NAVITAS LIMITED 30 June 2015
University Programs northern hemisphere enrolments grow despite UK downturn
Global education services provider Navitas Limited (ASX: NVT) has today announced a 6 per cent increase in student enrolments for the second semester of 2015 (201502) for its northern hemisphere University Programs colleges. This increase, compared to the prior corresponding period (pcp), represents 4,412 equivalent full time student units (EFTSU).
Northern hemisphere colleges include all colleges in the UK, US and Canada. It is expected that student numbers for the southern hemisphere colleges, and the full University Programs Division, will be released in late July.
The Division's North American colleges continued to grow strongly, with US enrolments increasing by 18 per cent and Canadian enrolments by 17 per cent from a diverse range of source countries.
With six colleges across the US network, growth across the region is in line with recent trends as the student base increases over time. Growth in Canada, off a larger base, remains strong as Canada continues to be an attractive study destination with a stable regulatory environment.
Enrolments in the UK network of colleges declined by 13 per cent compared to pcp as student visa policy settings remained restrictive following the reduction of the visa refusal threshold by the Government in late 2014.
"The current student visa framework means that education providers in the UK cannot have more than 10% of student visa applications rejected by the Government on assessment. This has resulted in the implementation of risk management strategies to ensure Navitas colleges remain well below the threshold and has further contributed to the reduction in the enrolment growth rate," said Rod Jones, Group CEO of Navitas.
"UK government commentary since winning re-election in May does not indicate any immediate change to this policy and therefore we believe that enrolment growth in the UK will be challenging for some time."
"However, as highlighted in a recent PwC report1 the economic and global connectivity benefits of international education to the UK are significant and as such we continue to lobby for more favourable policy settings to be introduced over time," Mr Jones said.
"Navitas' international strategy continues to reap benefits as weaker growth in the UK is offset by strong growth in the US and Canada. North America continues to be an appealing education destination, attracting strong interest from students and delivering
1 London Calling: International student's contribution to Britain's economic growth, PwC, 2015
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high quality academic outcomes, reinforcing our goal of enhancing success for international students and supporting the internationalisation objectives of our university partners."
"Our new partnership development pipeline is also progressing well, particularly in the
US, where the opportunities continue to be particularly exciting," Mr Jones concluded.
- Ends - For further information contact:
James Fuller, Group Manager Corporate Affairs
Navitas Limited
Tel: +61 (8) 9314 9617
Mob: +61 488 093 763
Navitas is a leading global education provider that offers an extensive range of educational services through three major Divisions to students and professionals including university programs, creative media education, professional education, English
language training and settlement services. Navitas is an S&P/ASX100 company.
Further details about Navitas are available at navitas.com
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