Universities chartering planes to bring international students over to the UK

[Thiscantreallybehappening]

Firstly, I do understand that universities need international students and it is a great experience for international students to come and study here and also for our students to go and study abroad too.

However, when a friend who works for a University told me this was happening, I was quite shocked. I am just not sure how I feel about it all happening this year.

Some universities are actually chartering planes to bring students over here from India, China and other countries. The students will need to have a Covid test 48 hours before they fly and the Universities will take them to the campuses on dedicated coaches that they have hired. By what I understand, the university will then ask the students to isolate. The universities are paying for the flights and then they will charge the students.

Other universities have persuaded airlines to fly students over to the UK. The universities are putting the airlines in contact with the students and the airlines will charge the students. As far as I know, students will be asked to isolate etc.

I think the main countries are India and China but could be a range of countries.

Will the students get a proper test prior to flying? Will they isolate? Who is going to oversee all this? I am sure universities have the best intentions but my concern is, as a country we keep being told we are at a tipping point and there are obviously going to be very difficult months ahead. Is this really a sensible idea? I do understand that universities are in a difficult situation but surely this is going to put extra pressure on university towns and the country as a whole?

I haven’t heard about this. However, many of these students won’t be new students but will be part way through their degrees. Many of my students from China cannot get back to the U.K. to continue their degrees because flights are being heavily restricted. We are having to offer them online tuition so that they can continue with their degrees. I suppose this is one way around this for those who actually want to return (though a lot of Chinese students also don’t want to come back anyway as they think our government doesn’t have a handle on the situation). I actually think it’s a good thing that some universities are being proactive in ensuring that their students can continue their degrees. We don’t have closed borders, and if it’s OK for us to go on holidays abroad, there is no justification for stopping entry to the country to students who have already each paid tens of thousands in fees and will continue to provide needed income to universities.

If these students have been tested and will self isolate (and I do think that students whose visas would be at risk if they don’t will do so) I don’t really see the problem. Universities have set up strong support for those self-isolating, e.g. they won’t have to share bathrooms and groceries will be delivered to them. Residence wardens will oversee this, and having seen the extent of risk assessment that has gone into preparations for my campus reopening, I’d feel confident that it’s being managed very carefully. At the moment, the outbreaks that we are seeing in universities are due to large scale partying by home students, not the arrival of international students. After all, we’re not testing or self-isolating students who arrive on campus from Bolton, where infection rates are significantly higher than they are anywhere in China at the moment. I am more worried about being in a classroom with students who are intent on partying than I am by overseas students.

You’re right, though, that this is a financial decision. The government has made it clear that there isn’t a penny available in bailouts for universities, yet many individual universities have lost well over £100 million this year. A number are on the brink of collapse. If there is a second lockdown, I’m pretty sure that will be end for some of them. No university is in a position where it can simply write off income from overseas students for as long as the pandemic lasts.

Yes, quite a lot of universities are thinking of doing it. There are articles in higher ed websites etc. It makes sense if it's logistically possible.

I don't understand your issue?

If you're talking about Covid precautions I can only give you the anecdote that friends of mine coming to the UK from China weren't allowed into the plane before producing a negative test result and had to quarantine on arrival. International students at boarding schools are doing the same and have been since mid August.

I'd wonder how many international students are going to want to go to the UK with the shambolic way the govt us going about handling the virus mind.

@TheSeedsOfADream

I'm not sure I have an issue. I was just, initially, quite surprised. I do understand that universities need overseas students and it is great experience etc.

I did say in my op that I had heard the students would have to produce a test, self isolate etc. I know the universities are being responsible and our borders are not closed. I was just concerned that this could increase infection even further in those towns/cities but maybe it won't. We are all having to live in such a strange world at the moment.

There is no way a uni will be paying to charter a plane and passing the cost on to students. Student can't afford that kind of money

They will just board a register aircraft.

I think the students from China will be more worried about catching it here, hence the need to persuade them back.

• REGULAR aircraft

Universities are really a business these days and overseas students are business critical so it makes sense.

@emptyshelvesagain

Some universities are definitely chartering planes. It is being arranged through a travel company.

@emptyshelvesagain

There is no way a uni will be paying to charter a plane and passing the cost on to students. Student can't afford that kind of money

They will just board a register aircraft.

Can't afford it? Do you know the fees international students pay?

This is happening in several universities and students are paying over £1k for a one way flight.

Students will get straight on a coach to quarantine accommodation and self isolate for 14 days, knowing that the university could be watching. IMO this is much less risky than students arriving by themselves, taking public transport and feeling anonymous when they arrive in terms of complying with isolation rules.

The charter flights are mainly from China where there is a tiny number of Covid cases anyway. I don't even know why they're on the isolation list.

There is no way a uni will be paying to charter a plane and passing the cost on to students. Student can't afford that kind of money confused

Significant numbers of international students are fabulously wealthy. And a full chartered jet need not be more expensive on a per head basis than a commercial flight.

I maybe wrong about the chartering, fair enough. But this...

And a full chartered jet need not be more expensive on a per head basis than a commercial flight.

