Month: September 2022

Look Into UAC, UEA, UK, USA, USF etc

Back in May the roundabout of changes at INTO University Partnerships (INTO) was in full motion.  My blog suggested a go to market strategy based around University Access Centers and an emerging sales structure reflecting the differing fortunes of Russell Group partners and other universities in the UK.  Particularly intriguing was the decline of the University of East Anglia joint venture (INTO UEA) and the rise of Queen’s University Belfast.

Regular readers will has seen that INTO UEA then failed to file its 2020/21 Annual Report by the due date but it is now possible to confirm the extent of the continuing decline in enrollments.  The UAC strategy was duly launched, a new partner in the US gives some further sense of a possible direction and some familiar faces have returned while the top team continues to change.  A summary is timely.

Changing UK Enrollment Dynamics

For some time now it has become clear that changes in international student enrollment for the UK is making for unusual turbulence and may not be good news for pathway operators.  This year’s UCAS data shows that overall international acceptances at undergraduate level are down to their lowest level since 2015 (excluding the pandemic affected 2020) due to continuing declines in EU students.  As importantly for pathway operators the shift to Indian postgraduates as a dominant, growing market brings very different challenges after years of reliance on China.

With the inclusion of the confirmed INTO UEA numbers the overall picture for INTO’s UK operations becomes clear.  While the Russell Group aligned operations had a steeper year on year fall in the most recent, pandemic affected, year the longer-term trend was positive.  Non-Russell group operations appear to be struggling and in decline.

Note: Wholly owned subsidiary INTO Manchester is primarily aligned with the University of Manchester and is included in the Russell Group enrollments.  INTO World Education Centre is a “choice” option and included in the Non-Russell Group enrollments.

The new figures also show that INTO UEA, the first joint venture opened, saw its enrollments fall below those of INTO Queen’s for the first time.  The recently posted Annual Report confirms that this decline came with an operating loss of £4.66m.  Note 18 of the Report indicates that fees charged by INTO and UEA to the joint venture have also been “renegotiated” to “reduce the LLP’s cost base.”

The joint-venture’s problems have had an impact on UEA’s overall international student enrollment and a significant decline in international fee income.  For now, the partnership continues but it will be worth keeping a close eye on it over the coming year.  The direction of travel and hopes for recovery seem clear from the Annual Report with talk of “the expansion of year one pathways and Integrated Degrees” as the focus for the future. 

Meanwhile, Back in the USA

INTO’s declining joint venture portfolio in the US has been explored at length and the current court case with the University of South Florida will play out over time.  Court documents show that an “Emergency Motion for a Temporary Injunction to maintain the status quo” on 31 August was declined which is presumably what led to the joint venture being removed as a recruitment option.  Filings indicate the next steps are that “INTO USF LP and INTO USF, Inc. shall file their Amended Complaint on or before September 20, 2022, and USF Financing Corporation and The Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida shall respond to the Amended Complaint within twenty (20) days thereafter.”

Meanwhile, the seemingly inevitable drive for direct recruitment partners may be coming with the announcement of an agreement to recruit postgraduate students for University of Massachusetts, Amherst from Fall 2023.  What is difficult to understand about INTO’s recruitment approach is that their student facing INTO Study website currently only features two direct recruitment partners (Colorado State University and Arizona State University) while the corporate site features nine US “recruitment partnerships”.  Shorelight’s site seems far more in keeping with the smooth approach that has been increasingly popularized by the aggregators and demonstrates how far INTO has to go if the intention is to have a significant direct recruitment network of partners in the US.

If the Face Fits

INTO’s web site constraints may also mean that updating new appointments and departures is not a priority but some of the comings and goings are interesting. 

Particularly relevant to the next stage of US development may be the return of ex-North America MD/CEO David Stremba as Senior Vice President, Business Development.  He was pivotal to the early growth of INTO in the US and has spent some time with both Shorelight and Navitas in recent years, so should have a good sense of the competitor landscape.  The US structure is also developing with long-term player Yasmin Sefer becoming Senior VP, Partnerships (Private) alongside the Senior VP, Partnerships (Public), Steven Richman.

The INTO corporate website also doesn’t reflect the recent departure of a Group COO and US Executive VP or a strongly rumoured, significant change at senior finance level.  All that aside, INTO seems to have decided the team and structure that it thinks can move it forward and there appear to be an ample number of “senior” titles for a business with a reported adjusted turnover of £119.3m in 2021.   Time for action.

Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay 

An Englishman Abroad When The Queen Dies

Being an ocean away when Queen Elizabeth II died was a reminder that some of the English certainties are well in the past.  In days gone by Thursday night would definitely have meant a trip to the pub to reflect on all things monarchical and to toast Her Majesty for a lifetime of service and putting up with her own children.  Whatever the general apathy or distaste for the Royal Family in the UK it was unusual for individuals to suggest she personally deserved less than respect for fulfilling a demanding role that was foisted upon her.

