International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007

Transcription

1 International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007 International Education Board Ireland, February 2008

2 Table of Contents List of Tables and Charts 2 Abbreviations 3 1 Introduction and Approach 1.1 Introduction Approach 6 2 International Students in Irish Higher Education Institutions ~ International Student Numbers Overview Gender of International Students Income Generated by International Students Programme Levels Subject Details Country of Origin USA China Malaysia India Canada Pakistan Nigeria Other Priority Countries Norway Mexico Japan Korea Thailand Vietnam Saudi Arabia 27 A1 Appendix 1 Participating HEIs 30 A2 Appendix 2 Survey Form 32 A3 Appendix 3 Country of Origin of International Students 33 IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

3 List of Tables and Charts Table 1: International students by sector 9 Table 2: International students by duration/mode of study 10 Table 3: Gender of international 10 Table 4: Programme choices of EU and non EU students 13 Table 5: Top 20 countries of origin by sector 16 Table 6: Chinese students by level (full-time) 20 Table 7: Chinese students by subject (full-time) 20 Table 8: Indian students by sector 23 Table 9: Canadian students by sector 23 Table 10: Pakistani students by sector 24 Table 11: Nigerian students by sector 25 Table 12: Main countries of origin for selected receiving countries 29 Chart 1: Global destinations for international students at the tertiary level, Chart 2: International students in higher education in Ireland Chart 3: Tuition fee by sector 12 Chart 4: International students in higher education, programme levels/mode 13 Chart 5: Subject choices, full-time international students 14 Chart 6: American students in Ireland: IEBI and IIE figures 2002/ / Chart 7: Indian students in higher education 22 IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

4 Abbreviations DES HEA HE HEI HETAC ICT IEBI IIE IoT UIS Department of Education and Science Higher Education Authority Higher Education Higher Education Institution Higher Education Training Awards Council Information & Communications Technology International Education Board Ireland Institute for International Education (USA) Institute of Technology UNESCO Institute for Statistics IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

5 1 Introduction and Approach 1.1 Introduction Demand for education beyond national boundaries has increased by 40% over the last decade. The growth is a reflection of a general increase in tertiary enrolment worldwide, which during the same period grew by an identical percentage, underscoring the important point that students are not simply studying abroad in greater numbers, but rather are increasingly pursuing education in general. Nonetheless, although delivery methods and favoured regions are changing there is no reduction in the numbers wishing to pursue some or all of their education experience in another country and it is anticipated that internationally mobile students will rise to at least 6 million by Chart 1: Global Destinations for International Students at the Tertiary Level, 2006 All other Countries 23% US 22% Canada 3% Japan 5% UK 14% China 6% Australia 7% Germany 10% France 10% Sources: UNESCO UIS database, 2006 and Open Doors 2006: Report on International Educational Exchange. 1 Global Education Digest 2006: Comparing Education Statistics across the World. UNESCO Institute for Statistics. IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

6 At present two thirds of international students are located in seven major countries (USA, UK, Germany, France, Australia, China and Japan (see above and table 12, page 29). We are witnessing a gravitational shift which is geopolitical in origin and is characterised by an increased demand for study places within Asia (with particularly strong growth in China) and a drop in demand for places within the main English-speaking destination countries, especially for full-time programmes. Almost one third of today s international students come from Asia (notably China which is the single most important country of origin, India, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore). The next most important region of origin is Western Europe, although numbers here are dropping and European students are increasingly more likely to opt to study closer to home, and for shorter durations. Although prominent for many years as a destination for English language students 2, Ireland is not considered an internationally important location for higher education due to our relatively low numbers of international students. Nonetheless, Ireland s Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have experienced percentage growth rates in international student numbers which, since 2002, have been similar to, or in some cases higher, than those experienced by the main destination countries. For the last three years annual growth rates have levelled out from highs of almost 20% to around 8% for 2006/ As international student demand swells, Ireland, an English-speaking European country with a reputation for quality education in a safe and friendly environment, is presented with an opportunity to become an important and respected receiving country. As argued through this annual statistical report since 2002, while the potential for growth remains significant, the key challenges - which require investment and a coherent response from a number of government departments, agencies and providers - remain unmet. Despite the announcement of a new government policy on international education four years ago, the requisite enabling polices and fresh thinking have not been forthcoming. As Ireland procrastinates, our European neighbours are actively reducing barriers to international education, constantly devising innovative policies and incentives to attract (and keep) international students important at multiple levels in their institutions and countries. The lack of coherence and clear lack of progress around these issues in Ireland is having, and will continue to have, a negative impact on our reputation internationally as a quality destination for education. 2 Fáilte Ireland s most recent study on recognised English Language schools estimates that there were between 130,000 and 140,000 EFL students in this sector in Ireland in Fáilte Ireland, Ipsos/MORI, English Language Schools Survey. December Compares with a 6% increase among EU students and a 7% rise in non-eu students in UK (Higher Education Statistics Agencywww.hesa.ac.uk), and a 3% increase for the US during the same period (Open Doors IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

