Sustaining excellence: choosing quality in International Student Recruitment practices

Let me start with a small anecdote: in my early days of working in international education with the British Council, I met a Vice Chancellor of a UK university for a briefing before his visit to India. Expecting him to request the standard “many students” at various local institutions, I was (pleasantly) surprised when he said, “I don’t want to meet 200 students on my visit. But I do want to meet your 10 best.”  

As I read a third article in the last one month on Indian students being deported from foreign shores, I wondered how we can go back to the principles of the VC I had met a decade ago.  

In 2022, more than 1.3 million Indian students went abroad to pursue their higher education, a 68% growth on the previous year. The UK continues to be very popular, the latest visa figures for March 2023 showing a 63% growth rate. Impressive as these numbers are, they are hardly surprising as international education emerges as the cornerstone of academic enrichment in an increasingly interconnected world.  

From TNE to traditional modes, the stars are aligned for universities to make the most of the opportunities presented by the potential that international student mobility presents. But how does one do this responsibly and ethically ensuring the student experience is high-quality and rewarding? 

Student recruitment is typically about numbers – a short-sighted and dangerous approach. We need to move beyond the concept of recruiting from ‘markets’ (“we’re talking about people not potatoes” a professor in India once sharply said to an international officer) and square up to the fact that we are looking at a community of young people who build the country’s cultural diversity and economy through academic prosperity and cross-cultural exchange of ideas. Hence, quality becomes paramount. Numbers won’t help when the morning newspaper headlines a popular international destination deporting Indians due to fraudulent recruitment practices.  

There are ways to mitigate the challenges that exist in maintaining quality in student recruitment practices – and it takes a village! 

Quality in international student recruitment is a shared goal among educational institutions, governments, accrediting bodies, agents and counsellors and local schools and colleges. 

The UK’s Agents Quality Framework developed by BUILA and the British Council, UKCISA and UUKi includes a robust training suite for agents and counsellors, a good practice guide, code of conduct and ethical practices in recruitment, a guide for students and parents to use while working with education agents, and a guide for UK universities working with consultants – a 360 degree repository of knowledge and guidance on how the entire recruitment ecosystem can thrive through ethically-enabled practice on the ground.  

Besides the Framework, a robust admissions process at universities and colleges that strike a good balance between inclusivity and quality is key. Academic support and cultural orientation, mentorship and quality teaching can ensure a high-quality experience for the student, preserving the UK’s reputation as one of the world’s most coveted places to study in.  

There is no doubt that the easiest thing to do when it comes to recruitment is to choose quantity over quality as a mark of ‘success’ and changing the sectoral mentality to uphold reputation above all else takes years to navigate, requiring support and buy-in from the very top.

But the benefits are long-lasting. From creating a global reputation to attract the world’s best minds, to creating a community of alumni ambassadors – the UK is one of the few who continue to showcase the best in diversity and uphold a future of collaboration and innovation.  

If we uphold the trinity of maintaining quality of education, keeping the focus on student welfare and ethical recruitment practices the UK can maintain it’s lead on attracting students in India in a way that will stand the India/UK relationship on solid ground for decades to come.