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Annual Review 2014-15

The UK Council for International Student Affairs is the UK’s national

advisory body serving the interests of international students and

those who work with them.

It does so through research, print and web-based publications, a

national training programme, dedicated advice lines for students

and advisers, and liaison and advocacy with institutions, agencies

and government.

Its aims are to:

� increase support for international education and raise awareness

of its values and benefits

� promote opportunities for, and identify and work to reduce

obstacles and barriers to, greater student mobility

� encourage best practice, professional development and the

highest quality of institutional support for international students

throughout the education sector

UKCISA’s membership includes:

� every university in the UK

� the majority of publicly funded higher and further education

colleges which are active internationally

� a number of independent schools and private colleges and

� a range of specialist and representative bodies

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I am delighted to say that this year, partly as a result

of our new series of Regional Conferences in four

locations throughout the UK, more colleagues (over

2,000) attended UKCISA events than at any time in

the past. 

UKCISA exists to ensure that all international

students get the best possible support and

experience from our universities and colleges (and

communities) - and the vast majority do. It is one of

the UK’s great success stories, helping to transform

lives and building friends and networks throughout

the world.

Sadly though the other main story for this year

has, once again, been the negative rhetoric around

student visas and migration and yet more tightening

of the rules with some students fearing that the

UK might no longer be the right place for them

and institutions becoming increasingly cautious

over their admissions fearing possible loss of their

licences.

� Over 70 colleges lost theirs last summer (with

three universities also affected) following the

revelation of widespread abuse of one English

language test and 6,000 students had their

courses discontinued.

� Following that the government announced

that institutions’ visa refusal rates were to be

reduced from 20% to 10% causing concern at

the possible loss of other sponsorship licences

- despite the best efforts of recruitment and

admissions staff.

� In March the government reduced the number of

SELT (Secure English Language Tests) providers

to only one overseas (and two in the UK) making

it more difficult for students to access test

centres in their locality.

� The Immigration Act introduced a new

Immigration Health Charge (IHC) widely affecting

international students and a pilot (or first phase)

of a mandatory scheme requiring landlords

to check their immigration permission prior to

tenancy agreements.

� Early in 2015, a new procedure was introduced

requiring non-EU students (and ‘other migrants’)

to collect Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs),

largely from Post Offices, within 10 days of their

Introduction Professor Paul Webley

Director, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and Chair, UKCISA Board of Trustees

15 May 2015

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arrival, which we feared would create extensive

queuing and confusion – although we have now

managed to have some of these procedures

modified.

� And throughout the year, debates have continued

about the damage done by the abolition of the

Post-Study Work scheme with reports published

in both Westminster and Scotland calling for

such a scheme to be re-established.

Given all these challenges it is perhaps remarkable

that the UK has continued to recruit as well as it has

with higher education numbers increasing - but only

by some 3% between 2012-13 and 2013-14. We

are concerned that this growth is modest compared

to many competitor countries, that there was also

a further decline in the numbers of students in

both public and private further education colleges

(traditionally also ‘feeders’ into HE) and as we are

yet to see the full impact of the most recent visa

related changes from restricted English language

tests to the immigration health charge.

That is why, with the general election in prospect,

we produced in February what we called our

Manifesto for International Students – a summary

of the main areas which we believe need change

to make the UK once again the most attractive and

welcoming country any international student could

choose.

These are aspects which we believe need urgent attention by the new government as there is now increasing evidence that many in Westminster and Whitehall believe that the time has indeed come to remove students entirely from the immigration debate and recognise fully their value and importance.

These recommendations will therefore be our

priorities over the coming year - and to ensure that

our member institutions can invest less time in often

unnecessary compliance and much more in giving

international students the experience and support

they expect and deserve.

I am, as usual, extremely grateful to the Department

for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and to the

Scottish Government for their financial support, to

the members of our Board and advisory committees

and to every individual in member institutions

throughout the country who do so much for us, for

international students and for the UK.

England 355,580

(19%)

Northern Ireland 5,950 (11%)

Scotland 48,360(21%)

Wales 25,610 (19%)

For details of students in FE colleges and schools, see www.ukcisa.org.uk/members/fe-stats

International students in UK higher education

A manifesto for international students Key principles and recommendations

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The whole of government needs to recognise and celebrate the financial, cultural and intellectual value of international students to the UK.

After a period of reform, international students should now be excluded from all further policy and debate on reducing net migration.

The rules and procedures governing international students have become so complex that they now require fundamental review.

