why are some clearing spots only available to international students and not home?

ta_2005

Hey guys, was just looking through some clearing vacancies and noticed there were significantly more courses available to international students as opposed to home and was just wondering why this is? Does each course have to have a certain number of international students? And if international students don't fill out the courses, do they go to home students?

Sorry this was very random Im just curious lmao

(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 1

Clearing and Applications Advisor

£££

Reply 2

swanseajack1

Original post by ta_2005

Overseas students pay higher fees so it is in their interest to take them.

Reply 3

BubblesBB

I understand when the discussion becomes uncomfortable or even emotional between local fees vs international school fees. Yes, it's about the money. But money to keep the university from getting into the red. Money to prevent courses from being shut down because they have lesser students, and hence vacancies to even be offered in Clearing! Local fees are subsidised and insufficient to keep the running of the universities, and places have to be given to international students who pay 3.79 times more. I think the rhetoric of £££ being the key motivator like it's evil to make money is just not helpful. The UK govt could channel more funds to universities, perhaps and then the universities don't need to look to international students to pay the bills. Isn't the recent marking boycott a symptom of the situation that academic staff are underpaid by universities because they cannot afford to pay more, and the govt isn't subsidising enough? Some universities didn't seem to be dragged down by the marking fiasco because their teachers didn't really participate in the boycott, and because they are paid higher salaries, and this is because the universities can afford it, from having a sizeable population of international students?

Reply 4

Clearing and Applications Advisor

Universities that haven’t been affected by the marking boycott don’t pay their staff more. Universities have a national pay negotiation agreement and common pay scales.
Where there’s less disruption due to the boycott is generally down to either lower union membership or better conditions in the areas that are under the local university control like contract permanency, hours of work etc.

It’s likely that universities unaffected have higher numbers of staff on insecure contracts that makes them unable to participate in industrial action.