THE number of students from China and the United States going to university in Scotland is on the increase, new figures show.
There were 5,600 enrolments from China in 2015/16 after a two per cent increase while the number of American students starting courses rose by eight per cent to 2,105.
Overall, figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) show the number of international students rose by three per cent to 29,980 bucking a UK-wide trend where numbers fell by one per cent.
Read more: School languages fear as teacher numbers plummet
The increase is important because universities increasingly rely on fees charged to overseas students to supplement their income from the public purse.
However, the number of students from Nigeria, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Norway all fell in 2015/16 causing concern that the Westminster government’s plans for visa restrictions are putting off potential students.
Alastair Sim, director of Universities Scotland, which represents principals, said: “Our universities are competing with institutions across the world, many who have ambitious targets and are actively being supported by their governments, who recognise the importance and value of international students.
“The fact Scottish universities continued to attract international students at a time where the number of university-sponsored study visa applications fell is testament to the hard-earned world-class reputation of Scotland’s universities.
“There has been modest growth, but it’s much better in our competitor countries like the US and Australia and we should be aspiring to much better.”
Read more: School languages fear as teacher numbers plummet
Mr Sim said the impact of the Home Office’s “unhelpful approach” to international students could be seen with Indian student numbers down and Nigerian student numbers falling significantly.
He added: “We are also mindful that these numbers don’t reflect political developments that have played out over 2016. We know that Brexit is causing uncertainty amongst prospective students and the rhetoric towards international students has been less than welcoming.
“We don’t yet know what impact that will have on applications and the figures we will see in a year or two from now.”
The figures also show an increase in the number of Scottish full-time first degree entrants to Scottish higher education institutions with a 12 per cent increase since 2006/07.
The total number of enrolments at higher education institutes in Scotland was 235,565 in 2015/16, a one per cent increase from 2014/15 for both undergraduate and postgraduate enrolment.
Half of all first degree qualifiers were in science subjects, compared with 43 per cent for the UK as a whole.
Shirley-Anne Somerville, the Minister for Higher Education, said: “These figures show a really positive picture for Scotland’s higher education system.
Read more: School languages fear as teacher numbers plummet
“We not only have more Scots in higher education, but also gaining the qualifications they need to succeed and have worked hard to achieve – it’s a great success story.
“It is also extremely heartening to see enrolments in science increase and we must continue to encourage more young people – particularly young women - to choose a career in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”
Across the UK, 24 per cent of graduates secured a first class honours degree compared to 17 per cent in 2011/12.
In Scotland, one quarter of graduates were awarded a first class honours degree with 78 per cent gaining either a first or 2:1 degree.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel