I was delighted to attend the LD Events Student Housing Conference last week, and my first takeaway has to be the effect of politics on the student sector. One of the most startling stats from the day was that 80% of the most populous nations will have a general election this year, which means 50 million students will be voting in 2024. Last Friday, the FT released their podcast "Election battle lines drawn up" and their public policy editor Peter Foster outlined the dangers facing the UK’s university sector if the government decides to axe the graduate visa route. 

The graduate visa route is designed to make the UK's education offer to international students attractive and allows them to stay in the UK for 2 years after they graduate, essentially it is a "looking for work visa". James Cleverly felt that this route was being misused so gave the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) 14 weeks to investigate. The report came back on the same day as the conference and (much to Downing Street's disappointment but the student sector's delight) found 1) the route is not being misused and 2) these graduates are net contributors to the Exchequer. 

This is a relief to everyone involved in the higher education sector given that Knight Frank's research revealed that 48% of prospective international students polled would likely change their study destination if the graduate visa duration was reduced. The sector is already seeing a reduction in international student numbers following a change to the visa which means that students can't bring family members with them (despite there being no evidence that these family members are a burden on our welfare system). This is particularly vital because the fees paid by domestic students (£9,250 per year) are deeply subsided by international student fees and a report last week by the office for students warns that over the next 3 years, 90% of English universities could be in deficit. International students are not taking places away from domestic students, they are funding them. 

The MAC report specifically highlights that as the graduate route has increased the attractiveness of the student visa offer, this has implications for international student housing. But rather than dealing with this by reducing the number of students coming to study in the UK, I would hope that the solution is building more housing. Let’s hope that the positive findings by the MAC report encourage the government (whichever party that may be) to see international students as part of the solution to the funding crisis in our higher education sector, rather than a burden.