UK University fees to rise

This blog was originally created to help Chinese students choose which UK University to study at given the relative lack of good information. The right hand column of this blog if you scroll down lists different "economics" courses on offer and the "good" Universities that provide them.

There are a number of posts on this topic and links to league tables for Economics departments also in the right hand column.

For all this, it appears that studying in the UK is about to get more expensive. As an academic in a leading UK institution this is good news for the faculty but not so good new for the student. However, if the UK is to compete with the US to offer the best education in the world then these increased prices are essential.

Universities push for higher fees [BBC]

Many universities in England and Wales want a sharp increase in tuition fees, a survey by BBC News has concluded.

Two thirds of vice-chancellors, speaking anonymously, said they needed to raise fees, suggesting levels of between £4,000 and £20,000 per year.

More than half of university heads want students to pay at least £5,000 per year or for there to be no upper limit.

England's Higher Education Minister David Lammy said there was an "important debate to be had".

The National Union of Students has warned of debts of £32,000 for students if fees rise to £7,000 per year.

Higher debt

The controversy over tuition fees is set to be re-opened, five years after it sparked one of the biggest backbench rebellions faced by the Labour government.

University fees must be reviewed this year by the government - and there are already arguments about whether the present £3,500 cap on fees should be lifted.

Students considering university are concerned by rising fees

Any changes will affect about a million students on undergraduate courses.

Universities UK has set out the consequences of fee levels of £5,000 and £7,000 - arguing that if fees reached £7,000 a market of differently priced courses would emerge.

This has angered the National Union of Students, which wants to entirely replace the fee system with repayments linked to later earnings.

"In the context of the current recession, it is extremely arrogant for university vice chancellors to be fantasising about charging their students even higher fees and plunging them into over £32,000 of debt," said NUS president Wes Streeting.

Students are now planning a lobby of the House of Commons on Wednesday in a protest against increasing fees.

Sally Hunt, leader of the UCU lecturers' union, accused vice chancellors of "ignoring the views of the general public as they try to secure more cash by any means possible".

Labour backbenchers are also mobilising on the issue - with MP Paul Farrelly, a former fee rebel, putting down a motion in the House of Commons warning against any plans to hike fees.

Mr Farrelly said the government would ignore "at its peril" the risks of pushing through another fee increase.

Recession and resistance

The BBC survey, gathering the views of 53 university vice-chancellors, showed a wide range of expectations of the scale of any increase - from £4,000 to £20,000 per year.

There is an important debate to be had now, which is about how we maintain the world class status of our higher education sector

There were also some expectations of differences between universities and courses - with more than a quarter saying they would not charge the full amount.

About one in 10 wanted the cap scrapped altogether so universities could charge whatever they wanted.

There was widespread support among vice-chancellors for the principle of fees - three out of four believing they had been a successful policy and nine out of 10 saying they should not be scrapped.

Two thirds believed fees had not deterred applications from students from poorer families.

Free Online Economics Textbooks

Thanks to 26econ.com here is a directory of FREE online economics textbooks.

Although we are currently blocked in China I am sure China represents a large market for free textbooks given relative incomes and the costs of books.

Links in the 26econ post (too lazy to put them up here as well).

Free online economics books[26econ.com]

Introduction to Economic Analysis, by R. Preston McAfee (2007). ‘Open source’ intermediate undergraduate microeconomics textbook. Website also has slides for teaching.

Introduction to Modern Economic Growth, by Daron Acemoglu (2007, draft). Advanced economic growth theory.

The Econometrics of Macroeconomic Growth, by Steven Durlauf, Paul Johnson and Jonathan Temple (2004, draft). Advanced growth textbook.

Environment Economics, by Ross McKitrick (2007, draft). Intermediate environmental economics textbook.

Against Intellectual Monopoly, by Michele Boldrin and David Levine (2007). A critical analysis of intellectual property.

Invisible Engines, by David Evans, Andrei Hagui and Richard Schmalensee (2007). Non-technical book about two-sided software platforms.

Lecture notes in Microeconomic Theory, by Ariel Rubinstein (2006). Advanced microeconomic theory textbook.

Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation, by Kenneth Train (2003). Advanced textbook on estimating and simulating discrete choice models.

Industrial Organization: A Strategic Approach, by Jeffrey Church and Roger Ware (2000). Intermediate industrial organization textbook.

Short Course on Nonlinear Pricing, by Robert Wilson (1999). Advanced textbook on nonlinear pricing theory and applications.

Law’s Order: An Economic Account, by David Friedman (1999). Economics of the law.

Modelling Bounded Rationality, by Ariel Rubinstein (1998). Game theoretic models of bounded rationality (advanced).

Economics and Language, by Ariel Rubinstein (1996). The economics of language and language of economics.

Price Theory, by David Friedman (1990). Intermediate microeconomics textbook with a slightly unconventional viewpoint.

Bargaining and Markets, by Martin J. Osborne and Ariel Rubinstein (1990). Advanced bargaining theory textbook.

There is also the Library of Economics and Liberty, which has many digital copies of historical economics texts available for download.

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Plagiarism in Chinese Academia

Although not specifically related to economics, plagiarism by students is a major concern in UK academia.

It appears in China the problem is not only with the students but also some of the academics.

There is an interesting blog run by friends of Fang Shimin aka Fang Zhouzi, who

...has been fighting a lonely crusade exposing the many frauds in China's scientific and academic communities. His efforts has gained as many enemies as friends.

I must say I have had some doubts and always ask my students and colleagues about academic life in China. When discussing publishing in journals one colleague quipped that allegedly some journals pay you to publish in them (the good ones) and the others you have to pay the journal to publish in them (the bad ones). I am sure this is not strictly true.

Does that rule make economic sense?

The only papers that can really be trusted are those in peer reviewed international journals. I suspect that other academics in China already know this.

China's Scientific & Academic Integrity Watch

Some examples of the stories of this blog:

An Academician Who Plagiarized

Yale Professor Criticizes Wide Spread Plagiarism at Peking University

This is an excellent post and contains a letter from the Professor complaining about student plagiarism. It appears to be institutionalised which may explain some of the problems we face in the UK. If a student has done an undergraduate degree in China and comes to the UK to undertake a postgraduate degree it might be argued that certain bad habits travel with them.

