Drop in foreign student visas worrying for UK universities

[Nearly Sane]

Illustration of why taking desperate measures to try and assuage one part of your electorate creates other problems. 14 years of Tory govts really screwed up the country in multiple ways.




https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdd4p62nyg8o

[ProfessorDavey]

Illustration of why taking desperate measures to try and assuage one part of your electorate creates other problems. 14 years of Tory govts really screwed up the country in multiple ways.




https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdd4p62nyg8o

Absolutely - and this is hardly unsurprising given that overseas students are the only part of University's main business that actually breaks even. For years University research funding hasn't been sufficient to cover full costs, but until relatively recently Universities just about broke even on Home students. But not any more - they lose money when conducting research, they lose money teaching home students so they are, not unreasonably, reliant on overseas students to be financially sustainable.

What I also find perplexing is the inability of governments (well certainly the previous government) to see Universities as one of the most astonishing export businesses we have. How many other business sectors generate £20k (or more) annual revenue from each and every one of their overseas customers (in this case overseas students). And of course these people pump even more money into the UK economy as they rent property, buy food/clothes etc from UK businesses.

UK Universities should be being championed as astonishing successful globally businesses, not put on the naughty step for being successful.

[Nearly Sane]

Absolutely - and this is hardly unsurprising given that overseas students are the only part of University's main business that actually breaks even. For years University research funding hasn't been sufficient to cover full costs, but until relatively recently Universities just about broke even on Home students. But not any more - they lose money when conducting research, they lose money teaching home students so they are, not unreasonably, reliant on overseas students to be financially sustainable.

What I also find perplexing is the inability of governments (well certainly the previous government) to see Universities as one of the most astonishing export businesses we have. How many other business sectors generate £20k (or more) annual revenue from each and every one of their overseas customers (in this case overseas students). And of course these people pump even more money into the UK economy as they rent property, buy food/clothes etc from UK businesses.

UK Universities should be being championed as astonishing successful globally businesses, not put on the naughty step for being successful.

I think for most of the time in they were looked on as thar, and then as a means of balancing the books and preventing the need to raise fees. As the obsession with immigration grew in terms of holding onto their vote, zi think they looked on the restriction of family being allowed as an easy headline, and one that if it did have am effect, they probably wouldn't have to deal with.

Labour could, of course, reverse the family restrictions but I don't think they will.