STUDENT RECRUITMENT
TEAM
Notes of a meeting
held on 18 January 2010
Present: Morag Bell (Chair), Paul Byrne, Andrew Cooney, Wendy Ferguson, Martin Harrison, Jon Inegbedion, Howard Jones, Jennifer Nutkins, Justine Sanders, Tony Westaway, Tawfiq Wolff
1.
Apologies
for Absence
An
apology for his absence was received from John Dickens.
2.
Notes
of the meeting held on 23 November 2009
These
were approved.
3.
Matters
arising on the notes
(i)
English Language requirements
It
was reported that the proposed amendments to the minimum requirements for IELTS
and TOEFL had been approved by the Directorates and were now being implemented.
(ii)
Intake targets for 2010 entry
The
Team noted that the proposed UK/EU undergraduate recruitment targets for 2010
entry had been approved by Operations Committee. The Committee was being
invited to approve targets for undergraduate (international) and for taught
postgraduate (UK/EU and international) recruitment at its meeting on 18 January
2010.
(iii)
WP Strategic Assessment
The
Team was informed that HEFCE had deferred its date by which universities would
submit their first reviews of the WP Strategic Assessments until December 2010.
It was expected, however, that Loughborough’s SA would be included on the
agenda for HEFCE’s annual visit to the University, scheduled for 4
February 2010.
(iv)
Eliahue Dangoor Scholarship
It was reported that the University’s scheme for administering
its share of the Eliahue Dangoor Scholarships had been submitted to the 1994
Group and details had been placed on the website. A survey of the provisions
of other 1994 Group members would be undertaken.
Action: HEJ
4.
Student
Recruitment and Admissions: Annual Report 2008/2009
The
Team received the third annual SRA report. This presented a summary record of
the key strands of activity undertaken by the Section in 2008/09. The Team
recalled the successful undergraduate
and taught postgraduate recruitment outcomes for 2009 following a year in which
applications had risen significantly and staffing difficulties had been faced
by the Taught Postgraduate Office. It was agreed that the stringent intake
controls applied during the Undergraduate Confirmation Week had been a major
factor in securing the desired result and that the effective co-operation
between the central admissions office and academic departments during the week
provided a very good example of the excellent working relationships which
underpinned all operations. The central admissions staff were held in high
regard by academic departments.
Another
achievement during the year had been the creation of the unified Student
Outreach and Recruitment Team, bringing together mainstream recruitment and widening participation. The external context within which student
recruitment was undertaken continued to present challenges. There were new
post-16 qualifications to assess and disseminate, Government pronouncements
were hinting at new directions and emphases for HE investment and effort in
widening participation activities and the first stage of the new points based
visa system had been implemented. The
latter served as an example of a major policy initiative which imposed fundamental,
far reaching and on-going changes on an existing system with considerable
resource implications.
The
development of a comprehensive on-line applications process for taught postgraduate
and research applicants had begun in 2008/09 and was expected to move to a
testing phase in February 2010 and go live in the spring. The new process would
allow applicants to track the progress of their application. A priority for the second phase of the
development would be the creation of an agents’ database which would
allow agents their own access to the process and dispense with paper
applications. This would represent a massive step forward.
A
reference was made to the web traffic statistics. The Team was advised that the
forthcoming Content Management System (CMS) would allow more accurate tracking
of web use both internally and externally.
The
report expressed the hope that, resources permitting, central processing would
continue to expand at both undergraduate and taught postgraduate level. It was
acknowledged that certain departments had a dedicated administrative resource
for this purpose which might be said to achieve the objectives of central processing.
There were other departments which were not in this position, however, and ADTs
agreed to add central processing to the agendas for theforthcoming round of APR
and PPR meetings, where appropriate.
Action: ADTs
The
Team agreed that improving the taught postgraduate admissions database to allow
access by departments was desirable. This had been an item for a future phase
of LUSI developments for some time but needed to be accorded higher priority.
Action: JCN
The
foundations for an effective communications channel between central admissions
and the Marketing and Communications Department had been put in place. There was
scope for this to be consolidated, however, as the Department itself bedded
down and meetings would continue between relevant staff.
The
Team thanked everyone who had contributed to the compilation of the report.
5.
UG
and PGT applications statistics 2010 entry
The
latest applications data were presented. It was noted that UK/EU applications
for undergraduate entry were 2.9% ahead of the same point a year ago. Once an
adjustment had been made, however, for the new Art and Design applications
process, the total would fall behind by around 5%. This would rectify itself as
the cycle progressed. Some falling away of applications could be attributed to
the year-on-year raising of entry requirements. Future analyses would include
the proportion of offers made which would serve as an indicator of the quality
of applications. The central admissions office was working with a number of
departments to ensure appropriate control over the total numbers of offers
made.
It
was confirmed that the Science Faculty had committed itself to introducing a
minimum conditional offer level of 300 points for 2011 entry. This was
welcomed.
Nationally,
International
applications for undergraduate programmes at Loughborough had fallen
significantly, compared to a national increase of 8.3%. The tightening of English Language
requirements by certain departments such as Economics was put forward as one
explanation. The emerging trend would need to be investigated prior to the
customary progress reports being presented to Senate and Council later in the
year. Future analyses would plot the trends in linear form to facilitate rapid
assimilation.
