Expensive international switching years under fire
Two years ago, the University of Groningen (RUG) severed ties with Study Group, a commercial provider of expensive transition years for international students. The British recruitment agency delivered poorly performing students, which could give the impression that admission to the University of Groningen is for sale for 17.000 euros.
Image: XF\x26amp;M
This is evident from documents that the Education Magazine received with an appeal to the Government Information (Public Access) Act.
It seemed such a great deal that the University of Groningen (RUG) concluded in 2013 with the British recruitment agency Study Group. The company would recruit international students for free, in countries that are difficult to access for Groningen marketers, such as South Korea and Russia. The fact that those students do not meet the Dutch prior education requirements because their secondary school diplomas are usually of HAVO level was no problem. Because Study Group provides a international foundation year in which these students can bring their academic knowledge and English language skills up to VWO level within twelve months.
That program costs 17.000 euros, but that high price is not an issue for the growing middle class in Southeast Asia. The collaboration with Study Group would therefore help the University of Groningen to a larger and more diverse international influx at no extra cost.
Too beautiful
That sounds too good to be true and it was. Outsourcing the recruitment and selection to a commercial partner has devastated the university, according to documents requested by the Education Journal, invoking the Government Information (Public Access) Act.
Outsourcing the recruitment and selection to a commercial partner has ruined the university
To begin with, lawyers from the university soon discovered that there were problems with the study visa that the RUG had applied for for transition students. This was agreed because only educational institutions recognized by the IND can apply for a study visa. Commercial providers such as Study Group are not included.
A shame
Because transition students did not yet meet the admission requirements, they could not be enrolled at the university. The RUG had therefore applied for visas for non-registered foreign students. A deadly sin. If the IND were to find out, the university could lose its right to bring foreign students to the Netherlands. This problem was ironed out: the IND agreed that the RUG would from now on enroll transition students as 'non-regular students'.
The real problems arose when it became clear that the Study Group students' academic performance was far below par. Between 2013 and 2016, a total of 274 international students started a bridging program that prepares for a bachelor's degree in Groningen. Less than 60 percent of that group successfully completed the transition year and went on to university. Only 40 percent of those moving on made it to the first year. This is disappointing, because you might expect that students who pay 17.000 euros in tuition fees will be well prepared for their studies, say the policy officers who advised the Executive Board in 2017 about extending the agreement with Study Group.
The real problems arose when it became clear that the Study Group students' academic performance was far below par
Chinese people
In addition, Study Group would not recruit Chinese students. At the economics faculty, which attracted the most transition students, 17 percent of the students were already Chinese. Yet 26 of the 39 students that Study Group recruited for the economics courses in 2016 came from China, and those Chinese students were also among the weakest transition students. Study Group also uses commercial recruitment agents who are paid per student submitted, a practice that the University of Groningen wanted to limit precisely because it can damage its reputation.
Policy officials had more reasons to be concerned about reputational damage. Commercial agents who, for a fee, recruit foreign students who do not meet the admission requirements and who pay a tuition fee of 17.000 euros: that could give the impression that admission to the University of Groningen is for sale. The international top talents that the university is so eager to bring in, would probably ignore Groningen if it became known that they would come into the classroom with under-sized students who have been admitted through such a very expensive transition program. In April 2017, the Executive Board informed the Study Group management that the agreement that expired in August 2018 would not be renewed.
Stretched rules
Five universities and three universities of applied sciences still work together with a commercial provider of transition years. In addition to Study Group, the British company Oncampus and the Australian Navitas are active in the Dutch market. Together they will prepare 800 international students for a Dutch bachelor's or master's degree this academic year, according to a study by the national committee that supervises compliance with the code of conduct drawn up by universities and colleges to prevent abuses in recruiting international students. . The Commision started the investigation to transition years after the Education Journal last year reported on the commercial practices of Oncampus, Study Group and Navitas. The final report was published on the site of the committee in mid-June without further publicity.
Five universities and three universities of applied sciences still work together with a commercial provider of transition years
International students who are not admissible offer a transition year is allowed, but the educational institutions and their commercial partners the rules stretch very far, the committee notes. The code of conduct refers to a preparatory year for students who have the required level, but lack specific professional knowledge or (language) skills. In the opinion of the committee, such a preparatory year is intended for 'a single talented student' with a prior education that does not quite match the chosen study. At Study Group, Oncampus and Navitas, the preparatory year has turned into a recruitment channel through which large numbers of international students are recruited to be brought from HAVO to VWO level.
Number fixus
The committee wonders why you would bring those non-admissible students to the Netherlands. It is a vulnerable group that is sometimes only 16 or 17 years old. The educational institutions working with the commercial recruitment agencies claim that students who have taken a foundation year do better than other international students. But the (scarce) data that the committee has collected shows that this is not correct. At most, the transition students are doing no worse. An additional problem is that Oncampus and Study Group recruit students for study programs with a numerus fixus or that apply selection at the gate. Strange, because why would you recruit students who are not (yet) admissible for study programs with extra high admission requirements?
The national committee believes that the code of conduct should be tightened so that the rules can be better enforced. In addition, the Education Inspectorate should investigate whether an international student of HAVO level may be admitted to a study program for which VWO level is required after a preparatory year of twelve months.
