Picking on international students will only damage Britain

Is there an alternative to regular and often stringent attendance monitoring system imposed by many universities, which requires them to sign in, up to three times a week, at their university office? Students seem to dislike it, not to mention staff, lecturers and specially created posts for Immigration Compliance Co-ordinators who need to chase up students to "check in" at the campus registry office.

"It has been introduced amid the general anti-immigration hysteria, in order to clamp down on "bogus" overseas students, but has left many students – the overwhelming majority of whom are here for genuine study – feeling as if they are looked upon as visa cheats. We [international students]do not pay thousands of pounds to be treated like we are on probation. And this constant tussle between universities, the Home Office and the UKBA, where we get blamed, is ultimately damaging Britain's image around the world as a welcoming educational destination".

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International students: how to teach them alongside native speakers

"In the UK, help needs to be highlighted as available both to students and lecturers. As numbers of international students increase, so should the access to – and emphasis upon – such resources. Many universities already offer staff development courses on teaching overseas students, and attendance should be encouraged.It is also important that lecturers are encouraged to provide feedback on their experiences, in the knowledge that their observations are listened to, acted upon, and examples of good practice promoted. It is only when both students and university staff are fully supported that we can enable international students to flourish within our higher education system."

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