15th September 2008

Universities are increasingly relying on students from countries not in the European Union because they pay far more in tuition fees a study from Universities UK has revealed today.

Fees from foreign students have become a "more significant" source of income for most universities than Government research grants.
The study found that the number of foreign admissions from outside the EU soared from 116,840 in 1997 to 239,210 last year and on many courses, undergraduates and postgraduates from overseas are charged more than double EU students. On postgraduate courses, foreign students now outnumber those from Britain and Europe.

The disclosure comes just days after Alison Richard, Cambridge vice-chancellor, criticised the Government for spending less on higher education than most other developed nations.
"The well-documented, long-term under-investment in higher education in this country has been recognised by the Government over the last decade and welcome steps have been taken to counter it. But they are not enough, and tough economic times are no reason to abandon our historic strengths by backing away from further investment."