Opinion: Having fewer international students will hurt universities – and the cost to communities will be huge 

As a new report shows the immense benefits of international higher education students to the UK economy, Professor John Latham CBE, Vice-Chancellor and CEO of Coventry University Group, says it should serve as a stark warning for UK towns and cities who will be counting the cost of curbs on recruitment. 

Considering the problems with the UK economy, the government desperately needs to maximise every possible route to growth, jobs and opportunity. We - along with other UK universities – have repeatedly made the case that our world-class sector is a big part of the solution.

UK higher education is a major driver of growth - locally, regionally and nationally. Our impactful research and innovation, the supply of job-ready graduates, apprenticeships and ongoing professional training are vital for all industrial sectors. We also keep money flowing through the UK by creating jobs and supporting businesses through student and employee spending and bring new money into the country through international students who come to study here. It is this final part that is shrinking through deliberate political decisions that are completely at odds with the economic growth everyone wants and needs. 

Universities are adapting, some faster than others, and teaching more students overseas but do our communities even know the financial impact that awaits them? Are they ready and able to absorb the economic shock? 

International students are powerful drivers of growth 

Believe me when I say that British universities are frustrated by years of pushing back against policies that make it harder for international students to study here. We have collectively presented the evidence, made strong economic cases and warned of the consequences. Yet here we are again, with another report from experts showing exactly what the UK will lose as those warnings go unheeded.  

International student numbers have fallen by around 12% since their post-pandemic peak. Had those numbers been maintained, the UK would have gained a further £2.9 billion and 23,300 jobs on top of the £40 billion and 287,000 jobs that international students already generate across the country. The government knows the country needs more growth, jobs and investment, yet it remains determined to choke off one of the clearest and most proven ways of delivering all three.  

Universities have had to embrace transnational education 

For many universities, it is now hitting home that the only way forward is to adapt and adopt different ways of educating these students - not only so we can continue providing access to one of the best education systems in the world, but also to offset the financial losses that come from no longer being able to teach these students in the UK in the numbers we once could. 

The main route - and one we adopted several years ago - is to take our high-quality UK education to students overseas. We have not waited in hope that policies restricting international students might be reversed, we have developed global campuses with the support and investment of our partners that allow students overseas to access a UK education without leaving their home country. With five campuses currently operating overseas and a sixth opening this autumn in Kazakhstan, which will be our second in the country, we were among the first institutions to fully embrace what is now a critical pillar of the government’s International Education Strategy to provide British education outside the UK. 

That shift is becoming more pronounced as more than 650,000 students are now studying for UK degrees outside the UK – a figure that has grown by 70% in just a decade. 

The economic value the UK is losing 

For institutions like ours, which have been able to do this successfully, the financial benefits of teaching students in their home countries have become an indispensable part of our long-term growth and sustainability. But therein lies the catch for the UK economy as a whole. Universities may still receive the income, but the wider financial benefits no longer flow into the towns and cities that would once have hosted those students. It is the landlords, retailers, restaurants, transport providers, cultural venues and countless local businesses that are missing out, as the economic activity that would have been generated never arrives.  

What is at stake can be seen here in Coventry. Home to thousands of international students from 160 nations, our city benefits enormously from the contribution they make on and off campus. The report found that international students based both here and at the University of Warwick generate a combined economic impact of £1.156 billion across Coventry's three parliamentary constituencies while supporting thousands of jobs. 

That is why the growth of transnational education, while a major success story for institutions like ours, can never fully replace the value that international students bring when they live, study and spend in the UK. British universities are certainly showing that they can export education successfully, but the more we do, the more economic value we risk exporting with it.