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Trends in participation and attainmentof Chinese students in UK highereducationCristina Iannellia & Jun Huangb

a Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh,Edinburgh, UKb Oxford International College of Chengdu, Chenghua District,Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaPublished online: 16 Jan 2013.

To cite this article: Cristina Iannelli & Jun Huang (2014) Trends in participation and attainmentof Chinese students in UK higher education, Studies in Higher Education, 39:5, 805-822, DOI:10.1080/03075079.2012.754863

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2012.754863

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Trends in participation and attainment of Chinese students in UKhigher education

Cristina Iannellia* and Jun Huangb

aMoray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; bOxfordInternational College of Chengdu, Chenghua District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

The UK higher education system receives the second largest number of Chineseoverseas students in the world. The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)data used in this study show that the total number of Chinese graduates (at bothundergraduate and postgraduate levels) increased from around 6000 at thebeginning of the twenty-first century to more than 20,000 in 2009. This paperaddresses the issues of whether and how patterns of participation and attainmentof Chinese graduates have changed over the last decade. The findings show that(1) increasing proportions of Chinese students graduate from the Russell Groupuniversities; (2) alongside subjects such as science, engineering and business,a growing popularity of social science among Chinese students is emerging;(3) compared to home students and other international students, Chinese first-degree graduates persistently achieve lower attainment levels. The conclusionshighlight possible explanations for these patterns and directions for futureresearch.

Keywords: Chinese graduates; trends; students’ choices; UK higher education;HESA data

Introduction

Since the end of the 1990s the internationalisation of higher education (HE) hasbecome a worldwide phenomenon. According to United Nations Educational, Scien-tific and Cultural Organisation estimates (Altbach, Reisberg, and Rumbley 2009)more than 2.5 million students are studying abroad and these estimates are expectedto reach 7 million in 2020. Favoured by their academic reputation and the prevalenceacquired by the English language in globalised markets, UK HE institutions havebecome one of the preferred destinations of a large number of international students.Recent data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA 2011) show that405,805 international students were enrolled in UK HE institutions in 2009–2010;69% of them came from non-EU countries and around one in five non-EU studentscame from China. Chinese students are the largest component of the non-EUstudent population and their number has grown remarkably in the last decadefrom about 4000 in 1998–1999 to almost 57,000 in 2009–2010 (HESA 2000, table6; 2011) and is expected to continue growing. According to the British Council’s fore-cast, the total number of Chinese students in the UK will reach 130,900 in 2020(British Council 2004).

© 2013 Society for Research into Higher Education

*Corresponding author. Email: c.iannelli@ed.ac.uk

Studies in Higher Education, 2014Vol. 39, No. 5, 805–822, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2012.754863

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This paper aims at acquiring a better understanding of this phenomenon through theanalysis over time of Chinese students’ patterns of participation and attainment in HE inthe UK. Monitoring patterns of participation of overseas students is important for UKuniversities as it assists with their planning. The influx of this sizeable and growingnumber of international students brings challenges in terms of teaching such adiverse student population and in providing curricula which meet the learning needsof both home and international students. There is a growing literature which investi-gates these challenges by focusing on international students’ experiences (Montgomery2010; Fernandes 2006) and on how teaching and learning have been affected by theinternationalisation of HE (see for example, Hyland et al. 2008). Other studies havefocused on UK-domiciled ethnic minorities and analysed variations in academicperformance. They found that ethnic minorities are less likely to obtain a good firstdegree than white students. Richardson (2008) analysed honours degrees awarded byUK HE institutions in 2004/2005 to UK-domiciled students from 11 ethnic groups.He found that a higher percentage of white students (65%) achieved a first- orupper-second-class degree than the percentages of Chinese (51%), Pakistani (42%)and Black Caribbean students (40%). Other research by Owen et al. (2000) foundsimilar disparities. With some notable exceptions (e.g. people of Indian origin in theUK), people from ethnic minority groups tend to be overrepresented among thelower social classes and to have lower achievement in secondary school (Heath andBrinbaum 2007). Variations in first-degree classes could be partly explained by differ-ences in entry qualifications (Richardson 2008).

Research on patterns of participation and attainment of non-UKdomiciled students isvery limited (mostly due to the limitation of the data available) and often relies on data ona single institution. An exception is the study by Morrison et al. (2005) which analysedtheHESAdata to study differences in the academic performance of international studentsin the UK. Their findings show that overall overseas students tended to achieve fewer‘good degrees’ (i.e. first- or upper-second-class honours) than UK-domiciled studentsbut that variations existed across disciplines and across countries of origin.

The research presented in this paper is the first comprehensive study of changes inChinese overseas students’ demand for HE and in their academic outcomes in the UK.Two main research questions are addressed in the paper:

(1) Has the large increase in the numbers of Chinese overseas students in UK HEinstitutions brought about changes in patterns of participation of Chinesestudents?