7 1.2 Approach The International Education Board Ireland (IEBI) has been collecting figures on international students in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Ireland since Up until this year IEBI collected the data directly from higher education providers recognised by the Department of Education and Science 4. Working closely with the statistics division of the Higher Education Authority (HEA), we took the decision to alter our data collection system for the 2006/2007 academic year for the following reasons: The HEA have always collected about 80% of the data which IEBI also requests from the same colleges (domicile, gender, subject and level) 5. In the past, HEA data was released about two years after collection, whereas IEBI released data during the current academic year. HEA s newly designed data collection system operating for the first time in 2007 aims to collect and release data for the current academic year, thus matching IEBI s requirements in this regard. As HEA-Colleges are legally obliged to return their annual student statistics to the HEA (signed by the college President or Registrar) IEBI felt that by utilising HEA returns we would be both saving the colleges a duplication of effort and benefiting from very reliable figures. The HEA surveyed their colleges in March 2007 on a census basis and as that was ongoing, IEBI surveyed the non- HEA colleges using a similarly designed survey instrument 6. Because of teething difficulties associated with the new system, delivery of the HEA figures to IEBI took some months longer than originally anticipated and figures from a number of colleges were not included. IEBI re-surveyed these colleges, but given the limited time available, not all colleges were able to provide full student details, although all did provide broad figures, for which we are very grateful. In order to have a clear understanding of Exchange and Study Abroad student numbers, IEBI has always tried to capture the total number of international students in a HEI over the academic year. We are cognisant that this approach will not produce completely accurate figures, but we have been able to extrapolate very meaningful data 4 Please see appendix 1 for a full list of the higher education providers surveyed. 5 HEA-Colleges include the universities and their recognised colleges (including the colleges of education). From 2007/2008 the DIT and other Institutes of technology will come under the remit of the HEA. 6 Please see appendix 2 for a copy of the survey form. IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

8 each year and confirm our figures against international out-going figures 7. We were mindful therefore that the HEA figures (collected on a census basis on March 31 st ) would not give us complete short-term international student figures and we would have to revert to the colleges on this and other issues such as tuition income, summer school numbers and offshore students. Test runs on 2005/2006 data had shown a 100% match between the HEA and IEBI data sets for full-time students and we were confident therefore that the full-time student numbers would not present any difficulties. However for reasons which we have not been able to fully resolve at this point, the 2006/2007 figures from more than half of the HEIs did not correlate with the figures received by IEBI from the same institutions over previous years. Detailed (and on-going) discussion with the HEA and the colleges concerned resolved the differences in most of these cases. But in the case of four of the most significant receiving institutions, the anomalies could not be clarified by the institutions, and these colleges requested IEBI to use their 2005/2006 figures which they felt they could stand-over (with small adjustments in some cases as instructed by the colleges). IEBI has worked hard to produce reliable figures within the difficult parameters described. Looking at trends over time and closely analysing data from the non HEA colleges which we collected using the same approach as in previous years, we have confidence in the trends outlined below. The uneven data generated in some cases, which was beyond the control of IEBI, the HEA and the colleges, does mean that we can not provide detailed analysis of countries of origin, subject choices and other variables which are normally included in these annual reports. IEBI is continuing to work closely with the HEA on these issues and both organisations will be assessing the suitability of initial 2007/2008 HEA returns on international students before finalising our approach to the next data gathering exercise. 7 For example figures from the International Institute of Education in the USA on the numbers of US students coming to Ireland. IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

9 2 International Students in Irish Higher Education Institutions, 2006~2007 Note: It is essential that the caveats introduced in the Approach section above are understood when considering the data presented below. Numbers presented in blue italics are the corresponding figures for the previous academic year. 2.1 International Student Numbers - Overview The survey records a total of 27,275 (25,319) non-irish students as registered in 50 participating HEIs 8 during the academic year from 142 countries 9, the numbers reflect an increase of just below 8% over 2005/2006. This amounts to an increase of 1,956 students, compared to 2,372 students last year and 4,000 in 2004/2005 which, while positive, indicates that the slowdown in growth recorded over the last two years appears to be continuing. Chart 2 below illustrates growth as observed by this survey since Chart 2: International students in higher education in Ireland International Students in Higher Eduction Source: IEBI Please see appendix 1 for a full list of the higher education providers surveyed. 9 Please see appendix 3 for a full list of the countries of origin of international students. IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

