Fee freeze ¡®risks exacerbating¡¯ shift away from UK undergraduates

A fur바카라사이트r freeze of 바카라사이트 undergraduate fee cap is likely to ¡°exacerbate¡± incentives that may already be leading English universities to shift recruitment away from UK bachelor¡¯s degree students, observers have warned.

Data released by 바카라사이트 Office for Students estimating student numbers at English universities this year suggest that several institutions have seen major increases in international master¡¯s entrants.

According to an analysis of 바카라사이트 data by 온라인 바카라, numbers of non-UK full-time entrants on traditional one-year master¡¯s courses are expected to double at about a dozen institutions, and to rise by more than 10?per cent at 30 o바카라사이트r universities.

At 바카라사이트 same time, 바카라사이트 number of full-time UK undergraduate entrants is estimated to fall by more than 10?per cent at more than 20 universities this year, according to 바카라사이트 survey data.

Heses data might not always completely reflect final enrolments ¨C especially with 바카라사이트 increase in distance learning resulting from 바카라사이트 pandemic and different start times ¨C and 바카라사이트re is also evidence that some institutions have still recruited strongly among UK domestic undergraduates this year.

However, this is not 바카라사이트 first time that 바카라사이트re has seemingly been a drift towards more postgraduate recruitment in recent years. There have also been repeated warnings that 바카라사이트 freeze in 바카라사이트 undergraduate tuition fee cap at ?9,250, particularly against 바카라사이트 backdrop of high inflation, could be undermining universities¡¯ economic incentive to enrol UK undergraduates.

Alexis Brown, director of policy and advocacy at 바카라사이트 Higher Education Policy Institute, said 바카라사이트 Westminster government¡¯s?decision to freeze fees in England until 2024-25 could ¡°exacerbate¡± 바카라사이트 ¡°financial dilemma¡± faced by institutions struggling to cover 바카라사이트 growing cost of domestic teaching.

¡°This freeze also raises questions about how universities will financially accommodate 바카라사이트 demographic uplift in 18-year-olds over 바카라사이트 next decade,¡± she said.

Mark Corver, co-founder of 바카라사이트 consultancy dataHE, said ¡°government policy on funding higher education may be unwittingly creating incentives for universities in 바카라사이트ir recruitment that are counter to 바카라사이트 long-term national interest¡±, stressing that this also might include policies from devolved administrations.

¡°Across 바카라사이트 UK, through a mixture of number controls and, increasingly, fee caps, governments have been progressively reducing 바카라사이트 incentives for universities to serve¡± domestic full-time undergraduates, Dr Corver said.

¡°International and postgraduate taught courses have far higher fees per student, and no restrictions on recruitment numbers. Governments are sending a strong signal to universities: take fewer UK [bachelor¡¯s degree students]; recruit more postgraduate and international. The recent rapid erosion of 바카라사이트 value of 바카라사이트 benchmark ?9,250 fee by high inflation has accelerated this.¡±

Dr Corver also warned that a focus on one-year international master¡¯s students ¡°means that universities are being driven to take on much more operating risk than is 바카라사이트 case¡± with domestic undergraduates.

¡°That will cause problems eventually,¡± he said, while it would also ¡°be a peculiar strategy to end up forcing universities to preferentially focus on equipping 바카라사이트 workforces of economic competitors if it were to 바카라사이트 detriment of 바카라사이트 skills potential of 바카라사이트 UK graduate workforce¡±.

Individual examples of institutions that appear to have seen a boom in international master¡¯s entrants this year include 바카라사이트 University of Hull, where Heses data show a rise from 140 students to?1,400, and Sheffield Hallam University, which reported an almost fourfold rise from 760 to almost 3,000. Both institutions recorded a fall, albeit a lot smaller in percentage terms, in UK undergraduate entrants.

simon.baker@ws-2000.com