The UK government needs to reduce uncertainty for EU students and staff in higher education, have contingency plans in place for EU research funding and take international students out of net migration figures, according to a report from the House of Commons Education Select Committee.
Exiting the EU: challenges and opportunities for higher education warns that if the government fails to address concerns within the higher education sector, “Brexit will damage the international competitiveness and long-term success of our universities.”
There is significant uncertainty in the university sector in the run up to Brexit, the report notes, dominated by fears over residency rights for staff and fee status for students.
“The government must act urgently to avert the risk of a damaging ‘brain drain’ of talent from our shores”
The government should “unilaterally agree the rights of EU nationals before the end of 2017” or risk years of uncertainty for EU nationals in higher education, it argues.
During this time, “the UK’s international competitors would be able to benefit from this uncertainty and potential decline in the attractiveness of UK as a destination,” the report outlines.
Printed prior to a key announcement last week guaranteeing fees and funding EU student intake in England for 2018/19, the report recommends a short-term guarantee on fees and grants for upcoming intake.
On April 21, Jo Johnson, Minister for Universities and Science, announced the funding commitment to “provide reassurance to the brightest minds from across Europe”. And just yesterday (April 24), the Welsh government said it would do the same.
“It’s welcome that EU students have been given some guarantees on their funding and loan access,” said Neil Carmichael, chair of the education committee. “But the government must act urgently to address the uncertainty over EU staff and avert the risk of a damaging ‘brain drain’ of talent from our shores.”
Maddalaine Ansell, chief executive of University Alliance, welcomed the fee announcement but called for “similar certainty” that EU staff will be able to continue to work at UK universities and research collaboration with EU institutions will be able to continue.
The report also recommends reforms to the immigration system to create a new visa for highly skilled academics that is more liberal than the Tier 2 visa stream.
“This should have a lower salary threshold and a separate, higher cap, as well as lower bureaucratic burdens and costs,” the report reads.
“This new approach would show the government was serious in its aim to bring in the best from around the world and encourage collaboration.”
The UK’s continued participation in the EU’s Erasmus+ mobility program should also be a priority in negotiations, the report urges.
If taking part in the program is impossible, the government should guarantee it will underwrite any Erasmus+ placements potentially under threat in 2019 and develop a replacement mobility scheme, comparable to Switzerland’s Swiss European Mobility Program, it says.
Similarly, it recommends the government put contingency plans in place to mitigate the loss of access to the EU’s research fund, Horizon 2020. From 2007 to 2013, the UK received €8.8bn in research funding, €6.9bn of which came from Horizon 2020’s predecessor, the Framework 7 Programme.
“We need similar certainty that EU staff will be able to continue to work at UK universities”
The committee also concluded that international students should be taken out of net migration figures, saying: “The government’s refusal to do so is putting at risk the higher education sector’s share of the international student market.”
Removing them would also be a simple way to offset some of the risks of leaving the EU, it added, urging the government to improve its data recording to prioritise exit data.
Universities UK said the report was right to identify EU staff, immigration and research as priorities for universities during Brexit negotiations.
“As large and complex organisations, universities plan for years down the line, so it important that we receive clarity of the government’s positions on these crucial issues as soon as possible,” said Alistair Jarvis, deputy chief executive of UUK.
The committee launched its inquiry on 29 September 2016 and received 197 written submissions from a wide range of sources, including close to 40 universities. It took oral evidence at Westminster on three occasions, at the University of Oxford, University College London and Northumbria University, and heard from witnesses, including university leaders, academics, and student and staff representatives.
It says it will now invite the government to respond to the report’s findings.
