Recommendation 3

Public sector funding for higher education in Scotland has reduced by 12% in real terms in seven years. In addition, despite the policy of free tuition for Scottish students, and a cap on Scottish student numbers, only 90% of the costs of teaching Scottish students at Scottish universities are covered by the Scottish Government. We recognise that this leaves a 10% gap in funding that must be filled via alternative means. The main way Scottish universities fill this gap is through international students, who account for more than 16% of all income across Scottish universities, a large proportion of which comes from Chinese students. As we have seen with large fluctuations in the number of Indian students studying in the UK and the implications of the pandemic, international student numbers are potentially volatile and can be influenced by a number of internal and external factors. The Scottish Government and Scottish universities should work with the UK Government and universities in other parts of the UK to seek out examples of best practice in diversifying income streams away from potentially volatile international student fees. In doing so great care should be taken to ensure that core focus on education and research is not lost in favour of commercialised corporate ventures.