UK Universities Offer More Slots to Foreign Students than Locals

Foreign students enjoy more freedom in choosing degree courses than their British and European Union counterparts. This observation appears to be a form of discrimination because the former is charged higher tuition fees. But according to representatives of universities in the United Kingdom, they are carrying out the admission process in accordance with what government policies allow them. Critics warn about a possible misuse of policy guidelines to take advantage of the higher fees which is charged to international students.

The Numbers

UK universities are offering 15 per cent more courses to overseas students than British applicants, a study by The Telegraph says. According to their analysis, 40 out of the 160 institutions they have included are offering more courses to foreign students over locals. Based on the media group’s investigation, overseas students still have 19,966 slots they can fill while UK students have 17,398 places open for them after the clearing phase of the admissions process which is now two weeks old.

Government Policies

The law does not set a cap on the number of foreign students that a university can admit and, on the other hand, there is a limit for the number of British students. There seems to be logic in the disparity because tuition fees for students who come from the UK are subsidised by the government while students coming from outside of the country pay their own tuition fees. The maximum tuition fee a British student pays is set at £9,000 while their non-European Union counterparts can be charged much higher. Universities UK chief executive Nicola Dandridge says that there is no conflict of interest between the recruitment of international students and that of locals. She adds that the government has set limits on the number of UK and EU students who have below ABB grades and this is one factor affecting ratio between the two groups.

Cause for Concern

Critics point out that universities may be tempted to make use of their freedom to offer more places for overseas students to up their revenue during these times of economic downturn because, as mentioned, they are charged far more than locals. However, universities assert that they prioritising British students. According to them, the slots they are offering to the overseas students are not taken from those set aside from British students; they are only additional ones.

The Bottomline

UK universities should recruit more foreign students not because they are charged more but for the reason that they contribute “much to UK academia and to the country as a whole,” says a spokesman for the lecturers group University and College Union. The head of Universities UK also agrees, saying overseas students make the university experience richer, academically and culturally, for local students.

Do you think that the government has installed measures to check and balance their policies relating to the recruitment and admission of British students and foreign ones? Considering the business aspect of the operation of universities, do their admission procedures still have integrity in your opinion?