Liliana Harding, University of East Anglia

 To establish the driving force behind international student mobility on the basis of a case study of Romanian students, primarily in the area of economics and business by: Observing patterns of European and international student mobility Questioning the role of fees versus educational experience Analysing the role of European exchange agreements (Erasmus) Studying economics and business students’ mobility preferences related to costs and quality of education

 UK higher education: international students numbers, host institutions and fees  General structure of student body: 85 home students: 10 Non-EU students: 5 EU students

EU entry

UK HE institutionTotal non-UK students of which Romanian The University of Manchester University College London The University of Nottingham The University of Warwick The University of Greenwich The University of Edinburgh The University of Leeds University of the Arts, London London School of Economics and Political Science The University of Oxford London Metropolitan University

The higher education system and economics and business studies in Romania vs the UK : Significance of Discipline and Transferability issues European Exchange Agreements and Romanian institutions Analysing the significance of cost and quality of education abroad, in Romanian students’ propensity to move

 Total: 117 Fully accredited: 81  of which PUBLICLY funded: 46 PRIVATELY funded total: 71  HE institutions with Economics and Business Administration (E&B): 63 of which exclusive in the broader subject area: 1 state university vs.15 private institutions

 Recent developments  Lifting cap on numbers in public universities: set number of funded places (merit based) PLUS extra number of privately funded places (RATIO cca 1:2)  Typical yearly fee in UG E&B studies : £500-£600 (UG); only slightly higher for PG E&B courses; PhD funding opportunities  Entry based on Baccalaureate pass  Results ranking MOST relevant for publicly funded places  June 2011 Baccalaureate exam registered unprecedented drop in pass rates to 44.47% (from consistent over 75%)  0%-100% by individual school  25%-65% by regional authority  Strong performance of ‘theoretical colleges’ versus weak performance of ‘technical colleges’

 Romanian Institutions running Erasmus programs: 53 Of which with programs in the UK: 20  of which 13 have Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (FEBA)  5 institutions have more than 5 exchange agreements with UK HE institutions  Of which 2 specialised in civil engineering or arts  Of which 3 comprehensive coverage, including FEBA (Univ. ‘A.I.Cuza’ Iasi (12 partners); Univ.’B.-Bolyai’Cluj (9 partners); Univ. ‘L. Blaga’ Sibiu (6 partners) )

*includes economics

Concentration of Romanians in total international students Canterbury Christ Church University21.15 The University of Worcester7.83 Coventry University*6.19 University College Birmingham3.52 Royal Academy of Music3.51 Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance2.27 The University of Essex2.24 UHI Millennium Institute*2.22 The Arts University College at Bournemouth2.08 Guildhall School of Music and Drama1.92 Note: highly specialised, art/music HE institutions in 4 out of 10 top host institutions; TWO* have Erasmus exchange in Romania!

Note on Romanian prevalence of Economics students: - ALL economics AND business students graduate with ECONOMIST title; essentially a degree in ‘business and (some) economics’ and no distinction in statistics to date - since cca 2004 old ‘Faculties of Economics’ have been widely renamed Faculty of Econ. and Business Admin., reflecting Europeanisation drive Note on Romanian prevalence of Economics students: - ALL economics AND business students graduate with ECONOMIST title; essentially a degree in ‘business and (some) economics’ and no distinction in statistics to date - since cca 2004 old ‘Faculties of Economics’ have been widely renamed Faculty of Econ. and Business Admin., reflecting Europeanisation drive

Home and Abroad

Survey based  It appears that students consider the opportunity to study in a different education system as the most appealing reason for studying abroad  This is particularly true for economics/business students  Other categories of students (though less representative in sample) prioritise degree quality and institutional reputation, with few being driven by work opportunities abroad

Survey based  The principal constraint to mobility is the cost of studying/living abroad for those interested to move  Where respondents have moved, cost concerns have a lower significance

Survey based  Having expressed educational quality /reputation of education abroad as being the strongest motivational factor to move is the single most influential indicator of:  Interest in studies abroad  Having moved abroad for studies  Considering the UK as a destination  Studying in the UK, if already abroad  However, there is some suggestion that being an economics and business student decreases the propensity to study in the UK over other destinations for Romanian students abroad

 Internal UK student mobility analysis (e.g. Davies et al, 2008) also indicates that cost of education is not determining the choice of study place, but studying or not studying  Gonzalez, Mesanza, Mariel (2010) find significant role of cost of living and university quality in Erasmus mobility  New EU member states’ nationals noted as particularly driven by quality of education abroad when seeking Erasmus opportunities (Di Pietro and Page, 2008)

 Further research question: How does studying abroad link with labour market choices and what are European economics and business students’ specific expectations from mobility?