Crisis or Opportunity? International Income Growth in Scottish Universities during Covid-19

Abstract

How did Scottish universities fare in the pandemic? This paper looks at changes in income and student enrolments, comparing the pandemic years (2020–2022) to those preceding them. Despite concerns that Covid would have negative impacts across the university sector, the analysis shows that both income and student numbers increased substantially in Scotland. This article builds on a related analysis ( Armstrong 2023 ) and focuses on a selection of ten universities that encompass the diverse range of sizes, locations and student cohorts making up the Scottish university sector. It finds that growth in income, against expectation, accelerated during Covid, and this is largely attributable to expanded recruitment of international students, who pay significantly higher fees than those located within the UK. Scottish universities made a record amount of income from international fees in 2021–22 of £1.14 billion. The analysis of income growth is followed by exploration of changes in student numbers and cohort compositions, where international student numbers also accelerated in the pandemic. A discussion of the implications of these changes considers the growing divide among Scottish universities, and the wider implications that rapid growth and increasing dependence on one source of income has for universities, their staff and students and the cities and towns in which they are located.