A Study of Chinese Students’ Application to UK Universities in Uncertain Times

From the Perspective of Education Agents

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v12i3.3777

Keywords:

education agents, information asymmetry, international higher education, Chinese international students

Abstract

This research investigates education agents’ practices with in-service Chinese applicants to UK universities in the context of information asymmetry. COVID-19 serves as a backdrop as an illustrative case of a period of high information uncertainty, which has generated severe challenges for the international higher education sector and on Chinese applicants’ plans to study overseas. This study reports on the findings from in-depth interviews with 16 Chinese agent consultants undertaken in nine cities across China in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic (May 2020). The findings indicate that education agents attempt to mitigate the information asymmetry and emotionally reassure applicants through a four-step information management process. Our contribution generates a new understanding of the role that education agents play in international students’ applications and mobility, voices that are often ignored but essential for international students’ decision-making processes and existing university recruitment services.

Author Biographies

  • Ying Yang, The University of Manchester

    Ying Yang is a doctoral researcher in the Manchester Institute of Education at the University of Manchester. Her research interests focus on internationalisation of higher education, international students' motivations, mobilities and experiences, as well as international student recruitment.

  • Sylvie Lomer, The University of Manchester

    Dr. Sylvie Lomer is a Senior Lecturer in Policy and Practice in the Manchester Institute of Education at the University of Manchester. Her research interests focus on international higher education, specifically the policies, pedagogies and recruitment practices relating to international students in the United Kingdom.

  • Miguel Antonio Lim, The University of Manchester

    Dr. Miguel Antonio Lim is a Senior Lecturer in Education and International Development in the Manchester Institute of Education at University of Manchester. His research expertise focuses on internationalisation strategies in higher education and higher education policies, particularly in East and Southeast Asia.

  • Jenna Mittelmeier , The University of Manchester

    Dr. Jenna Mittelmeier is a Lecturer in International Education in the Manchester Institute of Education at the University of Manchester. Her area of research expertise focuses on international students’ transition experiences and broader aspects of internationalisation in higher education.

References

Akerlof, G. A. (1970). The market for lemons: quality uncertainty and the market mechanism. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 84, pp. 488–500.

Arkoudis, S., Dollinger, M., Baik, C., & Patience, A. (2019). International students’ experience in Australian higher education: can we do better?. Higher Education, 77(5), 799-813.

Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology, 3(2), pp.77-101.

British Universities’ International Liaison Association (BUILA). (2020). A route to a UK Quality Framework with Education Agents. https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/uploads/files/1/Policy%20and%20lobbying/BUILA%20UKCISA%20Research%20Report%20FINAL.pdf

Chinese Bureau of Supervision and Administration of Foreign Affairs in Education (JSJ). (2019, June 26). List of Self-funded Overseas Education Services Agents (自费出国留学中介服务机构名单). http://jsj.moe.gov.cn/news/1/147.shtml

Coffey, R.N. (2014). The influence of education agents on student choice making in the Canadian postsecondary search process. PhD. Michigan State University.

Collins, F. L. (2012). Organizing student mobility: Education agents and student migration to New Zealand. Pacific Affairs 85(1), pp. 137–160.

Falcone, S. (2019). International student recruitment: Trends and challenges’, Journal of International Students, 7(2), pp.246-256.

Findlay, A.M., McCollum, D. & Packwood, H. (2017). Marketization, marketing and the production of international student migration. International Migration, pp. 1-26.

Fischer, K. (2020). Confronting the seismic impact of COVID-19: The need for research. Journal of International Students, 10(2), p. 211.

Foskett, N. (2011). Markets, government, funding and the marketisation of UK higher education, in Scullion, R., Molesworth, M. and Nixon, E. (ed.) The marketisation of higher education and the student as consumer. New York: Routledge, pp. 25-38.

Hagedorn, L.S. & Zhang, L.Y. (2011). The use of agents in recruiting Chinese undergraduates. Journal of Studies in International Education, 15 (2), pp. 186-202.

Hayes, A. (2019). Inclusion, Epistemic Democracy and International Students: The Teaching Excellence Framework and Education Policy. Palgrave Macmillan: Switzerland.

Krasocki, J. (2002). Education UK: Developing the UK’s International Agent Network. Promotions and Partnerships (ECS). London: The British Council.

Liu, S. (2020). Neoliberalism, globalization, and “elite” education in China: Becoming international. Routledge.

Lomer, S. (2018). UK policy discourses and international student mobility: the deterrence and subjectification of international students. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 16(3), pp.308-324.