(2) Have levels of first-degree attainment among Chinese overseas studentschanged over time? To what extent do they differ from attainment levels ofBritish students and other international students?

This study is also based on the HESA data. To study patterns of participation the focusis on Chinese students who, in the last 10 years, graduated from different levels of study(undergraduate or postgraduate), from different subjects within each level, and whoattended different types of institutions (i.e. Russell Group, pre-1992, and post-1992 uni-versities and colleges). In relation to attainment different types of first degree achievedwere analysed: first class, upper-second class, lower-second class, third class andunclassified.

The next section discusses pull factors from the UK and push factors from Chinawhich have led to the remarkable influx of Chinese students in UK HE institutions.

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It is followed by a description of the expansion of the HE system in China and by adiscussion of the factors which affect educational choices of Chinese students. Ananalysis of changes in patterns of participation and attainment of Chinese students inUK HE institutions is presented and compared to the patterns of other HE students(from home and other countries). Finally implications and future research directionsare drawn in the conclusion.

Pull and push factors

National governments have promoted student mobility for different policy reasons(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] 2004): topromote ‘mutual understanding’ (e.g. European exchange programmes such asErasmus), to support ‘skilled migration’ with the aim of contributing to the knowledgeeconomy of the host country (e.g. through the use of scholarship programmes), toincrease ‘revenue generation’ for HE institutions (mainly by charging fees to inter-national students), and to foster ‘capacity building’ for countries in need of a well-educated workforce able to increase their economic capacity.

The UK has mostly adopted a ‘revenue generation’ policy with regards to non-EUstudents (OECD 2004). It has loosened its restrictions on visa and immigration require-ments to attract foreign students and to realise financial gains by enrolling largenumbers of them on a full fee-paying basis. Based on a survey conducted byChatham House, Nania and Green (2004) roughly estimated that in the year 2003/2004 Chinese students contributed around £300 million of tuition fees to UK HE insti-tutions. Foreign students also contribute more generally to the UK economy throughtheir living expenditures. Living costs of Chinese students were estimated to have con-tributed around £475 million in the same year (Nania and Green 2004).

On the other hand, the policy strategy adopted by China is the ‘capacity-building’approach. Successive Chinese governments have supported students’mobility as a wayto gain skills for its workforce, especially in the areas of science and technology, whichwere considered essential for the development of their economy. This has been a long-standing strategy. The first generation of Chinese students who went abroad to studycan be traced to the end of the nineteenth century. After the foundation of thePeople’s Republic of China, the Chinese government funded the first group of 35 stu-dents to study abroad in 1950. They were followed by many others in the subsequentyears. In 1981 the first self-financed students were allowed to study abroad (Yuan 2008)and in the 1990s the Chinese government loosened even further the restrictions for self-sponsored overseas students with a policy of ‘supporting going abroad, encouragingreturn’ (Sun 2009, 199). With the adhesion of China to the World Trade Organisationin 2001 and the rapid expansion of the Chinese economy in the globalised market, theneed for skilled people with high English-language proficiency increased even more.China is now the country which sends the largest number of students abroad andEnglish-speaking countries – the UK, the United States, Australia and Canada –

have become their favourite destinations (OECD 2004).

Higher education in China – recent changes

The recent developments of the Chinese HE system, in particular its expansion andinstitutional differentiation, can shed light on the reasons which bring large numbersof Chinese students to study in the UK and on the patterns of their HE participation.

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The expansion of the Chinese HE system has been very rapid and extensive. Afteryears of containing student numbers, in 1999 the central government took the decisionto expand HE and fixed a target of 15% of young people aged 18–21 enrolling in HE by2010 (Yang 2008). In 2002, much earlier than planned, this target was reached (Min-istry of Education 2009a). Despite this rapid expansion, however, recruitment into HEhas continued to be very selective. The national HE entrance examination is still theonly means by which students can access HE (Davey, Lian, and Higgins 2007).Each year millions of students take this examination (in 2011 this number reached9.33 million; Ministry of Education in China 2011) but only those students whoachieve the highest marks are offered a place.

This competition to enter HE institutions at home can be considered one of thereasons motivating Chinese students to study abroad. The establishment of foundationcourses or access courses run by foreign universities in China, such as the NorthernConsortium UK (composed of 11 UK universities), has facilitated Chinese students’direct access to foreign universities.

Other push factors towards studying abroad are the increasing dissatisfaction ofChinese students (and their families) with (1) the unprecedented crowded environmentof the Chinese HE system (at undergraduate level the pupil–teacher ratio in universitiesincreased significantly from 8:1 in 1993 to about 21:1 in 2003; Ministry of Education inChina 2009b); and (2) the quality of curricula and teaching methods in Chinese univer-sities which are considered to be not as advanced and up-to-date as those adopted byHE institutions in Western countries (Chan 1999; Wang and Liu 2011).

