Rammell: Tackle fee question to keep EU students after Brexit

Bill Rammell, vice-chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire and a former higher education minister, has stressed that universities must retain a culture of openness to prevent a dramatic drop in European Union students after Brexit.

Rammell, a former Labour higher education minister who is now chair of the MillionPlus group of modern universities, said that UK institutions must ensure they are still considered “a genuine option for EU students” after Brexit and “think of a solution” to the problem of EU students being charged international fees. He was speaking at the Liberal Democrats’ party conference in Bournemouth on 16 September.

Rammell said that giving EU students international status after Brexit “may see numbers fall dramatically” as students would have to pay higher fees. EU students currently pay the same £9,250 per year as UK students for tuition, but after Brexit universities may be able to charge much higher international student fees.