10 As table 1 below illustrates 58% (15,600 / 15,196) of international students are from outside Europe, 40% are from EU countries (11,033 / 10,123), and 2% from other European countries (642 / 785) 10. These breakdowns are similar to those found in other years, although the growth of EU students appears to have slowed. The absence of new data from some of the major receiving institutions will have affected these figures. Table 1: International students by sector Sector Non-European 11 EU Other Europe Total Universities & Rec. Colleges 12 9, ,906 (65%) Independent Colleges 3, ,073 (19%) Institutes of Technology 1,501 2, ,047 (15%) Other (1%) Total 15,600 (58%) 11,033 (40%) 642 (2%) 27,275 Source: IEBI 2008 The majority of international students in Ireland (65%) are studying in universities and university recognised colleges 11. As table 1 highlights the independent sector are next in importance at 19%. The institutes of technology (IoTs) continue to present a strong challenge to the dominant positions of the university and independent sectors within international education. The IoTs slice of the market has grown from less than 5% in 2003 to 15% in 2006/2007. Fifty-seven percent (56%) of international students are studying in Ireland on full-time programmes 14 with the numbers increasing by 1,501 from 2005/2006 to 15,674 as table 2 shows. 10 This includes Albania (1), Armenia (1), Andorra (1), Belarus (12), Bosnia & Herzegovina (14), Croatia (17), Georgia (2), Iceland (7), Kosovo (1), Liechtenstein (2), Macedonia (3), Moldova (17), Norway (214), Switzerland (74), Turkey (51) Ukraine (19), Former Yugoslavia, not specified (35), Non EU European not specified (171). Last year Romania and Bulgaria (then pre-accession countries) were included here which may explain why numbers are down in this category. 11 Includes 291 not specified/unknown non-european students. 12 For the purposes of this survey the University Sector refers to the seven ROI universities and university recognised education and other colleges: All Hallows College (DCU), RCSI (NUI), IPA (NUI), NCAD (NUI), Milltown Institute (NUI), Shannon College of Hotel Management (NUI), Froebal College of Education (TCD), Marino Institute of Education (TCD), Mary Immaculate College (UL), Mater Dei Institute of Education (DCU) and St Patrick's College of Education (DCU). 13 Included under Other are: Kimmage Manor Development Studies Centre, National College of Ireland, Pontifical College Maynooth, St Patrick's Carlow College, and Tipperary Institute. 14 Includes non exchange students on pre-degree programmes (including some access and foundation programmes), a small number of English language programmes, bachelor programmes and postgraduate programmes are all considered full-time. IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

11 Table 2: International students by duration/mode of study Sector Full-time Short-term Part-time 15 Off-shore Total Universities & Rec. Colleges 12 9,725 (55%) 7,201 (40%) Not provided 980 (5%) 17,906 (100%) Independent Colleges 3,557 (70%) 1,452 (29%) 64 (1%) - 5,073 (100%) Institutes of Technology 2,218 (54%) 1,640 (41%) 189 (5%) - 4,047 (100%) Other (70%) 75 (30%) Not provided (100%) Total 15,674 (57%) 10,368 (38%) 253 (1%) 980 (4%) 27,275 Source: IEBI Gender of International Students Because of the data collection difficulties described above, figures on the gender of international students are not complete for this year. While overall figures show a reasonable gender balance, in some countries there are clear differences, for example 92% of students from Pakistan are male and 72% of students from Japan are female. Some gender differences are apparent when looking at the type of programmes and subjects chosen: There are higher numbers of male students on foundation/access, non degree programmes and postgraduate programmes and higher numbers of female students on exchange/study abroad programmes, language centres and in professional programmes. Similar numbers of male and female students study science and hospitality subjects, more female students take humanities, creative arts and medicine, and more male students are found in business & administration and engineering. With respect to duration and mode of study, 53% of full-time students are male and 47% female. Short-terms students are more likely to be female (57%). Table 3: Gender of international students Gender Male Female Not Specified 41% (11,246) 52% (11,508) 17% (4,521) Source: IEBI As a new and complex category, part-time numbers are considered to be under-reported in this survey. It is hoped that more robust figures on this sector can be included in the 2007/2008 report. IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