As it is, the response of the football authorities has been to deny the opportunity for fans to meet at the weekend – a time that people come together to share loyalties, build memories and reflect on their world.  The most heartening moment of Thursday was the spontaneous rendition of God Save the Queen by West Ham fans gathered for a European league match.  People should have the chance to celebrate and sing with friends for those who have lived a fulfilled and fulfilling life.

Cancelling the Last Night of the Proms was even more foolish because this is a moment where the British sense of tradition, eccentricity and ability to let loose in harmless patriotic fun is most evident.  Pomp and Circumstance March No1, Jerusalem and Rule Britannia are as much national anthems as the official version and the Queen was a believer in maintaining tradition.  The Royal Albert Hall, named out of love and enduring devotion to Queen Victoria’s husband, would have been a perfect venue to say goodbye while celebrating continuity.    

I am personally three strikes down on opportunities to meet a member of the Firm but this is the first one that I definitely won’t get back.  It’s always seemed slightly odd to me that people want to stand in a line to shake hands with someone they don’t know, have nothing in common with and who might not even stop to talk.  Planning the choreography of the event, walking around with security details to review escape routes and sniffer dogs to check bathrooms for explosive devices, is a lot more interesting than two seconds holding a gloved hand.

It is also fair to say that I am not a monarchist, although I have a regard for someone who so unflinchingly worked in a role that has meant being polite to some terrible Prime Ministers and appalling world leaders.  A long time ago I reconciled myself to the economic modelling suggesting that the monarchy was a net benefit to the country and that politically it was less likely to be problematic than, say, an elected President.  But I had no desire to meet – despite twenty years with a trio of close calls     

As we set up the first ASDA Festival of Food and Farming in Hyde Park in 1989 one of the privileges of being the headline sponsor was to have our tent visited by the Queen.  As lead organizer for the retailer, I was on the list to have my hand shaken but declined because I wasn’t really sure what the point was.  I wandered around with one of the ladies in waiting who was totally charming and didn’t really feel I’d missed much.

My next near encounter was in 2001 when Princess Anne opened the Sportspark at the University of East Anglia.  Like many people of my generation I considered the Princess Royal a favourite because she genuinely seemed to like rugby and didn’t have any of the somewhat whining tendencies of her brothers.  Another regal handshaking opportunity beckoned but I swiftly inserted my son into the running order to hand over a bouquet.

Probably my final opportunity was when the then heir apparent, Prince Charles, visited the University of East Anglia in early 2010 to give a pep talk in the wake of Climategate.  His visit was delayed by several hours due to an accident on what was, at the time, only a single carriageway as the main road into Norfolk.  As dozens of security-cleared and locked down colleagues sweltered in the Council Chamber I had the right badge to go backwards and forwards which enabled me to be in the wrong place (had I wanted to shake hands) at just the right moment.   

I’m not counting here the dismal It’s a Royal Knockout in 1987 where Andrew, Fergie and Edward made total idiots of themselves in the pouring rain and ushered in an era where dignity continued to fall away almost yearly.  Princess Anne was the fourth team captain but she looked on with disdain throughout, while strategizing her way to leading her team, including Emlyn Hughes and Tom Jones, to victory.  ASDA was one of the sponsors but we were, thankfully, kept miles away drinking champagne while watching on TV screens from a tent in a rain sodden field.

All this is a reminder that a lot of years have passed for the “new Elizabethans”, a term which did not stick.  From a time when Winston Churchill was still Prime Minister and the monarch was Queen of the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, to a time when the Union is under pressure and the UK is seeking a new way in the world.  Her passing is probably the best reminder to those of us born in the decade of her coronation that the baton has firmly passed to new generations.

In that respect it would have been interesting to see Charles – a product of the 1940s – step aside and help usher in a new generation through Prince William, a 1980s child.  It is not a question of whether King Charles can do the job because I suspect he will be more interested in stability than turbulence.  It is really whether the moment is ripe for a step change in ambition akin to that of John F. Kennedy, the youngest ever US President (by election) at the age of 43, whose New Frontier speech still resonates in stating “not a set of promises – it is a set of challenges.”

Prince William is slightly younger than Kennedy was at that time but he has a young family that would make his appreciation of the long term future a matter of fundamental personal importance.  It also seems time for the generation born during and in the shadow of the second world war to hand over to those who will hopefully avoid a third.  After that they need only steer a route through climate change, global pandemics, economic poverty, water and food crises while watching the sky for a stray meteor.

Despite all that, the best of luck to Charles and Camilla.  The country needs some good news and compassionate leadership.  They might just be the best thing about the next few years.

Image by Alexa from Pixabay