Further measures being introduced by the Immigration Act need to be carefully monitored and if found to be counter-productive, urgently withdrawn.

Part-time work entitlements for international students need to be standardized.

All students at graduate or postgraduate level should be entitled to a limited period of post study work in the UK (and/or longer on their current visas to find Tier 2 jobs).

No student who has not been found to be at fault should have their visa curtailed merely because their sponsor has lost their licence.

All students should have access to some form of student protection scheme and independent arbitration when disputes cannot be resolved internally.

All students to be eligible for visa concessions and special support at times of national crisis or when faced with particular difficulties.

Government should develop and implement a global communications campaign and clear strategy to re-assure international students that they are welcome in the UK.

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Immigration policy and practiceDebate continued throughout the year over aspects of what became the Immigration Act 2014. We were instrumental in putting forward evidence why international students should pay a lower Immigration Health Charge, why those in at least university managed accommodation should be exempt from landlord immigration checks and on the operation of the new Administrative Review system (once appeal rights for leave to remain refusals were abolished).

For six months from July 2014, we worked with others on the Sponsorship Working Group to assist the 6,000 or so students at the 70 institutions whose courses had been discontinued once their licences had been revoked.

We presented evidence to the Home Office of the severe problems at first encountered when credibility interviews were introduced in the UK, with students often required to travel hundreds of miles unnecessarily, resulting in a much improved system (although one which we still question in principle). We also published extensive guidance on the other main rule changes – from the reduction in the HTS refusal rate, to the new SELT requirements - and achieved significant improvements to the original plan for the distribution of Biometric Residence Permits.

We presented evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Migration for their Inquiry into Post-Study Work and worked closely with a similar inquiry and report in Scotland. Both concluded that students, institutions and indeed UK employers all wanted to see some form of scheme re-established as a matter of urgency.

Many of these issues and concerns were then brought together and highlighted in our Manifesto which was sent to every institutional member in the country, to the press, to over 40 senior government contacts and to nearly 100 MPs and Members of the House of Lords.

Training and professional developmentOver the course of the year nearly 1,200 colleagues from throughout the country attended the 43 training events in our national programme (a slight reduction to the previous year which saw nearly record highs) plus 200 more at our ‘in-house’ courses which we arranged for individual institutions. In addition over 400 colleagues attended our Annual Conference in Liverpool including representatives from the FCO, Home Office, British Council and other sector bodies and agencies.

Priorities and achievements in 2014-15

KEY PRIORITIES FOR THE YEAR � To give maximum support and guidance to all those interpreting and administering the

increasingly complex immigration rules and guidance � To expand our training and support to professional development with a new series of

regional conferences bringing members together locally to debate challenges and review aspects of good practice.

� To expand our communications and ‘reach’ to both students themselves and to many more in institutions – and students’ unions - who deal with any aspect of international student affairs and

� To develop and disseminate to members and to key contacts in Whitehall and Westminster our Manifesto for International Students, in a general election year, with principles and recommendations for how the UK could improve its support and welcome to international students to ensure that every student felt that the UK was, after a period of quite radical visa reform, the very best place for them to study.

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New for this year, however, was our series of regional conferences – in Edinburgh, Bristol, Manchester and London. These were both hugely popular, attracting over 300, and clearly much appreciated by members, many of whom were attending a UKCISA event for the very first time. They therefore achieved our purpose of reaching out to a much wider community of practitioners – from welfare to recruitment to compliance – expanded our profile within institutions and provided all participants with an opportunity to hear from specialists and to pool their knowledge, experience and expertise.

We continued to support – and teach on – the University of Nottingham/UKCISA Postgraduate Certificate in International Student Support and Advice which is increasingly being recognised as the specialist qualification in these aspects. We introduced a new Immigration Module to our own online, self access (and free to members) course, ‘Understanding International’ and commissioned updates and new material to be ready by this summer.

We also trained on or presented at over a dozen external events run by the Association of Managers of Student Services in Higher Education (AMOSSHE), the British Council, the British Universities Liaison Association (BUILA), the National Union of Students (NUS), the Westminster Higher Education Forum and groups representing colleges and schools.

Resources and support to good practiceWe continue to support the work of the Association of International Student Advisors (AISA) and this year helped to form the new Immigration Compliance Network (ICN) bringing together all those who work in this field.