H/T to China Law Blog

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Problem of "Over education" in China

There are numerous studies in the UK and the West looking at the problem of over education - that is, having a higher level of educational qualification than is required for current employment.

This problem is often associated with recent immigrants and University graduates. Crucially for UK Universities the supply of Chinese postgraduate and undergraduate students brings in large amounts of money.

More recently there have been less Chinese coming despite an growing middle class in China. We have discussed many of the reasons on this blog before (better Universities in China, visa costs, exchange rates, low wages in China, high cost of fees in the UK, lack of jobs in China etc.).

The relatively low wages, especially in relation to the cost of education, is a primary reason.

This post from Silk Road Blog provides an excellent real world insight.

Think of the economics behind this post.

Shanghai'd! [The Silk Road Blog]

I always learn new things on business trips, and this trip to Shanghai has been no different.

First, after a day at a tradeshow I love to break the bank and fork over the big money and have a $10 two-hour foot massage. But this time I got more than the foot massage, I got an education. The 24-year-old girl that massaged my feet was a recent college graduate. She had a degree in Computer Science and had very very good English—good enough that for the entire two hours we could talk about everything: politics, economics, Shanghai pop culture and why she was rubbing feet instead of working elsewhere. Why? She explained that she can get 3x the money every month doing massages (even with no “special” services for customers) than she could working for a computer company, doing retail sales or even selling real-estate; all of which she’s done in the two years since graduation. The glut of (sometimes unqualified) college graduates and the uncontrolled migration into Shanghai have, predictably, made a buyers market for college graduates here. The going monthly rate in Shanghai is somewhere around $250 for someone with a college degree, decent English and some specialized skills (accounting, computers, etc.)

This should be a warning for America! How long do you think that 1-2 million college grads each year are going to be satisfied rubbing feet? Even with good money my bet is not for long. Due to this glut, there is a huge opportunity for entrepreneurialism in China’s immediate future. This has been one of the biggest critiques of China “they just aren’t creative or independent thinkers.” And I agree. But as an American I also believe that necessity is the mother of invention. There just aren’t going to be millions and millions of satisfied college educated graduates every year, year on year. Is not going to happen. You’re been warned.

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Big Fees, Little English

As part of our education series comes an article in Education Guardian that lifts the lid on the practice of taking Chinese overseas students with sub-standard English qualifications.

This article is also interesting for the fact that the writer of the article, Victoria Adams, is a pseudonym. The writer teaches in a Chinese University.

The issue here is an important one. Students for fail to get pass their English listening can still get onto a UK course. The key here is that this is NOT possible at the top UK Universities that stick to STRICT guidelines (IELTS 6.5-7.5 usually).

The most interesting aspect is that the very best students will go to DOMESTIC Chinese Universities. The second string students, instead of going to second rated domestic Universities are sent abroad. The best UK Universities are therefore not getting the best Chinese students.

This quote shows the extent of the perceived problem:

Chinese students who cannot listen, speak or write after around eight years of formal English lessons may well still find themselves on their way to Britain.

The article concludes:

The more China prospers, the more students will come to UK universities. Yet, in the current system, the British universities that keep their China links to a minimum will almost certainly be the ones that prioritise quality over cash cows.

Full article here.

Holy Cash Cow [Guardian]

Picture this: a top 30 university in China is just completing its mid-term exam week in its "international programme" for students preparing for degree courses in the UK. The results are not good. In the listening skills exam, for example, only four out of 54 students in two classes managed to pass. Is this a crisis? Are the student dreams of education in England fading away? Perhaps that should be the case, but it isn't.

That pitiful standard is typical for thousands of Chinese students heading for university in a city centre near you. These students may not be able to understand lectures; they may not be able to write a grammatical sentence or answer questions. But they can contribute something that keeps the door to the UK open: they can subsidise new British universities ranked outside the top 60 and thus keep fees for British students at a lower level. Their financial contribution is significant. Thousands of students across China take these Sino-UK courses every year, run by dozens of Chinese schools and universities.

Demand for places

Most Russell group universities and many others in the top 50 protect themselves to a certain extent. They insist on a high score from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) - a level 7 or 7.5 - as part of the admission criteria. Demand for places at these universities, which have the best reputations, is such that they can afford to remain more discriminating. But, sadly, other universities are very willing to accept IELTS 6, thus welcoming students who may struggle to do well on courses.

The huge rise in China's middle class provides the context for this impact on the UK education system. At China's end, this is what happens: every summer, the country runs its national university entrance exam. Most high-school students who do well in the maths, Chinese, English and science tests taken by millions, will go to a respected domestic university. But not everyone can get into a well-regarded establishment such as Beijing University or Qinghua University.

So what is the best option for those children of managers, local and central government officials and entrepreneurs who don't get in? Putting your offspring into those considered to be second-string Chinese universities would involve a loss of face. Better, then, to stump up the cash to ship them off abroad. The top 30 Chinese universities might not let these students join the ranks of their normal intake, but they will accept the students' money and offer a place in a private school they run that has an international link with a British university.

Since the late 1990s, the numbers of Chinese students coming for undergraduate and postgraduate studies in the UK has ballooned. The problem early on in this trend was that 40% of Chinese students were failing their British exams. Something had to be done to keep the reputation of the British university system high within China, and so followed the establishment of "international foundation programmes", designed to act as a transition between the Chinese education system and ours. In these programmes, Chinese students are expected to learn to listen, work in teams, contribute their ideas in class discussions, analyse texts and write in paragraphs.

These programmes, on the surface, are an excellent idea. The pre-masters course run by the Northern Consortium of British universities has its strengths in training areas such as research methods and presentations skills. However, as these programmes have proliferated, the standards have not been maintained. In the mid-term exam on one programme in China, a business teacher said that in one of his classes, 75% of students failed. There is an unwillingness to grapple with the problem. This particular Chinese university initially stated that students who missed three classes before the mid-term exam would be excluded from the test; it didn't happen. Staff say that sent a message to the other students that they, too, could stay up till 3am, miss class and face no consequences.

Grey hairs

The mid-term exam results will add a few grey hairs to the heads of frustrated foreign teachers on these international programmes. However, there are many vested interests in making sure the system continues and that those who fail are rescued. Chinese students who cannot listen, speak or write after around eight years of formal English lessons may well still find themselves on their way to Britain. Their inability to do well means more students for British university pre-sessional courses from June to September. These charge thousands of pounds - a nice little top-up for British universities already charging £10,000-£15,000 for tuition fees for the actual course.

