The impact of placements on the academic performance of UK and international students in higher education

Motivated by an increasing number of international students in UK higher
education, this study investigates the effect of year-long placements on the
academic performance of 268 accounting and finance students enrolled between
2006 and 2009. The results show differences between UK and international
students although both statistically and significantly increase their final-year
marks and their chance to obtain a good degree (first or 2.1) following
placements. UK sandwich students outshine international sandwich students in
the final year, while UK full-time students significantly underperform
international full-time students in the first year only. The academic performance
of UK students can be partly explained by prior academic achievement and
gender but that of international students is not related to any of these individual
factors. There is evidence of self-selection among UK sandwich students since
they outperform UK full-time students at all levels, while no such a pattern is
found among international students.