Fewer Students Want to Attend In-Person Classes Abroad, Survey Finds

Recent research has revealed that this year, the number of students worldwide interested in taking courses in person has decreased compared to previous years.

The Emerging Futures 4 survey, conducted between July 19 and August 21, 2023, by IDP Connect, a higher education enrollment company, found that of 10,000 students participating in the study, 71 percent preferred in-person studies at an overseas campus.

In contrast, in August 2021, the share of students who preferred in-person instruction at an overseas campus was 81 percent, Erudera.com reports.

According to findings, the proportion of students who want to pursue their studies online in their home country and complete them at another institution abroad remained nearly the same between 2021 (18 percent ) and this year (17 percent).

Similarly, there was a slight change in the number of students who stated they wanted to study entirely online, with 10 percent of students asserting it in 2021 and 11 percent in 2023.

Additionally, the study results showed that students still prefer to move to another country after graduating from universities in their home country, whether for work or other reasons.

Responding to questions about the main considerations in earning an international qualification in their country, students mentioned paying lower tuition fees at home universities compared to those abroad, being able to migrate by using their international degree, accessing post-study work rights after graduation, and more.

This year’s survey also revealed that the number of students preferring to pursue studies on a local campus in their home country increased to 17 percent in 2023 from only 10 percent expressing the same wish in 2021.

Another study conducted earlier this year found that many students prefer to study entirely online or pursue blended or hybrid courses.

The Time for Class 2023 survey published in June this year from the consulting firm Tyton Partners, revealed that 69 percent of students preferred the abovementioned options while the remaining 31 percent said they chose in-person instruction.

The year 2020 witnessed an increase in online students enrolling at traditional higher education institutions, driven by the shift to online classes in response to lockdown measures introduced amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Online learning is likely to continue, with 47 percent of administrators intending to invest more money in such programs, according to a study by BestColleges. Half of administrators said their spending will remain the same, while only 3 percent said they might allocate less budget for online learning.

In 2021, 60 percent of college students in the United States pursued at least one online course, a drop from a year earlier when the figure was 76 percent.

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