British universities boast on their websites about links with Chinese counterparts. They rarely highlight the mismatch between expectations and results on both sides. Nor is there a focus on why those links exist. It is not to diversify student intake, in most cases. The links are, as one teacher ruefully says, about "cash flow".

It seems that, whether or not the international programme is good, the teachers and programme organisers face exactly the same issues: unmotivated students and pressures from British universities to increase the numbers taking up places. Unsurprisingly, some students on some programmes realise low-ranking UK universities are desperate to have them, so they have even less reason to raise their game.

The more China prospers, the more students will come to UK universities. Yet, in the current system, the British universities that keep their China links to a minimum will almost certainly be the ones that prioritise quality over cash cows.

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THES top 200 World University Rankings 2007 and Guardian UK top 100 Universities

Two new University rankings have been released this week.

The Guardian and Times Higher Educational Supplement.

When students are looking for a University to study at it is vitally important that league tables are consulted. The reputation of the institution that you undertake your postgraduate study can have a significant impact on your future career prospects.

For Economics and Business this is especially true.

The first ranking is from the Guardian and they rank all UK Universities.

Universities ranked by average ratings [Guardian]

I list here only the top 20 UK Universities. If possible aim to go to one of the top ten. Given the expense of living in London, a non-London university will restrict you to a smaller sample of Universities. In the sidebar we include those Universities that have Economics related MSc programmes. A quick cross-reference will give you a good idea of where to apply.

Oxford
Cambridge
Imperial College London
Coll London
Edinburgh
King's College London
Birmingham
Manchester
Glasgow
Bristol
Southampton
Sheffield
Leeds
Cardiff
Nottingham
Newcastle University
Liverpool
Durham
Queen Mary, London
Leicester

The second ranking is from THES. This is a ranking of the top 200 Universities across the world.

2007 THES QS World University Rankings [PDF]

The UK has 20 Universities in the top 100 with 16/20 moving UP, 2 staying the same (Oxford and Cambridge at 3 and 2 respectively) and 2 falling (LSE and Glasgow).

The shock is the LSE dropping to 59 from 17. Something has gone wrong here I suspect.

The other UK universities in order of the ranking are:

Cambridge 2
Oxford 3
Imperial College London 5
UCL 9
Edinburgh 23
Kings College London 24
Manchester 30
Bristol 37
Warwick 57
LSE 59
Birmingham 65
Sheffield 68
Nottingham 70
York 74
St Andrews 75
Leeds 80
Southampton 81
Glasgow 83
Cardiff 99
Liverpool 100

It is interesting to compare the two rankings. Many Universities appear in both lists but by no means all. Again, selecting a University that appears in both is likely to be wise move.

Given the costs on an MSc in Economics are fairly similar across Universities especially for economics there is no excuse for attempting, at least at first, to get into one of the top UK Universities.

The following posts may be of interest:

Econphd Ranking of "Economics departments"

Ten Reasons Why You Should Study in Britain

RateUKcourses.com?

Studying "Economics in the UK": General Links

Which UK University to study in? "Academic Ranking of World Universities"

Studying in the UK: Cost of Accommodation

World University Rankings: Rankings and text

"UK University Ranking": large city effect

The student as customer

One of the aims of this blog was to inform students about the best Universities to attend and how to spend your undergraduate and postgraduate money wisely, hence the articles on rankings of economics in Universities at the global and UK level.

One factor that is influencing the behaviour of Universities is the belief that students are increasing being seen as "customers". This is a change in the dynamic between institutions and students. This change is partially being driven by the introduction of student fees and the increasingly reliance of UK Universities on overseas students (especially in recent years, Chinese students).

This academic paper in the Journal of Socio-Economics is therefore of interest. The conclusions fit my experience.

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Market overreach: The student as customer

David George

Available online 23 March 2007.

Abstract

This paper explores the market model's influence in redefining the relationship between teachers and students within the college and university. Viewing the student as a customer rather than as a “worker” or “apprentice” is argued to have created several problems. The case is made that with market forces leading to the substitution of purchased commodities for “production for self,” the role of the student in actively participating in the learning process is threatened. Several trends, including grade inflation, shortened contact hours, and the redefinition of study time are offered as evidence that the non-salable components of higher education are declining in importance.

Keywords: Grade inflation; Household production; Market failure

JEL classification codes: A14; D13; I21; L31


Conclusions:

4. Conclusion

Several decades ago, Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. reported a 30-year ideological cycle that he attributed to the amount of time that, on average, separates a generation's formative years from its leadership years (1986, chapter 2). Thus the 1920s, 1950s, and 1980s were conservative laissez-faire decades, as leaders in each carried with them the dominant worldview of 30 years before, while the 1900s, 1930s, and 1960s reflected activist government for similar reasons. The 1990s threw some doubts on the Schlesinger thesis, since the 1960s leftward orientation never emerged despite intimations that it might with the election of Clinton in 1992. Instead, the revolution begun by Ronald Reagan in 1980 took on new forms, but continued on the same trajectory as governmental activism and governmental popularity declined while respect for the business sector and the free market continued to grow.

There is always some risk in taking on contemporary events in the academic world since the worth of scholarly writings must usually stand the test of time. While reflections on current topics can capture a historical moment they also share a reality faced by contributors to popular culture, namely, a tendency to datedness that causes a certain loss of luster. The changing gestalt of academic administrators has been coincident with the rise of the entrepreneurial sensibility that has been going on for the last two decades. Recent events may well mitigate and even reverse the trend of regarding students as customers. If so, the datedness of this article that will follow notwithstanding, any such reversal can only be welcomed.

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The "UK Good University Guide" August 2007

A new "ranking" of "UK Universities" has just been launched with its own website. It also includes a subject breakdown as well as allowing the student to customise the ranking to give a higher weighting (or not weighting at all) to certain aspects.

"The Good University Guide"

This is a good improvement on existing rankings.

