When voters in the UK opted to leave the EU in June 2016, there were fears that student applications to masters in finance (MiF) courses at UK business schools would fall. Yet, despite those concerns, this has failed to happen in any significant way so far.
Angus Laing, dean of Lancaster University’s management school, says that the number of overseas EU students who are interested in taking its MiF programme has fallen modestly, by about 5 per cent this year — most notably those from France and Germany.
“We’re seeing global demand continuing to be buoyant, but the mix is changing,” he says. “There is a decline in the number of European students overall, although there has been growth from south-eastern Europe — from Romania and Bulgaria.”
Yet while student applications to MiF courses and MBAs remain healthy, business schools are still uncertain about what the effects of Brexit might be, particularly on their ability to attract and retain academics and what it could mean for research funding.
“It’s important to avoid hyperbole, but there is a much higher level of nervousness about the UK educational environment,” says David Allen, pro-vice chancellor and executive dean of the business school at Exeter University. “When I travel, people express concern about the UK leaving [the EU]. There is a general lack of certainty.”
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is an entry exam for students who want to apply for a graduate business degree. While it is mostly used for MBA candidates, it is indicative of the health of the broader admissions market for UK business schools. At the end of last year, the Graduate Management Admission Council surveyed candidates taking the GMAT, to track their interest in studying in the UK.
Just over half (51 per cent) of non-UK European candidates surveyed said they were less likely to study in the UK because of Brexit, citing concerns over the availability of visas, as well as the costs of education and living.
Yet UK business schools have slightly increased their share of GMAT results being sent to them from around the world, from 4.4 per cent of the total in 2016 to 5.4 per cent in 2018. The figure fell in just one region — western Europe, which dropped to 12 per cent from 12.2 per cent over the same period — while applications from eastern Europe rose.
The international picture remains more positive for UK universities. The share of candidates who said the UK was their first-choice destination increased from 41 per cent in 2016 to 55 per cent 2018, according to the GMAC survey. Growth was particularly strong in the Asia-Pacific region.
“We’re alert and not complacent, but we have not seen an effect on our main flagship MBA programme,” says Kathy Harvey, associate dean at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School. She adds that the school’s MBA attracts 53 nationalities, which is “not typical of the market”. This helps as it means Saïd is less dependent on EU citizens to bolster its numbers.
At Imperial College London’s business school, dean Francisco Veloso has seen no decline in EU student applications, which he attributes to the school’s strong reputation. “The power of the brand weighs more significantly than the environment,” he says. But he warns that greater economic uncertainty in the event of a hard Brexit could change this.
François Ortalo-Magné, dean at London Business School, points to one factor that might explain why EU student numbers have proved resilient: the weakening of sterling since the referendum, which has lowered the relative cost of courses at UK institutions.
He adds that many businesses in London’s financial centre — long favourite destinations among his graduates — are finding LBS ever more appealing. Concerns over Brexit mean these companies are struggling to recruit people from elsewhere in the EU. Those already studying at the school have made more of a commitment to the UK, Prof Ortalo-Magné argues, and are more amenable to remaining in the country after their studies.
But he warns that while a weak pound has helped maintain British schools’ appeal among overseas students, it has deflated, in relative terms, the value of faculty salaries, especially compared with LBS’s dollar-denominated competitors in the US.
Prof Veloso at Imperial says he is not yet able to match US salaries, although he has sometimes put together bespoke remuneration packages with executive education and other consultancy payments to make jobs more appealing.
Others schools have also struggled to recruit and retain EU faculty under the shadow of Brexit. “We spend a lot of time talking to staff,” says Prof Allen at Exeter. “A couple of applicants have said it’s not the right time to come.”
Prof Laing at Lancaster agrees. “We’re not getting applications at a senior level the way we used to, and a small number have decided to head back to their own countries, citing family issues,” he says.
He adds that there are concerns about a squeeze on EU-funded research, too. He cites cases where faculty members are leading fewer research projects and have less funding. After Brexit, the continued role of UK-based academics in EU projects will be still more fragile.
While applications remain resilient, a less diverse faculty with more research funding pressures could yet weaken the appeal of British schools both to European and global students.
No comments:
Post a Comment