European students after Brexit at UK Unis
The UK had been able to protect a home fee status for students throughout the Brexit process under which EU nationals are eligible for the same tuition rates and financial support available to domestic students.
However, the announcement of England’s Minister of State for Universities in June 2020 means that EU, EEA, and Swiss students planning to begin studies at English universities will no longer be entitled to home fee status as of August 2021. In relation to these developments, study choice platform Study.eu had released the findings of a survey which asked EU students what they will do when “home fees” and public student loans are no longer available to them.
The survey was conducted in June 2020 among 2,500 EU respondents who had plans to study in the UK for an undergraduate or master’s degree.
More than half of responders said they would be adversely affected by the lack of public loans to help finance their education. While a significant proportion said, they would no longer consider studying in the UK if tuition fees were increased by 50% or more.
Students were asked to consider the following scenarios:
a 10% increase in fees
a 25% increase in fees
a 50% increase in fees
a 100% increase in fees
The last case would mean that the fees would rise to the same amount that non-EU international students currently pay.
If they had to pay the same fees as non-EU international students – 100% increase in fees, 84% of responding EU students would “definitely” not study in the UK, and 14% saying that they would be “much less likely” to study in the UK. This could lead to a loss of 120,000 students based on current enrolments that equal to approximately 25% of all non-UK students. If fees were raised by 50%, six in ten students (61%) said they would definitely not study in the UK and a 33% would be much less likely choosing the UK to study. Even the lowest 10% increase in fees would still affect a choice of students with 6 in 10 students saying they would be less likely to study in the UK.
This situation is a loss for everyone students and universities. There is hope that some other solution can be found that would promote student mobility between the UK and the EU.
If not the UK, where would the students go?
When asked which other destinations they would consider if higher education in the UK became unaffordable the most students answered that they would choose alternate destinations in Europe. Nearly half (49%) said they would choose the Netherlands, (36%) Germany and another 19% would study in France and 16% Ireland.
How will UK universities respond to this and cope?
Most universities have been redeveloping their marketing and recruitment campaigns for a while. The announcement was at some level expected as the question of the fees have been on dairy throughout the whole time of Brexit process. Some universities may shift focus to more affluent origin countries. At the same time, some are planning to offer degree programmes on satellite campuses in continental Europe that could be opened by some universities.
Britain’s universities have a lot to offer, but they are facing intense competition in the EU countries. If they want to continue to attract students from the EU, they will need to communicate their excellent value proposition and make EU students welcomed.
