The proposals, aimed at non-EU students applying under the tier four of the points system, would affect almost two-thirds of the 273,000 visas issued to students in 2009. They come as part of a wider scheme by the UK government to reduce net migration by 2015.

In an open letter to The Observer last Saturday, sixteen university vice-chancellors voiced their concerns over the plans and the effects this could have on university funding. This comes at a time when funding for UK universities is a matter of enormous confusion and controversy.

In the letter, the vice-chancellors said: “International students coming to universities contribute over £5bn each year to the UK economy through tuition fees and off-campus expenditure. Reductions in student numbers will lead to reductions in income and jobs.”

They go on to outline how without this income from international students, many courses, particularly science or engineering courses, could be at risk of closure. This would in turn have a wider impact on UK students by reducing availability. International students are also beneficial to the UK in many other ways. They bring different cultures and ideas to UK institutions and allow all students to create networks and make international friends. They also act as cultural and economic promoters for the UK when they return to their home countries with new skills. These benefits could be of enormous importance to the UK at this time of economic austerity.

The vice-chancellors include Prof Steve Smith, president of Universities UK and vice chancellor of the University of Exeter, who recently announced they would be charging the maximum tuition fee allowed, as well as the vice-chancellors of the universities of Bath, Sussex and Birmingham.

The Home Office has responded by saying: “Any criticism can only be based on speculation as no decisions have yet been made on the changes to the student visa route.”

This came out of a seminar on the UK’s higher education sector’s handling of swine flu held by Universities UK. Chairman of Universities UK and Vice-Chancellor of the university of Sussex said:

“Students heading to the UK should be assured that the UK is as well prepared as any other country to deal with this situation and that includes our higher education sector. It may well be the case that some of the international students will be from countries that have themselves experienced far more cases of swine flu.”

This comes after reports that the UK has become a hot spot for swine flu. Times Online dubbed the UK outbreak ‘out of control’ and said the most affected areas do not have the time and resources to deal with the number of cases.

The Guardian revealed last week that some universities were even considering canceling or postponing fresher’s week if the pandemic escalates by the time the students return to university in September.

“We’re used to the idea that new students arrive, they get freshers’ flu and mumps outbreaks; it’s not unusual in the autumn term to have some sort of outbreak. We’ve all been there before, but there are greater risks attached to this and there will be more pressure on the system,” Said Kate Dodd, Director of Student Life at Birmingham University.

However the Universities UK seminar has brought the issue to light across the whole UK higher education sector and stringent plans are being put in place in all universities to protect their students and make them more aware of what they can do to protect themselves against swine flu.

A team of students from the University of Sussex will fly to Singapore to represent the UK in the final of an international business competition.

Team Enterprize won the UK final of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Global Business Challenge on the 26 June. The four students: Thomas Kingston, Prateek Sureka, Claire Harrison and Michal Tomaszewski beat 60 other university teams in the UK leg of the contest.

Designed to find the next generation of business leaders, the competition climaxes with the global final in Singapore this August. The Sussex/ UK team will face the best teams from Ireland, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, India, China, Malaysia and Singapore. The team, mentored by Sally Atkinson of University of Sussex’s Regional Development Office, impressed the judges with its business plan to rescue a fictional major hotel chain. Their report was one of six chosen for the UK final, where they won over the panel with their presentation skills and ability to answer difficult questions.

EBC Consultancy Group from Oxford Brookes University came in second place, whilst Team Venture from the University of Birmingham came third.