Large parts of our guidance material were re-written for the 2015 UKCISA Manual which is now over 800 pages, with various separate sections on Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and is sent free to every member with multiple copies to those with large numbers of international students. We also send complimentary copies to all the senior officials in government departments and agencies with whom we work and in terms of student visas, fee status and student support, the Manual is without doubt seen as the reference document for anyone advising on these aspects.

In addition we updated on three occasions during the year our Overview of the Student Immigration Rules which is freely available to all on our website

and issued Special Briefings each time there were major changes to the rules, policy or guidance.

We helped to coordinate comments on the QAA’s (Quality Assurance Agency’s) new guide, ‘International Students in the UK’. We supported the production and arranged for the distribution of a major new report from the University of Warwick, ‘Promoting integration on campus’ which was launched at the third annual Warwick/UKCISA/NUS ‘Integration Summit’ in May. We gave further financial support to upgrade various aspects of the hugely successful ‘Prepare for Success’ website which we initially helped to fund and create and which has since had over a million visitors from some 230 countries and over 300,000 in the last year.

Additional support has also been given to a second web resource for students, the International Student Calculator, to the NUS/UKCISA Internationalisation Awards which recognise good practice by institutional and student union staff and we also sponsored, in April 2014, one of the main ‘Game Changer’ Awards, running up to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, recognising outstanding international work in universities or colleges across Scotland.

Advice lines, website and communications Over the year our Advice and Training team answered nearly 3,500 queries on our members’ advice line (78% on immigration and 19% on fee status) and a slightly higher figure (3,700) on the free advice line for students and the general public.

This is clearly an important and very valued service for more complex queries although in many ways we are pleased that the number of calls has reduced over the last few years with many questions now answered by more extensive and more accessible information on our website. There is also some evidence that the institutions that pay for the Home Office’s Premium Account Management service now use this for a range of compliance related questions which enables us to focus more on student specific issues.

The website has therefore grown in importance with traffic increasing by nearly 25%, following extensive recent investment and the country profile shows, once again, that usage largely mirrors main ‘source countries’.

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Our research shows that students are, however, increasingly accessing websites via mobiles and tablets and therefore we have been developing a responsive site for the student area of the UKCISA website, to be launched in the summer, to enable them to do so.

Online, we sent 90 e-news notices (nearly two per week) to over 2,500 member contacts with information on rule changes, events, government policy and wider international education initiatives. We have expanded our presence on Facebook and Twitter and members increasingly used our Forum to post comments and queries to each other on issues around compliance, good practice, helping students faced with emergencies or disasters at home, additional sources of information or advice, community links and organisations or helpful contacts in the UK or overseas.

Membership

Membership has remained largely stable and still includes every university in the UK, the majority of further education colleges which are active internationally and a wide range of advice centres, agencies and sector bodies. Sadly a small number of colleges have now left either because they have closed or are no longer offering courses to students who require Tier 4 visas as the requirements are now too onerous. We launched, however, a new initiative this year offering free membership to students’ unions who do not provide immigration advice (in addition to full membership to those who do) to ensure we reach as many as possible resulting in a significant increase.

In addition we had 17 courtesy associates (including partner bodies overseas), seven subscribers (largely agents who only have access to certain services) and seven Honorary Life Members.

31 March 2015

31 March 2014

Further education 183 195

Higher education 206 202

Students’ unions 67 44

Other (eg voluntary and corporate organisations)

34 39

Total 492 480

Higher education

(206)

Further education(183)

Students’ unions

(67)

Other*(34)

(*eg voluntary and corporate organisations)

UKCISA membership as at 31 March 2015

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United States 95,700

India 84,321

Pakistan 31,586

Canada 25,874Nigeria 25,173

Malaysia 27,588

Hong Kong 20,169China 18,576Singapore 18,563

UK 1,113,917

Other countries 480,482

Total number of visits to website over the year: 1,941,949

0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000

Student support

Home page

Home or Overseas fees?

Latest news for students

Fee status in England HE

News

Applying for a Tier 4 (General) visa

Definitions for fee status assessment

Working during your studies

Evidence needed with application

Most viewed website pages by topic

Visitors to the UKCISA website by country

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1. Take every opportunity, in partnership with other education sector bodies, to press for changes to the rhetoric on international students and improvements to the rules and procedures, as outlined in the principles and recommendations of UKCISA’s ‘Manifesto for International Students’.

2. Give additional support to members and students on recent and forthcoming changes to visa related policy and procedures including immigration checks by landlords, the immigration health charge, the abolition of appeals and the new requirement to collect Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs), on arrival in the UK.

