Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Baroness Coussins (Crossbench). It was answered on Tuesday, 6 March 2012.

Universities: European Languages

Question: My Lords, does the Minister accept that one very likely reason for the decline in numbers is the additional cost of a four-year degree that includes a year abroad, especially if that year is outside Europe and therefore does not qualify for any help under the ERASMUS scheme? What are the Government going to do to reduce financial disincentives for people considering a four-year degree course, particularly when employers are saying how much they value the language and other skills that are acquired during the year abroad?

Answer: My Lords, the noble Baroness has greater expertise in this area than I do, but I reassure her that the ERASMUS fee waiver programme will continue until 2014 and Ministers are considering the report by Professor Riordan on how we are going to fund after 2014. However, students will continue to enjoy the ERASMUS fee waiver for studying outside Great Britain in European countries. For study abroad in non-European countries, students get a percentage of fee waivers from their higher education institutions, and that is often up to the higher education institutions themselves. They recognise the value of it and therefore are more inclined to work with students to see what they can do to ensure that those students are able to take the benefit of that one year abroad.

Secondary information