According to the Student Academic Experience Survey, university education in the UK has not been regarded as “value for money” by international students.
For the longest time, the United Kingdom has been rated as one of the preferred education destinations for higher education. Today, however, reality begs to differ.
The 13th annual survey examined the perception of full-time undergraduate students towards higher education and university policies.
Taking the diversity in the undergraduate population into consideration, a total of fourteen thousand seventy two (14072) students were selected for the study, out of which, seventy-eight percent (78%) were white, thirteen percent (13%) Asian, six percent (6%) of mixed ethnicities and three percent (3%) black.
The UK among preferred international education destinations
Jonathan Neves, who heads the Business and Surveys at Advance HE and Nick Hillman, Director of Higher Education Policy Institute, pinpoint a glaring difference in the outlook of students from EU countries.
A sharp decline from forty-seven percent (47%) to forty-four percent (44%) suggests that EU students consider the UK’s education system running out of the road.
Although the results may not have statistical significance, they do raise questions regarding the quality of UK university education following the Brexit.
More data collected from the survey revealed that the primary cause of UK education’s undervalue was the exorbitant tuition fees. While sixty-two percent (62%) of students regarded tuition fees as the repelling force, sixty-four percent (64%) rated teaching quality as extremely good.
Chinese and the Asians settled in the UK identified the teaching and learning quality in the UK as extremely of less value. These students lament that pressure to do well against their peers immensely stresses them out.
All’s not lost for the UK
Meanwhile, students from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland favored the education system in the UK. The results from this year show a pleasant two to four percent (2-4%) increase in value perception from last year.
Following the unexpected results, the authors reasoned that the universities in the UK have a lot to achieve in offering comprehensive support to its studies. Setting the right expectations and backing it up with thorough communication can bring about the much-needed revival.
