In the week when Immigration minister Damian Green said he “want[ed] a student visa system which encourages the entry of good students to highly trusted institutions, but which scrutinises much more closely or cuts out entirely those who are less beneficial to this country" and the Daily Telegraph estimated that “one in 10 foreign students was arriving in Britain through bogus or suspect colleges”, UniversitiesUK warned that any changes to the system of granting visas must not hinder the mobility of international students to bona fide UK Universities. UUK’s International Unit estimates that gross export earnings for the higher education sector are over £5.3 billion pa and a good part of this is from students arriving from the United States.
If the traffic on the JiscMail list for administrators of US Student Aid is anything to go by, we are set to welcome thousands of US students whose own student loan system has undergone some changes this year. Helping to administer receipt of the students’ loan funds, which will be in excess of $70 million, will be Travelex, who have launched “Direct Loans Solution” to help UK HEIs. It has been well-received by finance departments and colleague Gregory Wray from City University says, "The simplicity of the Travelex Direct Loans solution, tailored to our needs, will make the transition to the new complex system so much easier for us. The reconciliations and audit trails are all neatly in place, and we have complete peace of mind that the system will work smoothly, for both University and the students." If you have not yet signed up for the Jiscmail list, it is free and easy to do by following the link above and if you want to find out more about Travelex’s system, contact Cath Cullen.