High-fee universities, such as those in the US and UK, are facing a collapse in international student numbers, potential mass deferments from domestic students and calls for refunds as they struggle to return to normal social and academic campus life. “From a student perspective, £9,000 is certainly not the value of an online course,” he said, referring to the annual cost of English universities.
In light of this, he said, it would be “reasonable for governments to increase their investment in higher education” given that the return for taxpayers remained “strong”. “I do think that cost sharing will have to change. There’s a strong case for lower fees and more government contribution.”
