Speaking at last week’s CASE Europe Annual Conference, Stern told delegates it was positive the UK government had “stayed their hands” and not completely pulled the Graduate Route as many had predicted it would – opting instead to shorten it by six months.
“Actually, the UK government would quite like to remain open and attractive to international students as well as hot global talent,” she said, suggesting that the levy was actually “the brainchild of people who were trying to help us”.
But she labelled the idea a “wretched one”, despite the levy reportedly being designed to get away from what she called the “perma-battle” over the number of international students in the UK as immigration becomes a major political sticking point.
In September, it was announced that funding raised from the levy would be used to fund maintenance grants for disadvantaged domestic students, prompting many to speculate that the policy was designed to show the British public the economic benefits of international education in real terms.
“Now, I personally don’t buy it,” said Stern of the thinking behind the policy, adding that it was unlikely to “hold sway” with the general public during any upcoming elections, which are bound to be dominated by so-called ‘Broken Britain’ politics.
Stern suggested that a large part of the problem had been created through “political inaction and frankly cowardice” over domestic tuition fees, which have stayed largely stagnant for years – forcing universities to up their international intake.
The UK government would quite like to remain open and attractive to international students as well as hot global talent
Vivienne Stern, UUK
Last year, domestic tuition fees in the UK rose by £285, marking the first uplift for seven years. However, they will start to rise with inflation from 2026 in a development Stern called a “massive win” for UK universities.
Stern warned delegates that the sector would “lose the battle” on the levy, which she anticipated would be announced in the Autumn Budget. “We will regroup and and think about how we can start the next attempt to remove it from the landscape,” she pledged.
It has been estimated that the proposed levy – which has been roundly criticised by the international education sector – could cost UK universities over 77,000 international enrolments within five years of its implementation.
Last month, Wales’ education secretary rejected the introduction of the levy, pledging that international students were “really welcome” in the country.
The levy was first mooted in May’s immigration white paper, which also set out stricter Basic Compliance Assessment criteria for institutions to meet, as well as stricter English language requirements for international students’ dependants.
