Britain is inexcusably behind when it comes to collecting and reporting vital data about its higher education sector, particularly around international students, graduate outcomes and the economic impact of education exports, according to a new report.
The report, from the International Higher Education Commission, accuses the Home Office of suppressing important immigration statistics by rejecting Freedom of Information requests and releasing delayed figures that should be publicly available.
"It is simply not good enough that we do not know for at least 18 months, and currently it is two years, how many overseas students have been recruited," said Chris Skidmore, the commission's chairman.
Comprehensively compiled statistics from the Higher Education Statistics Agency generally lag by one and a half years.
The commission deemed this delay unacceptable in light of the real-time figures produced by private data firms.
By contrast, Australia's immigration authorities are able to update their student visa data virtually in real time as students enter and leave the country.
Beyond visa numbers, the report takes issue with the British approach of lumping international students of all lengths of study together in net migration figures, recommending that those on courses of a year or less be excluded from the statistics.
The United Kingdom is falling behind in tracking the outcomes of graduates.
This is particularly true of those from outside the European Union, the commission found.
Aiming to save money, the statistics agency simply stopped calling international students for its surveys after they graduated.
This resulted in an 82 percent drop in responses from the 2020-21 cohort of non-EU graduates.
Getting accurate data is critical for anticipating future demand.
According to David Pilsbury, the commission's secretary, getting solid outcomes data for international students is critical not only for justifying policies but also for anticipating future demand.
Yet at the moment, he told The PIE News, it is left entirely up to universities whether to subscribe to commercial data services that provide intel on prospective foreign enrolees.
"Enroly data was crucial in securing the positive MAC outcome but also data about future demand from Studyportals and IDP Connect [are a factor]," Mr. Pilsbury said, referring to recent recommendations to loosen visa restrictions for international students.
"It is currently left to individual institutions to decide whether to sign up with these companies and there is no systematic integration with the current data from Enroly or the historic data from HESA."
The report urged the government to consolidate all education exports into a single economic data category for a clearer picture of that sector's financial impact.
Failing to get a grip on these crucial data streams, the commission warned, could deal a serious blow to Britain's position as a leading destination for international students and an exporter of higher education.
With gaps like those outlined in the report, British universities may struggle to plan effectively for recruiting and supporting their international student populations.
And without a clear economic accounting of education as an export, policymakers may fail to give the sector the prioritisation and support it deserves.
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