3. Continue to provide clear and effective analyses, information and advice on each of the four UK countries’ regulations governing fee status for both higher education and further education courses via our advice lines, web materials and training courses.

4. Arrange for our Students’ Advice Line – an entirely free service open to all – to be available every weekday afternoon and for our Members’ Advice Line to be available again every day with additional sessions on two days of the week.

5. Continue to offer a national training programme of at least 40 courses during the year, in the four most popular locations (Birmingham, Edinburgh, London and Manchester), plus a range of ‘in-house’ courses at the request of individual institutions and continue to support the University of Nottingham/UKCISA Postgraduate Certificate.

6. Repeat the recently introduced series of Regional Conferences, which bring members together to discuss current issues and good practice and attract 400 delegates to the Annual Conference at the University of Sussex in July.

7. Enhance our communications activity in all areas to raise the profile of UKCISA and reach wider audiences (including contacts in the press, member institutions, students and students’ unions); expand our information on the student experience  and increase our commentary on student related policy and issues.

8. Continue to invest in further improvements to our website which is increasingly used as the primary source of advice by members and students, moving all information on to a responsive site basis so that it can easily be accessed from tablets and mobiles.

9. Publish new or revised guides to good practice; work with students’ unions to ensure sabbatical officers are well briefed on international student issues; and support a range of other events focussed on enhancing the quality of the international student experience.

10. Reach out to a wider audience internationally and support the UK presence at the NAFSA conference in Boston (in May), the British Council’s Going Global conference (in June), the European Association for International Education’s conference in Glasgow in September and other major international events in the UK and overseas.

Priorities for 2015-1631 March 2015

31 March 2014

Further education 183 195

Higher education 206 202

Students’ unions 67 44

Other (eg voluntary and corporate organisations)

34 39

Total 492 480

Agreed by the Board of Trustees, February 2015

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We are also now hoping to develop and announce a new UKCISA grants scheme to encourage and enable member institutions to research or develop some aspects of their international student services leading to reports of benefit to all with the sector.

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Higher educationAberystwyth UniversityAmerican Institute For Foreign Study (Uk)Amity University [In] LondonAnglia Ruskin UniversityAnglo Educational ServicesAnglo-European College of ChiropracticArcadia University, The College of Global StudiesArts University BournemouthAston UniversityBangor UniversityBath Spa UniversityBirkbeck College (University of London)Birmingham City UniversityBishop Grosseteste University Boston University British ProgrammesBournemouth UniversityBPP University LTDBritish School of OsteopathyBrunel UniversityBuckinghamshire New UniversityCanterbury Christ Church UniversityCardiff Metropolitan UniversityCardiff UniversityCentral School of Speech and DramaCity UniversityConservatoire For Dance and DramaCornell/Brown/Penn UK CentreCourtauld Institute of ArtCoventry UniversityCoventry Unversity CollegeCranfield UniversityDe Montfort UniversityEdge Hill UniversityEdinburgh International CollegeEdinburgh Napier UniversityEUSAFalmouth UniversityFlorida State University London Study CentreFoundation For International EducationGlasgow Caledonian UniversityGlasgow School of ArtGlyndwr University WrexhamGoldsmiths College (University of London)Greenwich School of ManagementGrinnell CollegeGuildhall School of Music and DramaHansard SocietyHarlaxton CollegeHarper Adams UniversityHeriot-Watt UniversityHeythrop College, University of LondonHICHult International Business SchoolIES Abroad (Institute for the International Education of Students)Imperial College LondonInstitute of Cancer ResearchInternational College PortsmouthInternational College Robert Gordon UniversityInternational College Wales SwanseaIthaca CollegeKaplan Holborn CollegeKeele UniversityKensington College of BusinessKing’s College London (University of London)Kingston UniversityLancaster UniversityLeeds Beckett UniversityLeeds College of ArtLeeds Trinity UniversityLiverpool Hope UniversityLiverpool Institute For Performing ArtsLiverpool John Moores UniversityLiverpool School of Tropical MedicineLondon Brunel International College London Business SchoolLondon Metropolitan UniversityLondon School of Business and Management