It absolutely will cost more.

@emptyshelvesagain

There is no way a uni will be paying to charter a plane and passing the cost on to students. Student can't afford that kind of money

They will just board a register aircraft.

The kind of international students who can pay 10s of 1000s to study at UK universities can easily afford to pay for a seat on a chartered plane. It may cost more than a regular flight, but they already pay more than regular students for everything.

The problem the universities will have is persuading them that it is safe to come back.

Given the small number of cases in China and the rigorous controls and testing procedure, I can’t imagine many Chinese students think it’s safe to come to the UK. My dd’s former school in China is practically back to normal (there are still strict regulations in place if you leave the city/province and no parents allowed on campus) whereas her school here is still introducing new measure on a weekly basis.

UK universities will be losing huge numbers of high der playing international students and high prestige, research grant attracting staff due to the perfect storm of brexit and covid. I'd imagine they'd happily charter planes if that's all it took to solve the current problems.

Well, given that the government isn't willing to bail the universities out, the alternative is that some of them are left to collapse. They need the income from international students to survive.

Tbh, I think there is as much risk, if not more, from UK students spreading it around the country. Lots of international students may decide not to come because of safety concerns, so the universities need to do what they can to minimise the financial impact.

The idea of students from China increasing COVID transmission in the UK is quite amusing. Frankly, I'm amazed that any of them want to come here at the moment.

As someone who works with international - mostly Chinese - students, I'm going to disagree with the notion that they're all fabulously rich. They're really not. Maybe a small minority are, but most of them are just well-off by Chinese standards, which certainly doesn't make them filthy rich by British standards. Their families have saved up for years to send their usually only child abroad to study, and they consider it a long-term investment. Universities also have a lot of students from oil-rich Gulf states, but these are mostly government sponsored and again, usually aren't especially well-off.

My students are eager to come to Britain. They dislike online learning, especially with a 7 - soon to be 8 - hour time difference. However, it's unclear when they can come, and what sort of experience awaits them when they can. I feel sorry for them - they had their families had spent years saving up for what is going to be at best a much diminished experience.

The arrangements for the arriving students are very strictly set up, the are being fed for 2 weeks here and cannot leave the quarantine halls - some came on dedicated flights from China, others are from a wide range of countries from France to Argentina to South Africa. Dedicated coaches were available for a 3 day period but this is normal practice for the start of term, the difference is it was 3 weeks earlier than normal aka thus is old news it's already happened! University medical practice is monitoring and 10 days minimum in (some arrived earlier) no cases.

The universities have to get international students here or they’ll go bust.
And honestly, I Very much doubt their infection rate is greater than home students.
They don’t want to come for fear of Covid rates in the UK and fear of getting stuck here.

The universities have to get international students here or they’ll go bust.

I understand this, what I don't understand is the need to charter a plane.

There shouldn't be any problem with this if the universities take responsibilty for testing and properly enforcing quarantine on arrival.

The talk is, as someone has said, of travel companies chartering planes and the bill being footed by the student. According to the first hit on Google (which I guess is where the OP's friend got her info as it specifically mentioned China and India) it would work out at about £900 per student.

A friend of mine until recently had an educational travel agency operating out of the far East, not China though, and had had to shut up shop as busy understandably has plummeted.

I imagine this move is an attempt to convince international students that the UK has a handle on the situation (which international student travel may well have) and to get bums back on seats rather than the UK doing international students a favour and helping them to get here. As others have said, some courses at some universities would go under were it not for international money.

@ShanghaiDiva, hijacking to say hello and hope you are well. I'm in Italy, we were on the early Covid threads together

That same friend of mine went through rigorous testing abroad and booked a 3 week hotel stay for quarantining when coming back to the UK.

Go on, guess what? Nobody asked. Nobody looked. UK side obviously. They were astounded that, coming from where they came from there were no checks in place, not even a rudimentary temp check getting off the plane.

So any handwringing and rather thinly veiled "oh those germ ridden foreigners" worry might be better placed attacking the shitshow of a govt.

My son is at a Scottish uni which has been back for a couple of weeks, with international students quarantined for two weeks. There has just been a small cluster in one of the halls but the likely source is just as likely to have been a home student as they haven't been quarantined.

@TheSeedsOfADream

My friend works at a large University, he didn't google it. He explained to me that, to his knowledge, there were 2 options universities were looking into.

One where the university charters the plane (this is being done through a travel company) the university is liable for the cost and the university then charges the student. The university expects the students to prove they have had a covid test before they fly and then isolation etc.

The second option is where universities are working together and they have persuaded airlines to charter planes. The university puts the student and airline in contact and the airline charges the student. The university then sorts out isolation etc.

On both these options, universities are working together so I don't think it is just one university chartering a plane.

The flights seem to be mainly from China, India but other destinations are an option. I agree our infection rate is higher than China so those students probably need quite a lot of encouragement to come to the UK.

I agree universities need international students and it is part of the overall university experience for students. I know universities are being responsible and they have to look at all these options. Initially, I was just quite surprised.