Brexit: London Universities Under Threat?

London universities face even more uncertainty as a result of Brexit than universities elsewhere in the country as they rely more heavily on European Union students.

Students from the EU have flocked to London, making up 18% of full-time attendees at the London School of Economics, 18% at Imperial College London and 13% at University College London. Universities UK estimated in 2015 that higher education earned £10.7 billion from foreign students, representing 10% of the UK’s export of services. University chiefs warn that those revenues are now at stake in the Brexit negotiations that began on June 19.

Professor Ken Mayhew, a labour economist and education specialist published a report in March on the impact of Brexit on UK higher education, concluding that rather than saving money the Brexit process is likely to slash universities’ incomes as EU students and staff go elsewhere and valuable EU funding is withdrawn.

Turning Talent Away?

In the 2014-15 academic year 5.3% of full time UK undergraduates came from elsewhere in the the EU. “There has been an increasing reliance on EU undergraduates in recent years, given UK demographics and a slowdown in applications from non-EU students,” Mayhew said. “EU students have been coming to the UK despite the fact that they would have had to pay less for their courses in most, if not all, other EU countries. The worry is that if they were required to pay the full international students’ fee (about £16,000 as opposed to the EU rate now of £9000) then a significant proportion of them would be deterred.”

Universities have tried to reassure EU students who are already doing UK courses but future EU applicants seem unlikely to be eligible for loans from the Student Loans Company to cover tuition fees. They are also likely to face complex visa processes. Students have partly been attracted by the right to work here after graduating but that will be dependent on future immigration policies, the hottest topic in Brexit negotiations. Applications for early-closing courses with lengthy admission processes such as medicine, which closed last October, showed a 9% fall in EU applicants. The report blamed that fall on the Government’s failure to assure applicants last year that the current funding measures would continue for the foreseeable future.

Access to quality staff is also at risk. EU academics hold 17% of UK university teaching and research posts and that figure rises to 20% at top institutions including some of those in London. Most of  the European research council’s mid-career grants in the UK are held by EU researchers.

Funding

The loss of EU research funding could be even more damaging than the reduction of fees paid by EU students. EU research funds are distributed on the basis of merit, and the fact that Britain has some of the world’s top universities means it has benefitted greatly from EU research grants. The UK has won 15% of Framework Programs funds and 20% of grants from the European Research Council, which are believed to provide about 3% of UK universities’ annual income. Framework funding is available to non-EU countries but most of the recipients have joined European treaties that require freedom of movement.

May concluded that while there is no single model for a research association with the EU any deal will require a fee, and many associate members already pay more than the UK has paid as an EU member.

With universities already struggling to make ends meet this “double whammy” of losing tuition fees and research funding will no doubt flow through to hurt British students in the form of higher fees, poorer standards, or both. And every sign indicates that London students will feel the most pain.

by Stewart Vickers @VickHellfire

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