London School of CommerceLondon School of Economics and Political ScienceLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical MedicineLondon South Bank UniversityLoughborough UniversityMagna Carta CollegeManchester Metropolitan UniversityMiddlesex UniversityNewbold CollegeNewcastle UniversityNewman University Northumbria UniversityNorwich University of the ArtsNottingham Trent UniversityNYU in LondonOxford Brookes UniversityPlymouth University International CollegeQueen Margaret UniversityQueen Mary, University of LondonQueen’s University BelfastRavensbourneRegent’s University LondonRichmond - the American International University In LondonRobert Gordon UniversityRoehampton UniversityRose Bruford CollegeRoyal Academy of MusicRoyal Agricultural UniversityRoyal College of ArtRoyal College of MusicRoyal Conservatoire of ScotlandRoyal Holloway (University of London)Royal Northern College of MusicRoyal Veterinary CollegeSchool of Advanced StudySchool of Oriental and African Studies (University Of London)Sheffield Hallam UniversitySheffield International CollegeSouthampton Solent UniversitySt Clare’s, OxfordSt George’s, University of LondonSt Mary’s University Staffordshire UniversitySwansea UniversitySyracuse UniversityTeesside UniversityThe Aga Khan University InternationalThe Institute of Contemporary Music PerformanceThe London Film SchoolThe Open UniversityThe University of BirminghamThe University of LawThe University of NorthamptonTrinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and DanceTufts in LondonUniversity Campus SuffolkUniversity College LondonUniversity For the Creative ArtsUniversity of AberdeenUniversity of Abertay, DundeeUniversity of BathUniversity of BedfordshireUniversity of BoltonUniversity of BradfordUniversity of BrightonUniversity of BristolUniversity of BuckinghamUniversity of California Education Abroad ProgrammeUniversity of CambridgeUniversity of Central LancashireUniversity of ChesterUniversity of ChichesterUniversity of Connecticut In LondonUniversity of CumbriaUniversity of DerbyUniversity of DundeeUniversity of DurhamUniversity of East Anglia

UKCISA members and subscribers

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University of East LondonUniversity of EdinburghUniversity of EssexUniversity of ExeterUniversity of GlasgowUniversity of GloucestershireUniversity of GreenwichUniversity of HertfordshireUniversity of HuddersfieldUniversity of HullUniversity of KentUniversity of LeedsUniversity of LeicesterUniversity of LincolnUniversity of LiverpoolUniversity of ManchesterUniversity of MarylandUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel HillUniversity of NottinghamUniversity of OxfordUniversity of PlymouthUniversity of PortsmouthUniversity of ReadingUniversity of SalfordUniversity of SheffieldUniversity of South WalesUniversity of SouthamptonUniversity of St AndrewsUniversity of St Mark & St JohnUniversity of StirlingUniversity of StrathclydeUniversity of SunderlandUniversity of SurreyUniversity of SussexUniversity of the Arts LondonUniversity of the Highlands and IslandsUniversity of the West Of EnglandUniversity of the West Of ScotlandUniversity of UlsterUniversity of Wales: Trinity Saint DavidUniversity of WarwickUniversity of West LondonUniversity of WestminsterUniversity of WinchesterUniversity of WolverhamptonUniversity of WorcesterUniversity of YorkWest Dean CollegeWest London CollegeWrittle CollegeYork St John University

Further educationAbbey College BirminghamAbbey College CambridgeAbbey College ManchesterAbingdon & Witney CollegeAccess to MusicActivate Learning GroupAl-Maktoum College of Higher EducationAshton Sixth Form CollegeAylesbury CollegeBarnet and Southgate CollegeBarnsley CollegeBasingstoke College of TechnologyBath AcademyBedford CollegeBelfast Metropolitan CollegeBell Educational ServicesBellerbys College BrightonBellerbys College CambridgeBellerbys College LondonBellerbys College OxfordBexhill 6th Form CollegeBirmingham Metropolitan CollegeBlackburn CollegeBlackpool and the Fylde CollegeBoston CollegeBournemouth & Poole CollegeBournville CollegeBracknell & Wokingham CollegeBradford CollegeBridgwater CollegeBrockenhurst CollegeBromley College of Further and Higher EducationBrooke House CollegeBurton and South Derbyshire CollegeCambridge Centre for Sixth-form StudiesCambridge Regional CollegeCambridge Ruskin International College