The expansion of the Chinese HE system has been accompanied by an increasinginstitutional differentiation within the system. In the years of expansion the Chinesegovernment supported a plan to raise the quality of HE. Due to the limited funds avail-able, however, the government decided to allocate funding selectively to a number ofuniversities (Su 2008). ‘Project 211’ in 1995 and ‘Project 985’ in 1998 identified thetop universities in China and key disciplinary areas, and financially supported therise of the academic reputation and competitiveness of a selected number of univer-sities. These two projects created a clear distinction in status among the top universitiesand the other universities and made entry to top-level universities very competitive.This paper will investigate whether Chinese students also tend to choose more presti-gious institutions when they go to study abroad. It will also examine their subjectchoices.

In China the choice of HE subjects is highly dependent on the subjects studied atschool. Chinese, mathematics and English are compulsory courses for students insenior middle school, since they are essential to achieve the graduation certificate.Besides these compulsory courses, the students also need to take a science subject(including physics, chemistry and biology) or an arts subject (including geography,history and politics). Since the science subjects allow a broader choice of subjects inthe universities, and the ratio of arts and science courses offered in the universities isaround 3:7, students in senior middle school are encouraged to take science subjects.Since Chinese students predominantly choose science subjects at secondary level,this is likely to influence their choice of HE subjects taken abroad.

Data

The data collected by the Higher Education Statistical Agency on degrees awarded byUK HE institutions provides a unique source of data for researchers to monitor patterns

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of participation and attainment of international (but also national) students. In this paperdata on Chinese graduates from UK HE institutions, at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels, are analysed at three time points: in 1999/2000/2001, 2005 and2009.1 Graduates are defined as students awarded a HE qualification by a UK HE insti-tution (including non-university institutions such as further education colleges).2 At theend of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century the numbersof Chinese students who graduated from UK HE institutions were small. For thisreason, data from the academic years 1998/99, 1999/2000 and 2000/2001 are aggre-gated together to form the year group of the first time point analysed. In the HESAdata the information collected in these year groups was consistently coded whichmakes such aggregation possible. Moreover, in these three academic years thenumber of Chinese students graduating from UK HE institutions was fairly stable.The expansion of Chinese students occurred a few years later.

The variables analysed in this paper are students’ domicile, gender, age, mode andlevel of study, institution graduated from and subject of graduation, major source oftuition fees, first-degree attainment, highest qualification on entry.

Graduates’ domicile is the students’ normal residence prior to commencing theirprogramme of study in the UK. This information was essential to distinguishChinese students from UK-domiciled students and other non-UK domiciled students,comprising ‘other EU’ students, ‘other Asian’ (non-Chinese) students and studentsfrom the rest of the world.

Gender and age were the only personal characteristics of Chinese students whichcould be analysed in the HESA data. The age of graduates is grouped in the HESAdata as follows: 17 years old or under, 18 to 20, 21 to 24, 25 to 29, 30 or over, andage unknown.

The other information analysed in this study is whether students studied full-time orpart-time (mode of study) and whether they graduated from undergraduate or post-graduate programmes (level of study). The variable used to identify the type of quali-fication achieved distinguishes between five categories: doctorate, master’s, firstdegree, other postgraduate and other undergraduate qualifications.

HESA data provide detailed information on the HE institutions from which studentsgraduated. This information was grouped according to the different status that HE insti-tutions hold in the UK: the Russell Group universities (leading research-intensive uni-versities), the pre-1992 universities (also known as old universities), the post-1992universities (also known as new universities), and further education (FE) colleges.3

The HESA data contain information on graduates’ programme of study aggregatedinto 19 broad subject groups. In this study the 19 subjects are further aggregated into 9categories: (1) sciences (including medicine, subjects allied to medicine, veterinaryscience, biological, physical, mathematical sciences); (2) computer science; (3) engin-eering; (4) architecture; (5) social science (including social studies, law, mass com-munication and education); (6) business; (7) language; (8) humanities (includinghistorical and philosophical studies, and creative arts and design); and (9) other com-bined (all students who studied more than one subject are in this category).

The information about students’ predominant source of tuition fees was also ana-lysed. The main distinction is between self-sponsored students and those who receivefunding from overseas sources (e.g. the Chinese government) or from UK institutions.

Among students who were awarded first degrees four possible degree classificationswere distinguished: (1) first-class honours, (2) upper-second-class honours, (3) lower-second-class honours, (4) third-class honours, and (5) pass and unclassified.

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Information on students’ highest qualification prior to entering HE was analysedaccording to the following categories: (1) GCE A-level; (2) SCE Highers and equival-ent; (3) graduate, postgraduate qualification and equivalent; (4) no qualificationsrequired or held; (5) other qualifications (including international qualification); and(6) not known.

