Over 60 signatures added to Warwick SU President’s letter as international student levy plans formalised

Key figures in Warwick Students’ Union (SU) have expressed opposition to the international student levy plans described in the November budget.

Wider opposition to the new levy plans has been steadily mounting since their announcement. This is in light of greater clarity on the shape of the levy, the key elements of which are:

• The levy will come into effect on 1 August 2028.
• It will be a fixed rate of £925 per student- not a percentage of tuition fees.
• The levy will apply to all English higher education providers registered with the Office for Students.
• The levy applies after the first 220 international student enrolments at a given institution, i.e. the first 220 students are excluded from the levy owed.

As written in the recently released annual budget, the aim of the levy is to raise funds which will then be reinvested into higher education, funding initiatives such as maintenance grants for disadvantaged students studying priority courses. It is currently unclear what these priority courses are.

[The letter] condemned the selective financial support the maintenance grants would provide, focusing exclusively on ‘programmes that are aligned with the government’s missions’

Among arguments raised in opposition is that a flat levy on international student fees favours large institutions, typically Russell Group universities, which tend to charge more in tuition fees.

While some attempt has been made at mitigating the impact of this on small universities by exempting the first 220 students, universities of middling sizes will still be heavily impacted.

Officials in higher education have warned the government that the levy would increase financial pressure on institutions already struggling.

Oppositional arguments outside the realm of the economical have criticised the divisive nature of the levy, with the University and College Union’s General Secretary saying that “Labour is echoing Reform by scapegoating migrants instead of addressing the real, deep-rooted challenges facing higher education”.

Warwick SU President Alijah Taha raised similar concerns in a 25 November letter to the Minister for Skills, Further, and Higher Education, Baroness Jacqui Smith, suggesting that the levy would discourage international students’ contributions to “research, innovation, cultural life, and local communities”.

While the letter supported the concept of maintenance grants for disadvantaged students in principle, it condemned the selective financial support the maintenance grants would provide, focusing exclusively on “programmes that are aligned with the government’s missions”.

As an officer from a Scottish institution, I am signing this in solidarity with all international students in England who will be immediately impacted by the levy

Christina Schmid, President, Aberdeen University Students’ Association

The letter, which has accumulated 65 signatures from officers at students’ unions across the country, including several other Warwick SU Full-Time Officers, has not yet prompted a response from Baroness Smith.

Maanya Raju, VP Postgraduates at Warwick SU, said in a comment on Taha’s LinkedIn post that the levy “sends a damaging message: that international students are commodities, not people. We deserve better than being reduced to revenue streams”.

The Boar has seen several other messages of support left for Taha by co-signatories of the letter.

President of Aberdeen University Students’ Association, Christina Schmid, commented: “As an officer from a Scottish institution, I am signing this in solidarity with all international students in England who will be immediately impacted by the levy.”

Thea Cave, President of the Society at St Cuthbert’s Society JCR, Durham, added: “This is a very powerful and meaningful letter. Thank you for asking me to be a part of this. I support you completely, and if a meeting is to go ahead with the Minister, I would love to be involved if possible.”