From risk to retention: supporting international students under the proposed new BCA metrics 

The recent government white paper, Restoring control over the immigration system, set out changes that impact on UK higher education – including revised Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA) metrics.

The BCA is an annual assessment used to monitor a sponsoring institution’s (that is, a university recruiting international students) level of compliance. This assessment comprises three metrics:

• a visa refusal rate of less than 10%
• a course enrolment rate of at least 90%
• a course completion rate of at least 85%

The white paper has proposed raising the minimum pass requirement of each BCA metric by five percentage points. As a result, ninety per cent of international students at a sponsoring institution must complete their course for that institution to pass the compliance threshold.

Why does this matter? 

Non-compliance has serious consequences. A sponsor that fails at least one BCA metric can have their sponsorship licence revoked and be removed from the Register of Student Sponsors for up to two years.

In 2022/23, international students contributed over £12 billion in tuition fees to UK higher education institutions. The loss of income from international student fees would be catastrophic for the financial sustainability of universities dependent on their contributions.

As well as affecting recruitment, the changes to BCA metrics signal an increased need for institutions to retain those international students already enrolled on their courses.

However, in a time of increased financial pressure and widespread threats of redundancies, how feasible is it for an institution to commit more (already stretched) staff time to supporting international students?

Engagement and retention 

StREAM by Kortext provides staff with powerful student engagement insights and the tools to deliver proactive and personalised student support.

Our unique algorithm codifies engagement based on educationally purposeful student data drawn from multiple touchpoints across an institution. This data is transformed into a single measure of engagement with learners distributed into categories; those in lower categories are at increased risk of withdrawal.

In partnership with universities across the UK, we’ve been able to demonstrate the significant impact StREAM can have on student retention rates. In fact, ours is the only engagement analytics platform proven to identify at-risk students with up to 90% accuracy, 6–8 weeks before withdrawal.

Up-to-date information 

StREAM’s predictive algorithm generates a daily engagement score for students in near real-time, and engagement is a powerful proxy for identifying struggling students before a problem becomes a crisis.

Unlike attendance-based systems that can only provide retrospective compliance checks, our platform can forewarn staff if students are at risk of withdrawal, enabling them to avert non-compliance issues.

Actionable insights and alerts 

However, it’s not just about providing universities with data-driven insights – it’s also about empowering staff to act on those insights.

StREAM can send automated alerts to notify staff of students with low engagement, enabling institutions to provide targeted, tailored support for students at scale without further straining resources.

After all, while accurate data is essential, it doesn’t replace the human outreach and human support elements that are so crucial when helping students who may be experiencing issues.

Compliance with metrics 

Further, StREAM can simplify compliance with BCA metrics thanks to the option of an in-built UKVI filter.

Our dashboards enable staff to refine student data using a variety of filters (either singly or in combination) to view engagement, create alerts and download data into custom reports as needed.

For instance, a staff member can quickly and easily identify international postgraduate business students with low, very low or no engagement and then take action to support those students.

Enhancing student agency 

Our platform also empowers students to take ownership of their learning. A student can see their own engagement data and how their actions impact on their learning.

Indeed, a research study found that international students were more supportive of engagement analytics than home students and more likely to say that they would find a student engagement dashboard motivating to help them better understand their own progress.

The human aspect 

As discussed above, international students who thrive in their studies bring significant economic benefit to UK higher education.

However, amid talk of fee income and BCA compliance, it’s important to remember the human aspect. Fundamentally, international students are individuals who have made considerable life changes, as well as weighty financial investments, to achieve their personal and professional goals.

Their presence enriches UK higher education – not just with academic prowess, business acumen or research excellence, but also through their diverse backgrounds and global perspectives.

By supporting international students to stay and succeed, we’re helping the sector to prosper as a whole.

To explore how StREAM can help your institution meet compliance metrics, talk to us today.