Overall HE participation of Chinese students

The total number of Chinese graduates in UKHE has increased significantly from about6000 at the end of the twentieth century to more than 20,000 in 2005 and 2009(Figure 1). Master’s programmes have consistently been the most popular programmesamong the Chinese graduates, with a peak of about 12,000 students in 2005 and then aslight decrease to 10,000 in 2009. The most significant and consistent increase is in thenumber of Chinese students who achieved a first degree, which grew from about 1000in 1998/2001 to about 6800 in 2008/2009. The number of doctorate students remainedquite stable over time with a slight decrease in 2005.

Characteristics of Chinese students

Gender

Consistently more Chinese women than Chinese men graduated from UK HE insti-tutions over the last 10 years. Women outnumbered men in master’s programmesand undergraduate programmes by a ratio of 1.5 to 1 in 2008/09 while in the sameyear men outnumbered women in doctoral programmes (by the same ratio). Thegender composition of ‘other postgraduate’ and ‘other undergraduate’ courses ismore balanced over time and is practically equal at the last time point.

In general no gender differences emerge in relation to prior entry qualification,choice of institutions, mode of study and source of fees. Some differences arepresent in the choice of subject. While business has always been the most popularsubject for both male and female Chinese students, the second most popular programmeof study for men is engineering and for women is social science.

Figure 1. Number of Chinese students graduating from UK HE in the years 1998/2001, 2004/2005 and 2008/2009 by level of study.

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Age

Over the last 10 years Chinese overseas graduates are becoming younger. At the begin-ning of the twenty-first century, 85%of those obtaining a doctorate were 30 years old andover, and 8% of themwere aged 25–29. The corresponding data in 2004/2005were 72%and 22% and in 2008/2009 51% and 49% respectively. A possible reason for this patternmight be that in the past Chinese students were encouraged to gain some relevant workexperience before taking doctorate courses in foreign universities. They needed toachieve a certain position in their working area before having the opportunity toreceive governmental funding to study abroad for a PhD. Chinese master’s graduateshave also become younger in recent years. In 1998/2001 42% of the master’s graduateswere 30 years old and over and this percentage decreased to 19% in 2004/2005 and 8% in2008/2009.On the other hand, 51%ofmaster’s graduateswere aged 25–29 in 2004/2005and 2008/2009. Most of the first-degree graduates were aged 21–24 with the percentageincreasing from 69% to 83% and 86% from the first to the last time point analysed.

Mode of study and source of fees

Since being a full-time student is a pre-requisite to obtaining a visa for entering the UK,most Chinese students study full-time (90%, 95% and 94% in years 1998/2001, 2004/2005 and 2008/2009 respectively).

Most Chinese graduates are self-sponsored and their percentage has grown from74% to 82% over the last 10 years. The smallest percentage of self-sponsored graduatesis among the doctorate students (about 40% over the three time points). These studentsare more likely to receive funding from UK universities and overseas sources (e.g. theChinese government). Due to the loosening of restrictions by the Chinese governmentand the increase in the number of wealthy families, who can afford to send their chil-dren to study abroad, self-sponsored students have increased considerably. In the last10 years, around 80% of Chinese master’s students and more than 90% of undergradu-ate students were self-sponsored as they were least likely to receive funding from theChinese government. In the year 2008/2009 a higher number of undergraduate students(even though still very limited) received funding from the Chinese government (3% ofthe first degree students, a percentage three times higher than in the past).

Prior entry qualifications

Prior qualifications held by Chinese students are likely to be crucial in determining whosuccessfully enters and completes a HE programme in the UK. It is also likely to affectthe chances that Chinese students have to enter and graduate from different types of HEinstitutions and different subjects in the UK. Unfortunately the HESA data provide onlylimited information on prior qualifications. The data, however, show that the percentageof Chinese first-degree graduates who held A-levels or highers doubled in recent years(from 10% to 20%). In the year 1998/2001 about 62% of them held other qualifications– including international qualifications, access and foundation courses. This percentagedecreased to 44% in 2004/2005 and rose again to 49% in 2008/2009. Most Chinesepostgraduates held a graduate qualification on entering UK HE (which is in mostcases a pre-requisite to entering postgraduate programmes). This percentage increasedfrom around 90% in 1998/2001 to about 95% in the following two time points. The restof them either held another qualification (international qualification, access and foun-dation courses qualification) or were not required to have any qualification on entry.

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Postgraduates by institution and subject

The Russell Group universities gather the largest percentage of Chinese PhD students(Table 1). Due to their good reputation for research these universities attract more thanhalf of the Chinese doctoral students and this percentage increased to 63% in the year2008/2009. The percentages of PhD students in the other universities are much smallerand show either little change (as in the case of pre-1992 universities) or a decline (as forthe post-1992 universities). Around 38–40% of Chinese students also obtained theirmaster’s degree in a Russell Group university in the decade under investigation.