Cambridge Tutors CollegeCardiff and Vale CollegeCarmarthenshire CollegeCentral Bedfordshire CollegeCentral College NottinghamChelmsford CollegeChichester CollegeCity and Islington CollegeCity College Brighton and HoveCity College NorwichCity College PlymouthCity of Bath CollegeCity of Bristol CollegeCity of Glasgow CollegeCity of London CollegeCity of Sunderland CollegeCity of Westminster CollegeColchester InstituteColeg CambriaCollege of Haringey, Enfield and North East LondonCollege of North West LondonCornwall CollegeCroydon CollegeDLD College LondonDoncaster CollegeD’Overbroeck’s CollegeDudley CollegeDundee & Angus CollegeEaling, Hammersmith & West London CollegeEast Berkshire CollegeEdinburgh CollegeEnglish National Ballet SchoolEpping Forest CollegeExeter CollegeFarnborough College of TechnologyFootballCV AcademyFoundationCampus LondonGlasgow Kelvin CollegeGloucestershire College Gower College SwanseaGreenwich Community CollegeGrimsby Institute of Further and Higher EducationGrwp Llandrillo MenaiGrwp NPTC GroupGuildford CollegeHarrow CollegeHartpury CollegeHavering College of Further and Higher EducationHenley CollegeHighbury College, PortsmouthHilderstone CollegeHull CollegeInsight StudyUKInternational House LondonInternational House ManchesterInternational School of Creative ArtsINTO ManchesterItchen CollegeJohn Leggott CollegeKaplan International College BournemouthKaplan International College LondonKensington and Chelsea CollegeKingston CollegeLancaster and Morecambe CollegeLeeds City CollegeLeeds College of MusicLeeds English Language SchoolLeicester CollegeLewisham Southwark CollegeLincoln CollegeLoughborough CollegeLowestoft CollegeMalvern HouseMid Kent CollegeMilton Keynes CollegeMPW LondonNescotNew College DurhamNew College LanarkshireNew College NottinghamNewbury Hall SchoolNewcastle CollegeNewcastle-Under-Lyme CollegeNewham College of Further EducationNorth East Scotland CollegeNorthampton CollegeNorthbrook College SussexOaklands CollegePembrokeshire CollegePeterborough Regional College

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Plymouth College of ArtQueen Mary’s CollegeRichard Huish CollegeRichmond Adult Community CollegeRichmond Upon Thames CollegeRochester Independent CollegeSandwell CollegeSchumacher CollegeSEEVIC CollegeShrewsbury College of Arts & TechnologySolihull CollegeSomerset College of Arts & TechnologySouth Devon CollegeSouth Essex College of Further and Higher EducationSouth Gloucestershire and Stroud CollegeSouth Leicestershire CollegeSouth Thames CollegeSouthport CollegeSRUCSt Brendan’s Sixth Form CollegeSt Edmund’s CollegeSt Helens CollegeSuffolk New CollegeSussex Coast College HastingsSussex Downs CollegeSwindon CollegeTelford College of Arts & TechnologyThe City CollegeThe College of Richard CollyerThe Liverpool School of EnglishThe Manchester CollegeThe Oldham CollegeThe Sheffield CollegeTower Hamlets CollegeTresham College of Further and Higher EducationTruro CollegeTwin Towers English CollegeUniversity College BirminghamUxbridge CollegeWakefield CollegeWalsall CollegeWaltham Forest CollegeWarwickshire CollegeWest College ScotlandWest Herts CollegeWest Kent and Ashford CollegeWest Thames CollegeWestminster Kingsway CollegeWeymouth CollegeWigan and Leigh CollegeWiltshire CollegeWirral Metropolitan CollegeWorcester Sixth Form CollegeWorthing CollegeWyggeston & Queen Elizabeth I CollegeYeovil CollegeYork College

Students’ unionsAberdeen University Students’ AssociationAston Students’ UnionBath Spa University Students’ UnionBeds SUBirmingham City University Students’ UnionCambridge University Students’ UnionCardiff Met Students’ UnionCoventry University Students’ UnionDe Montfort University Students’ Union LimitedEdge Hill Students’ UnionHeriot Watt University Student Union Heythrop Students’ UnionHull University UnionKeele University Students’ UnionLancaster University Students’ UnionLeeds Beckett Students’ UnionLeeds University UnionLondon School of Economics & Political Science Students’ UnionLoughborough Students UnionMiddlesex University Students’ UnionNapier Students’ AssociationNewcastle University Students’ UnionOxford Brookes Students’ UnionOxford University Student UnionQE Students’ UnionQueen Mary, University of London Students’ UnionReading University Students’ UnionRoyal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Students’ UnionRoyal Veterinary College Students’ UnionSchool of Oriental and African Studies Students’ UnionSheffield Hallam University Union of Students

