At least seven British universities paid out over £100,000 in hardship funding to international students during the 2021/22 academic year, with one dishing out almost £1 million to struggling students, but some are now rolling back support despite the cost-of-living crisis.
Some English universities spent three-figure sums on supporting non-UK students facing financial difficulties in 2020/21, including Leeds (£145,630), Brunel (£155,377) and Durham (£100,611).
The University of Exeter spent £968,367 on hardship funding for international students, almost double the amount it had paid out the previous year (£534,598). The university received over 1,600 requests for support from non-domestic students, the majority of which were granted.
Scottish universities also paid out significant amounts, including the University of Aberdeen (£255,180), the University of Dundee (£620,742) and the University Glasgow (£413,231), after the Scottish government relaxed the rules to allow international students to access its higher education covid funding.
