SCOTTISH universities are in financial crisis partly due to a “hostile” political environment and the UK’s “draconian” immigration system, a top trade unionist has said.
It comes as universities across Scotland are facing severe financial difficulties, most notably at Dundee and Edinburgh.
UCU Scotland officer Mary Senior spoke to the Sunday National about the issues contributing to the current climate, calling on all political parties to “put their money where their mouths are”.
On Tuesday, Finance Secretary Shona Robison announced a £15m emergency loan for the sector which Dundee University could get access to – although it will have to be paid back.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh University is planning to reduce staff numbers to plug a £140m gap, which is said to equate to about 10% of the university’s annual turnover.
The university declined to confirm the number of staff reductions and whether these will include compulsory redundancies.
Speaking to The National previously, Senior said these issues were partly the result of “over a decade of under-investment”, particularly around the amount of funding the Scottish Government – via the Scottish Funding Council – gives to universities to cover teaching Scottish-domiciled students.
While UCU supports free tuition for Scottish students, Senior pointed out that it meant universities were having to look towards alternate funding sources to plug the gap.
Universities get a lot of their money from increased tuition fees paid by overseas students. The Institute for Fiscal Studies reported that in 2022/23 (the most recent figures available), Scottish universities had total higher education teaching resources of around £2.7 billion. Of this, a little more than half came from tuition fees charged to students from outside the EU.
However, various political factors have led to a drop in the number of international and EU students coming to Scotland.
Senior told the Sunday National that one factor was a “hostile environment” created by the previous UK government, which has not gone away under the current Labour Government.
She said: “The hostile environment narrative from the former UK government hasn’t changed as much as we would have wanted it.
“We want Scotland to be an open and welcoming place for staff and students who can come and live, study, work and contribute here. However, the narrative that’s coming from the top isn’t helpful to that.
“We’re pressing the UK Government in terms of rolling back on the hostile environment – the more draconian elements of our immigration system – to show that the higher education system across the UK benefits from students and staff that come from overseas, and we shouldn’t be putting barriers up around that.”
Senior highlighted changes to study visa rules that came into effect last year, which prevent international students from bringing dependants – except from those studying postgraduate research courses or courses with government-funded scholarships.
Official figures from the UK Government – which reflect the UK as a whole, not just Scotland – show that the number of study visa applications in the year ending January 2025 (411,100) were 13% lower than the year before.
Meanwhile, the number of applications from dependants of students in the same period dropped by 84%.
Senior told the Sunday National that changes to visa rules have “made it really hard” on Scottish universities’ finances.
She added: “What we saw last year when the former UK government changed the visa rules, all of these pressures really reduced the number of international students that institutions could rely on, and that’s presented them with real problems.
“Changes around bringing dependants – which many postgraduate students would do – has really impacted on institutions’ ability to recruit international students.”
Another significant factor is the impact of Brexit, which Senior said was “absolutely” causing issues.
She said: “We’ve seen a massive dip in the number of EU students that have come to Scotland.
“At the same time we’ve had this decade of under-investment in terms of the funding for Scottish-domiciled students, we equally have had the challenges of Brexit.”
Because EU students used to be treated in the same way as Scottish-domiciled students, it made it easier for them to study in Scotland. These students may have gone on to study postgraduate degrees, which would have brought more money in for universities.
According to the latest data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, the number of EU nationals studying in Scotland in 2022/23 was 13,130 (making up 4.5% of students) – down by more than half of what it was before Brexit (21,505 students in 2018/19).
'There's political consensus'
SENIOR called on all political parties to “put their money where their mouths are” and commit to “properly fund higher education” – including the Scottish Government through the Scottish Funding Council.
She told the Sunday National: “We’re absolutely wanting the Scottish Government to properly fund higher education.
“Every main political party in Scotland went into the July 2024 General Election committing to free tuition for Scottish-domiciled students.
“There’s political consensus around that, so they need to put their money where their mouths are and properly fund it.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Universities make a valuable contribution to Scotland’s economy and wider society. Ministers have listened closely to the sector in the development of this year’s budget, which is why we are investing more than £1.1bn in university teaching and research.
“While universities are autonomous institutions with responsibility for their own strategic and operational decision-making, the Scottish Government and Scottish Funding Council will continue to offer appropriate support as they develop plans to mitigate their financial challenges.
“There are further factors impacting universities, including UK migration policies and the UK Government’s increase to employer national insurance contributions, which is estimated to cost Scottish universities more than £48m.”
A UK Government spokesperson said: "This government strongly values the contribution that international students make to our economy, to our education institutions and to our society. However, net migration must come down.”
