EU Student Enrolment in UK Universities Halves

Nathan Farrington

News Writer

A recent report by Higher Education Student Statistics (HESA) has revealed that the number of EU students enrolling in UK universities has decreased by 53% since the country formally withdrew from the EU.

The same report also indicated that the number of teachers moving from EU higher education institutions to the UK had dropped by 1% for the second consecutive year.

UCAS has predicted that students from EU countries will continue to decrease each academic year, with EU students no longer being entitled to the benefits of the Erasmus+ scheme in the UK. Previously, students from EU countries were not required to pay tuition fees to study at UK universities. This was a reciprocal arrangement that meant UK students could study in EU member-states without paying tuition fees at these institutions.

EU students enrolling at UK universities post-Brexit are subject to the same fees as students from other non-UK countries, which can be as high as £38,000. These students must also apply for a visa where they have to prove that they would have access to £1,023 per month to study in areas outside of London like the West Midlands. for British citizens as Erasmus did. Instead, the scheme requires partner universities in Europe to waive fees for students.

Universities have themselves claimed that the increasing expenses caused by Brexit have rendered the country a less attractive destination for EU students. In 2019, leaders from 150 universities described Brexit as an 'academic, cultural and scientific setback' for higher education.

As recently as 2020/21, the University contained 1,445 EU students compared to only 1,060 a year later; a decline of more than a third in the space of one year.

Across the West Midlands, universities have suffered similar reductions in EU student enrolment. As of 2018, 5.6% of the entire student population in the West Midlands were from EU countries. Since Brexit, this figure is now 3.2%.

Universities UK International suggest that the dramatic decrease seen in these figures is a direct consequence of the decision to leave the EU and the government’s choice to make the UK a “non-associated third country” in Erasmus+.

Moreover, UK citizens must apply for a visa if they are studying for more than 90 days in an EU country, which is projected to further increase costs for those studying abroad.

This has led organisations, such as the National Union of Students, to condemn the decision to leave Erasmus because they say restricts the ability of students, especially those from less-privileged backgrounds, to study in Europe. The Erasmus scheme had expanded its intake of students from the UK in the decade preceding the vote to leave the EU, with 30,000 Britons studying through the scheme in 2013/14. This was an increase of 115% from 2007, highlighting the popularity of the programme among British students.

The fall in EU-UK student exchange figures is not expected to return to pre-Brexit levels in the immediate future. The decision to end the UK’s involvement in the Erasmus scheme, as well as the increased costs induced by Brexit, can be considered as the primary factors behind the findings of HESA’s report.

The HESA’s report illustrates the comprehensive impact of Brexit on universities in the West Midlands alone. The University of Birmingham is one of many educational bodies in the region to have been directly impacted by the UK leaving the EU. 11% of all of its non-UK students in 2021/22 came from EU member states compared to 18% in 2014/15.

Critics have also argued that this decision has made the process of studying abroad less feasible for UK students. Since the Erasmus+ scheme was introduced in 1987, 200,000 students from the UK had benefitted from the initiative and studied across Europe.

After leaving the EU, the Erasmus programme has been replaced by another which provides British students with funds for studying abroad: the Turing scheme. The government claims that this initiative facilitates more academic opportunities abroad but it does not eliminate tuition fee costs