UK sector leaders have denied claims that international students are buying their way into leading universities with lower grades than UK applicants.
An investigation by The Sunday Times secretly filmed representatives of Russell Group institutions discussing “back door” routes used to recruit overseas students, who pay much higher tuition fees than their UK counterparts.
The report claimed that foreign students can buy their way on to degree courses with as little as a handful of C grades at GCSE, while British students would need A or A* grades at A level.
Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK (UUK), said the story failed to distinguish between entry requirements for full degrees and those of international foundation years, which are designed to prepare students for degree-level study but do not guarantee entry.
