QAA publishes Evaluation of International Pathway Programmes

Responding to the report’s findings today, Vivienne Stern MBE, Chief Executive of Universities UK, said: 

We welcome this comprehensive review from the QAA and its recommendations.  

“The sector commissioned this work as we want students, their families, and the wider public to have confidence that university admissions processes are fair for domestic and international students. Although the number of students entering undergraduate study via an international pathway programme represents a small proportion of the two million undergraduates studying in our universities, it was important to examine questions around these pathways.  

“The review found that providers are following their published entry requirements and that entry requirements are broadly equivalent.  It also confirms academic standards on international pathway courses are of an expected standard in the vast majority of cases. 

“However, while there are no systemic issues, the review has found some areas where more consistent application of best practice is needed, and this needs swift action. We will be discussing with our members the steps we must take as a sector to further strengthen the robustness and transparency of admissions.  

“Universities UK, together with GuildHE, has been updating our joint Fair Admissions Code of Practice and will address relevant issues identified by the QAA as part of this work. We will now prioritise this and publish the updated code shortly." 

Responding to the evaluation report, a Russell Group spokesperson said:

"We welcome today’s independent evaluation from the QAA, which has found that International Foundation and Year One programmes used by some universities have entry requirements that are consistent with those for UK students on equivalent programmes, and academic standards that are in line with other programmes at the same level. We are grateful to QAA for conducting such a thorough evaluation.  

"Our universities are committed to fair admissions and delivering high quality courses and successful outcomes for all students. While the QAA found no systemic issues with international pathway programmes being delivered in the UK, it made several recommendations to strengthen practice in the sector. Our universities will be working with delivery partners to consider these recommendations to ensure best practice and that students, staff, government and sector partners remain confident in the standards of these courses." 

Find out more

• Read the full QAA Evaluation of International Pathway Programmes report
• Learn more about why our international students matter