Breaking news: This is covered in the Herald:University Visas Suspended and in the Telegraph: University has Foreign Student Licence Suspended

Earlier today (Wednesday 19th) , David Beeby,Vice-Principal Internationalisation, and Head of Finance at GCU, informed all staff that:

“You may be aware that GCU is cooperating with the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to address issues specific to a group of international students on the BSc Nursing/BSc Professional Development.

We expect to have these resolved in the near future, and as conversations are ongoing, the UKBA has required the University to implement a 28 day suspension of our processing of immigration paperwork, as their processes require.

While we feel that this action is disproportionate, we are cooperating with the UKBA to fully understand the issues and implement any changes needed as a result.

Our international student experience is very important to us and our duty of care to all of our students remains our absolute priority.  We will ensure that remains the case as we make any changes requested of us, and I hope to reassure you that we are working to fully rectify this situation quickly and effectively.

 I will keep you updated with our progress”.

Unions at GCU are concerned about exactly what this means in terms of recruiting and retaining international students, given GCU’s stated commitment to internationalisation.

We ask for immediate, further clarification.