Recommendation 57

Not only are the international student rates that EU students will now be paying to Scottish universities higher than the amount Scottish universities currently receive for EU students from SAAS, but they are also higher than the rates students from other parts of the UK pay to study in Scotland. The exact rate varies by course and institution but, according to Professor Katherine Smith, will often be four to five times the rate it was previously.135 In addition to the international student fee income Scottish universities will now receive from EU students, Minister Lochhead has confirmed that the estimated £19 million of public funding that would have funded new EU entrants in 2021–22 will stay in the sector to fund places for additional Scottish students.136 This announcement has been broadly welcomed by the university sector.137 Non-financial benefits of EU students