12 2.3 Income Generated by International Students Collecting information on the income generated by international students is recognised as problematic and most receiving countries do not attempt to collect this sensitive information from source. IEBI has been fortunate to receive detailed tuition fee income from participating colleges over that last six years. However the lack of new data from some colleges this year means that the figures presented are at best an approximation and are likely to reflect an under-estimation of the tuition income generated by international students. Several colleges provided only a bottom line figure for international student income this year and it is therefore not possible to provide detailed breakdowns of income earned by category of student, subject, or programme type. Reported figures indicate that just under 164 million ( 154 million) was generated by the participating HEIs in tuition fees from international students for the 2006/2007 academic year - an increase of almost 10 million ( 15 million) from 2005/2006. IEBI estimates conservatively that each international student spends an average of 10,200 ( 9,715) per year in Ireland on accommodation and other living expenses 16. This adds a further 208 million ( 181 million) generating a total income for 2006/2007 of 372 million ( 335 million) 17. It is clear from the chart below that the university sector earns considerably more from international students than any other sector and that although 65% of international students are in this sector, it generates 78% of the income. Fees tend to be higher in the university sector, but this difference is almost exclusively attributable to tuition income from medical programmes. 16 For purposes of consistency we have taken last year s estimate and multiplied by 5% to represent inflation. IEBI believes that this may well be an under-representation of student expenditure. This figure does not take into account the revenue generated by travel to and from Ireland, or the revenue generated by visitors to students whilst they are studying in Ireland. Countries such as Australia and New Zealand seriously consider these additional income streams and are finding that the income generated from these related sources are significant. 17 This is calculated on the basis of 15,674 full-time students, 10,368 short-term/exchange students here for an average of 4 months and 253 part-time students. Offshore students (980) are excluded from this formula. IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

13 Chart 3: Tuition fee by sector ( millions) Other Colleges, 1, 1% IoTs, 7, 4% Universities & Rec. Colleges, 128, 78% Independent Colleges, 28, 17% Source: IEBI Programme Levels This section looks briefly at the types of programmes and subjects attractive to international students in Ireland in 2006/ Chart 4 demonstrates that honours degree undergraduate programmes are the most popular choice for international students in Ireland with over 30% studying at this level and a further 4% studying at general degree level. Over two thirds of these students are from outside the EU. Postgraduate programmes have been growing in popularity over the last few years and 16% of international students are taking masters (15%) or PhD (1%) programmes. Almost two thirds of postgraduate students are from non-eu countries. Short-term exchange and Study Abroad programmes together account for 26% of students with 95% of exchange students coming from EU countries and 97% of Study Abroad students coming from the USA. Language students which account for 7% of international students are split between the universities and the independent colleges. In future years we intend to exclude this group out of the survey as Fáilte Ireland are now undertaking an annual survey of language students and we wish to avoid any possibility of double counting. 18 Again, the lack of detailed breakdown from a number of colleges means that we are unable to provide the normal level of detail here. IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

14 Access/foundation and non-degree programmes remain popular. Over 83% of these students originate from outside the EU and are found mostly in independent colleges and institutes of technology. Chart 4: International students in higher education, programme levels/mode Not-specified Professional PhD Part-time Access/Foundation Summer programmes Off-shore General degree Non-degree Language Study Abroad Masters Short-term/Exchange Honours degree Source: IEBI 2008 Table 4 provides a breakdown of the programme choices highlighted above by EU and non-eu students. Table 4: Programme choices of EU and non EU Students EU Students Non EU Students* N % N % Short-term % % Full-time % % Part-time 140 1% 113 1% Offshore 0 0% 980 6% Access/foundation 6 1% 456 3% Non-Degree 405 4% % General Degree 582 5% 477 3% Honours Degree % % Masters Degree % % Exchange % 225 1% PhD 95 1% 90 1% Study Abroad 0 0% % English Language % 687 4% Professional 69 <1% 51 <1% Summer programmes 0 0% 708 4% Offshore 0 0% 980 6% Source: IEBI * Includes non-eu European Students as listed in footnote 10, page 9. IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

15 As the table indicates, non EU students are more likely to be on full-time programmes, while EU students are more likely to be here on short-term exchange programmes. 2.5 Subject Details It is the accepted norm that international students choices cluster around disciplines most in demand in the global economy such as business, medicine, computing, science and engineering. Chart 5 confirms that these subjects are also important choices for full-time international students in Ireland, where students of both genders are attracted to six key areas: business, medicine and related subjects (where percentages are higher than in other countries), arts & humanities, science ICT and engineering, with a particularly strong dependence on the first three areas. Each of these categories is relatively broad and encompasses a large range of subjects. Chart 5: Subject choices, full-time international students Business & related, 27% Not specified, 8% Law, 2% Medicine & related, 19% Hospitality/ tourism, 4% Engineering, 6% ICT, 8% Science, 8% Humanities, 19% Source: IEBI 2008 There are slight shifts within the ranking of subject areas from previous years but from the students whose subjects were recorded this year it appears that the important fields remain business, medicine and humanities. Business and related subjects attract 27% (24%) of full-time international students; this is followed by arts & humanities - including IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

