Statistics show that in 2009-10, 310,525 students were studying at overseas institutions for first degrees certificated by UK universities, compared with 1,421,490 studying at universities in the UK.
Including postgraduates, of the 408,685 students studying for UK qualifications overseas, only 11,410 were on branch campuses of British universities in 2009-10. The remaining 397,275 students were studying through collaborative provision, either a franchise arrangement at a local institution (282,185), or through distance learning (115,010), or through other arrangements (80).
The figures point to a booming market in the franchising of curricula and learning material by UK universities to overseas partners.
The funding bodies instructed Hesa to begin collecting data on these students because they had become increasingly aware of the steady rise in their numbers over the previous 10 years.
The 2009-10 figures were up almost 10,000 on the previous year.
Percepts from: The Guardian
