Higher Education Funding Council England (HEFCE)
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Support for study and work abroad

HEFCE welcomes a report published recently on outward student mobility.

The report, by a group led by Professor Colin Riordan reviews current incentives, financial support and obstacles to outward student mobility. It also includes recommendations on how to ensure that mobility increases in the future.

The Government has responded to the review by limiting tuition fees for students taking year abroad placements to up to 15 per cent of the maximum fee cap that applies to full-time undergraduates; it has also agreed to provide loans to students to cover these costs. This will apply to students taking a year abroad under the Erasmus scheme and those taking a study (rather than work) year abroad under other international arrangements outside the Erasmus scheme.

HEFCE is currently consulting on teaching funding arrangements from 2013-14. Subject to the outcome of this consultation, we intend to develop proposals for a supplementary contribution to universities and colleges of around £2,250 for each such student from 2014-15, which will require around £25 million in total teaching funding. These proposals will be considered by the HEFCE Board at its meeting on 12 July, and the outcome will be confirmed soon after. We hope that these arrangements will provide a sustainable basis for universities and colleges to support and increase the mobility of their students.

As with other areas of HEFCE funding, this will be subject to our annual grant allocation from Government and would need to be reviewed in the event of any reduction to our current expectations of future funding levels

Notes

  1. Professor Colin Riordan’s report can be found on the UK Higher Education International Unit’s web-site. 
  2. HEFCE’s teaching funding consultation is available.

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