16 social science, journalism, education and creative arts 19% (18%) and medicine and related subjects 19% (22%). Some more detail on the six most important subject groupings follow 19, 20. Overall, 5,398 international students from 107 countries are taking business and related subjects with 80% of these students on full-time programmes. Of the full-time students, 60% are in the independent sector, 22% in the universities, 17% in the IoTS and 1% in other colleges. Over half (53%) of full-time business students are taking honours degrees, 23% master s programmes and 20% non-degree programmes. Humanities (including social science, journalism, education and creative arts) attracted 4,687 international students from 110 countries, 62% of whom are on full-time programmes. Of the full-time students, 80% are in the university sector, 9% in the independent colleges, 8% in the IoTS and 3% in other colleges. Overall 46% of full-time humanities students are taking honours degrees, 34% master s programmes, 2% PhD programmes and 18% non-degree programmes. Medical students (n=2,878) are spread across the five medical colleges of the university sector. Although these students come from 74 different countries, over 70% come from just 6 countries (Malaysia 36%, Canada 12%, USA 8%, Kuwait 8%, UAE 4% and Norway 3%). Almost all medical students (80%) are studying at undergraduate level. Over the years we have noted that tuition fees from medicine accounts for over 60% of the total university sector fee income, however we can not comment on this for the 2006/2007 academic year. The numbers of international students taking medicine has dropped by 231 students from 2005/2006, confirming a predicted decline brought about by the decrease in numbers from Norway and the Irish government s policy of buying back places in medical schools for Irish students. We should be in a better position to comment on this trend next year. Science (including pharmacy and agriculture) subjects continue to be popular, attracting 1,337 international students from 75 countries, 94% of whom are taking full-time programmes. Of these full-time students, 87% are in the university sector and 13% in the IoTS. Science students display a different profile with 55% taking masters or PhD programmes and 36% on undergraduate programmes. ICT subjects have attracted 1,337 international students from 72 countries, 87% of whom are taking full-time programmes. ICT students are fairly equally distributed across the sectors with 35% in both the university and 19 Please note that in almost 8% of cases the subject was not specified so the data provided below refers to only 92% of the full-time students captured under this study. 20 With the assistance of the HEA we will be in a position to provide a more detailed subject listing for 2007/2008. IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

17 independent sectors and 27% in the IoTS. Almost 45% of ICT students are taking postgraduate programmes while 42% are studying at undergraduate level. There are 1,263 students from 77 countries recorded as studying Engineering (including engineering trades, architecture and building), 80% of whom are on full-time programmes. The majority of full-time engineering students (55%) are based in the university sector, with a further 43% in the IoTs and the remaining 2% in independent colleges. Just over 50% of engineering students are taking undergraduate programmes and 43% are studying at postgraduate level. There are 50 PhD students in engineering (accounting for 27% of all international PhD students). 2.6 Country of Origin This section looks at the countries of international students in higher education in Ireland. Overall the survey lists students from 142 countries. In total the country of origin of 2,408 students was either not specified at all or was specified only within regional groupings. Details are presented below and in appendix 3. Country Total No. Table 5: Top 20 countries of origin by sector % University Sector Independent Colleges IoTs Other Colleges USA % China (+HK) % UK % France % Germany % Spain % Malaysia % Italy % India % Poland 539 2% Canada 500 2% Pakistan 497 2% Nigeria 482 2% Japan 354 1% Singapore* 309 1% Kuwait 291 1% Norway 214 1% Korea 212 1% Bangladesh 211 1% Netherlands 184 1% Other countries % Source: IEBI * 83% of Singaporean students are recorded as off-shore. IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