Noteworthy is the increase in the percentages of master’s students who graduatedfrom the pre-1992 universities (from 27% in year 1998/2001 to 35% in year 2008/2009) and in the percentages of other postgraduates from the same universitieswhich grew from 19% to 33%. On the other hand in the same time period the percen-tage of Chinese students gaining a master’s or other postgraduate qualification in thepost-1992 universities declined from 31% to 24% and from 46% to 36% respectively.Finally, a small percentage of Chinese students went to FE colleges for their postgradu-ate studies.

From these data there clearly emerges a reinforced position of the Russell Groupuniversities as the main providers of doctorate programmes and an increasing role ofthe pre-1992 universities in providing master’s and other postgraduate qualifications.Despite the significant role still played by the post-1992 universities these universitiesappear to be losing popularity among the new waves of Chinese students.

The subject choices of Chinese PhD students are very different from the choicesmade by the other Chinese postgraduates (Table 2). In the last 10 years engineeringand science have gathered the majority of Chinese PhD students. In 1998/2001 43%of the doctors graduated from engineering programmes and 38% of them fromscience. However, these percentages have declined over time. The percentage ofdoctors who studied science decreased to 21% in 2004/2005 at a time in which therewas a significant increase in number of doctors in computer science (11%) and business(7%). In 2008/2009 the percentage of Chinese students gaining a doctorate in scienceincreased again (28%) while the percentage of doctors in engineering declined steadilyfrom 43% at the first time point to 33% at the last time point. More students took a PhDin social science in recent years than in the past. In 2008/2009 social science was thethird most popular subject (12%) among PhD students.

Among the Chinese master’s graduates business and social science are the dominantsubject choices with some variation over the last 10 years. The percentages gaining amaster’s in computer science (the third most popular subject in 1998/2001) declinedsteadily and were overtaken by the percentages of Chinese master’s students whograduated from engineering and science.

Among Chinese students who gained ‘another postgraduate qualification’ there is anoticeable decline in the percentages who graduated from engineering while a notice-able increase emerges in the percentages graduating from business and science. As inthe case of the doctorate, studying social science has become more popular among theother postgraduate students in recent years.

First degree graduates by institution and subject

Large changes are evident in the distribution of Chinese first-degree graduates accord-ing to the type of HE institution attended (Table 3). In the academic years 1998/2001

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Table 1. Chinese postgraduates from different types of HE institutions in the UK (percentages).

Doctorate Master’s Other postgraduate

1998/ 2001 2004/ 2005 2008/ 2009 1998/ 2001 2004/ 2005 2008/ 2009 1998/ 2001 2004/ 2005 2008/ 2009

Russell Group 53 52 63 38 40 39 33 26 29Pre-1992 universities 32 29 25 27 34 35 19 33 33Post-1992 universities 14 16 9 31 25 24 46 39 36Colleges 2 3 4 3 2 2 2 2 2Total no. of cases 683 369 890 3138 12605 10771 514 829 1066

Note: Some columns do not sum to 100% because the percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole figure.

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Table 2. Chinese postgraduates by subject studied in the UK HE system (percentages).

Doctorate Master’s Other postgraduate

1998/ 2001 2004/ 2005 2008/ 2009 1998/ 2001 2004/ 2005 2008/ 2009 1998/ 2001 2004/ 2005 2008/ 2009

Science 38 21 28 3 4 5 4 4 7Computer Science 4 11 9 10 8 5 9 10 6Engineering 43 40 33 6 11 9 28 8 7Architecture 1 2 3 1 2 2 0 2 2Social Study 5 7 12 18 19 17 10 16 17Business 3 7 9 56 45 49 36 43 50Language 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 6 3Humanities 0 2 1 2 2 3 3 4 3Other/ combined 4 6 5 3 6 6 9 8 5Total no. of cases 683 369 890 3138 12605 10771 514 829 1066

Note: Some columns do not sum to 100% because the percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole figure.

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only 6% of Chinese students obtained their first degree in a Russell Group university,but this percentage almost quadrupled in the years 2004/2005 and 2008/2009. On theother hand the percentage of Chinese students who graduated from the post-1992universities decreased sharply from 81% in 1998/2001 to 53–55% in the most recenttime points. Similar trends can be found in relation to the ‘other undergraduates’. Asharp increase in participation in the Russell Group and in the pre-1992 universitiesis counterbalanced by a sharp decline in the percentages of students attending post-1992 universities. Despite the prominent role that post-1992 universities have in theprovision of graduate qualifications among Chinese students, the patterns shown indi-cate that they seem to have lost ground in comparison with the other HE institutions inattracting Chinese students. The data also show that very few Chinese students studyfor their first degree in the further education colleges. However, their percentagetripled in the last 10 years. A more consistent presence in these latter institutions canbe found in the ‘other undergraduate’ category which may reflect their provision ofvocational sub-degrees, such as HNDs and HNCs.

