I’ve just come across one of the best student-led campaigns towards helping international students. As an ex-international student I understand how difficult and shocking it can be to come to a new country 1000s of miles away and be told that the fees are different to what was originally advertised. My first-year fee was £10,000+ a year and in my third year it was £13,000+.
Now Daniel C Stevens (@dc_stevens), International Students’ Officer for @NUSuk is launching a campaign for universities to offer fixed fee guarantee under the “fixed international fees” campaign. See hashtag #fixintfees.
Daniel C Stevens, International Students’ Officer, NUS UK
The NUS has found out that each year up to 175,000 international students come to the UK in good faith only to find that the tuition fees for their course have increased without warning. Already paying high fees and budgeting meticulously, these changes threaten international students’ welfare and course completion.
At least 50% of UK universities do not provide international students with a “fixed fee guarantee” and their fees increase, during their programme, often by thousands of pounds a year. This could make a huge difference to international student retention, as NUS’ Pound in Your Pocket research shows: students who pay unexpected additional costs of £1000 or more are three times more likely to leave their programme. Indeed, research from Universities UK suggests that the proportion of students impacted by fee changes could actually be much higher, with 62% of institutions, representing 58% of all international students without protection from rising fees during their course.
This is inexcusable, unjustifiable and extortionate.
The NUS is calling on every institution to guarantee fixed international student fees. International students should not have the goal posts moved by institutions while they are here.
Update 17/02/2014 THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY. WILL BE UPDATED REGULARLY.
SOURCE: Daniel C Stevens Facebook Notes.
