Or to put it another way, overseas students now subsidise the cost of teaching each UK undergraduate by an average of £2,500 each. Take them away and you've got an absolutely existential crisis for universities. www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/pol... - ThreadSky

rostaylor.bsky.social • 18 hours ago

Or to put it another way, overseas students now subsidise the cost of teaching each UK undergraduate by an average of £2,500 each. Take them away and you've got an absolutely existential crisis for universities.

https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/policy/education/universities/69644/how-universities-were-sent-over-the-edge

Comments

welshaspossible.bsky.social•16 hours ago

And at a time when the UK could absolutely clean up on attracting the brightest and the best from all over the world, now that attending university in the US is out of the question for so many people. Short sighted doesn't even begin to describe what a massive mistake this is.

jaybut707.bsky.social•17 hours ago

Of course, the simple (and probably politically impossible) solution is to charge home students what it costs.
Funded by taxation or by loans?
PS I don’t understand why foreign students count as immigrants if the number arriving and departing each year is roughly the same.

yorkshirepaddy.bsky.social•17 hours ago

What on earth is wrong with Cooper? I was never a fan, but at least she looked like she could tie her shoe laces without assistance. Now I'm not so sure.

grannydegrotbag.bsky.social•16 hours ago

*puts it on the list of things to mend, post Tories*

casssandra.bsky.social•1 hour ago

They're driving away international students in the US too. It's a way of attacking university finances indirectly and pushing unis toward failure.
Universities have a history of contradicting far-right ideology, of course.

rhid83.bsky.social•10 hours ago

It's already too late for Cardiff Uni sadly Ros whole departments are being disbanded including nursing, thankfully planned strike action is not happening now due to the University no longer issuing compulsory refundancies but it is in a sorry state. Bloody Brexit.

rhid83.bsky.social•9 hours ago

*redundancies

smkali.bsky.social•12 hours ago

It’s particularly dumb because 1. Foreign students are popular 2. The home office can remove them from net migration numbers 3. HE is one of the few industries that increases jobs around the country not just London

carolebristol.bsky.social•18 hours ago

Labour is like a rabbit paralysed in the Reform headlights. Instead of pandering to the Right and cutting back the number of economically-beneficial immigrants, it is time to start pointing out how much immigration benefits the UK and facing down Reform's lies and racism.

grannydegrotbag.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Better to read the government website rather than echo chambers
https://bsky.app/profile/viviane49.bsky.social/post/3lnwq35vt6q27

carolebristol.bsky.social•15 hours ago

I was talking specifically about immigration and the value of overseas students to universities and UK students.

grannydegrotbag.bsky.social•15 hours ago

Ah - not just another pile on echo chamber then
Lovely video here - USA showing us how to cope against Heritage Foundation and their nasty influence in Europe (they already did UK with Brexit)
https://bsky.app/profile/indivisiblewatauga.bsky.social/post/3lodqzpiyds2u

dwaind.bsky.social•18 hours ago

This was all kicked off with brexit and a business model relying on wealthy student intake. Whichever way this goes, further education needs a different or adjusted method of funding.

grannydegrotbag.bsky.social•16 hours ago

And let us all give thanks to the backers of Brexit!
Heritage Foundation
https://www.desmog.com/2025/03/14/heritage-foundation-project-2025-allies-mcc-ordo-iuris-discuss-dismantling-the-eu-european-union/

dwaind.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Scary stuff.

grannydegrotbag.bsky.social•8 hours ago

Here is good example of what our local MPs should be doing - its from the front line in WW3, rich v the rest of us
https://bsky.app/profile/weeklyshowpodcast.bsky.social/post/3logwynjdmc2v

grannydegrotbag.bsky.social•8 hours ago

Have a read of some of @jennycohn.bsky.social threads - she has a heap of them, not much on Farage but you can make connections, being as every time Heritage is mentioned or Trump or Russia - Farage is on side

zooty1.bsky.social•17 hours ago

Following Australia into a chasm

jennmelb.bsky.social•17 hours ago

Happening in Australia too, on a lie that international students are "immigrants" and take housing away from young Australian renters. They mostly live in student accommodation though. Higher Ed under siege everywhere. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-04/international-education-year-of-uncertainty-foreign-students/104765238

davidnice.bsky.social•17 hours ago

It's beginning to look as if Starmer is almost as much of a plant to sabotage the UK as Present Pizda is by Putler for the USA.

grannydegrotbag.bsky.social•16 hours ago

you will hear a variety of well-argued explanations for the crisis facing British universities. But many trace it back to a decision made by chancellor George Osborne in December 2013.
https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/policy/education/universities/69644/how-universities-were-sent-over-the-edge

lordbonkers.bsky.social•18 hours ago

Illustrated with a drawing of one of the few universities that isn't threatened.

alasdaircameron.bsky.social•18 hours ago

Tragedy is that explaining this will likely make not one jot of difference to Reform voters. They want the Universities to hurt, to damage the centres of wokeness… as some one put it it’s a little like Henry VIII targeting the monasteries…

vanderstap.co.uk•18 hours ago

Many people seem to either not understand or ignore the fact that bad education for the masses is a core objective of fascists. It’s the only thing that can get and keep them in power

johnhollandoaktree.bsky.social•18 hours ago

This is exactly what I was thinking

gcjea.bsky.social•17 hours ago

Youth mobility scheme with EU needed to help plug thr gap

pritchardsion.bsky.social•17 hours ago

It’s anti immigration insanity.

