The regulator for higher education in England has cautioned universities against relying too heavily on tuition fees from students in China. This comes as Chancellor Rishi Sunak backtracked on his initial promise to close UK branches of the Confucius Institute, which is sponsored by the Beijing government. The Office for Students (OfS) has written to 23 universities, which have many Chinese students, asking to see their contingency plans in case of any sudden disruption to overseas recruitment. Universities have become increasingly reliant on international students as part of their business model. This is due to the significantly higher fees they can charge and offsetting the declining value of domestic tuition fees.
China, in particular, is a concern as it sends more students to study in the UK than any other country. Moreover, of all non-EU students in UK higher education institutions, 27% or 151,690 pupils were from China in 2021/22. UCL and Manchester University enrolled the highest numbers. Susan Lapworth, Chief Executive of the OfS, said that, while international students bring many benefits, some universities have become too reliant on fee incomes from international students, especially if they are from one country, and that universities need to know what they would do if international recruitment fails to meet expectations. She urged institutions to have credible contingency plans in place to protect themselves from the consequences of an abrupt reduction in income.
The OfS’s concerns come as the UK Government backtracked on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s pledge to shut down branches of the Confucius Institute, which are tied to universities across the country. Liz Truss, Sunak’s predecessor, reminded everyone of Johnson’s pledge during her visit to Taiwan last July, arguing that the Institutes promoted Chinese soft power. Despite this, Number 10 has now admitted Sunak changed his mind. Last month, a critical report on the role of the institutes in the UK was published by a UK charity. On Thursday, it will argue that the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act, which became law last week, empowers regulators to shut them down. The act has a specific section on overseas funding that obliges the OfS to monitor such funding to determine implications for freedom of speech and academic freedom.
Universities UK said that the sector was well-aware of the risks of relying on narrow streams of student applications and was diversifying its student base. Student numbers from India, Nigeria, and the UAE have gone up. However, UUK warned against the financial risks universities face from fee freezes and increased costs. They stressed that universities need a clear, well-thought-out, and consistent funding model to safeguard their work in the present and future.
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