Abstract

International student mobility has changed significantly over the last two decades. In 2011, the estimated number of students enrolled outside of their country of citizenship was almost 4.1 million, an increase of 99 percent since 2000 (OECD 2012).Over the last decade, higher education institutions in the UK have witnessed a large rise in the number of overseas student enrolments. From 2011-2012 the UK attracted 435,230 overseas students. Of this 70% were students from outside the European Union (UKCISA 2012, HESA). There is significant evidence to suggest that overseas students deliver significant economic benefits to the UK: estimates range from 3.48 billion to 40 billion pounds annually (Mc Neill 2011). This paper examines the development of policy and practice of inward student mobility in UK higher education and the likely impact of the United Kingdom (UK) government's recent drive to cut student immigration on the sector and beyond. Focusing on published sources of information, the paper concludes that whilst this policy is likely to achieve the UK government’s immediate goal of reducing net migration, in the long term this is likely to have a lasting negative impact on the competiveness and attraction of higher education in the UK. Suggesting that students should not be a part of the migration figures, the paper recommends an alternative method for recording such movements.