The categories that Universities are ranked by are:

1. Student satisfaction - A measure of the view of students of the teaching quality.

2. Research Assessment - A measure of the average quality of research undertaken.

3. Entry Standards - The average UCAS tariff score of new students under 21.

4. Staff-Student ratio - A measure of the average staffing level in the university.

5. Academic Services Spending - The expenditure per student on all academic services.

6. Facilities Spending - The expenditure per student on staff and student facilities.

7. Good Honours - The % of graduates achieving a first or upper 2nd honours degree.

8. Graduate Prospects - A measure of the employability of a university’s graduates.

9. Completion - A measure of the completion rate of those studying at the university.

Personally, I believe that one should customise the ranking and consider most importantly the entry standards (3) and Research Assessment (2). See HERE for more detailed descriptions.

There are numerous problems with the data - two many high scoring Universities supplied their own data. Not good enough. Secondly, the weights applied to give the default table are inappropriate in my opinion.

The Website has other strengths. It gives a review of each city, has a section for overseas students which gives a large number of statistics that I may blog on at a later date. e.g. Table 3 - where do overseas students study. I do NOT believe the numbers in this table however but that argument can wait for another day.

So what about Economics? Here is the top 20 UK Universities using the default weightings. Full listing HERE.

Rank Institution RAE Tariff Destinations Overall
1 LSE 5* A 508 88 100.0
2 Cambridge 5 B 538 92 98.4
3 UCL 5* A 477 86 98.3
4 Warwick 5* B 483 86 96.7
5 Oxford 5 B 538 76 93.8
6 Nottingham 5 A 481 78 93.7
7 Bath 5 B 452 78 91.1
8 Bristol 4 A 449 80 90.7
9 Durham 4 B 473 80 90.3
10 York 5 A 463 66 89.5
11 Southampton 5 A 428 68 88.8
12 St Andrews 4 B 458 76 88.6
13 Edinburgh 4 B 468 74 88.4
14 Exeter 5 B 407 70 87.0
15 Royal Holloway 4 B 369 80 86.3
16 Lancaster 5* B 374 64 86.2
=17 Birmingham 4 B 419 72 85.9
=17 Leeds 5 C 415 74 85.9
19 SOAS 4 B 365 78 85.6
20 Cardiff 5 B 382 68 85.5

I would say that this is a fair approximation but still contains a number of errors. There is the issue of whether "Economics" units within Business Schools should be treated in the same way as stand a lone department. The RAE scores for some of these departments are simply misleading as they did NOT go in as part of the ECONOMICS RAE but may have gone in with Business or development studies thus artificially inflating certain Universities.

There is also the issue that different departments are more suitable for undergraduate than postgraduate where research is far more important.

I will post more on this later but this new site is useful but must be seen in conjunction with other rankings that are listed in the sidebar.


The following posts may be of interest:
Econphd Ranking of "Economics departments"

Ten Reasons Why You Should Study in Britain

RateUKcourses.com?

Studying "Economics in the UK": General Links

Which UK University to study in? "Academic Ranking of World Universities"

Studying in the UK: Cost of Accommodation

World University Rankings: Rankings and text

"UK University Ranking": large city effect

Education as an Export: The Benefits of Overseas Students

Now this years students have graduated more and more are looking to extend their education to gain a postgraduate qualification.

Given the increasing popularity of MSc programmes the bar is being raised and other students may also feel that in order to differentiate themselves from the growing body of undergraduates that a further qualification is required.

[For MSc Economics and MSc Finance programmes scroll down the side bar for a whole series of links and information for prospective MSc students]

The UK has always been a top destination. Overseas students inject £3.74Billion into the UK economy each year. Moreover, our economy also benefits from those highly qualified students that decide to stay and pay taxes in this country.

Today's article from the Independent discusses the gains further. My bold. I tend to agree with the sentiment of this article - in the face of increasing competition from Europe for the provision of English taught courses we do need to look at the cost structure.

We all gain from foreign students

Britain is a magnet for overseas students. They flock to our shores because British universities offer high-quality courses in English, a reasonable level of student support and degrees that carry global cachet. Our share of the overseas student market has fallen but is second only to the USA.

The big question is whether we will continue to attract overseas students, given the competition from countries such as Australia (cheaper) and Germany, which doesn't charge overseas students tuition fees. Today's report by Bahram Bekhradnia from the Higher Education Policy Institute, "The Economic Costs and Benefits of International Students", says we need to think very hard about whether to charge lower fees to overseas students.

That is because students from abroad bring more financial benefit than they take. Bekhradnia calculates that overseas students inject £3.74bn into the economy in tuition fees and spending. That makes them a bigger export industry than, for example, alcoholic drinks, textiles, clothing, publishing and even our world-beating cultural and media industries.

Moreover, this injection into the economy has a multiplier effect: money paid in fees goes largely to fund salaries of university staff, and that money is ploughed back into the economy. Also, students often stay on after graduation to work in Britain, providing a further boost.

Such a significant industry needs nurturing, the report suggests. Can the UK maintain its share of overseas students as other countries begin to use English as the language of instruction and market themselves more aggressively? Bekhradnia clearly believes that British universities might begin to struggle. But they can't be expected to subsidise overseas students from money they receive from the Higher Education Funding Council.

So the answer would be an explicit subsidy from taxation. A government that tried to persuade the public that this was in their interests would be brave indeed. But we hope the new Chancellor of the Exchequer will read the report and ponder its message. Who knows: if the public becomes more economically literate with the introduction of lessons in financial management, the British might be persuaded that it is in their interests to charge foreigners lower fees.

The FULL REPORT should be available here in the near future.


The following posts may be of interest:
Econphd Ranking of "Economics departments"

Ten Reasons Why You Should Study in Britain

RateUKcourses.com?

Studying "Economics in the UK": General Links

Which UK University to study in? "Academic Ranking of World Universities"

Studying in the UK: Cost of Accomodation

World University Rankings: Rankings and text

"UK University Ranking": large city effect

RateUKcourses.com?

In this week's Times Higher the front page highlights a new initiative by the British Council to set up a website for overseas students to rate their course.

The Universities are worried, the unions are worried - this generally means that the students will benefit.

There are dangers - naming and shaming courses can harmful but if the courses gave good value for money and an excellent education which is surely the aim of a course then the good Universities and courses will have nothing to worry about.

In fact, this was one of the motivations of this blog - to cut through the advertising and hype and to provide real information. Granted there is an emphasis on University and course rankings but this is because, in the real world, when applying for jobs the reputation of a University and indeed it's location matters.

