Universities look to offer discounts for EU citizens

At least one United Kingdom institution is offering hopeful applicants from the European Union an ‘automatic fee reduction’ to bring costs in line with charges for UK nationals. But lawyers have questioned whether such an offer is legal, and whether it could breach discrimination laws, writes Emilio Casalicchio for Politico.

Once the Brexit transition period ends, EU nationals who do not already live in the UK or who are not Irish nationals will no longer have ‘home fee’ status, meaning they will no longer pay the same as British nationals and will lose access to UK state financial support while studying. Instead they will have to pay the same higher rate as other international students. The UK government estimates there could be a shortfall in EU nationals attending UK universities of up to 20% – and that was before the coronavirus crisis.

Some universities, which have the power to set their own fees and admissions rules, are making generous offers to EU nationals. Such offers could be discriminatory under UK equalities laws, as they could amount to discrimination based on nationality. Royal Holloway University of London, for example, is offering eligible EU students who start their courses in September 2021 “an automatic fee reduction which brings your fee into line with the fee paid by UK students” that will apply for the duration of the course.
Full report on the Politico site