Irish universities are at risk of losing tens of millions of euros in tuition fees due to the spread of coronavirus, the Irish Times has reported.
Many universities and colleges are also concerned about a potential decrease in the number of students coming to Ireland this summer to learn English.
Contingency plans being drawn up by universities include delaying international student entry or providing online courses for these students until the virus threat subsides, according to senior higher-education figures.
“There are significant concerns in the system right now,” a senior person in higher education told the Irish Times. “It has the potential to get significantly worse. The longer this goes on, the more serious the implications are.”
Another person said that international student recruitment was already suffering, which would put universities under increased financial pressure in the coming academic year.
“This wasn’t so much an issue in the past when most funding came from the State, but we don’t have that luxury anymore”, another said.
Another told the Irish Times that plans have been made to switch international student recruitment to markets where the impact of coronavirus has been less severe.
There are currently an estimated 32,000 international students attending Irish universities whose tuition fees generate over €200 million every year.
The Irish Times also reported that many universities and colleges are worried at a potential drop off in summer students learning English. These students often stay in on-campus accommodation between June and August.
Some sources said that many students from Italy and Spain are delaying making bookings, or have cancelled existing bookings.
Students currently living in Trinity’s student accommodation have been banned from hosting non-resident guests, both during the day and overnight, in an attempt to limit the spread of the coronavirus on campus.
In an email sent to students living in on-campus accommodation, Neal Murphy, Trinity’s head of accommodation, said: “In all cases, students in Trinity accommodation are now prohibited from having non-resident guests on site.” This includes both daytime and overnight guests.
A separate email, sent this afternoon to all students and staff, said that “the member of the college community who was diagnosed with the coronavirus appears to have made a good recovery”. The email, sent by College Secretary John Coman and Acting Director of College Health Dr Niamh Farelly, also said that no new cases have been diagnosed in Trinity.
