Study Abroad or Stay in Sri Lanka? Are Plans Changing?
View(s):
As an air of uncertainty persists and prevails globally, we are forced to make rapid changes in life styles as well as future plans. One of the highly impacted areas is Education, as students and parents reconsider dreams of pursuing greener pastures overseas.
Ongoing, exclusive QS survey data is revealing significant shifts in how prospective international students are responding to the coronavirus.
How are prospective international students changing their study plans?
When first reporting on the results on February 26, QS reports that 27% of respondents stated that the coronavirus had impacted their plans to study abroad.
However, as the pandemic scales each day, local and international universities are forced to take stock of their plans. Intakes may get postponed, as ambiguity prevails. Therefore it is no surprise that more and more prospective international students are stating that their plans to study abroad have been impacted.
Stay at home in postpone plans?
As of March 5, 29% said their plans had been impacted. And as of , March 12, 35% of respondents said their study plans had changed.
Of these 35% of respondents, the majority intend to defer their entry until next year (54%), some no longer want to study overseas (14%), and some have decided to study in a different country (13%).
This is in stark contrast to previous analysis on February 26 where of the 27% of respondents who stated that their study plans had been impacted, 35% intended to defer, 38% wanted to study in a different country, and only 9% said they no longer wanted to study overseas.
It’s clear that as the virus spreads across the world and cases emerge in more and more countries, greater numbers of prospective students are choosing to defer their offer to a later year, rather than trying to find a different country to study in.
Whereas before, prospective students may have thought that they could study in a region which had been unaffected by the crisis, the situation has now evolved to a point where no region is isolated from the impacts of coronavirus, meaning there are no alternative destinations. The situation has escalated from being an epidemic, to being a global pandemic.
Online learning alternatives
When asked whether they’d be interested in studying their degree online due to the threat of coronavirus, 61% of prospective international students expressed some level of interest in studying online. In contrast, only 39% said they would reject the idea outright.
This is due to the various factors that play apart in the decision to study abroad. The experience and exposure are a key factor, and online education cannot serve this particular need.
Current students
In a recent QS interview with current students who are impacted by the coronavirus shutdowns, many expressed an appreciation for online options and being able to continue their studies.
To alleviate any fears that prospective international students may have, universities should consider offering a range of educational alternatives to both current and prospective students. This has thus far been successfully implemented