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The Conservatives have unveiled a series of policies with potential major impacts on higher education in their manifesto, including a fresh toughening of student visa rules and an apparent goal for a ¡°teaching research excellence framework¡±.

On immigration, the , published on 14 April, says the party would ¡°keep our ambition of delivering annual net migration in the tens of thousands, not the hundreds of thousands¡±, a policy that has previously brought claims from UK universities that overseas student recruitment is being harmed.

The manifesto also says a Tory government would:

• ¡°reform the student visa system with new measures to tackle abuse and reduce the numbers of students overstaying once their visas expire¡±
• This action would include ¡°clamping down on the number of so-called satellite campuses opened in London by universities located elsewhere in the UK, and reviewing the highly trusted sponsor system for student visas¡±
• Exit checks would be introduced allowing a Tory government to ¡°introduce targeted sanctions for those colleges or businesses that fail to ensure that migrants comply with the terms of their visa¡±

The party also pledges to ¡°ensure that universities deliver the best possible value for money to students¡±. It commits to:

• ¡°introduce a framework to recognise universities offering the highest teaching quality¡±
• ¡°encourage universities to offer more two-year courses¡±
• ¡°require more data to be openly available to potential students so that they can make decisions informed by the career paths of past graduates¡±

On other issues, the manifesto says: ¡°Through the Nurse Review of research councils, we will seek to ensure that the UK continues to support world-leading science, and invests public money in the best possible way. And we will encourage the development of online education as a tool for students, whether studying independently or in our universities.¡±

The manifesto also emphasises the party¡¯s policy to lift the cap on student numbers, already introduced by the government.

john.morgan@tesglobal.com