Nordic Nations Plan to Receive Tuition Fees from International Students

Finland and Sweden are both planning to cash in on the international-student market by charging non-EU students tuition. Proposed changes to the tuition-fee structures in the two nations could see them both compete more aggressively in the lucrative market for international students.

Currently, students from outside the European Union are not charged to attend universities in either country, where they make up only a small proportion of their student bodies. But Finland and Sweden have announced plans to introduce tuition fees for all overseas students, a move they hope will lead to an explosion in their numbers from 2010.

Both countries are particularly interested in the Russian and Asian markets. In addition to bringing in revenue and increasing competitiveness, it is also thought that charging fees could raise the status of their universities among wealthier foreign students, who sometimes assume that if education is free, it is of an inferior standard.

Finnish reforms to facilitate internationalization, due to become law in August, will grant universities independent legal status to allow them greater operational flexibility. The reforms will include charging fees for non-EU students and recruiting academics from overseas.

Concerns have been raised, however, that fees may push international students toward native English-speaking countries, where graduate employment prospects are better. At the moment, getting skilled work in Finland or Sweden is extremely difficult for candidates who do not speak the local language.

Fees would be considerably lower than in the United Kingdom, offering an advantage in an increasingly competitive market. In Finland, fees of between EUR 3,500 (US$2,500) and EUR 12,500 have been proposed for international masters programs, and in Sweden, a figure of about EUR 8,000 has been suggested.

- Times Higher Education Supplement

April 2, 2009