Staffordshire University Students’ UnionStudents’ Union at Bournemouth UniversityStudents’ Union Royal Holloway University of LondonSwansea University Students’ UnionTeesside University Students’ UnionUniversity College London UnionUniversity of Aberystwyth Guild Of StudentsUniversity of Bath Students’ UnionUniversity of Birmingham Guild Of StudentsUniversity of Bolton Students’ UnionUniversity of Bradford Students’ UnionUniversity of Bristol Students’ UnionUniversity of Central Lancashire Students’ UnionUniversity of Durham Students’ UnionUniversity of Essex Students’ UnionUniversity of Glasgow SrcUniversity of Gloucestershire Students’ UnionUniversity of Kent Students’ UnionUniversity of Leicester Students’ UnionUniversity of Lincoln Students’ UnionUniversity of Northampton Students’ UnionUniversity of Nottingham Students’ UnionUniversity of Plymouth Students’ UnionUniversity of Sheffield Students’ UnionUniversity of Stirling Students’ UnionUniversity of Sunderland Students’ UnionUniversity of Sussex Students’ UnionUniversity of the Arts London Students’ UnionUniversity of Warwick Students’ UnionUniversity of West London Students’ UnionUniversity of Westminster Students’ UnionUniversity of Wolverhampton Students’ UnionUniversity of York Students’ UnionUWE Students’ UnionWorcester Students’ UnionYork St John Students’ Union

Other organisations and individualsACCAAssociation For Student Residential AccommodationAssociation of American Study Abroad Programmes (AASAP/UK)Association of CollegesAssociation of Commonwealth UniversitiesBrit Ed LimitedBritish Accreditation Council For Independent Further & Higher EducationBritish CouncilCambridge Education Group - Head OfficeChapter 1Christine HumfreyEndsleigh Insurance Services LtdEnglish UKETS Global UKEurostudies (Bournemouth) LtdGoodenough CollegeGraduate Study OptionsGuildHEIDP Education (UK) LtdInstitute of Japanese StudiesInternational Society ManchesterInternational Students’ HouseNational Union of StudentsNorthern Consortium UKOffice of Educational Affairs, the Royal Thai EmbassyParagon LawPenningtons Manches LLPPestalozzi International Village TrustScape Student LivingScottish Social Services CouncilStudy Across the Pond LLCStudy Connect UK LtdStudy UK Association LtdTimothy SellerTotal Student Care (TSC)UNIACUnited Arab Emirates EmbassyUniversities and Colleges Admissions ServiceUniversities UkUS-UK Fulbright CommissionZebra Housing Association

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A copy of UKCISA’s full Annual Report and Accounts is available at www.ukcisa.org.uk/annual_report

UKCISA’s Board of Trustees (as at 1 May 2015)

PresidentBaroness Usha Prashar CBE

ChairProfessor Paul Webley Director, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

MembersJames Kennedy, Director of the International Office, University of Warwick (Treasurer)Tim Benford, Chief Executive, University of West of England Students’ UnionSharon Bolton, Head of International Student Support, Imperial College LondonMarianne Davies, Head of Immigration Services, University of WarwickPhil Davies, Principal, City College PlymouthMary Denyer, Assistant Secretary & Head of Scholarship Administration, Marshall Aid Commemoration CommissionMario Di Clemente, Principal, CATS College LondonKate Dodd, Academic Registrar, University of YorkEuan Fergusson, International Student Support Manager, University of EdinburghNigel Healey, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International), Nottingham Trent UniversityIan MacLellan, Student Support and Wellbeing Manager, University of StrathclydeHelen McClure, Head of Pathway Sales, Bell Educational ServicesShreya Paudel, International Students Officer, National Union of StudentsAlex Proudfoot, Chief Executive, Study UK Association LtdPaul Rossi, Head of Student Advice and Funding, University of the Arts LondonNiru Williams, Deputy Academic Registrar, University of East London

Organisations with observer status: Association of Colleges, Association of International Student Advisers, BUILA, English UK, National Union of Students, GuildHE, and Universities UK

UKCISA StaffDominic Scott OBE Chief Executive

Duncan Lane Director of Advice and TrainingChristopher Benjamin Advice and Training OfficerDeepa Chadha Advice and Training OfficerKate Handforth Advice and Training OfficerVictoria Everett Advice and Training OfficerLaurence Keir-Thomas Advice and Training OfficerSarah Rimmington Advice and Training Officer

Julie Allen Director of Policy and ServicesSo-Ha Au Membership and Web AssistantWill Burton Training AdministratorMatthew King Communications OfficerArne Sjögren Web and Publications OfficerJennie Twydell Membership Officer

John Tuck FCA Director of Finance and ResourcesFlorence Lubega Receptionist and Publications AssistantBen Miller Williams Finance and Resources OfficerJudy Theophanous Finance Administrator

UKCISA’s total income in 2014-15 was £1,369,597, a decrease of £9,178 (0.7%) on the previous year. As in previous years, UKCISA has maintained a good balance of its different income sources.