Favoured subjects among undergraduate Chinese students are business and, to alesser extent, engineering (with the exception of the year 2004/2005 where computerscience was more popular than engineering) (Table 4). Trends over time also showthat while business has grown in popularity, recently engineering has attracted fewerChinese students. On the other hand the percentages of first-degree graduates insocial science and science have tripled. An interesting finding is the extremely largepercentage of ‘other Chinese undergraduates’ doing languages – between 35% and39% in the years under consideration. Since the ‘other undergraduates’ categoryincludes various types of qualifications, it is reasonable to assume that these studentscame to the UK for the purpose of improving their English-language skills.

A growing percentage of Chinese first-degree students studied science in theRussell Group universities (from 30% in 1998/2001 to 45% in 2004/2005 and 55%in 2008/2009), while this percentage decreased in all the other types of universitiesand colleges (table available on request). As for their favourite subject, business ismainly provided by the post-1992 universities, although from the year 1998/2001 tothe year 2008/2009 the percentage of Chinese students graduating from business in

Table 3. Chinese first-degree graduates from different types of HE institutions in the UK(percentages).

First degree Other undergraduate

1998/2001

2004/2005

2008/2009

1998/2001

2004/2005

2008/2009

Russell Group 6 21 21 3 9 9Pre-1992

universities13 22 23 5 16 29

Post-1992universities

81 55 53 87 72 53

Colleges 1 2 3 6 4 9Total no. of cases 1002 5171 6851 636 1044 1581

Note: Some columns do not sum to 100% because the percentages have been rounded to the nearest wholefigure.

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the Russell Group universities increased from 2% to 8% and in pre-1992 universitiesfrom 11% to 23%. A considerable shift of Chinese first-degree students from thepost-1992 universities to the Russell Group universities (and to a lesser extent to thepre-1992 universities) is also evident in the subject of engineering. In 1998/2001only 3% of Chinese students graduated in engineering in the Russell Group universitieswhile 92% of them graduated from the post-1992 universities. The corresponding per-centage increased to 37% in the Russell Group universities in 2004/2005 and 44% in2008/2009 but declined to 43% and 34% in the post-1992 universities in the sameyears. The percentage of Chinese students studying engineering in the pre-1992 univer-sities also increased from 6% to 15% and 20% in the corresponding years.

First-degree attainment

Despite the increasing number of Chinese overseas students achieving their first degreein the UK, their patterns of first-degree attainment did not change substantially(Table 5). Over the time period analysed the largest percentage of Chinese graduates

Table 4. Chinese first-degree graduates by subject studied in the UK HE system (percentages).

First degree Other undergraduate

1998/2001

2004/2005

2008/2009

1998/2001

2004/2005

2008/2009

Science 2 5 7 1 1 3Computer

Science11 11 4 2 4 2

Engineering 21 7 12 3 3 4Architecture 3 2 1 1 0 1Social Study 3 9 8 1 10 9Business 41 45 50 23 19 29Language 9 2 3 37 35 39Humanities 2 2 3 1 2 3Other/ combined 9 16 11 31 26 12Total no. of cases 1002 5171 6851 636 1044 1581

Note: Some columns do not sum to 100% because the percentages have been rounded to the nearest wholefigure.

Table 5. Attainment of Chinese first-degree graduates (percentages).

1998/2001 2004/2005 2008/2009

First-class 5 7 7Upper-second 24 26 25Lower-second 50 44 43Third 14 18 21Unclassified 8 6 5Total no. of cases 1002 5171 6851

Note: Some columns do not sum to 100% because the percentages have been rounded to the nearest wholefigure.

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obtained a lower-second-class degree, followed by those who obtained an upper-second-class degree. There is an increase in the number of students who obtained afirst-class degree but this increase reflects a general pattern: with the exception of the‘other Asians’, all students, from whatever domicile, increased their chances ofgaining a first-class degree (table available on request). Noteworthy are the increaseover time in the percentage of Chinese students who achieved only a third-classdegree (from 14% to 21%) and the decline in the percentage of those who obtaineda lower-second-class degree (from 50% to 43%). This may testify that the expansionof Chinese students has brought into the UK students with a more diversified rangeof academic abilities.

Chinese students are less likely to obtain a ‘good degree’ (i.e. a first or upper-seconddegree) than UK and other foreign students and this pattern has either remained con-stant or, in comparison with UK and European students, worsened over time. Theodds ratios of obtaining a ‘good degree’ versus other degree levels are shown inFigure 2. All the odds ratios are smaller than 1 which means that Chinese studentsare less likely to obtain a good degree than students from other countries. In particular,the odds of Chinese students being awarded a good degree were only 37% of those ofUK students in 2001 and this percentage rose slightly to 40% but then decreased to 32%in year 2009. A similar trend emerges when comparing the odds of Chinese studentsand ‘other EU’ students, except that initially the odds of Chinese students were 52%of those of ‘other EU’ students. Less marked but still consistently lower are thechances of Chinese students gaining a good degree compared to the same chances of‘other Asian’ or ‘other non-EU’ students (all these differences were found to be statisti-cally significant, even when controlling for subject studied and HE institution entered).

