[tehwalrus]

When I started uni, the home/EU fees were £1000 a year[1]. My friends in class who were applying as international (non-EU) students had to pay £24k per year to attend the same courses.

The Government did pay universities the "teaching grant" per home student, to top up the fees, but when tuition fees settled at £9k per year that number was chosen in order to eliminate most of the teaching grant[2], so assuming that universities were getting topped up to £9k per home student, foreign students were worth 2.5x the home ones.

I know for sure that the universities compete to get as many foreign students in as possible, which was why all the fuss when they revoked London Met's ability to give student visas - they were attacking their funding, basically.

[1] they have since tripled twice, although remember repayments are like a sort of tax (the government lends you the money in the first place, and you pay back 9% of your income above £15k).

[2] I think science students still get it and arts students don't, or something, because this government is insane.