The most interesting part of the article in my opinion is that is suggests that Chinese students in particular tend to place a great deal of emphasis on "word of mouth" against advertising or rankings. In a sense this is good news and incentivises course leaders to provide a good service and not to simply treat overseas students as "cash cows" (alluded to in the article).

Finally, comes the suggestion that Chinese students may receive better tuition and supervision at those Universities below the elite level. I believe there may be some truth in this - ultimately the "feedback" website would allow us to judge. Those Universities who provide the best education should be rewarded with increases in student numbers whereas those Universities that trade on reputation alone deserve to see numbers fall.

It will be interesting to see if this initiative gets off the ground.

My bold emphasis.

RateUKcourses.com?

Foreign students need a site that lets them evaluate their experience, British Council is told. Olga Wojtas reports

Academics could see their departments named and shamed by their students on a new international ratings website under a proposal to the British Council.

A recommendation to set up the site, which would allow all international students to describe their experience at UK universities just like consumers rate hotels or holidays, is made in a report to the British Council this week by Greg Philo, research director of the Glasgow University Media Unit.

The idea has alarmed the lecturers' union. Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, said: "People are far more likely to tell friends and colleagues about bad experiences than good ones. We would have concerns about the motives of some people posting on a site like this.

Online gossip might seem harmless enough. However, it can lead to online bullying and malicious rumours spreading across campus."

Professor Philo's report focuses on the 50,000 Chinese students studying in the UK. It found that when they choose a course they value word of mouth over sources of information such as advertising and league tables.

"You can't beat people's direct speech in terms of getting people to trust what they say," he said.

The research is based on the views of 40 interviewees in China and 120 Chinese students in the UK and suggests that a website would help shake up the traditional university hierarchies.

Some students complained about their supervisors and felt they could be better looked after in mid-ranking universities compared with elite universities, where top researchers were too busy for them. Some 69 per cent thought they had been recruited as "cash cows" but generally accepted this. A similar proportion said their course was good value for money.

Almost two thirds said their experience in the UK was "good" or "very good", while only 29 per cent rated their education in China as "good" or "very good".

"They found higher education very creative and very original. It was a very cherished experience," said Professor Philo.

Beatrice Merrick, director of services and research at UKCOSA, the council for international education, said: "Two students on the same course may have completely different experiences. If the disgruntled one posts comments, there's no balancing view. Students should look at all possible sources, and word of mouth is valuable, but there's a risk of disproportionately negative comments appearing."

The following posts may be of interest:

Ten Reasons Why You Should Study in the UK
Econphd Ranking of "Economics departments"

Studying "Economics in the UK": General Links

Which UK University to study in? "Academic Ranking of World Universities"

Studying in the UK: Cost of Accommodation

World University Rankings: Rankings and text

"UK University Ranking": large city effect

Ten Reasons Why You Should Study in Britain

As part of the Education series it is becoming increasingly clear that the global competition for overseas students in intensifying. Universities in the UK are competing with the US, Australia and increasingly with the rest of Europe (Germany, France, Italy, Sweden etc) who are developing their English language taught courses especially in Business, MBAs and Economics.

A future post will compare the relative costs across the world to see where the "value for money" really lies.

In this post I merely present the 10 reasons for studying in Britain from VisitUK.

Whilst (8), (9) and (10) could be written about pretty much any country the other reasons appear to hold up.

Ten reasons to study at a British university

Anyone opting for an education overseas is making one of the most important decisions in their life. Not just for the impact it has on your career prospects and long-term future, but also for the opportunities it gives you to experience new cultures, new customs and new ideas firsthand. So what does the UK have to offer international students?

1) Recognised and respected qualifications

UK undergraduate qualifications are respected and valued all over the world. They’ll give you an edge when you're competing for a job, proving to employers that you're capable of independent thought, research and self-discipline.

2) Value for Money

UK undergraduate study offers fantastic value for money and the sort of experience you can't put a price on: fantastic libraries, state-of-the art laboratories, ultramodern computer facilities and extensive research resources that will blow you and your future employers away.

3) Improve your English

Practise your English language skills every day, in shops and cafés and while you're out with English-speaking friends, as well as in seminars and discussion groups on your course. Many UK universities also offer in-session language support.

4) Flexibility

The wide range of undergraduate courses on offer gives you a huge amount of flexibility. Enrol on a bachelor's degree, or start by taking a 2-year HND or foundation degree. Study a single honours degree or more than one subjects in a joint or combined honours degree. It's entirely up to you!

5) Improve your job prospects

UK undergraduate qualifications let employers know at a glance that you've got the skills they're looking for, putting you on the right track for a great job and a great salary: a year after graduating, less than five per cent of UK undergraduates are unemployed.

6) It's a multicultural experience

At a UK university you'll be mixing with people from all over the world, whose different backgrounds and new perspectives will add to your experience. Of the 405,000 students who entered UK higher education in 2005, more than 10 per cent were international.

7) Learn outside the classroom

Cultural events and festivals run all year round, there are world-class museums, attractions, art galleries and exhibitions and hundreds of castles, palaces and historical properties to enrich your experience and support your studies.

8) Travel

Want to make the most of your time in Britain? Well then get out there and see some of it! With a Young Person’s Rail card or a BritXplorer pass, exploring the four diverse countries of Britain is cheaper and easier than you might imagine. See our Budget Travellers pages for more information.

9) The Outdoors

Britain boasts 14 National Parks, 49 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and enough beautiful forests, beaches and mountains to satisfy any nature enthusiast. Cycle or walk from one side of Britain to the other on the Coast to Coast path or try extreme sports like white-water rafting, rock-climbing and hang-gliding. See our Outdoor Britain pages for more information.

10) Make the most of your time

Here are just a few other ideas: Visit a film location; go to a summer music festival; experience a unique UK event like cheese rolling; have a pint in a quiet country pub in the Cotswolds; run the London Marathon; visit an historic palace; go to a national park; surf in Cornwall…Whatever you do, enjoy!

The following posts may be of interest:
Econphd Ranking of "Economics departments"

Studying "Economics in the UK": General Links

Which UK University to study in? "Academic Ranking of World Universities"

Studying in the UK: Cost of Accomodation

World University Rankings: Rankings and text

"UK University Ranking": large city effect

Econphd Ranking of "Economics departments"

As part of a series of posts looking at UK and worldwide rankings of Economics departments for those considering postgraduate study (MSc Economics) comes a series of rankings not previously considered on this blog from Econphd.net.


