Legal Advice on a residency requirement for student fees. 2013
During the course of late 2013 and 2013 an issue arose as to whether it would be legal, in an independent Scotland, for universities to continue to charge students domiciled in the rest of the UK a tuition fee for undergraduate study. Universities Scotland sought legal advice from Anderson Strathern. This advice is a preliminary view only.
Notwithstanding the preliminary nature of the guidance and the need, clearly stated, for more work into this Anderson Strathern concluded it may be possible to rely on a residency requirement for access to preferential fees and grants as long as that can be applied to all students regardless of their nationality and it can be objectively justified.
Comment from Universities Scotland's Director
Commenting on the legal advice received, Alastair Sim, Director of Universities Scotland, said:
“The legal advice we have received would appear to identify new ground upon which it would be possible for the Scottish Government to build a policy solution to the issue of rest-of-UK students coming to study in Scotland if Scotland were to become independent. This will need to be developed further by the Scottish Government but this new advice is a positive step closer to finding a workable solution which is in everyone’s interests.
“Universities Scotland remains neutral on the issue of Scotland’s constitutional future: our job is to ensure that the proponents of all constitutional options are developing proposals which enable universities to support Scotland’s success. The legal advice which we commissioned is an important part of that process. It usefully indicates a new way to address a priority issue for universities, supporting our policy objective that we should welcome students from the rest of the UK and further afield but in manageable numbers, in a way that is affordable and sustainable and crucially, in a way that protects places for Scottish students at Scotland’s universities.”
Key Points:
- On 18 September 2014 Scotland will vote in a referendum on Scottish independence.
- Universities Scotland remains neutral on the issue of Scotland’s constitutional future: our job is to ensure that the proponents of all constitutional options are developing proposals which enable universities to support Scotland’s success.
- The legal advice which we commissioned is an important part of that process. It usefully indicates a new way to address a priority issue for universities, supporting our policy objective that we should welcome students from the rest of the UK and further afield but in manageable numbers, in a way that is affordable and sustainable and crucially, in a way that protects places for Scottish students at Scotland’s universities.