18 As indicated by table 1 above, 42% of international students in Ireland are from Europe. Table 5 highlights the most important of these as being the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Poland. Just over half (53%) of EU students are on short-term programmes generally Erasmus or through other exchange arrangements Full-time EU students (46%) are predominantly taking undergraduate programmes (65%), with 32% at postgraduate levels. Over half (51%) of all international PhD students are from EU countries (see table 4) 21. It is clear from the figures for 2006/2007 (and those from the last 5 years) that, although Irish colleges tend not to consider students from EU countries as international, these are our most important group of students numerically and our fastest growing group of students, with numbers increasing by 10% from 2005/2006. Whilst EU students may not generate very high levels of income for the institutions, they generate high value in terms of international linkages and profiles. EU students who come here on exchange programmes are also more likely to return for postgraduate studies. There are some differences emerging with respect to the relative importance of non-eu countries of origin, but the four most important countries have remained the same for a number of years: USA, China, Malaysia and India. Together these countries account for 63% (75%) of all non-eu international students, demonstrating our continuing reliance (albeit weakening) on a small number of countries and programmes (Study Abroad in the case of the USA and medicine in the case of Malaysia). The following sections provide a little more detail on our most important non- EU countries of origin USA The USA remains the single most important country of origin for international students in HEIs in Ireland and numbers recorded have increased by almost 10% for 2006/2007, following a decline the previous year. These trends are corroborated by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in the US which noted an 8.5% increase in the numbers of students from the USA going to Ireland in 2006/2007 following a 2.5% decline in 2005/ The IIE has been collecting international education data for 60 years from 2,800 accredited institutions and generally enjoys a 90-95% response rate. Chart 6 below compares IEBI and IIE data over the last five years, confirming a correlation between the data sets in terms of direction over the last three years, but indicating that IEBI is not receiving, or capturing, complete data on American Study Abroad students in Ireland. In addition to the particular difficulties associated with the data this year, there are two probable reasons for this: 21 Students from the UK prove the exception here with over 90% studying on full-time programmes. 22 Please bear in mind that the country of origin of 2,408 students (9%) was not fully specified (see appendix 3). 23 Open Doors, IIE. IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

19 1. some colleges are not providing comprehensive figures on the numbers of Study Abroad figures in their institution over the entire academic year, rather they are reporting only on the numbers present at the time of the survey and 2. a number of colleges which are not DES recognised providers receive Study Abroad students but are not included in this survey. Chart 6: American students in Ireland: IEBI and IIE figures 2002/ / / / / / /2007 IEBI Figures IIE Figures Source: IEBI and IIE Opendoors In total, the IEBI survey recorded 4,408 American students. Of those whose gender was recorded 60% were female and 40% male. Almost 20% of American students are studying on full-time programmes - an important statistic as overall only 6% of American students study abroad for more than one year, so the percentage of full-time American students in Ireland is higher than for most other countries. Half of all full-time students are taking humanities programmes, 24% medicine and 8% for science, ICT and engineering. Almost half of these students (48%) are studying at postgraduate level. The university sector predominates here with 91% of full-time American students. The remaining students from the USA are involved in short-term programmes with Study Abroad accounting for 80% of these students, and summer programmes, 20%. In 63% of cases the subjects being taken by Study Abroad IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

20 students were not specified. In those that were, 74% were taking humanities, 20% business and administration, 3% science, 2% (each) law and engineering and 1% (each) law and hospitality. Despite a sharp dip in the years following 9/11, the numbers of Americans studying abroad has increased by 150% over the last decade. As many top American universities are now moving towards making Study Abroad a mandatory aspect of undergraduate programmes, this growth is anticipated to continue and presents a great opportunity to Ireland, currently the 10 th most important destination for these students China Since opening up to international education in the late 1970 s, over one million Chinese students have studied abroad. It is estimated that about 160,000 Chinese students are currently overseas and this is expected to rise to 200,000 over the next few years 24. This may well be an underestimation as recent figures indicate that the number of students studying at university level in China has increased five fold in nine years to reach 25 million, 80% of whom, it is reported, want to study abroad 25. While the numbers of Chinese students overseas continue to swell, there are shifts in their choice of destination. Increasing numbers of Chinese students now choose to study in Asia, particularly Japan and Korea. Ireland has always experienced some growth rate in Chinese numbers and this year we have seen a small increase (less than 5%) 26. The number of Chinese students in Irish HEIs in 2006/2007 is reported as 3,573 (3,456). For those whose gender was recorded 53% were male and 47% female. Eighty Four percent (78%) of Chinese students are on full-time programmes. There are 432 Chinese students on offshore programmes, 131 on short-term programmes and 9 on part-time programmes. The level at which those of full-time programmes (3,001) are studying is illustrated by table 6. Although there is some evidence of change, full-time Chinese students remain more likely than European or American students to take pre-degree or non-degree programmes with 15% falling under this category. The majority of full-time Chinese students are studying at bachelor level (65%) with 20% at postgraduate level. 24 Atlas Directory of International Education (17 th October 2007) 26 The lack of figures from some institutions may have a bearing here. IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

