King's College London

Professor Sir Peter Mathieson is Principal and Vice-Chancellor, University of Edinburgh.

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Just over a year ago I wrote an article in the Scottish newspaper The Herald in which I suggested ‘calm consideration’ of the issues raised therein concerning the funding of higher education in Scotland.[1] I pointed out, among other things, the anomaly that Scottish-domiciled families can pay for their offspring’s university education in England or any other part of the world but not in Scotland, so that both talent and wealth are leaving the country.

What followed could hardly be considered ‘calm’: the then First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf publicly disagreed with me[2] and one of his predecessors Alex Salmond used his social media platform publicly condemn me for having the temerity to comment on the subject, expressing his opinion that I am unfamiliar with the issue (despite my 20 years of senior university leadership roles) and that I should concentrate on matters within my own university.

At least some calmer consideration did supervene elsewhere, for example in The Spectator,[3] and more recently one of my counterpart principals in Scotland, Sir Paul Grice, wrote a similarly balanced article. (Mr Salmond condemned that one too, saying that Sir Paul ‘should know better’.)

UK universities are inadequately funded for the education of domestic students and for most of their research, such that their survival depends upon cross-subsidy, mostly from the higher tuition fees paid by international students. International students contribute massively to our campus culture, to the cosmopolitan nature of the university experience for our home students and staff, to the UK economy and to the global spread of the outcomes of UK education, but it is inescapably true that they are also financially propping up an under-funded UK higher education sector.

The fragility of this situation was amply illustrated in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, when we and others modelled the impact of a reduction or cessation of international student mobility: universities would be rapidly bankrupt if there was not mitigation. For the University of Edinburgh, the only two significant sources of revenue for cross-subsidy are (1) these international fees, plus (2) any surplus we can generate for re-investment (we are a charity, so we don’t make profits or have shareholders, but financial surplus from any commercial activities can be re-invested into the university’s running costs) – for example via commercial letting of any vacant accommodation in the summer months when Edinburgh is a major tourist destination and cultural hub with the International Festivals and the Fringe.

Recent events have contributed to an impression among overseas students, their parents and advisers that the UK is not as welcoming a place as it once was. Changes to availability of visas for students’ dependents; the (hopefully now averted, but maybe not?) threat to the graduate visa; election rhetoric about the perils of immigration, without any mention of its advantages to the UK or the risks of including international students in net migration numbers when they clearly behave differently to other groups of migrants and make massive measurable contributions to the UK economy; stasis for multiple years in the public funding of universities (worse in Scotland than in England) despite rising costs; and a lack of appreciation of the key role that universities play in the much-desired economic growth that all politicians refer to as the answer to the UK’s current problems.

It is encouraging that there is objective evidence of substantial public support for the importance of universities and the risks of allowing them to fail, but unless this is recognised and there are favourable fiscal and other policy changes, there is a risk of squandering opportunity. A recent survey conducted for the Russell Group by Survation found universities are rated by the UK public as our top world-beating sector, ahead of technology, financial services and even sport. Even more pleasingly, the survey found that 54 per cent of people said that having more international students would demonstrate the global prestige of our universities, and only 1 per cent think they should be a priority target for reducing immigration. So, while other polling suggests that cutting overall immigration is a priority for much of the electorate, it seems that most people don’t want to see international students as a target for reductions.

The recent report of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), showing that the graduate visa is working as intended and is not the subject of systematic abuse, should be required reading of governments in Westminster and in Holyrood. There is talk of a Scotland-specific visa system, perhaps linked to tax codes: an intriguing idea which could allow Scotland, a part of the UK that welcomes immigration and recognises that it needs more not less, to differentiate its reputation to potential international students and other employment-seeking migrants.

So, what can the new UK government do? (1) Take international students out of net migration numbers; (2) Accept the MAC report; (3) Ideally extend the graduate visa time period from two years as other countries have done; (4) Adequately fund education of home students (a devolved matter in Scotland, so this is a message to the Holyrood government as well as to the future UK government); (5) End unhelpful anti-university rhetoric about culture wars, ‘woke’ policies and the like and start treating universities like the ‘jewels in the crown’ that politicians often call us when it suits them to do so; and (6) End speculation and uncertainty, which are themselves unhelpful to sensitive international trade markets as well as potential students and staff.

[1] Mathieson, P. S. P. (2023, May 10). The truth about university admissions. The Herald. https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/23509436.truth-university-admissions/

[2] BBC News. (2023, May 10). Humza Yousaf “committed” to free tuition for Scots. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65543954

[3] Clark, R. (2023, December 14). The huge cost of Scotland’s ‘free’ tuition fees. The Spectator. https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-huge-cost-of-scotlands-free-tuition-fees/