Not-So-Foreign^©
A Bulletin for International Education Professionals
Volume 7, Issue 42; December 10, 2008

1)  THE PLAYING FIELD – Dip in Foreign Applicants Could Push 7 U.K. Schools Into Deficit: Study
2)  ABROAD PERSPECTIVE - U.K., Australia Hot in South India
3)  OVER THE COUNTER - Applicants Not Necessarily Drawn to Lower Tuition Fees: U.K. Study
4)  GLOBE TIPPING – Seated Yoga for Exercise, Relaxation During Flight

1) THE PLAYING FIELD – Dip in Foreign Applicants Could Push 7 U.K. Schools Into Deficit: Study

Seven British universities will go into deficit if their income from international students falls by only 10 per cent, a recent study warns.

The seven are among 11 universities examined by the study, performed by financial services firm Grant Thornton for Times Higher Education. The 11 were chosen for being dependent on foreign students for 15 per cent or more of their total income. The seven are: Aston, City, Exeter, East London and Middlesex universities, the Royal Academy of Music and the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Some university officials are concerned that fluctuations in international exchange rates could lead international students to study at home, or at English-language rivals of the U.K. that have become comparatively cheaper. Between January and October of this year, it became cheaper for Indian students to study in Australia but more expensive for them to study in the U.K., as the Indian rupee lost 7.5 per cent of its value against the British pound but gained 2 per cent against the Australian dollar.

Source: “Lower Interest From Abroad Would Push Seven Into Red,” Times Higher Education, Nov. 20, 2008

2) ABROAD PERSPECTIVE - U.K., Australia Hot in South India

The global economic slowdown appears to be feeding the demand for a British or Australian tertiary education in at least one region of India.

According to L Dhanasekaran, Education U.K.’s head for south India, the number of visas issued from south India for students applying to study in Britain in 2008 was 11,126—163 per cent higher than last year’s total of 6,846. An increase in inquiries about studying in Britain next year has Mr. Dhanasekaran estimating that the number of applicants from across India will be 20 per cent higher next year than this year.
           
One key likely reason, he said, is the tendency for young people to study rather than look for work at times when work is hard to find. Making the U.K. in particular more attractive is a recent rule allowing foreign students to work there for up to two years.
           
Australia also appears to be attracting dramatically more Indian students. The number of Indian students admitted to Australian tertiary institutions is reported to have increased by roughly 25 per cent in the first half of 2008 compared to the same period a year earlier.
           

3) OVER THE COUNTER - Applicants Not Necessarily Drawn to Lower Tuition Fees: U.K. Study

The fees charged by a university appear to have no bearing on the number of international students who will apply to study there, a new study suggests.
           
The paper, written by two Lancaster University economists, studied application figures for 97 British universities between 2002 and 2007. It focused on the most popular courses with foreign students—business and engineering, at the undergraduate level.
           
It’s possible, the authors said, that once international students had decided to take the expensive step of studying in Britain, the exact difference in costs across the universities did not seem that important to them.
           
Among the study’s other findings: international students appear to be more swayed by measures such as university rankings than universities’ overseas marketing efforts; and they are also more drawn to universities closer to London—a belief shared by the British Council.
           
Increasingly, the study claimed, international students are “experience-seekers”—people looking at their university years as an entire experience, not just a stepping-stone to a career. These people are likely to be swayed by whether or not the place they’re going to study is considered “happening” by their peers.

4) GLOBE TIPPING – Seated Yoga for Exercise, Relaxation During Flight

One of the most uncomfortable aspects of travel is surely the necessity—especially during long flights—of remaining seated. The immobility required during long flights has even been linked to “economy class syndrome,” or travellers’ thrombosis, a life-threatening condition. However, it is possible to exercise and stretch while seated; a number of books and websites include instructions on how to do simple yoga exercises from a chair. Simple instructions and video clips for 19 yoga exercises—some of which, admittedly, may get you more attention than you’d like—can be found for free at: www.soundtells.com/YogaSitting/Online/index.htm

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