Universities UK, the representative organisation for the UK’s universities, has published the report Patterns and trends in UK higher education, looking at the trends in the UK higher education sector over the last decade, from 2000/01 to 2009/10.
Among other things, the report tracks the rise of student numbers, the changing popularity of different subject areas, and a notable shift in the funding regime. It also demonstrates, the report claims, how higher education institutions continue to make a significant contribution to the economy in the UK.
UK higher education institutions together educate some 2.5 million students annually, including over 400,000 from outside the UK. The last ten years has seen significant expansion, with a 28% increase in student numbers from all domiciles.
One of the main trends over the last decade has been the success of UK higher education institutions in attracting international students. Since 2000/01, the number of non-EU students has more than doubled, with an increase of 11.7% in the last year.
Although this is approximately four times the equivalent increase in UK-domiciled students, the report points out that the UK’s share of the international student market has reduced over this period, with other countries becoming more competitive in attracting these students.
This trend does not include the impact of the controversial and unpopular changes to restrictions on non-EU student visas, which, the report claims, may result in a greater loss of market share in the future.
China (excluding Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao) continues to provide the highest numbers of international students on first degree, postgraduate research and other undergraduate courses and the second-highest numbers on postgraduate taught courses. India provided the highest numbers on postgraduate taught courses.
Although overall numbers have increased, there were no significant changes in the top 20 countries across levels from the previous year.
The number of students from other EU countries has increased by over a third, and numbers from the UK have increased by around a fifth over the last ten years.