A logistic regression model was used to investigate whether certain groups ofChinese undergraduates were significantly more likely to obtain a good degree thanothers. The findings presented in Table 6 show that the Chinese students who weremore likely to gain a good degree (as indicated by the positive and significant coeffi-cients) were female students, graduates from Russell Group universities and pre-1992 universities, and in the years 2004/2005 and 2008/2009 graduates from computer

Figure 2. Odds ratios of obtaining a ‘good degree’ – Chinese first-degree graduates versus UKand other overseas graduates.

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science, engineering, social science, humanities and science. It is worth noting that inthe last two time points analysed, Chinese students who held A-level/Highers qualifica-tions prior to entering HE were also found to be significantly more successful in gaininga good degree than those holding other qualifications. However, when ‘institution type’was introduced in the model this factor was no longer significant. This is very likely tobe due to the fact that entry qualification has a strong association with the institutionattended. In the data 46% (in 2004/2005) and 52% (in 2008/2009) of Chinese studentswho held A-level/Highers qualifications graduated from a Russell Group university.

Conclusions

The UK receives the second largest number of Chinese overseas students in the worldand this number has increased dramatically over the last decade. This paper has inves-tigated how this expansion has changed patterns of participation and attainment ofChinese students, an issue largely unexplored. The study of these patterns and their

Table 6. Binomial logistic regression of the chances of Chinese students gaining a ‘good’ firstdegree (first-class or upper-second-class degree) in UK higher education.

1998/2001 2004/2005 2008/2009

Constant −1.46***(0.17)

−1.52***(0.07)

−1.49***(0.06)

Gender (ref. male) Female 0.52***(0.16)

0.40***(0.07)

0.46***(0.06)

Institutions (ref. post-1992 univ./ colleges)Russell Group 0.63*

(0.31)1.08***(0.08)

0.66***(0.07)

Pre-1992 universities 0.84***(0.21)

0.65***(0.08)

0.39***(0.07)

Subjects (ref. Business)Science 0.13

(0.47)0.19(0.14)

0.39***(0.11)

Computer science −0.02(0.26)

0.35***(0.11)

0.29*(0.14)

Engineering 0.28(0.20)

0.86***(0.12)

0.87***(0.09)

Architecture 0.42(0.44)

−0.20(0.26)

−0.83**(0.31)

Social study 0.41(0.42)

0.36***(0.11)

0.23*(0.10)

Language −0.49(0.31)

−0.44(0.26)

−0.23(0.18)

Humanity 0.81(0.46)

0.54**(0.20)

0.69***(0.15)

Other/ combined 0.12(0.27)

0.13(0.09)

0.13(0.09)

Total no. of cases 1002 5171 6851

Note: *significant at 0.05 level; **significant at 0.01 level; ***significant at 0.001 level. The categories‘post-1992 universities’ and ‘colleges’ were analysed together due to the small number of Chinese studentswho graduated from colleges.

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relationship to the situation of the Chinese HE system and labour market will allow UKuniversities to gain important information about the changing expectations of Chinesestudents and to be responsive to these changes. The ability to understand internationalstudents’ current and predicted future demands is key not only for universities but alsofor policymakers if they want to support the UK HE system in continuing to play aleading role internationally in the provision of HE.

The findings presented in this paper show some consistencies but also some changesover time in the patterns of participation and attainment of Chinese students. Master’sprogrammes have consistently been the most popular programmes among Chinese stu-dents studying in the UK. However, the largest growth was found in the number ofChinese students obtaining a first degree. This may well reflect the difficulty thatChinese students find in gaining access to HE in China and the high labour marketreturns expected from gaining a foreign educational credential.

The expansion in Chinese student numbers has also been facilitated by the openingup of places in UK universities due to the financial gains expected. However, HE insti-tutions are becoming more and more aware that these financial gains cannot comewithout changes in the academic system. It has become imperative that universitiesprovide induction programmes, facilitate integration, rethink their pedagogicalapproaches and provide cultural expertise. All this requires resources both in termsof staff time and funding.

The findings also show a clear increase in popularity of the Russell Group univer-sities among Chinese students. In China, gaining a degree from elite universities (thoseof Project 211 and Project 985) improves recruitment prospects (Yang 2008). For thisreason Chinese students compete fiercely for places at the universities included in thetwo projects. It is likely that similar considerations affect Chinese students’ choice ofinstitution abroad.

