NEWS
Higher education
US universities to lose ‘at least’ $3bn due to Covid-19, says association The US higher education sector “will lose at least” $3 billion as a result of the coronavirus crisis, a national association has warned, with losses driven mainly by tumbling international enrolments across the country. The Covid-19 pandemic will cost US universities dearly, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators, which surveyed leaders across the country’s $520 billion higher education sector in April.
It found that universities had already collectively spent around $638 million on “financial support” for international students, scholars, faculty and staff who remained on campuses when courses were moved online earlier this year. Education-abroad programmes, whereby students enrolled at US universities spend a portion of their courses at sister institutions overseas, will not resume until it is deemed safe to travel, and universities “are
not certain when they will be able to offer education-abroad programmes again”, said NAFSA. The group found that, of 346 respondents to its survey, most (53%) had cancelled study-abroad programmes due to Covid-19, and would “not be able to recoup” funds. Meanwhile, nearly a third (32%) of US universities said that, throughout the crisis, they had financially supported foreign
students by bearing costs related to airfare, food, housing refunds, rent, scholarships and tuition refunds. In projecting a decline in international student enrolments in the autumn, most (35.5%) US universities said that they expected to lose between $100,000 and $500,000. Nearly a fifth (18.4%) thought that they would lose between $500,000 and $1 million, while 6.6% expected to lose more than $3 million.
UK: Specialist university buys closed-down private school to expand socially distanced campus
Global University Systems expands Canadian footprint with purchase of private music college
A specialist university in Dorset, England has acquired a local private school that was set to close down after the summer term. Bournemouth’s AECC University College, which specialises in health sciences, has bought the site on which St Thomas Garnet’s School is located, opposite its main campus in Boscombe. St Thomas Garnet’s School announced in May that it would close permanently at the end of the academic year, which prompted AECC to spark discussions with the school’s board around a potential acquisition. AECC will use the school site as a second campus, in the short term providing additional socially distanced teaching capacity for new and returning students in September. “When we heard about the news of the closure, we began a conversation with the school’s trustees. “For us, this was a once in a generation opportunity and it gives us the chance to expand our site to
Private higher education provider Global University Systems (GUS) has acquired Trebas Institute, an independent music and entertainment college in Canada, amid a crisis that poses an existential threat to many universities’ finances. The transaction, the value of which was not disclosed, will expand GUS’s roster of Canadian universities, which includes University Canada West, Toronto School of Management and The Language Gallery Canada. According to its website, Trebas Institute, which has campuses in Montreal and Toronto, offers “high-end” educational programmes in the entertainment industry and claims music “artists themselves” are among its graduates. The private university was founded in 1979 and was registered under Canada’s Private Career Colleges Act in 2005. “Our institutions provide a variety of study paths and qualifications and we are always
EducationInvestor Global • June 2020
a second campus within 30 yards of the first. “With the current coronavirus situation, this acquisition will give us extra capacity to spread out across the two sites, providing greater social distancing when we start our new academic year in September – creating the safest possible scenario for our students and staff.” The deal is an example of cross-pollination within the UK’s education sector, constituents of which – including private schools and universities – are facing perhaps the most significant financial pressures in decades, forcing many to close down. Earlier this month, we reported that nine private schools had closed down since the pandemic began – though this number may have since increased. In 2018 – the year for which Charity Commission data is most recently available – St Thomas Garnet’s School’s charity parent had funds totalling £811,756 – up from £728,578 a year prior.
looking to expand to new sectors and locations,” said Cyndi McLeod, GUS Canada chief executive. “With Trebas Institute, not only will we expand our education offer by adding creative disciplines, but we will also establish a presence in Montreal for the first time.” Founded in 2013, GUS owns more than 20 for-profit universities across the world, including The University of Law and Arden University in the UK. Most of the group’s institutions specialise in various fields, such as law, business, management and creative industries. The deal closed during a turbulent period in Canada’s higher education sector, which, like that of other countries, was rocked by a pandemic that has caused domestic and international students to reconsider plans amid concerns that in-person instruction and flights may still be banned in September.
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