57 Not Addressed

Not only are the international student rates that EU students will now be paying to...

Conclusion
Not only are the international student rates that EU students will now be paying to Scottish universities higher than the amount Scottish universities currently receive for EU students from SAAS, but they are also higher than the rates students from other parts of the UK pay to study in Scotland. The exact rate varies by course and institution but, according to Professor Katherine Smith, will often be four to five times the rate it was previously.135 In addition to the international student fee income Scottish universities will now receive from EU students, Minister Lochhead has confirmed that the estimated £19 million of public funding that would have funded new EU entrants in 2021–22 will stay in the sector to fund places for additional Scottish students.136 This announcement has been broadly welcomed by the university sector.137 Non-financial benefits of EU students
Government Response Summary
The government discusses its International Education Strategy, its targets for international student numbers, and existing global scholarship programmes, without directly addressing the changes in tuition fees for EU students in Scotland or the Scottish Government's funding decisions.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government Not Addressed
In February 2021, the UK Government published an update to the International Education Strategy, recommitting to the ambitions of the original strategy. These ambitions are to sustainably increase international students in the UK to 600,000 per year, and increase the value of education exports to £35 billion per year, both by 2030. This update set out a number of new actions aimed at supporting the sector’s path from pandemic recovery, back to sustainable growth. We are making good progress against the ambitions. International enrolments increased by 9% in the 2020 to 2021 academic year, with a total of 605,130 compared with 556,625 for the previous academic year. With this we have now met the Government’s ambition for the first time of hosting at least 600,000 international students per year by 2030. A world-class student experience is essential to the UK’s globally competitive offer. That’s why the strategy sets out several actions to support each stage of the international student experience. This includes working with the sector to ensure a simple, streamlined application process, and work looking at alternative student finance, student experience and employability. Our International Education Strategy makes clear that Europe remains an important regional market for international student recruitment. In the 2020 to 2021 academic year there were 152, 905 higher education enrolments from the European Union studying in UK HE providers. These students make a valuable contribution to university life in the UK. We will continue to welcome European students to the UK and to promote the world-class UK education offer to prospective European students and ensure that they have a positive experience. Representatives from the devolved nations are represented on the Education Sector Advisory Group. This group is co-chaired by the Minister for Skills, Alex Burghart, and the Minister for Exports, Mike Freer, and coordinates efforts to boost UK education exports. The UK International Education Champion also meets regularly with officials from the devolved administrations. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) also provides £86m to fund scholarships for students from developing countries to study for post graduate degrees at British universities throughout the UK, including Scottish universities, through two scholarship programmes: Chevening, which is open to applicants from 160 countries, and has awarded over 1500 scholarships this year; and Commonwealth scholarships, which are awarded to around 700 candidates from Commonwealth countries each year. In addition, the Marshall Scholarship programme, established by an Act of Parliament in 1953, provides scholarships to talented young Americans to study for Masters’ degrees at any British University.
Addressee Bodies
Scotland Office
Timeline
Recommendation age 5.2 yrs
Report published 28 May 2021