BAC Newsletter

A message from Paul Fear

So, welcome to 2016 and what a year it is going to be. The international economy looks like it is slowing down, China appears to be entering a new era of slower growth and many other emerging markets seem to be following suit.

The UK education sector is facing increasing competition from other countries and the headwinds from the student visa changes are contributing to the difficulties of the sector. That’s the bad news. Now for the good news!

The British education sector continues to be highly regarded around the world. Internationally, there is increasing emphasis on improving the quality of education and training. This is opening up the doors of opportunity to British education and training institutions at all levels particularly for those institutions who have an international recruitment strategy in place.

BAC will be launching an international newsletter later on this month with a focus on Further and Higher Education. We will also be shortly advertising our webinar program for the first half of 2016. The majority of the webinars will be free to BAC accredited institutions and are designed to be informative and address the needs of BAC institutions. If you would like a topic addressed by BAC let us know but our webinars will be addressing topics as diverse as short term student visas through to digital marketing, the Prevent Strategy and Child Protection.

Other projects are now under way including the development of the BAC Knowledge Hub and the BAC Walled Garden project. The Hub is an information support system and the Walled Garden a forum designed to promote the sharing of good practice and supporting the development partnerships.

On January 1^st 2016 BAC took over the hosting of the secretariat for the Council of Validating Universities. The Council of Validating Universities promotes good practice between universities when establishing partnerships. We at BAC are looking forward to supporting and contributing to their work. More information can be found at the CVU website.

BAC Webinar - January 2016

We are running our first webinar titled Managing Short Term Study visas on 29 January 2016.
Please click here to book your place.
Cost: BAC accredited institutions: FREE; non BAC accredited institutions: £17.00

"All schools will be required to put in place strengthened measures to protect children from harm online - including cyber bullying, pornography and the risk of radicalisation - under plans unveiled by Education Secretary Nicky Morgan" (Source: Department for Education; 22 December 2015). For more information please go to the Government website.

"Ofsted is set to receive new powers to prepare prosecutions against those who run unregistered schools." (Source: Politicshome; 13 December 2015). For more information please go to the Politics Home website.

The Transcript of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee session assessing quality in Higher Education has been published and can viewed via the parliament website. (Source: data parliament; 8 December 2015)

UK INDUSTRY NEWS

"Undergraduates report little significant improvement in “soft” skills such as creativity and citizenship over the course of their university careers, according to a major survey that could form part of the teaching excellence framework." (Source: The THE; 10 December 2015). Fore further details please go to the THE website.

"Hootsuite has spoken to three prestigious universities in the UK to learn how they’re using campaigns and contests to engage youth, build trust, and enhance their brands.
- City University London drives engagement with #PhotoContests
- The University of Cambridge showcases their best assets with video
- The University of Salford builds a community with branded #hashtags"
(Source: Hootsuite; 3 December 2015)
For further details please go to the Hootsuite blog. You can also watch a webinar on demand on "How Social Media is Transforming Higher Education" by clicking here.

"The exam regulator, Ofqual, has announced proposals to toughen up the re-marking of A-level and GCSE exams, after figures showed a further huge increase in the number of pupils and schools appealing against results." (Source: The Guardian; 10 December 2015). For more details please go to the Guardian website. The 10 technological trends set to transform education.

"Key predictions from the Open University and SRI International report on the 10 technological trends set to transform education:
Crossover learning; learning through argumentation; incidental learning; context-based learning; computational thinking; learning by doing science with remote labs; embodied learning; adaptive learning; analytics of emotions & stealth assessment." (Source: THE; 3 December 2015). Fore more details please go to the THE website.

"79% of independent training providers are good or outstanding, Ofsted finds". (Source: AELP; 1 December 2015)

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Vicky Lewis, international higher education consultant has published a practical guide called "How to... use marketing effectively when establishing an international campus." (Source: HE Global; 21 December 2015). For more information please click here.

A guide called " Transnational education: a guide for creating partnerships with India" has been published. It aims to assist those UK institutions who might be considering TNE initiatives in India. (Source: HE Global; 21 December 2015). For more information please go to the HE Global website.

"The US and the UK will see their market shares of globally mobile students decline over the next decade as provision of education in traditional origin countries increases alongside their own ambitions to attract foreign students, according to a study by the British Council." (Source: the Pie News; 10 December 2015). For more details please go to the Pie News website.

"India will be home to the largest domestic higher education market by 2025, while China will remain the number one provider of international students globally, according to a study from the British Council." (Source: THE; 10 December 2015). For more information please go to the THE website.

Ofqual is consulting on new statutory guidance.
Deadline: 31 January 2015
For further details please go to the Government website.

"Foreign exchange rates have been shown to influence demand for study abroad:
- A number of currencies for key sending markets have declined in recent years, particularly against the US dollar and British pound.
- Over the past year, currencies in emerging education markets such as Turkey, Brazil, Malaysia, and Russia have all fallen sharply against the dollar and pound
- This has led to some price discounting, particularly in relatively undifferentiated programme categories, and, in some cases, to a shift in student demand to more affordable destinations."
(Source: ICEF Monitor; 9 December 2015). For more information please go to the ICEF website.

"Allowing private sector to flourish is the best route to vastly increase access to ‘good, not great’ higher education, BRICS and Emerging Economies Universities Summit hears." (Source: THE; 4 December 2015). For further details please go to the THE website.

"The new powers for Turkey's Higher Education Board (YÖK) give it the authority to close private universities “that have become a focal point for activities against the state’s indivisible integrity”, Today's Zaman newspaper has reported." (Source: THE; 1 December 2015). For further details please go to the THE website.

China - Xi'An-based Education company seeks study tours partners

An education company in Xi’an seeks cooperation with UK education organisations or travel agencies can provide study tour services.
Deadline: 30 January 2016
For more information please go to the Export Is Great website.

China - Education institute seeks a partner to host training programme.

An education institute is seeking a UK institution to host a training programme for its teachers.
This Chinese educational institute is specialised in mechanical and electrical engineering.
Deadline: 15/02/2016
For more information please got to the Export is Great website.

China - Opportunity to jointly establish a vocational training base in China

An education institute is looking for an education partner to jointly open a new vocational training base in China.
This Chinese educational institute is specialised in mechanical and electrical engineering.
Deadline: 15/02/2016
For more information please go to the Export Is Great website.

China - Leading shoe brand seeks cooperation with design institutions

An East China shoe company seeks cooperation with UK educational institutions that specialised in design education.
Deadline: 31/03/2016
For more information please go to the Export Is Great website.

R&I Morning Symposium 'Partnerships in international Higher Education in China:understanding changes in East-West alliances' Led by Dr Catherine Montgomery from the University of Hull
26 January 2016
London

For further information please go to the Universities' Council for the Education of Teachers website.

EHEA workshops: strategic partnerships and capacity building
Organised by the British Council
Edinburgh - Tuesday 26 January 2016
Cardiff - Thursday 28 January 2016
Birmingham - Tuesday 2 February 2016

The workshops are relevant to anyone planning to submit proposals for funding under the Erasmus+ Programme Key Action 2 – Strategic Partnerships and Capacity Building in Higher Education; academics, international office staff, student union officers and staff and anyone responsible for developing, delivering, and supporting international partnerships and collaboration.
Please click here for more information and to book.

2016 BMI Fairs & Workshops
(February- March 2016)
(For international students recruitments)

GOVERNMENT AND POLICY NEWS

OPPORTUNITIES

UPCOMING EVENTS