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Foreign student reliance risks 'unstable' income

Peter Harris
BBC Look North
BBC Teesside University, viewed from a height, with glass fronted buildings surrounded by concrete pathways interspersed with some curved lawns and a section of rectangular lawn. Students - looking small because they're down below - are walking about. One of the glass frontages - which look dark grey from outside - has a sign saying Student Life on it in white lettering.BBC
Teesside University has 33% international students

Universities could face "instability" if they rely on income from international students to balance their books, an industry group has warned.

Of the 129,000 students studying at north-east of England institutions in 2022-23, 37,000 were from overseas.

Universities UK said the government must ensure stability in the number of visas that can be issued.

The Department for Education (DfE) said it had taken "tough decisions to bolster universities' financial sustainability" but many would need to change their business models.

The amount universities can charge UK students for tuition has been frozen at £9,250 since 2017 but will rise this year.

There is no cap on charges for students from overseas so fees can be much higher and have become a vital income stream.

But student visa rules were tightened by the last Conservative government to try to reduce immigration and that led to a fall in applications last summer.

Universities UK chief executive Vivienne Stern said: "We've had a period of about a decade where the government has refused to allow the income they get from teaching home students to rise in line with inflation.

"International fee income has become the main ingredient in keeping universities financially above water."

Teesside University, viewed from a height, with glass fronted buildings surrounded by concrete pathways interspersed with curved lawns. Students - looking small because they're down below - are walking about.
The Department for Education said international students benefitted the higher education sector

The DfE said international students made a "positive impact" not only in higher education but on the economy and society in general.

"Against the backdrop of the dire economic situation we inherited, this government has taken tough decisions to bolster universities' financial sustainability as we seek to fix the foundations of higher education to deliver change for students," a spokesperson said.

"This government remains committed to restoring universities as engines of opportunity, aspiration and growth."

Dan Lonsdale is standing in front of an old stone building and a dark stone wall, with leafy vegetation in the background. He's wearing a cream cotton anorak with brown collar, and a brown Dickies t-shirt. He has short, brown, curly hair and a neutral expression.
Durham University students' union president Dan Lonsdale says universities are now reliant on income from foreign students

Durham University students' union president Dan Lonsdale said: "Successive governments have built a system whereby you are reliant on international students and their fees to sustain an entire system."

Universities UK said financial problems had forced some universities to make cuts and redundancies but said "tough action" taken meant there would be no "collapse" in which some go out of business.

The percentage of international students in the 2022-23 intake:

  • Durham undergraduate - 30%
  • Newcastle University - 23%
  • Northumbria University - 26%
  • Sunderland University - 34%
  • Teesside University - 33%

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