EU students continue to view UK Higher Education as Good Value for Money and no longer view Brexit as a Barrier

According to recent research carried out by Kubi Kalloo on behalf of the British Council, which looked at EU students’ perceptions of studying in the UK compared to five English-speaking competitor countries – Ireland, USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand - UK Higher Education is perceived as offering good value for money, despite its high cost when compared to EU study destinations.

The research was conducted through an online study with residents of six EU countries, - Germany, France, Greece, Poland, Spain and Italy, with age groups 16-25 and 25-34 years old equally represented. Students were all considering studying abroad in the coming three years using English as the language of study.

Key findings from the study show that awareness and consideration of the UK as an English-speaking study destination remain very high and are broadly in line with the USA. The UK is particularly well-considered regarding quality of education, employability, proximity to Europe and its appealing culture. UK Universities are also strong in converting student interest into enrolments, although fall slightly behind the USA in the latter stages of the student application journey.

Among rational decision-making factors, while the UK compares less favourably than many competitor countries on “pure” cost, both in terms of study fees and cost of living, UK Higher Education is still seen as being good value for money by two-thirds of those surveyed. In terms of funding their studies, student bursaries and scholarships were seen as a key potential source of funding by a majority considering the UK, with just under half of those interviewed also mentioning part-time work as a key source. Just over half of prospective post-grads and just under half of prospective undergrads see the University as the main potential source of a bursary or scholarship, ahead of government, employer or other sources.

Regarding emotional decision-making factors, a welcoming environment and an attractive life and culture are the two most frequently cited factors influencing EU student choice, considerably above other factors such as having visited or studied in the country before, knowing family and friends who have studied there or being familiar with organizations. The UK performed well across the six country segments in both factors, although still has work to do to fully meet student expectations.

Attitudes to Brexit appear to have shifted somewhat, with 69% of those surveyed now saying that Brexit will make no difference to their decision, or will influence their decision positively, compared to 62% in 2020. Despite these figures, more work needs to be done with EU students regarding information on visa routes, with only 36% of all respondents showing awareness of the Graduate Route, for example.

Regarding attitudes to different types of study experience, respondents see benefits to studying in English-speaking countries in comparison with other models, such as degree courses taught in English in non English-speaking countries (EMI); UK degrees delivered in their own country (TNE in-country) and UK degrees taught in other countries (TNE abroad). These benefits include: Gaining an Internationally-recognised Qualification, Opportunity to Improve Language Skills and Improving Future Employability. These perceived benefits are in part offset by relatively poor scores regarding value for money, and it is worth noting that students in the study were not especially familiar with TNE formats (both formats scored just above 50% in terms of familiarity), indicating a potential opportunity for TNE collaborations.