Ma, Y. (2021). Educating the Elites: School Counselors as Education Nannies in Urban China. Comparative Education Review, 65(3), pp. 493-512.

Ma, Y. (2020). Ambitious and Anxious: How Chinese College Students Succeed and Struggle in American Higher Education. Columbia University Press.

Marginson, S., Nyland, C., Sawir, E. & Forbes-Mewett, H. (2010). International student security. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Marginson, S. (2013). The impossibility of capitalist markets in higher education. Journal of Education Policy, 28(3), pp.353-370.

Nikula, P.T. (2020). Education agent standards in Australia and New Zealand–government’s role in agent-based international student recruitment. Studies in Higher Education, pp.1-16.

Nikula, P. T. & Kivistö, J. (2018). Hiring Education Agents for International Student Recruitment: Perspectives from Agency Theory. Higher Education Policy, 31(4), pp. 535–557. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-017-0070-8

OECD (2020) What is the profile of internationally mobile students? https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/974729f4-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/974729f4-en

Pimpa, N. (2003). The influence of peers and student recruitment agencies on Thai students' choices of international education. Journal of studies in International Education, 7(2), pp.178-192.

QS. (2020, April 16). How international students are responding to COVID-19. https://www.qs.com/how-international-students-are-responding-to-covid-19/

Raimo, V., Humfrey, C. & Huang, I.Y. (2014). Managing international student recruitment agents: Approaches, benefits and challenges. London, England: The British Council.

Robinson-Pant, A. & Magyar, A. (2018). The recruitment agent in internationalized higher education: Commercial broker and cultural Mediator. Journal of Studies in International Education, 22(3), pp.225-241.

Sá, C.M. & Sabzalieva, E. (2018). The politics of the great brain race: Public policy and international student recruitment in Australia, Canada, England and the USA. Higher Education, 75(2), pp.231-253.

Siczek, M. (2020). International Student Agency in the Face of a Global Health Crisis. Journal of International Students, 10(4), pp.vii-ix.

Spence, A. M. (1973). Job market signalling. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 87, pp. 355–374.

Stiglitz, J.E. (2003). Information and the Change in the Paradigm in Economics, Part 1. The American Economist, 47(2), pp.6-26.

Stiglitz, J. E. and Rothschild, M. E. (1976). Equilibrium in competitive insurance markets. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 90, pp. 629–649.

The Guardian. (2020, March 27). Students try to flee UK by chartered plane for ‘safer’ China’. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/mar/27/students-try-to-flee-uk-by-chartered-plane-for-safer-china

Thomson, A., Hulme, R., Hulme, M. & Doughty, G. (2014). Perceptions of value: assessing the agent/commission model of UK higher education recruitment in Africa. Africa Review, 6(2), pp.105-120.

Tomlinson, M. (2018). Conceptions of the value of higher education in a measured market. Higher Education, 75(4), pp.711-727.

Tran, L.T. (2020). Teaching and engaging international students: People-to-people connections and people-to-people empathy’, Journal of International Students, 10(3), pp.XII-XVII.

Universities, U.K. (2017). The UK’s Competitive Advantage 2017. https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/reports/Documents/International/UUKi-Competitive-advantage-2017.pdf

Wankhade, L. and Dabade, B.M. (2006). Analysis of quality uncertainty due to information asymmetry. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 23(2), pp. 230-241.

Yang, Y. (2019) The effect of education agents on Chinese undergraduates’ motivations to study PGT programmes in the UK. Present at China and Higher Education conference, The University of Manchester, UK, 9-10 December.

Yang, Y., Mittelmeier, J., Lim, M.A. and Lomer, S. (2020). Chinese international student recruitment during the COVID-19 crisis: education agents' practices and reflections. HERE@Manchester. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/chinese-international-student-recruitment-during-the-covid19-crisis(be489a37-107c-480e-82c4-4583bc3dfeeb).html

Yen, D. A., Yang, Hsiao-Pei S. & Cappellini, B. (2012). Ranking gives power: Relationships between UK universities and Chinese agents. Journal of General Management, 38(1), pp. 23-44.

Zhang, M. and Fumasoli, T. (2019). Scale and scope of Chinese education recruitment agents: A mapping exercise. Presented at China and Higher Education conference, Manchester, UK, 9-10 December.

Downloads

Published

2021-11-19

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 3 (2022)

Section

Research Articles (English)

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Journal of International Students

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

All published articles are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Unported License.

How to Cite

A Study of Chinese Students’ Application to UK Universities in Uncertain Times: From the Perspective of Education Agents. (2021). Journal of International Students, 12(3), 565-586. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v12i3.3777