smilo998.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Isn't there an ideological element to the tories treatment over 14 years - re-establish trad university primacy/exclusivity by ensuring many of the new (Blair) ones fail(ed)?
Or is it just another example of Brit Plc blowing a foot off to save a few quid?

rostaylor.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Anyway polys became universities in 1992.

rostaylor.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Latter. Austerity.

smilo998.bsky.social•14 hours ago

indeed but austerity was the cover word for a great deal of ideological "correction" unfortunately & their first chance to unravel New Labour's policies?

newross.bsky.social•10 hours ago

Most of the subsidy goes to UK students from affluent families. If you can pay £20k to £60k for school fees, you should pay the same for university fees. Fees should be proportionate to family income.

finntheboy.bsky.social•17 hours ago

This is just dreadful news!

kevinhx3.bsky.social•8 hours ago

If you are of a delicate disposition please close your ears, for fucks sake @Labouruk.bskyb.social get a grip. Stop trying to outdo Reform. You are the Labour act like it and do the right thing.

el-presidente.bsky.social•18 hours ago

One paradox of this is my daughter is being showered in offers from universities she'd ordinarily fail to meet the entry requirements for but most of those want £10k for halls, so natch.

douwekorff.bsky.social•18 hours ago

Stupid at so many levels!

craiggrannell.bsky.social•18 hours ago

Which then has a knock-on effect. You erode/destroy mobility. You devastate local economies. You remove the UK’s long-earned position in the education space. You slash soft power. And if certain red wall MPs get their way, you knacker the arts too.

jamsamcam.bsky.social•16 hours ago

How do other countries manage it out of interest ?

They don’t seem to need as many overseas student or to charge an arm or a leg

What’s the structural difference we can learn from ? Higher subsidies?

kresten2.bsky.social•13 hours ago

We manage via taxation.

Education is free for all EU citizens.

Some 3rd country students. Nothing like in the UK.

craiggrannell.bsky.social•14 hours ago

I assume they put in the money through taxation. Although plenty on unis in eg Europe do also charge more for overseas students (although in the context of the EU, that may mean outside of the bloc).

kresten2.bsky.social•13 hours ago

It would mean outside of the bloc.

EU citizens cannot be charged more than local citizens.

Therefore EU citizens can study for free in Denmark and they even qualify for our student salary as well as our student loans.

johnhollandoaktree.bsky.social•18 hours ago

It's almost as though the wealthy elite want to stop social mobility and the other aspects no longer impact upon them

craiggrannell.bsky.social•18 hours ago

Yet without realising the wider impact. We saw this in microcosm with the BBC. Tories cut funding. BBC shuts things down, including aspects of the World Service. “No, not THOSE things” shout wealthy people who, I dunno, thought the Beeb would axe children’s shows, East Enders and 6 Music.

richardkeppler.bsky.social•15 hours ago

Well the single best way of stopping social mobility was to destroy everyone in Labour who were fighting for it and replace them with Blairite right-wing ghouls dedicated to destroying it and protecting rich people’s money.
I’ll enjoy the next four years as proponents are exposed as fools.

mobymooby.bsky.social•18 hours ago

And to double down on the stupidity, in purely political terms you also destroy your own next generation of voters (graduates and a better educated population being much more likely to vote Labour / left wing parties)

grannydegrotbag.bsky.social•16 hours ago

you do know we started making people take on life long debt to get a degree a few years back? Pretty sure this is the "next generation of voters", in their 30's?
Scotlands the place to be for education!

chris666999.bsky.social•9 hours ago

Scotland's higher education system is cracking worse than most.

grannydegrotbag.bsky.social•8 hours ago

By what ruler are you measuring that?
Ofsted not allowed 🙂 I remember they had to adjust their measures so that not all academies would not fail - they said the government insisted on that.
"The Academies Act 2010, government bill introduced in the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition"

chris666999.bsky.social•7 hours ago

I am talking about universities not high schools.

mobymooby.bsky.social•9 hours ago

Yes, I’m aware of the student debt situation but my point is that graduates are generally/statistically more likely to vote Labour so reducing the number of graduates per annum seems a bit self defeating in the long term. That aside from all the other issues with higher education.

grannydegrotbag.bsky.social•9 hours ago

We need to coach Labour away from balancing the books to buying back our debt bonds and taxing the rich - no pay=no passport and we confiscate the assets.
All education should be free and life long - though Open University has free courses. What is on your wish-list?

mobymooby.bsky.social•7 hours ago

I was just making a general point about graduates, not student debt and all the rest.

https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/uk-opinion-polls/how-britain-voted-in-the-2024-election

theangelofhistory.bsky.social•18 hours ago

I assume we’re going to have some kind of employee NI hike labelled as an “education & health” levy to subsidise the various education & health care faculties to compensate for the loss of foreign student income

alxrchrds.bsky.social•17 hours ago

Clickbait from the Observer.
Now no more reputable than the Murdoch rags.

grannydegrotbag.bsky.social•16 hours ago

The Guardian actually gave the organisation away with £5m in loose change
https://broligarchy.substack.com/p/fuckity-bye

alxrchrds.bsky.social•15 hours ago

I know. Stupid.

grannydegrotbag.bsky.social•13 hours ago

Yes

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