The Home Office said the university had now made the necessary improvements to its monitoring of students’ attendance and immigration status.

But it remains on probation and foreign student recruitment is being limited.

The Home Office said it had carried out a series of inspections over the past six months and the university now met the requirements needed to sponsor international students from outside the European Economic Area.

It will now be subject to a 12-month probation period in order to build up a track record of compliance with the rules of sponsoring students to study in the UK. During this time the number of students it can recruit from abroad will also be limited.

The university said the reinstatement of its licence was good news.

Its vice-chancellor Professor Malcolm Gillies said: “This is excellent news for our students and our university, which looks forward to welcoming students from around the world who want to study at one of London’s most diverse academic institutions.

“London Met has a long history of providing education to international students and we can now continue this long-term commitment to offer them quality education.

“Students can have total confidence that our processes are stronger than ever. I take this opportunity to thank all staff and students and, in particular, international students for their patience and support over the last nine months.”

‘Comply with rules’

The decision to strip the university of its permission to recruit foreign students prompted an outcry from the higher education sector and concerns that foreign students would be put off applying for universities in the UK. It was the first time a UK university had lost its licence in this way.

Professor Gillies described claims by the UK Border Agency, which has since been scrapped, that the university was not meeting its responsibilities as “not particularly cogent” at the time.

The UKBA based its decision to revoke the university’s Tier 4 highly trusted sponsor status mainly on the examination of 101 sample cases.

It said 26 students who had been studying there the previous year, between December and May, had no leave to remain in the UK.

Announcing the reinstatement, Immigration Minister Mark Harper said: “It is in the interest of international students that all institutions take their immigration responsibilities seriously and demonstrate that they comply with the rules. This is exactly why the sponsorship system was set up.

“We have worked closely with university staff to ensure that London Met standards were improved. As a result the university now meets the required standards and we are able to grant a licence.

“We will continue to welcome the brightest and best students to our world-class universities.”

The Home Office said its inspection teams scrutinised the areas of concern that led to the revocation of London Met’s licence last year, and had worked with university staff to ensure it had suitable processes for recruiting and monitoring international students.

But the University and College Union said the original decision to remove the university’s licence to teach foreign students led to headlines across the world of stranded students facing deportation and was a disproportionate reaction to a situation that should have been addressed without recourse to such drastic action.

The union said it was pleased the university had its licence back, but said hundreds of students had faced unnecessary disruption and costs during the last six months.

UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: “We are still to fully feel the impact of the damage the UKBA’s decision had in terms of our international reputation. Hundreds of students faced a worrying period of insecurity and unnecessary costs as they tried to find somewhere else to study.”

Hannah Richardson

LONDON: The global economic slowdown and tighter student visa norms seem to have taken their toll on Britain’s prestigious MBA programmes, once favourite with students from countries like India and China.

Indian and Chinese students, the largest group among overseas applicants for these programmes, are being put off as a result of a tougher job market as well as increasingly attractive programmes back home.

According to the Financial Times, the 18 MBA programmes in Britain, regularly ranked among the world’s top 100, show that overall enrolment figures are at their lowest for the past eight years and 21 per cent lower than at their height in 2010.
Please Read More in http://studentvisa4u.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3108

An Australian migration agent has launched a petition urging the government to make the Post Study Work Stream visa available to all students, regardless of when they applied for their first visa.

The Post Study Work Stream visa (PWSTV) was introduced under the recommendation of the Strategic Review of the Student Visa Program (Knight Review) to allow eligible graduates to stay and work in Australia for certain lengths of time, depending on their qualifications.

Currently, students are only eligible for the PWSTV  if they applied for their first student visa after November 5, 2011.
Please Read More In http://studentvisa4u.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3109

*Read a copy of the 2013 report

Grattan Institute’s annual assessment of the state of Australian higher education shows that both numbers of domestic students and costs are rising sharply, following the abolition of most enrolment controls in 2012.

As a result, the Government faces a bill of nearly $7 billion for tuition subsidies by 2015-16. Enrolments in health and engineering courses – areas of on-going skills shortages – have grown more quickly than other areas.

Read Details in http://studentvisa4u.com/component/content/article/3105

One of the State’s leading private third-level colleges is to offer free tuition to students – in return for providing accommodation and board to an international student.

Under the scheme, Griffith College will waive the standard €5,000 yearly fee for Irish students who host an international student. The scholarship will also be available if the student in question arranges for a relative to provide “suitable living accommodation”.

Please read more in http://studentvisa4u.com/component/content/article/3106

New post study work arrangements are being introduced in early 2013 for eligible international students who graduate with an Australian Bachelor’s, Master’s or a Doctoral degree. The new post study work arrangements will be built as an additional stream in the existing temporary skilled graduate…..Please Read More in http://studentvisa4u.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3090

This proposal aims to integrate international students residing in Finland so that they will contribute to the national economy at the end of their stud….Please Read More in  http://studentvisa4u.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3091

Aberystwyth University, Swansea Metropolitan and the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, have all admitted students holding 80 UCAS tariff points, which is the equivalent to two A-level passes at grade E or higher….Please Read More in http://studentvisa4u.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3092

University of Canterbury partners with ASX-listed Navitas to lure foreign students

The University of Canterbury has partnered with ASX-listed Navitas as part of its strategy to double the percentage of foreign students enrolled to study.

No financial details of the five-year agreement were provided. Perth-based Navitas and the university will…..Please Read More in http://studentvisa4u.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3093

The amount of time students can spend getting their degree could be cut if plans submitted by a government education panel are adopted.

Although government leaders say that no concrete decisions have been made, a reform package set to…..Please Read More in http://studentvisa4u.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3094