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Peter Black and South Wales West Liberal DemocratsRepresenting Aberavon, Bridgend, Gower, Neath, Ogmore, Port Talbot, and Swansea |
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Over-reliance on international student fees 'dangerously short-sighted' says AM
August 30, 2006 2:05 PM
Peter Black addresses Liberal Democrat Conference
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson, Peter Black, has warned that Welsh universities risk an over-reliance upon international student fee income in the light of a recent Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) report that shows a 28% increase in income from this source across the UK in the last year.
In Wales, Cardiff University has gone from 26th in terms of international student fee income to 17th and alone receives £21 million of the £49 million that Welsh higher education gets from this source - some 43%.
"Whilst attracting students from other countries and cultures can only serve to enrich the educational experience offered to all, there are dangers that our universities, and the Labour Assembly Government, need to take seriously," said Mr. Black. "For the universities there is the fact that inflows of students can be very volatile, as many countries are looking to provide more higher education place at home; and others such as the USA and Australia are trying to increase their share of that market. Our universities need to make certain that both the courses that they offer, and the support services that they provide offer relevance and value for money."
"For the Labour Assembly Government the challenge is to ensure that our universities have sufficient resources to ensure that they do not have to depend on international student fee income to remain viable. A self-satisfied over-reliance on the indefinite continuation of such fee income would be dangerously short-sighted."
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