21 Table 6: Chinese students by level (full-time) Programme Level N % Access/Foundation Non-degree General degree Honours degree Masters PhD 13 <1 Professional 2 < Source: IEBI 2008 In contrast to American and European students, as table 7 shows, Chinese students on full-time programmes are less interested in humanities with only 6% studying these subjects (an increase of 1% from last year), they are particularly interested in business (55%), ICT (12%), hospitality & tourism programmes (9%) and engineering (7%). Table 7: Chinese students by subject (full-time) Subject N % Business and Administration Computer Science/IT Hospitality/Tourism Engineering Humanities Science General basic programmes 80 3 Law 47 2 Medicine 26 1 Nursing 1 <1 Totals Source: IEBI 2008 Chinese students are studying in every sector, but have traditionally been of particular significance to independent colleges where 45% are currently recorded. The numbers in independent colleges dropped from 1,607 in 2005 to 1,415 in 2006 increasing again to 1,448 this year. The relative importance of Chinese students to this sector is also declining. In 2004, Chinese students accounted for 64% of all international students in independent colleges within the survey and, in 2006, 42%, this has dropped to 29% under the current survey. However 75% of Chinese students in the independent sector are taking business and administration programmes, indicating an increasing dependence on subjects in this field over the last few years, from 54% in IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

22 While the importance of Chinese students studying in the independent colleges has declined, their importance is increasing within the university sector where full-time numbers have increased from 687 to 761 over the last year. The number of Chinese off-shore students recorded by the university sector has increased from 307 to 432 in the same period. Business subjects are again the most important, representing the subject choice of 33% of full-time Chinese students in universities. Next in popularity comes science (15%) followed by ICT, hospitality/tourism, engineering and humanities (all around 11%). Law accounts for 6% and medicine 3%. The IoTs now host 808 (847) Chinese students (just under a quarter of the total) a decrease from last year. Chinese students within this sector are predominantly on full-time programmes (97%). The most important subjects are business (41%), ICT (20%), engineering (15%) and hospitality/tourism (10%). There are 18 Chinese students in the other state aided colleges all of whom are recorded as being on full-time business programmes Malaysia This survey records 1,289 (1,223) Malaysian students in Ireland, 82% (1,051) of whom are studying medicine. For those whose gender was recorded 63% were female and 37% male. The number of students has increased by 5% (8%) from 2005/2006 ensuring that Malaysia remains an extremely important sending country for Ireland. Malaysian students are particularly important to the university sector, where numbers have increased from 1,116 to 1,165 in the last year and where 90% of Malaysians are studying. The vast majority of these students (90%) are taking medicine at undergraduate level with the remainder spread across a wide array of subjects, the most important being science (n=26). There are very few Malaysians on postgraduate programmes. The remaining Malaysian students are located primarily in the independent colleges (113 / 99), where 94% are studying business programmes at bachelor level. There are 10 Malaysian students in the IoT sector across a range of subjects India The pattern of Indian student numbers in Ireland has shown some uneven development over the last six years as demonstrated by chart 7. IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

23 Chart 7: Indian Students in Higher Education Source: IEBI 2008 This year we have seen a 20% increase to 1,094 students from 857 last year. Of those whose gender was recorded 75% were male and 25% female. India has been a priority target country for a number of years now, but is proving to be a capricious market for Ireland. Following several years of disappointing numbers, increases have been recorded for the last three years almost entirely in the independent sector and the IoTs, with some increase in the universities this year. Statistically the increases are impressive, but the actual numbers are low when compared to our emphasis on the market and the numbers of Indian students who study abroad. There are a several reasons behind this slow development, particularly delays experienced by Indian students in obtaining visas. Also, in comparison to the UK (which hosts over 20,000 Indian students 27 ), Australia (which hosts 63, ) and the USA (which hosts 84, ), Ireland still has not developed a solid profile as a quality and affordable education destination, and critically does not offer attractive work opportunities to the Indian student who is primarily interested in postgraduate studies and related work experience 30. The survey has found that 58% (62%) of full-time Indian students are studying at postgraduate level. Full-time Indian students are particularly focussed on business (54%), ICT (24%) and engineering (8%) with lesser numbers studying 27 Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA, 2008) 28 Australian Herald Sun. 22 nd February Open Doors IIE 30 Initiatives such as Fresh Talent in Scotland which allows students to work for 2 years after completion of their students and the UK-India Education and Research Initiative 2006 which provides 12m of government funding for 40 UK award programmes for Indian students and support for 70 UK-India collaborative research projects are proving extremely attractive to Indian students. IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