The Grant-in-Aid from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (£310,000) and the grant from the Scottish Government (£40,000) were maintained at the levels of the previous year. Taken together, they represent approximately 26% of UKCISA’s total income and make an important contribution to UKCISA’s financial stability.

UKCISA’s own activities generate approximately 74% of its total income. Membership subscriptions were £616,321 in 2014-15, an increase of £3,847 (0.6%) on the previous year. Overall membership numbers were slightly up on the previous year, but this was accounted for by an increase in Student Union membership, the majority of which was in the category for which UKCISA makes no charge. In addition, the increase in fee levels was held below inflation, but an increase in international students at member institutions accounted for the overall net increase in subscription income. Income from the training programme and annual conference was £380,964 in 2014-15, a decrease of £10,912 (2.8%) on the previous year. The principal cause of the overall reduction in income was that slightly fewer courses were offered in 2014-15 than in 2013-14.

Grant-in-aid

Scottish Government

Membership subscriptions

Training and conferences

Other income

£310,00023%

£40,0003%

£616,32145%

£380,96427%

£22,3122%

£863,59766%

£34,0682%

£171,73513%

£165,14713%

£35,2343% £18,100

1%

£19,9522%

Staff costs

Training & conference costs

Establishment costs

Other costs

Projects’ costs

Publications’ costs

Depreciation of fixed assets

UKCISA’s total expenditure in 2014-15 was £1,307,833, an increase of £1,265 (0.1%) on the previous year.

As in previous years, Staff costs represented the largest cost category - £863,597, or 66% of total costs. These represent the whole staff cost of all of UKCISA’s activities: advice, delivery of training, conference organisation, representation and internal organisation. Training and conference costs were £171,735 in 2014-15, but represent only the direct, non-staff costs of these activities. Establishment costs were £165,147 in 2014-15 and cover all the non-staff direct operational costs including: premises, IT infrastructure, travel and office equipment.

UKCISA made an operating surplus of £61,764 in 2014-15, a decrease of £10,443 on the previous year. As in previous years, the operating surplus will be added to reserves to continue to provide a sound financial base for UKCISA’s future activities.

12

Financial overview

Grant-in-aid

Scottish Government

Membership subscriptions

Training and conferences

Other income

£310,00023%

£40,0003%

£616,32145%

£380,96427%

£22,3122%

£863,59766%

£34,0682%

£171,73513%

£165,14713%

£35,2343% £18,100

1%

£19,9522%

Staff costs

Training & conference costs

Establishment costs

Other costs

Projects’ costs

Publications’ costs

Depreciation of fixed assets

How we spent our money in 2014-15

Where our income came from in 2014-15

Where our income came from in 2014-15

Preliminary financial results only. Subject to audit and approval by the Board of Trustees.

How we spent our money in 2014-15

Our Year in NumbersAdvice, support and information for students and members:

contacts receiving our members’ e-news

1,941,949visitors to

our website

calls to our Student Advice Line

calls to our Members’ Advice Line

3,700

3,500

number of new sign-ups to our online training resource Understanding International

490UKCISA members

370 number of people on our PG Certificate International Student Advice and Support course(with our partner the University of Nottingham)

1390e-news mailings

@

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Training and events:

800+ number of pages in the UKCISA Manual 2,500@

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people attending UKCISA events

2,000+ regional conferences

4

43 UKCISA training events

people at regional conferences attending their first UKCISA event

35%

people attending our training events

1,200200people attending our in-house training

people attending our Annual Conference

400

Our year in numbers

How we spent our money in 2014-15

16

UKCISA 9–17 St Albans Place London N1 0NX T +44 (0)20 7288 4330F +44 (0)20 7288 4360www.ukcisa.org.uk UKCISA is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (Company Number: 4507287) and a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (Charity Number: 1095294). Its registered office is at 9–17 St Albans Place London N1 0NX.

UKCISA gratefully acknowledges the financial support it receives from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and from the Scottish Government.