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A leading British university is lowering the entry requirements for some international students, who pay higher fees than domestic applicants, in response to “financial challenges”, according to an internal memo.
The move by York university follows warnings from cash-strapped higher education leaders about a downturn in the number of more lucrative international students coming to the study in the UK.
York will now admit some overseas applicants who achieved the equivalent of B/B/C grades at A level into its undergraduate programmes, or a 2:2 degree to join its postgraduate courses.
On its website the university states that the “typical offer” for undergraduate courses in a range of disciplines, spanning computer science, medicine, physics, history and English, is A/A/A grades at A level.
Some academics and postgraduate researchers were informed of the decision to lower the bar in an email last month from the deputy head of York’s computer science department.
“In response to the current financial challenges, the University has decided to lower its tariff for all departments and programmes for overseas applicants,” the December email said.
It added the department was “supportive” of the move and did “not see it as a significant change from current practice”, but said the university would organise “centralised support for students that need it”.
York denied it had lowered its entry grades for international students and said “they remain as advertised”.
“The change in ‘tariff’ refers to a more flexible approach we are adopting to international offer holders who miss their grades,” a spokesperson said.
They likened the approach to York’s normal practice for domestic students during “clearing”, when UK students who have not achieved the grades to take up offers from their first-choice university try to find places elsewhere.
“This enables us to remain competitive in a global market. It also allows us to take context and individual circumstances into account,” York added.
York is one of the 24 research-intensive UK universities that make up the Russell Group of top-tier British higher education institutions.
UK universities have become increasingly reliant on international students to cross-subsidise domestic students who pay tuition fees capped at £9,250. The cap has barely increased since its introduction in 2012 at £9,000. Most domestic students pay the fees by taking out a state loan.
York’s most recent annual accounts for the year ending July 2022 called international students “integral to the financial sustainability of the university”, noting domestic student fees had been “substantively static”.
Its accounts for that year showed annual income increased 14 per cent to £472mn but a swing from profitability the prior year to a loss of £13.3mn.
International fees across the sector now account for nearly 20 per cent of university income. The Russell Group has estimated that on average English universities made a £2,500 loss on each domestic student last year.
The shortfall will increase to £5,000 per student per year by 2029-30, according to the Russell Group, leaving a growing number of UK universities chasing international students in order to make ends meet.
Former universities minister Jo Johnson last year warned that the rapid expansion in international recruitment had raised questions about substandard or fraudulent university applications and was sapping political support for the higher education sector in Westminster.
A Financial Times analysis of figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency found that non-EU students at universities were much less likely to obtain top grades in their final examinations than domestic students.
A total of 28 per cent of non-EU international students received a lower-second (2.2) or third-class degree in 2021-22, compared with 20 per cent of domestic students.
Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said that while universities did alter entry requirements to manage course demand, he was “surprised” that York’s move was linked to its financial position and by the “blanket nature” of the change across all departments.
One York student said: “I’m worried this will harm the university’s academic prestige. Lowering standards will ultimately mean fewer people want to come and study here.”
York’s decision emerged after several universities privately reported a drop-off in international students taking up their places, including after paying their deposits.
Senior leaders at four English universities told the FT in December they were experiencing a slowdown in international recruitment, driven in part by renewed competition for the US and Australia, which had closed their borders during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Data collected by the Enroly web platform that helps international students through the bureaucratic process of joining universities has indicated a sharp drop-off in enrolments from Nigeria and India.
The company said a representative sample from more than 68,000 applicants to small and large UK universities found that overall deposit payments were down by 37 per cent for the January 2024 intake when compared with the previous year.
Jamie Arrowsmith, director of Universities UK International, which represents the industry, said the data suggested “an extremely challenging period” lay ahead for international student recruitment in the UK.
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