Kent Universities face financial trouble ahead of drop in overseas students
With multiple university campuses in Kent alone, this presents a unique economic challenge for campuses across the county.
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00:00The United Kingdom is known for its reputation for high-quality, university-level education.
00:05But recent statistics have shown that the number of international students applying for UK universities has fallen.
00:11And Kent is no exception.
00:13With three different universities having campuses in the county, it could provide a challenge in terms of their revenue.
00:19I spoke to a student from the University of Kent's Medway campus about their own experience.
00:24The main challenge being, many students who come here, they don't have enough experience in the field on what they're pursuing.
00:32Most of the students, who are my friends, have come here for a master's.
00:38At the master's level, you should at least have two years' experience beforehand, before pursuing your master's graduate level.
00:46So then only you can get into some internship or directly get into graduate jobs.
00:51While many students have come for master's programmes, many come at the undergraduate level as well.
00:57As for possible solutions, this could mean increased prices for domestic students by universities that need to better their profits.
01:04There is the potential of the government helping increase their direct funding of universities, but this all comes at a certain political and economic cost.
01:12Much of how the fall in applications from international students to study at UK universities depends on what's driving that fall.
01:20So if the main driver is the fact that partners and children can no longer accompany international students to the UK
01:28and international students are put off from UK universities because of that, then that could create increased funding challenges.
01:36In general, a fall in applications from international students is likely to create an increased challenge when it comes to university finances.
01:46This effect on international students is backed by government-released statistics on sponsored study visa applications,
01:52with just more than 180,000 students applying last year and nearly 70,000 dependents,
01:58to now around 150,000 students this year, but a drop of around 50,000 dependents.
02:04In a statement, universities UK said,
02:07Attracting overseas students can be difficult in a volatile global environment.
02:11The reputation of our universities, backed up by positive messaging from our current government, will help attract students to study here.
02:17More than 10% of the University of Kent student body is made up of international students, all who pay an increased rate,
02:24so universities across the county and the country will be looking on how they can attract overseas students.
02:29Finn McDermid for KMTV