There are 3 categories:

1. Network.
2. Average Productivity.
3. An overall ranking.

Methodology for construction.

Unique among rankings, econphd have also disaggregated by sub-discipline so there are rankings for "trade and development", "econometrics", "macroeconomics" etc.

Given the UK nature of this blog I list just those Universities in the top 200 of the overall ranking.

Note the correlation between ranking and the list of MSc courses in the sidebar. Again, quality of institution matters.

12 London School of Economics (LSE)
31 Oxford U
34 Warwick U
39 U Cambridge
47 University College London
48 U Essex
65 U York
68 U Nottingham
91 Queen Mary & Westfield College
96 U Southampton
105 London Business School
108 Birkbeck College
110 U Bristol
112 U Manchester
113 U Leicester
144 U Edinburgh
149 U Glasgow
153 Royal Holloway College
159 U Wales - Cardiff
164 Imperial College
165 U Exeter
166 U Birmingham
167 U East Anglia

No real surprises here. I would expect UK Universities to do better in the future given the additional spending on education and the fact that UK academic salaries are getting significantly closer to those paid in the US and far better than a lot of Europe.

The following posts may be of interest:
Studying "Economics in the UK": General Links

Which UK University to study in? "Academic Ranking of World Universities"

Studying in the UK: Cost of Accomodation

World University Rankings: Rankings and text

"UK University Ranking": large city effect

"Economics": Guardian University League Tables Released

A number of national newspapers now make an effort to rank UK Universities. The latest release is from the Guardian. For Chinese students looking to study "BSc Economics" or "MSc Economics" in the UK such lists can prove invaluable to ensure they are picking the best Universities to study in. Going to an average or poor Univerity can be a very expensive mistake.

In the sidebar we already include links to the other bodies such that use various methodologies to rank Universities (the Times and the Newsweek top 100). What is interesting about the Guardian rankings is that it is done by subject so we can look at Economics directly.

Here is the link to the methodology used in the rankings.

We have used seven statistical measures to contribute to the ranking of a university or college in each subject, weighted as follows:
· Teaching quality - as rated by graduates of the course (10%)
· Feedback - as rated by graduates of the course (5%)
· Spending per student (17%)
· Staff/student ratio (17%)
· Job prospects (17%)
· Value added - comparing students' degree results with entry qualifications (17%)
· Entry score (17%)

So far so good. So what is the ranking:

ECONOMICS(Top 10)

Institution Guardian score/100

Oxford 100.00
Cambridge 93.40
Warwick 86.10
LSE 84.70
UCL 81.40
St Andrews 80.20
Birmingham 78.80
Edinburgh 78.00
Lancaster 77.20
Durham 75.00


OVERALL (top 20)

Institution Guardian score/100

Oxford 95.29
Cambridge 91.92
Imperial College 82.27
St Andrews 79.30
UCL 79.17
LSE 78.53
Edinburgh 75.15
Warwick 75.01
Loughborough 73.44
Bath 73.43
Soas 71.55
King's College London 70.58
Southampton 69.58
Bristol 68.89
York 68.60
Manchester 68.14
Durham 67.57
Birmingham 67.48
Nottingham 67.22
Leeds 67.10

Only Lancaster makes it into the top 10 Economics departments but not into the top 20 Universities.

The advice remains the same - try and study economics at one of the top 10 Economics departments at one of the top 20 Universities.

It is also useful to then compare the costs of living, the costs of the course and the size of the city (where there is more likely to be a thriving Chinese community which may help with the provision of temporary work etc.)

The Guardian website also provides profiles of each and every University.

See the following posts for more information:

Studying "Economics in the UK": General Links

Which UK University to study in? "Academic Ranking of World Universities"

Studying in the UK: Cost of Accomodation

World University Rankings: Rankings and text

"UK University Ranking": large city effect

Studying in the UK: Cost of Accommodation

The cost of taking an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in the UK is not cheap.

We have covered the cost of fees in a previous post (for MSc Economics):

"MSc Economics": How much does it cost?

The fees noted above are also relevant for the majority of University fees although Economics and finance degrees are often more highly priced.

In this post we consider accommodation costs.

In a recent article in the Mail on Sunday it was stated that the average weekly rent is now £82, or around £3,190 a year (this may be higher for postgraduates who have to live over the summer). Multiply £82 by 52.

For London the average price is over £100 a week or £4,038 a year.

One reason for the steep increases in recent years is the move into the University sector by private providers. There is no doubt that the quality of accommodation is good and will include en suite and broadband Internet connection (for free) and basic satellite television.

For other posts on studying in the UK see:

World University Rankings: Rankings and text

Which UK University to study in? "Academic Ranking of World Universities"
MSc Economics: Google listings and sponsored advertising
Studying "Economics in the UK": General Links

World University Rankings: Rankings and text

We have posted on numerous occasions about how students should use University rankings as a starting point when deciding which University to study at (concentrating on economics).

As a help I have included the following in the side bar:

Shanghai Jiao Tong University World University Rankings
The Newsweek Top 100 Universities
The Times UK University Ranking 2007
and
UK Options University Guide (includes numerous links)

Although I believe that this is enough information for most if you would like more information then check:

Book Description
Based on the Times Higher - QS World University Rankings, this
is the definitive guide to the top universities around the world.

League table ranks the top 200 universities in the world, plus detailed
profiles of the top 100 universities, including student assessments of what
life is like at each university

League tables rank performance of the 100 top universities by principal
subject areas: Arts & Humanities, Engineering & IT, Medical Sciences,
Natural Sciences, Social Sciences.

Directory of over 500 of the best universities in the world along with
their ranking position in each of the principal subject areas.

Reviews of the top ten study destination countries, with a detailed look at
government grants and subsidies for overseas students, types of
institution, entry requirements, cost of living, student life and much
more.

Expert advice on how to choose and apply for the best course at the right
university, and an overview of employment opportunities.

