Tag: Brexit

How European students will be affected by Brexit

“Despite many universities efforts to inform and support each of their students, a sense of uncertainty surrounding the subject is all too familiar”

The 31st October may have passed yet Brexit still looms and, with the UK remaining at risk of a no-deal following their withdrawal from the European Union, many people in education are still questioning exactly how European students will be affected by Brexit.

Despite many universities efforts to inform and support each of their students, a sense of uncertainty surrounding the subject is all too familiar for both EU nationals studying at UK universities and those participating in Erasmus+ programmes which since 1987 have granted all UK and wider European university students and lecturers the opportunity to study or intern abroad for up to a year.

So, what may a ‘no deal’ Brexit mean for European Students? According to Universities UK, whose members consist of both vice-chancellors and principals of institutions across the country, an exploration into the implications for universities and how to minimise risk has revealed that a failed Brexit negotiation will cause further uncertainty about the UK’s commitment and involvement with the Erasmus+ programme.

“Marketing of British higher education institutions needs to be relevant in this time of disruption”

The United Kingdom’s departure from the EU is a complex and controversial political process, now extended until January 2020. We are the second most popular study destination in the world for international students, behind the US, with almost 460,000 international students in 2017/18, with 30.3% of these coming from the EU.

Clearly, international students are very important to the UK’s higher education sector. Although Brexit should not concern European students currently studying in the UK up to Autumn 2020, as they will be granted “home status” by the government, it does pose a difficult level of uncertainty for European students going forward. Students who arrive after we leave the EU will need to apply for European temporary leave to remain in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

“When overseas European teachers can no longer settle… the likelihood that they will opt to choose the UK as their base will be diminished”

It is no secret that Britain’s teaching workforce is struggling. Last year, every single secondary subject – aside from Biology and English – fell short of recruitment targets.

This January, Tes estimated this shortfall to be close to a thousand. In some subjects, such as Physics, hundreds of teaching spaces are going unfilled; despite initiatives and marketing campaigns being introduced by the Department of Education, domestic talent is not enough to fill teaching positions in UK schools.

Meanwhile, Britain has been hurtling towards an ever-likelier no-deal Brexit. Despite parliament managing to push through a bill to prevent a no-deal Brexit on October 31^st last week, Boris Johnson is still hinting at the prospect of crashing out on this date without an agreement, in a move which would defy law, but is still very much a possibility.

“For academic visitors, applying for a UK visitor visa is now akin to rolling a dice”

Immigration reform is critical if the UK is to retain standards and reputation for academic excellence, explains immigration lawyer Anne Morris.

The UK immigration system is failing UK academia. Visa processing is protracted, expensive and unpredictable, undermining the efforts of educational institutions to attract and retain global academic talent.

The challenges are affecting both short-term academic visitors and longer-term recruitment programmes. The sector is missing out on staff and speakers and is in danger of losing its standing as a leading global hub of academic excellence.

“Few academics believe a no-deal Brexit will be good for the education system”

Regardless of how you feel about Britain leaving the European Union, there was a time when not securing a deal seemed farcical. Yet, with the new deadline of October 31^st now imminent, this unfortunately now looks almost certain.

This would have dramatic implications for the UK, but one of the greatest could be in the education sector. From universities to student accommodation, there are measures which should be considered – and planned for – in the event of a no-deal.

August 27, 2019
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Higher education, Internationalisation, UK

How A Hard Brexit Could Affect The International Education Sector

“The future for overseas teachers currently based in the UK isn’t certain”

There are very few people in the sector who relish in the idea of a hard Brexit, but with increasingly tense negotiations it’s looking like a possibility. There are many Brexiteers trying to steer the UK into a hard Brexit because they feel like it’s the best way to deliver the will of the people. Though this might be the case in some respects, it also creates problems.

At the risk of a hard Brexit or no deal at all, it’s important to consider the future. One sector that needs to look into the outcome of hard Brexit is the international education sector.
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Will UK student visas have to change post-Brexit?

“When change finally does occur, what form is the new landscape for EU students likely to take?”

The recognition of education as an economic purpose by the founding fathers of the European Economic Community led to freedom of movement for students of EU and later EEA states plus Switzerland.

This has changed the face of higher education across the Continent, facilitating cross-fertilisation of ideas and consequent innovation across a mobile student and academic population. It is undoubtedly a shining achievement of post-WW2 European politics, and the UK’s great universities have been at the heart of many major developments in learning.
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December 7, 2018
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Higher education, Internationalisation, Study abroad, UK

How will Brexit affect the UK’s international student community?

“The changing landscape of immigration laws could mean that youngsters need to choose their degree more wisely in order to study abroad”

Since Brexit negotiations began, UCAS has reported a surprising surge of European and international students applying to study in the UK – with figures exceeding the 100,000 mark for the first time. Many have speculated that the increase in applicants is due to a fear growing among international students: that access to further education in the UK will be limited once freedom of movement has ended come 29 March 2019.

What we know:

There is no abrupt close-down for students wishing to study in the UK in the immediate future: students starting in the academic year 2018/19 can continue undisturbed since they are secured under ‘transitional protection’.
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A perfect storm is massing against British universities

“This tempest massing against British universities will create financial damage and reduce the UK soft power in the world”

A leaked document putting forward proposals for more stringent controls on workers and students from the EU has dashed hopes that the UK government might be considering a more liberal approach to international student visas. Aldwyn Cooper, vice chancellor at Regent’s University London, says the higher education sector is already at breaking point.

The latest proposal by the government in a leaked document – stating that the Home Office wants to introduce a crackdown on overseas students from the European Union following Brexit – is another example of what appears to be the systematic demolition of the attraction, stability and international reputation of UK higher education.

September 19, 2017
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Europe, Higher education, Immigration, Legislation, Politics, UK, Uncategorized

No one saw the UK’s election upset coming. What now for higher education?

“Our European colleagues have told me they see this as a very good result. It will make it impossible for the government to force through a hard Brexit”

Following the UK’s shock election result, which saw the Conservatives fall short of a majority, Aldwyn Cooper, vice chancellor and chief executive of Regent’s University London, considers what the upset and a resulting alliance with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party could mean for the higher education sector.

No one in government saw this result coming. Only yesterday, one senior Conservative suggested that they were expecting to achieve a majority over Labour of over 100.
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Aldwyn Cooper

Professor Aldwyn Cooper is vice chancellor at Regent’s University London.