arquitecto degree.

Germany

• There are more than 330 institutions of HE, out of which 117 are universities, 159 universities of applied sciences ( Fachhochschulen)

• Studies at Fachhochschulen (FH)/Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) last 4 years and lead to a Diplom (FH) degree.

• Studies at Universitäten last 4 to 5 years (Diplom degree, Magister Artium) or 3 to 6.5 years (Staatsprüfung).

Fees

• A basic fee for an UG course in France in 2008/9 is €169 per year; for a masters course €226 per year; for a doctorate it is €342 per year.

• Spanish university fees are low from € 300 to € 1,000 a year. Grants and scholarships are available to Spanish and around one in seven students receives a grant. Spanish students under the age of 28 are covered for health insurance.

• No tuition fees are payable in Germany although there are exceptions

Erasmus• Erasmus is an EU-funded student mobility scheme

• It is based on partnerships between higher education institutions in different countries within the EU

• The Erasmus Student Mobility programme enables students to undertake a period of study or a work placement in Europe of between 3 and 10 months as a part of their degree programme

• The maximum grant per student for 2008-9 is currently

€2,940 for a study period. Grants paid at a rate of €245 per month of study to help cover the travel and subsistence costs

• Erasmus student mobility is carried out in the framework of prior “inter-institutional agreements”.

Different types of European student recruitment

• Students with or without the transfer of the curriculum of the course concerned

• Students who remain enrolled at their original university and who come to study in UK for one or more semesters

• Students who want work placements in UK

• Summer School students

• Joint degree courses with a double qualification thereby making it possible for students to continue their studies either in UK or in their home country

Recruitment Strategy

• Market selection and penetration - Identify and focus on limited number of key countries

and universities - Contact international offices- Visit

• Planning - Embed recruitment of European students in

University planning processes

Recruitment Strategy

• Data-driven decision-making - Collect and use data to inform decisions regarding

European student recruitment

• Joined-up approach - Across the University, ensure sharing of expertise

and best practices

• Enhancing the student experience - Strengthen and join up key academic and non-

academic services supporting the quality of the student experience

Barriers

• Three key barriers common to all countries were identified: --     Language.

– Europass (CEF)-     Finance

– Erasmus, bursaries-     Recognition of qualifications and/or admissions

procedures– ECTS , APL

How to make it work

• Regular contact• Good information - Website• Involve academics on a regular basis with exchange

schemes • Use of credits essential - European Credit Transfer

System (ECTS)• Curriculum transparency and recognition between the

partner institutions

The End

• Any questions?