Foreign support of British universities

Source: The Economist

British universities rely on foreigners to supplement government-capped fees but not for long.

Foreign students are the ones who prevent British universities from crumbling. 9% of the students come from outside the European Union.

Although there are academic reasons for wanting foreign students, the main motive is to make foreign students subsidise the losses of teaching home students. While foreigners pay 8000 pounds, home students pay 5000 pounds. They are described to be “integral” by Sir Howard Davies, director of the London School of Economics (LSE).

Some of Britain’s stiff competition in attraction foreign students has been eased by America’s tougher visa regulations. China’s demand has increased by more than 50% per year and the British brand is strong.

However, the number of foreign students getting places in British universities now seems to be “volatile”. Data suggests that it has slackened this year. One of the three main reasons to worry about this data is because of growing competition from European universities who are aggressively trying to attract foreign students and from American universities.

Secondly, foreigners feel that British student life is off-putting. They feel that what Britain is offering is not as good as it should be. British universities are good at winning over students but when it comes to keeping them content, that’s another matter. Universities claim that looking after foreign students is expensive but that is rather odd given what they pay.

Thirdly, British courses are stiffly priced for what they offer. Students may begin to look elsewhere if a big part of what they pay for is taken out.

Just like a normal customer shopping down the high street making rational decisions as to what products to buy depending on price, so too does the foreign student who looks for value for money. It can only be offered if the government allows British universities to set higher prices at home.