Universities and colleges have found it hard to complete applications to the UK’s new Turing Scheme, with funding for students often delivered late. That is the finding of a report into the first year of the scheme, which is supposed to help UK students study and work abroad. Some participants of the Turing Scheme have also had to withdraw or rely on alternative funds due to delayed funding decisions.
The Turing Scheme was set up after the UK opted post-Brexit not to stay in the European Union’s Erasmus+ student-exchange programme. Worth €26bn, Erasmus+ has 33 full members across Europe and the latest round of funding began in 2021. The Turing Scheme funds UK students to study, work or train in other countries around the world, with their institutes applying for funding on their behalf.
The analysis of the Turing Scheme’s first year, which was conducted by IFF Research and commissioned by the UK government, was based on interviews and surveys with education providers and participants who had completed their placements abroad. Just over 20,000 individuals took part in Turing in the 2021/22 academic year – below the 35,000 government target – with most providers stating that the COVID-19 pandemic hampered their ability to deliver the scheme.
According to the report, almost 80% of universities reported difficulties with the application process, with further education and vocational education providers complaining that applying was too complicated and tedious. One stated that the application “was a lot of work” because it “kept asking the same questions, so you had to find another way to answer”.
Many providers felt that the application window was too short, with universities complaining that it fell over the Easter holidays. Universities were also unhappy with the post-application stage, with two-thirds stating that outcome decisions took longer than expected. Delight as UK strikes deal to join the EU’s flagship Horizon Europe funding programme
This created a dilemma for students, who often had to commit to placements abroad before knowing if they would get the funding. This particularly harmed students from disadvantaged backgrounds, with some who could not afford the upfront costs – or who did not want to risk funding not being available – having to drop out.
Many participants did not receive their funding until they were already abroad, with some not even getting it until they had returned home. Without alternative funds, for example from parents, some students said they would have had to turn down their placements. Indeed, only 45% of university participants felt the funding covered at least half of their costs.
‘Not serving students’
Although 92% students say they were satisfied with their year abroad, Mike Galsworthy – chair of the pro-EU group European Movement UK – says the report backs its view that the Turing Scheme is not an adequate substitution for the Erasmus+ programme. Reported application difficulties, inadequate funding and delivery challenges show that the scheme “is not serving our students, young people or education providers”, he adds.
More than 31,000 people have now signed a petition calling on the UK government to open negotiations to re-enter the Erasmus+ programme. However, the UK government says that more than 40,000 students will benefit from the Turing Scheme in the 2023/24 academic year with £105m of funding being awarded. Some 60% of placements are expected to be for students from disadvantaged background or under-represented groups, it says.