Changes have also occurred in the kind of subjects studied by Chinese students.Science and engineering continue to be the prevalent subjects studied by ChinesePhD students reflecting Chinese government funding in these areas. However, atother levels, where Chinese students are mainly self-funded, business-type subjectsdominate, a choice likely driven by individuals’ expectations of gaining a well-remun-erated job or continuing in the family business. Moreover, in recent years, a growingpercentage of Chinese students have graduated from social science. This is an interest-ing change which requires further investigation to uncover the reasons for this increasein popularity. Is this choice driven by personal interest in the subject? Or does this typeof study also offer good job opportunities?

Over the time period considered Chinese first-degree graduates have consistentlyachieved lower levels of attainment than other international students and the percentageof them obtaining a third-class degree has increased. One explanation may be that thehuge expansion of Chinese students in UK HE has brought about a larger diversity instudents’ characteristics, such as ability and aspirations to succeed in HE. These find-ings also raise the issues of whether the expansion has brought about less stringent HEentry selection criteria and whether there is a growing mismatch between students’knowledge prior to entering HE and the academic demands of the programmesentered. Unfortunately these issues could not be investigated in this paper given thelimited information available in the HESA data.

It can also be speculated that a possible reason for the underachievement ofChinese students may be the different value that Chinese students attribute to agood degree. In the Chinese HE system, all students who obtain a mark of 60 or

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above receive a ‘pass’ and gain the same bachelor’s degree. Only those students whowant to continue studying at postgraduate level need to obtain a good mark. In theChinese labour market, employers look at the job applicants’ level of study achievedand whether they graduated from universities in Project 211 or Project 985 but paymuch less attention to first-degree grades. Furthermore, the grades obtained in aforeign university cannot be easily transferred into the Chinese education system.The certificate issued by the Chinese Embassy, which proves their overseas study, con-tains only information about the degree obtained and the institution attended (Embassyof China in the UK 2010).

Among the Chinese students who are more likely to gain a good degree are thosewho gained A-level or Highers qualifications before enrolling in a UK HE institution.These students are likely to be better prepared for studying in the UK, maybe due totheir early familiarisation with the UK education system (i.e. content and ways of teach-ing and learning) or simply due to a more intense exposure to the English language.Language difficulties have been reported to be a substantial barrier for Chinese studentsstudying in HE institutions abroad (see for example Xu’s study in the USA [2002]).

Future research

Further research is needed in this area which will require a greater availability of infor-mation than currently provided by the HESA data. More data should be gathered aboutChinese students’ decision-making processes and experiences in order to better informfuture Chinese applicants at all levels, but also to help HE institutions identify potentialproblems and areas for intervention, and at the same time to enhance overall studentexperience. Moreover, the present study has been limited by the lack of backgroundinformation on qualifications, grades and English proficiency prior to entering HEand on family background characteristics. This information would have allowed anassessment of whether changes in patterns of participation and attainment amongChinese graduates may be due to changes in the composition of the Chinese studentpopulation (apart from gender and age, no other characteristics could be analysed inthe paper). At institutional level, data on changes which occurred in recruitment prac-tices, in the provision of support to students, in programme content, pedagogical prac-tices and assessment criteria could also allow a study of the impact that this expansionhas had within the HE system and whether different types of institutions have provideddifferent responses to the challenges that the growing number of Chinese students havebrought about.

AcknowledgementsThis work was supported by the University of Edinburgh Data Library and the Moray HouseSchool of Education. This paper has benefited from comments received from Carolin Kreberand Lindsay Paterson.

Notes1. Source: HESA Student Record 1998/1999, 1999/2000, 2004/2005 and 2008/2009. Copy-

right Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited 2010. HESA cannot accept responsibil-ity for any inferences or conclusions derived from the data by third parties.

2. Qualifications awarded to incoming visiting and exchange students and students studyingfor the whole programme of study outside the UK are excluded from the data.

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3. The distinction between these four sectors is a mixture of administrative and historical fea-tures. The Russell Group is an association of 24 major research-intensive universitiesformed in 1994 to pursue the promotion of high-quality research by attracting fundingand the best staff and students from the UK and elsewhere. Many of these universitieshave very old origins and hold high reputations internationally, such as Cambridge,Oxford and Edinburgh. The distinction between ‘pre-1992 universities’ and ‘post-1992universities’ is based on the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act which upgraded poly-technics to university status. Thus the ‘pre-1992 universities’ include all the universitieswhich were created in the 1960s and before, while the ‘post-1992 universities’ are com-posed of the ex-polytechnics, which in 1992 were given the status of higher educationinstitutions, and other universities founded after 1992. In terms of prestige the old univer-sities are very close to the Russell Group universities. Further education colleges are a dis-tinct sector (also administratively). They had their origins in vocational colleges set up inthe 1950s, and, by the late 1970s, were gradually moving into providing advanced tech-nical education. They do not carry out research, and mainly provide sub-degree-levelcourses.

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