At the University of Leeds, we know that students, parents, and the public want to be assured that the system to admit people to university is fair, transparent, and robust. In light of recent media misrepresentation of recruitment practices related to international students, we have published the following statement.
For a global institution such as Leeds, international students are a welcome and vital part of our campus community - contributing to our cultural diversity, fostering a global learning environment, and preparing all students for a more interconnected world. The presence of international students not only enhances the educational experience of all students but also positively impacts the social, cultural, and economic fabric of the UK.
International students who want to study at the University of Leeds have to meet the same rigorous entry criteria as UK students to enter our full degree programmes. We have a robust, transparent, and equitable admissions policy that is consistently applied at every stage of the recruitment process. Applications from both International and UK/home applicants are treated on an equal basis at each stage of that process.
The University has separate recruitment streams for UK and international students, and international students do not get preferential treatment over UK students. Over the past five years, our UK undergraduate intake has increased by around 5%, whilst our international undergraduate intake has reduced by 12%.
The University also offers separate one-year foundation courses for both UK and international students who do not yet meet our entry requirements for full degree programmes, to provide the opportunity to build the skills and knowledge that might support them in a full degree programme.
One-year foundation courses are not comparable to full three-year degree programmes, and so entry requirements to these courses are set at an appropriate level. However, any student wishing to progress from a foundation year to a full degree programme must achieve the required entry level for our full degree programmes.
The University of Leeds is committed to the UK Agent Quality Framework (AQF) which sets high standards for the practices of recruitment agents, and fully supports the review announced by Universities UK to investigate agent behaviour.