UK/EU
and international applications for taught postgraduate programmes had increased
by 26.3% and 15.6% respectively.
The
Postgraduate Open Day would be taking place in 24 February 2010. It was
reported that a member of the International Office would be attending a number
of postgraduate recruitment fairs in mainland European venues.
6.
Electronic
applications process for UG admissions
The
Team approved the establishment of a working group to develop proposals for a
wholly electronic applications process for undergraduate admissions. Membership
would be as set out in the paper presented to the Team.
7.
Agency
commission payments and international student intakes 2001 – 2009
It was noted that commission
payments to agents were expected to total £579,709 for 2009, an increase of 20%
compared to 2008. The rise was due in part to the calculation of commission
payments on gross rather than net fees, a simpler and speedier process. There
had been a growth of 3% between 2008 and 2009 in the proportion of the total
intake of international students recruited through agency referrals. This
proportion now stood at 39% (6% in 2001).
Agent
share by market ranged from 13% for
There
were 39 agents receiving commission payments and of these 12 had referred 10 or
more students.
The
team was advised that future commissions payments might attract VAT. Clarification
was being sought from HM Revenue and Customs and the University’s Finance
Office was being fully consulted.
8.
Review
of Agents’ performance
It
was clear from a report presented by the International Office that the
University’s use of recruitment agents was closely monitored. The most
recent performance audit had led to 10 contracts not being renewed. Although
the proportion of the total intake of international students for which agents
were responsible had reached 39% in 2009, a majority of students were admitted
independently of this process. The use
of agents was widespread across the sector with only a small number of
universities eschewing their services altogether. They had become an
established part of the recruitment scene in many countries, notably
It
had never been the policy at Loughborough to expand the use of agents
indiscriminately. Care was always taken to assess the market advantage to be
gained by entering into a new relationship and audits of existing contracts
examined the quality of referrals, measured in terms of conversion rates.
Competent agents offered more than simply a referral service; they were well
placed to “open doors” by arranging meetings for University
representatives, gave objective advice on qualifications and highlighted
developments within their own educational systems.
The
International Office’s report had been presented to Directorates.
Departments required reassurance that there was a real commitment to critical
evaluation of the role of agents and it
was agreed, therefore, that future reports would include a commentary setting
out the advantages and disadvantages of their use.
9.
Scholarships
and Bursaries for International Students: Expenditure 2009
Data
was presented to the Team showing that the full range of international
scholarship and bursary schemes operated by the University and departments had
incurred a total spend of £825,495 in 2009. This represented a rise of
14% compared to 2008. The profile for individual departments varied
considerably but all featured to a greater or lesser extent. The two schemes
which accounted for the largest number of awards were the 25% international
scholarships and departmental bursaries. Other schemes such as the LUDTA
The
small number of Chevening awards (2) was a disappointment and the
University’s profile in this area warranted investigation. One possible
explanation was the mismatch of subjects.
Action: International Office
10.
Scholarships
and Bursaries for International Students: report
The
Team received a report which had been circulated to Heads of Department,
Admissions Tutors and Research Co-ordinators reviewing the operation of the
various schemes in 2009/10 and setting out proposals for 2010/11. A prior consultation
had been carried out with departments to obtain an indication as to their
preferences. This clear and comprehensive survey with guidance on procedures
was welcomed by the Team. The overall importance of the range of awards in
assisting international recruitment was acknowledged although the low take-up
rate of international scholarships offered to undergraduate applicants was
queried. This would be investigated.
Action: International Office
It
was confirmed that the 10% alumni bursary was universal.
Staff
in the International Office were thanked for their efforts in preparing such a
thorough and informative set of expenditure reports and topic reviews. The Team
agreed that Operations Committee would benefit from a summary of the reports
which compared the tuition fee income gained by the University with the key
costs, namely commission payments, scholarship and bursary investment and the
funding of the International Office. It would be desirable for this report to
bring in figures for postgraduate research but this was recognised to be more
complex in as much as the relevant information was not readily available. It
would also be helpful for the report to evaluate the use of agents. A target
date of mid-March 2010 was recommended.
Action: International Office
11.
International
Office: Annual Review
The
Team received and noted a comprehensive survey of the activities of the
International Office during 2009 and plans for 2010. This had been circulated
to Directorates. The survey set out both threats and opportunities and offered
thumbnail assessments of current markets. A more detailed outline of the
position of the
The
International Office was asked to ensure that future reviews made specific
reference to BUE.
Confirmation
was given that details of departmental contacts were being circulated within a
few days.
12.
Water,
Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC)
The
Team was invited to consider a proposal from WEDC, in co-operation with the
International Office and the Development and Alumni Relations Office, for
international alumni groups to be contracted to introduce applicants to its
suite of Certificates, Diplomas and Masters’ programmes. It was felt that
WEDC alumni offered, potentially, a very effective resource for promoting
recruitment in many parts of the world but particularly the continent of
The Team
welcomed this initiative and gave its approval for an initial one year pilot. If this proved to be successful, the groups
would be given the option of making introductions for programmes outwith WEDC.
13
Next
meeting
Monday
15 February 2010 at 9.30am
Author: Howard Jones
Date: 19 January 2010
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