Higher education values call on Labour to reverse the tax on fees & warn institutions at risk of ‘going under’.
University leaders are warning of financial turmoil in the UK’s higher education. This warning is after new figures suggested a collapse in international student numbers. It may deprive the sector of vital income besides undermining its future.
The sector’s leaders called on the government to rethink the levy on international student fees which was imposed under Keir Starmer. As a former universities minister warned, there was a risk of a university ‘going under’ due to the financial crisis.
While UK sixth-formers enjoyed improved A-level results, a record 194,800 English 18-year-olds were accepted by their first choice of university. Vice-chancellors who spoke to the Guardian expressed concern that this measure might fall short in stopping further reductions in both staff numbers and courses.
Figures published by the Home Office reflect student visa applications to the end of July fell 11% compared with the previous year. Summer visa applications come before the commencement of the academic year in the autumn. The gloomy figures mean many UK universities may experience significant losses if the trend continues. This trend is accompanied by some fearing that international enrolments will decline by 30%.
The vice-chancellor of King’s College, London, Prof. Shitij Kapur, said that the fall in international student numbers was in line with the pessimistic expectations. It may also reflect a decline in postgraduate applications earlier this year.
Kapur said that the critical thing is what this cycle may entail. It doesn’t become clear until about October. This simple rubric may be that every five international students impact a single university position. These decreasing numbers may invariably impact the financial health & staff complement of universities.
The positive aspect of this bleak situation is that the strength and desire to access universities among the UK’s school leavers remain as strong as ever. This trend persists despite concerns about loan schemes and the availability of graduate jobs, as reflected in current discussions.
Successive governments froze domestic undergraduate fees at £9,250 (USD 12,580) between the 8 years that spanned ’17 to ’25. This permits inflation to erode their value by a third. Subsequent increases may be largely wiped out by universities paying a £925 (USD 1,258) levy on each international student.
The conservative former universities minister & an architect of higher tuition fees, David Willetts, said universities were undoubtedly under increasing financial pressure. This situation is mainly due to the freeze in fees for 8 years.
Willetts added that there is indeed a risk of a university facing financial difficulties that could lead to its closure. He was more concerned about the reduction in the quality of the educational experience for students. He expressed the view that the UK must ensure proper funding for students’ courses. This includes putting up fees so that the resource goes in.
Members of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities Increased financial stress is affecting members of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. by increased financial stress. This included the University of Exeter announcing on Thursday, 20 August, that it was immediately scrapping geography courses at its Penryn campus in Cornwall. The decision includes school leavers who had applied this year.
A spokesperson for Exeter shared that they recognise that this is disappointing for affected applicants as well as difficult for colleagues associated with these programmes.
The chief executive of the Russell Group, Libby Hackett, said that the group’s universities still attracted talented international students in an increasingly competitive global market. It also brings cultural, besides economic, benefits to their universities as well as to the UK more widely.
However, Hackett cautioned that a series of policy decisions by successive governments, including the unpopular international student levy, risks undermining this success story. This situation isn’t merely worrying universities. It isn’t good news for the UK as a whole. Recent analysis reflects that the decline in international students means the UK has lost out on a net economic benefit of nearly £3 (USD 4.08) bn.