Detailed help and advice on study costs, financing and scholarships

Synopsis
Based on the "Times Higher - QS World University Rankings", this is the definitive guide to the top universities around the world League table ranks the top 200 universities in the world, plus detailed profiles of the top 100 universities, including student assessments of what life is like at each university. League tables rank performance of the 100 top universities by principal subject areas: Arts and Humanities, Engineering and IT, Medical Sciences, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences. This title gives expert advice on how to choose and apply for the best course at the right university, and an overview of employment opportunities. It includes reviews of the top ten study destination countries, with a detailed look at government grants and subsidies for overseas students, types of institution, entry requirements, cost of living, student life and much more. It offers detailed help and advice on study costs, financing and scholarships. It includes a directory of over 500 of the best universities in the world along with their ranking position in each of the principal subject areas.

"UK University Ranking": large city effect

In this post we return to the issue of UK University rankings. This time we will look at the correlation between a University's position in the World Ranking, the size of the host city and the size of the Chinese community.

Why is a University ranking important? The blog is primarily concerned with information for overseas students wanting to pick a University to study economics.

However, there are some underlying economics related to the human capital literature. Any student, especially one who wants to study Economics or an MBA, should be looking to maximise their lifetime earnings.

If a student is from China in particular, when the graduate returns to China and has a number of job interviews lined up (after investing a large amount of their own or their parents money in getting a UK education) they want their qualifications and University to have an impact. Both Economics and Business are respectable degrees although Economics is perceived as a "harder" science but may be less use to those wanting to take over the family firm a few years down the line.

One important element will be if the interviewer has heard of the City and University of study. The UK cities that are the most internationally well known include London, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Glasgow and Liverpool.

These cities are also the most likely to have large Chinese communities and where the student may feel the most comfortable.

So which are the 10 largest cities in the UK?

Town Population

1 London 7,172,091
2 Birmingham 970,892
3 Glasgow 629,501
4 Liverpool 469,017
5 Leeds 443,247
6 Sheffield 439,866
7 Edinburgh 430,082
8 Bristol 420,556
9 Manchester 394,269
10 Leicester 330,574

Source:

If we now compare those results with the top UK Universities according to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University top 500 University list and the Newsweek top 100 Global Universities ranking (more below) we see a strong correlation.

World Ranking University

2. University of Cambridge
10. University of Oxford
23. Imperial College London
26. University College London
50. University of Manchester
52. University of Edinburgh
62. University of Bristol
69. University of Sheffield
79. University of Nottingham
83. Kings College London
90. University of Birmingham

Only Nottingham, Bristol and of course Oxford and Cambridge are top 100 Universities but not in the top 10 cities by size.

Which cities have large Chinese populations:

1. Birmingham,
2. Brighton,
3. Cambridge,
4. Edinburgh,
5. Liverpool,
6. London,
7. Manchester,
8. Milton Keynes,
9. Sheffield
10.Swansea

Source:

Again, there is a high correlation between the Universities with large populations, with large Chinese populations and being a top 10 UK University.

The Universities in all 3 groups are:

London,
Birmingham,
Manchester
Sheffield
Edinburgh

All of these Universities are included in our list of MSc Economics courses in the sidebar.

Other posts that may be of interest:

Which UK University to study in? "Academic Ranking of World Universities"

MSc Economics: Google listings and sponsored advertising

Studying "Economics in the UK": General Links

"MSc Economics": How much does it cost?

"MSc Economics": Google listings and sponsored advertising

As an academic with an interest in the economics of China and how Chinese students interact with overseas economics departments and Business Schools, it is evident that in the few years Chinese students have constituted a large and, until recently, growing percentage of all postgraduate students.

The implication therefore is that UK departments are increasingly financially dependent on the fees charged to Chinese students.

In earlier posts I have provided a ranking of UK Universities and provided a series of links for any overseas students thinking of studying economics at a UK University and a quick comparison of costs (the side bar of this blog also contains a large amount of information).

Which UK University to study in? "Academic Ranking of World Universities"
and
"MSc Economics": How much does it cost?
and
Studying "Economics in the UK": General Links

Obviously, by concentrating on only those UK Universities in the TOP 100 of the world Universities (plus a couple of notable others) I am emphasising institutional quality as well as subject specific quality.

Out of curiosity, in this post I will compare the top 100 ranking to the google lisiting when the search is for "MSc Economics". At the moment such a search throws up different University specific websites. On the right hand side of google however there is a list of courses that are paid for per click by the University. The higher up the list a course appears the greater the cost to each University.

In the grand scheme of things, at a cost of less that $1 a click, such advertising only needs to attract a couple of students (at current margins) to be highly profitable. However, an examination of advertising trends may also provide a good indication of which Universities are keen to attract overseas students. This may mean that these Universities are more Overseas-friendly or that they are simply more technically minded.

When the search is for: MSc Economics or Masters Economics or Postgraduate Economics the following UK Universities have paid for links:

1. Lancaster University Management School (advertising an MSc in International Business so not directly relevant).
2. University of Southampton
3. University of Birmingham
4. University of Exeter

What is interesting is that these searches come up with mainly UK and some EU institutions but little for the US (as a result of the structure of their degrees). All four of these Universities run excellent courses - apart from Birmingham none of them appear in the top 100 ranking but are excellent economics departments and highly regarded in the UK.

It is perhaps surprising that not more Universities use this route to advertise their courses. Reasons why they may not include:
1. Overseas student use different search engines or foreign language search engines.
2. They use the British Council website as a gateway (see sidebar links).
3. There is an inherent mistrust of sponsored links in google.
4. Universities tend to be relatively slow at embracing new technologies
5. Universities feel that they do not need to attract additional students my such methods.

When the main google search results are considered the Universities appearing on the front page are:

1. University of Warwick Economics Department
2. University of Warwick Business School
3. London School of Economics
4. University of Southampton
5. University of East Anglia

6. University of Exeter

These results suggest that the sponsored link route has helped Exeter and Southampton appear higher in the standard google search results. Warwick do well to appear twice and are in my listings in the sidebar with the LSE.

We will keep a check on developments in this area. The economics of google advertising are interesting in their own right. I suspect more Universities should consider such a move.

The next question we will examine is why, even though China is growing rapidly and the Chinese middle class is becoming larger, that Chinese student numbers appear to have plateaued or even begun to fall.

The following posts may be of interest:
Econphd Ranking of "Economics departments"

Ten Reasons Why You Should Study in Britain

RateUKcourses.com?

