‘Absurd’ penalties for lecturers of international students
A London university has been accused of creating ‘a culture of fear’ after it warned lecturers and other supervisors that they could face penalties of up to £20,000 if they did not monitor their international students correctly.
Both University College London (UCL) and the Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources sent emails to staff, advising them to do Home Office-approved
‘spot checks, face to face verification and check registers for signs of abuse, challenging suspicious signatures.
‘Those who fail to comply ‘may be liable to a £20,000 personal fine per case.’
The academics were also expected to meet with their postgraduate students once a month, even during the summer break.
Bartlett, whose slogan is ‘a global university,’ told employees that the fine would be deducted from their ‘discretionary account’, which is meant expenses for conferences, travel, training, equipment and computers.
The threat comes after 63 students at Bartlett failed to provide sufficient evidence of their attendance.
They had come to the country under the Tier 4 scheme for those from outside of the EU and Switzerland who wish to study here.
UCL’s roll includes over 18,000 students who are not from the UK. Its student union published the results of a survey earlier this week, which showed more than eight out of 10 international students feel regulations discriminate against them.
One postgraduate said: ‘The fact that UCL is using threats to force lecturers to comply is telling. It creates a culture of fear and a punitive educational environment.
‘The amount of stress and anxiety caused by having to run around to get people to sign in my attendance is absolutely horrible and it’s having a serious impact on time I’d rather spend doing my work.
She added: ‘Overseas students are under enormous surveillance and monitoring and that impacts on their mental health and studies.’
A spokesman for UCL student union confirmed that both staff and students had written to complain to the university’s president and provost.
He continued: ‘These new visa compliance procedures are absurd, unnecessary and academically illiterate. They’re turning our lecturers into border guards.’
The Dean of Bartlett, Alan Penn, agreed, saying that the ‘hostile environment’ policy created to deter illegal migrants was ‘hateful, discriminatory and fundamentally wrong‘.
UCL responded that they retracted the email and sent out an apology immediately.
The latest estimate from the London School of Economics reports that international graduates and post-graduates contribute £20 billion to the UK economy, with London having the most overseas students.
