Introducing Flywire's Income Collection Survey

Flywire’s Income Collection Survey (FICS) is a new research initiative designed to assist UK universities in benchmarking their international student tuition collection practices against sector standards. This inaugural survey took place in April–May 2024. A total of 44 institutions took part, representing 27% of all the universities in the UK and close to 40% of the UK’s international students.

See survey results

This report offers a comprehensive view of the policies and strategies employed by UK universities to manage financial risk, mitigate debt, and enhance international student retention.

The research aims to provide valuable intelligence that can assist institutions to:

Understand how they compare with competitors on crucial topics like deposit rates, instalment policies and default rates

Inform decision-making and devise effective strategies to reduce bad debt and exposure to financial risk

Evaluate where their policies are effective, and pinpoint opportunities to improve financial management

Shape policies and processes to increase student satisfaction, retention and success

Foreword

For universities, global competition, immigration policies, political rhetoric and currency fluctuation mean effective income management needs to be an ongoing endeavour in order to mitigate financial risk.

From application fees and deposit requirements, to instalment plans and early payment discounts, institutions are employing a range of measures to manage income that impact both student recruitment and retention. Most are trying to evolve policies: Over half of respondents indicated that their institution had changed one or more income collection policies in the last 12 months. Common reasons were to align with competitors, reduce non-payment and to target known risks in some markets or programmes.

From application fees and deposit requirements, to instalment plans and early payment discounts, institutions are employing a range of measures that impact both student recruitment and retention.

But what’s clear is that more work is needed.

The £500m issue

Analysis of the default rates reported by institutions in this year’s survey, for the 2022/23 academic year, indicates that UK universities could be risking as much as £500m each year in late revenue.

Best practice is about balance

What exactly are the best policies to put in place? Unfortunately, there’s no silver bullet. While brand power can enable institutions to attract more financially capable applicants, it’s not a guarantee. Russell Group institutions tended to report lower default rates, but a quarter experienced default rates above 5% in the 2022/23 academic year.

The common thread is balance. This means offering support to students along with effective policies to reduce and curb risk early. This complex balancing act requires joined-up policies and cross-functional collaboration. We’ve seen this too with our clients. Universities that build strong internal relationships between finance, admissions and recruitment teams have shared understanding required for aligned strategies and effective communication with students.

Where can you start building this understanding? By having a common understanding of benchmarks and data.Analysis of the survey data does reveal some more subtle themes among institutions with lower default and bad debt rates. On the whole, they tend to have:

1/5 universities surveyed faced defaults on over £10m in international tuition fees

Analysis of the survey data does reveal some more subtle themes among institutions with lower default and bad debt rates. On the whole, they tend to have:

Higher deposit rates
More flexibility with instalment plans
Effective sanctions in the event of non-payment
Strong student support systems that include offering pastoral care before imposing sanctions

What are you waiting for?

Share this report with key stakeholders in your institution and invite them to a conversation about how your institution can optimise its income management practices and prepare for the inevitable risks and challenges ahead.

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