24 science, medicine and humanities. Only 20 Indian students are on short-term/exchange programmes and 5 are recorded as part-time. As table 8 shows, the independent sector remains the most important with 64% (59%) of Indian students based in these colleges. The numbers of Indian students within the university sector has increased by 18%, following a two year period when no growth was recorded. Indian student numbers in the IoT sector increased significantly up to last year but show almost no change from 2005/2006 when 101 students were recorded. Table 8: Indian students by sector Sector N % Independent Colleges Universities & Rec. Colleges Institutes of Technology Other Total 1, Source: IEBI Canada Canada is now the 5 th most important non-eu country of origin with 500 Canadian students recorded by this survey, up from 468 in 2005/2006 and from 376 the previous year. As table 9 illustrates, over 98% of these students are in the university sector with just over 1% spread across the other sectors. Canadian students in Ireland (whose gender was indicated) are 49% male and 51% female and are predominantly engaged in full-time programmes with only 7% on short-term exchanges (Study Abroad). Table 9: Canadian students by sector Sector N % Universities & Rec. Colleges Independent Colleges 6 1 Institutes of Technology 2 <1 Other 13 1 <1 Total Source: IEBI 2008 Canadian students on full-time programmes are largely found on undergraduate programmes (85%) with 15% studying at postgraduate level. The most important subject is medicine, which attracts 75% of all Canadian students, followed by humanities (11%), business (4%) and science (3%). While Canadian numbers are increasing strongly, growth appears to be tied largely to medicine and related programmes, and humanities. IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

25 2.6.6 Pakistan This survey recorded 497 (479) Pakistani students in Irish HEIs. Of those whose gender was indicated 92% are male and 8% female. Following a 10% drop in numbers from Pakistan noted in our last survey, the numbers this year show an increase of about 4%. Growth in numbers is seen particularly within the IoTs and to a lesser extent, in the independent colleges. Numbers are dropping slightly in the universities and other colleges as table 10 highlights. Table 10: Pakistani students by sector Sector 2005/ /2007 Independent Colleges 373 (78%) 384 (77%) Universities & Rec. Colleges (13%) 55 (11%) Institutes of Technology 38 (8%) 55 (11%) Other 13 7 (1%) 3 (1%) Total 479 (100%) 497 (100%) Source: IEBI 2008 As mentioned in previous reports, students from Pakistan present a different profile in that they are spread across all levels of programmes, but are represented comparatively weakly at bachelor level (32%, 157) and have relatively high numbers at non-degree levels (51%). A further 16% are studying at postgraduate level. The three most important areas of study are business, ICT and hospitality/tourism programmes Nigeria Over the last few years we have seen the numbers of students from sub-saharan Africa in general and Nigeria in particular, increasing. This year we have been able to disaggregate almost all the countries in this region and it is clear that Nigeria is the most important country of origin, followed by Botswana (63) and Mauritius (53) 31. The survey shows that there are 482 (495) Nigerian students in Irish HEIs making Nigeria the 7 th most important non- EU country of origin. Of those whose gender was indicated 47% are female and 53% male. Nigerian students are studying mainly at bachelor level (56%) with 21% at postgraduate level, 17% at pre-degree and 6% on short-term programmes. Business is most important subject for Nigerian students at all levels with 29% of full-time students taking these programmes (140). Other important subjects include humanities (22%), engineering (14%), science (9%), medicine (7%) and nursing (5%). 31 Twenty-seven students were still categorised as being from sub-saharan Africa. Please see Appendix 3 for a full listing of all countries of origin. IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February

26 Table 11: Nigerian students by sector Sector N % Universities & Rec. Colleges Institutes of Technology Independent Colleges Other Total Source: IEBI 2008 As table 11 shows, the university sector hosts the largest percentage of Nigerian students, 40% of whom are studying at postgraduate level, most notably in humanities. There are 149 Nigerian students in the IoTs, all of whom but one are studying at non-degree or undergraduate levels and the most popular subjects are business and engineering. Nigerian student numbers in the independent sector have declined from 134 in 2005/2006 to 104 under the current survey. Almost 80% of Nigerian students in independent colleges are taking programmes at all levels in business. In the other colleges there 24 Nigerian students a decline from 42 in our previous survey. These students are mostly studying at undergraduate level in business and humanities (including development studies) Other Priority Countries In addition to the countries discussed above Education Ireland and Irish colleges have been promoting Higher Education in Norway for several years, and over the last few years have exhibited at fairs in Mexico, Japan, Korea 32, Thailand, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia (amongst others). For this reason a brief synopsis on the students from these countries is provided below Norway Norway has traditionally been an important country for the Irish medical colleges and until 2005 was also growing in importance amongst other colleges and faculties. Ongoing confusion around how Norwegian (and other EEA and Swiss) students are classified for the purposes of tuition fees led to a withdrawal of colleges from this market over the last two to three years. However a small number of colleges have stayed with this market and numbers are now increasing in fields outside of medicine. 32 Most of the Japanese and Korean students recorded under this survey are studying English. As mentioned above Fáilte Ireland now collect annual figures on English Language students in Ireland and as a result, IEBI plans to exclude English language students from this survey in future in order to avoid the possibility of counting some students twice. 33 Further details on these or any other countries can be requested from IEBI. Please contact groe@educationireland.ie IEBI International Students in Higher Education in Ireland 2006/2007. February