Wolverhampton University in England Plans to Attract More Int’l Students, Increase Revenue by £100M

The University of Wolverhampton, a public university in England, wants to attract a larger number of international students and increase, at the same time, its revenue by £100 million in the next five years.

The university plans to recruit 5,000 additional international students by 2029, as the latter pay higher fees than domestic students, Erudera.com reports.

Plans were unveiled during a Wolverhampton Business Forum meeting where the future of the city center was discussed, local media reports say. One idea discussed during the meeting was establishing a student village that would contribute to the university’s growth.

On this occasion, the university’s new vice-chancellor, Ebrahim Adia, said international students play an important role in Wolverhampton’s transformation. He stressed the importance of working with partners to offer something special and attract significant numbers of students.

“International students will be transformational for Wolverhampton. In our five-year financial plan we have factored in 5,000 new international students,” Adia was quoted as saying by Express & Star, a British evening newspaper.

Adia has recently voiced concerns about tuition fees, which have stagnated for over a decade, the financial burden on universities, and efforts to increase international student numbers in order to remain financially stable, which he perceives as being under threat.

He proposed the next government to introduce a new Social Mobility Premium paid to universities, proportional to the number of students who are the first in their families to attend university. This year, the University of Wolverhampton ranked top in the United Kingdom for teaching students who are the first in their families to go to college.

“A Social Mobility Premium could provide some much-needed financial support for universities like Wolverhampton; a university that is committed to creating real opportunity and incurring the higher costs associated with helping students that require the additional support to succeed,” vice-chancellor Adia said in a statement.

A few days ago, the university received £722,578 (€668,138) from the Office for Students (OfS) to support the growth of new and current degree apprenticeships. Of this amount, £40 million (€46 million) was made available through a competitive bidding exercise for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years.

Additionally, the funding aims to help the university connect with partners so it can work with schools, colleges, communities and employers to spread awareness about degree apprenticeships.

The University of Wolverhampton has over 21,000 students and over 2,000 staff on its four campuses across the UK. Of this figure, more than 2,500 are international students hailing from 130 countries.

Image source: Twitter account of University of Wolverhampton