Studying "Economics in the UK": General Links

Which UK University to study in? "Academic Ranking of World Universities"

Studying in the UK: Cost of Accomodation

World University Rankings: Rankings and text

"UK University Ranking": large city effect

China's "Brain Drain": Education as a gateway to the West

An interesting piece on the BBC website that interviews 4 different Chinese ex-pats.

China's lost talent overseas

A report by the Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing suggests that China suffers from the world's most severe brain drain.

About two-thirds of Chinese who have studied abroad since the 1980s have chosen not to go back home, according to state media.

There is one example of a Chinese student who went to the UK for postgraduate study. Li Feng makes some excellent points - from an economics perspective it is all about supply and demand. For the UK, we are getting academically excellent students who are well motivated. In years to come informal networks between people will help the UK prosper in the globalised world.

We will post more on immigration and globalisation in the coming weeks.

I am from south-east China, not far from Shanghai. I came to the UK to do my Masters in 2004. After graduating a year later I got a job as a planning policy officer at a local district council.

I didn't leave China to find a better life abroad. To be honest, the life quality I had in China was much better than here. The reason for me to be here is to get knowledge and experience in a developed country.

Universities in China produce loads of graduates each year, the competition is very strong and it is very difficult to get a good job straight after university. You have to offer something more than the other graduates and it's all about wider experience.

China's growing integration with the rest of the world means that the need of multi-culturalism is more important than ever. Once equipped with experience and knowledge I plan to go back.

Many of those who started leaving from the 1980s until the late 1990s have chosen to stay abroad. The reason is that China used to be poor, whereas a foreign country could provide them with better career opportunities or at least a better life style.

Many people in China became rich in the last decade and unlike during previous decades, many can afford to go abroad now. Studying and working abroad is no longer just about fortune hunting, it's about life style.

If you read some reports on this, you will find that more and more overseas Chinese are continuously going back to contribute to the rapid economic development. China has never been so hungry for educated people and has started a movement to bring them back.

I think most of the Chinese people who live abroad would like to go back, at some point. The reason they keep on staying is perhaps of a more human nature - for fear of change, fear of losing what they've already got, fear of failure.

Life in the UK is very different from China. It's peaceful and there are fewer pressures. But there is a barrier - mostly because of cultural differences. It's difficult to make friends and belong to a community and I would find it difficult to make it a home.

Hat-tip: China's Brain Drain

Studying "Economics in the UK": General Links

We have spent some time talking about where to study for a "MSc in Economics" in the UK and the cost - in this post we provide all the general information required including information on Visas, English Language and much more.

"MSc Economics": How much does it cost?
and
Which UK University to study in? Academic Rankings

In this post we provide the other links that Chinese students will find useful when deciding on which country to study and where. Linked to this is the provision of English language teaching.

The most respected source of information is the British Council. Anything you read on the British Council website can be trusted. Links are now provided under GENERAL EDUCATION in the sidebar.

Some rules and hints:

(1) If you want to study English in the UK make sure you ONLY pick a course that is accredited by the British Council. British Council accredited English Courses.

(2) Make sure you follow the UK Visa application process closely and apply in time. This is the UK government site for UK Visa applications. UK Visas.

(3) When picking a course, if you are from China, make sure you check the British Council China site. At this site there is a lot of information in Chinese and you can select the course you want and it will provide a list of all recognised instutions. See the links below:

Full-time postgraduate economics courses in the UK (first 100 courses)

Full-time undergraduate economics courses in the UK (first 100 courses)

I reiterate - use these lists in conjunction with the World University Rankings.

As economists or would-be economists you should be thinking rationally - this means you should take an economics qualification that will maximise your life-time earnings. This means going to a Univerity that is world renowned and will have been heard of by potential employees (they may even have gone there themselves). Taking an undergraduate or postgraduate qualification in the UK is expensive. Make sure you make the right decision.

This will often mean going to big city Universities that have large science based departments and good international reputations.

The Universities included in the Postgraduate list in the sidebar should provide a good starting place.

(4) For information on other qualifications and other information about studying in the UK see the British Council Factsheets.

If you want to take an English Language course, Undergraduate and then postgraduate course it might be worth looking at those places that provide all three. You can work this out using the links above. We may post on this a later date but I would advise taking your Engish course at a well established University. This will give you a better feel for undergraduate or postgraduate life in the UK.

The following posts may be of interest:
Econphd Ranking of "Economics departments"

Ten Reasons Why You Should Study in Britain

RateUKcourses.com?

Studying "Economics in the UK": General Links

Which UK University to study in? "Academic Ranking of World Universities"

Studying in the UK: Cost of Accomodation

World University Rankings: Rankings and text

"UK University Ranking": large city effect

"MSc Economics": How much does it cost?

When any Chinese student or overseas student decides they want to study abroad (whether it is economics or any other subject) there are a number of considerations:

1. "The ranking of the University".
2. "The Ranking of the department".
3. The cost of the course.
4. The cost of living in the University city.
5. English language requirements and whether pre-course English courses are available.

We have already posted on issues (1) and (2) although there will be more on these in later postings, more specifically, rankings of individual economics departments.

Which UK University to study in? "Academic Ranking of World Universities"

In this post we look at the cost for each course. The Universities chosen are from the sidebar listings which include only those Universities that appear in the "Shanghai Jiao Tong University" TOP 100 Universities plus a couple of other Universities that score well for Social Sciences.

The UK Universities in the TOP 100 are can be seen in the above post.

Of those Universities with a 1 year MSc Economics programme below we compare the costs. Note that these costs are for OVERSEAS students. One reason for this post is that Universities seem to go out of there way to hide this information and it is rarely shown on the Economics pages themselves.

The costs are for the coming academic year, 2007/2008 unless stated.

University of Birmingham COST: £9,200
University of Bristol COST: £9,600
University of East Anglia COST: £8,995
University of Manchester COST: £9,500
University of Nottingham COST: £9,600
University of Sheffield COST: £9,450
University College London COST: £12,480 (for 2006/2007)
University of Warwick COST: £9,500


Given London is the most expensive place to live, the large discrepancy between the UCL price and the others is of come concern. The prices of the other courses are relatively similar. Given the that all MSc Economics courses cover largely the same material even these small cost differences are worth looking at.

On the cost of living, apart from London, all the other Universities are in locations and cities with similar levels of cost. Birmingham and Manchester are the big cities with large Chinese communities.

We will review individual cities in a later post.