Chartered ABS Annual Membership Survey 2026: Business school finances strained as international enrolments fall

UK business schools, on which universities rely heavily for student numbers and fee income, are facing growing financial strain as international student enrolments fall sharply at the start of this new academic year. 

Results from the 2026 Chartered Association of Business Schools Annual Membership Survey show that 69% of responding schools reported lower international enrolments this academic year, a sharp increase from 35% in last year’s survey.  

The decline is steepest at postgraduate level, with two-thirds (67%) of schools reported being below target for recruitment. Three quarters of schools reported lower international postgraduate enrolments, including 60% reporting significantly lower enrolments. This marks a rapid decline from last year, when 39% of respondents reported lower international postgraduate enrolments.  

Declines at undergraduate level were less pronounced, but three in five schools still reported lower international undergraduate enrolments, with 29% reporting a significant decline. More than half of schools (57%) were below target for international undergraduate recruitment.  

Government policy towards international students is cited as driving the decline in enrolments. The reduction in the length of the Graduate Route had the most widespread negative impact, with 75% of business school Deans reporting a negative impact in 2025/26 and 82% expecting a continued negative impact in 2026/27. Business schools see the visa as important to their ability to recruit international students, with 39% describing it as critically important and 46% as important. 

The tightening of the BCA metrics is also having a substantial impact. 60% of responding schools reported a negative impact in 2025/26. Looking ahead to 2026/27, this rises to 74%, with almost a third of respondents (32%) expecting a very negative impact. Several Deans also highlighted the recent rise in visa refusals as adding to recruitment challenges. 

Similarly, business schools also expect the international student levy to harm recruitment when it takes effect, with 71% saying it will have a negative impact. 

Domestic recruitment has been more stable, though results vary between institutions. While a third of schools (37%) reported higher domestic recruitment, a third reported lower domestic recruitment. 

Business schools are also less optimistic about the year ahead, with 60% expecting January 2027 enrolments to be lower year-on-year that last January. This is in marked contrast to last year’s survey, when 35% of schools expected January 2026 enrolments to increase and only 13% expected a decrease. 

The fall in international enrolments is a serious concern because a large majority of responding schools (94%) reported some degree of reliance on international student fees to ensure their financial viability. 

Business school finances are already strained, with 47% of responding Deans reporting a decrease in income for 2025/26. Three in five schools (59%) expect their income to decline again in the current financial year. This is in sharp contrast to last year’s survey, when 58% of schools expected their income to increase and only 21% anticipated a decline. 

This strain has knock-on effects for universities. On average, responding business schools contributed 56% of their net income to their parent institution in 2025/26. The most common ask from financially challenged universities was for business schools to expand international operations, reported by half (50%) of respondents. This was followed closely by increased faculty and staff workloads and increased student intake targets (both 48%). 

The increase in the tuition fee cap offers little relief. Half of Deans (50%) said it helps their institution’s financial stability only to a very limited extent, while a further 15% said it has no impact. 

Business schools remain focused on delivering value to their students, with student satisfaction rated as their highest priority, followed by financial performance and teaching quality and standards. 

Around half (49%) of responding schools reported that the proportion of domestic students from free school meal backgrounds had increased over the last five years. 

Professor Stewart Robinson, Chair of the Chartered ABS and Dean of Newcastle University Business School, said: 

“These results paint a worrying picture across the sector. Following years of warnings from business schools, the reality of Government policy towards universities and international students has finally hit, and business schools are bearing the brunt. 

“Our members tell us that international enrolments have fallen dramatically across the board, and they expect them to keep falling into 2027. This is having a damaging impact on business school finances and the financial sustainability of our universities, which will negatively affect the student experience.  

“Unfortunately, there is more to come. The Government’s own analysis suggests the international student levy will cost the university sector £1bn in its first three years. 

“The Government has rightly asked more of universities, from working more closely with business to playing a key role in driving the Government’s own £40bn international education export target. But universities and business schools cannot deliver what is asked of them without the Government removing some of the barriers it has placed in their way. 

“Business schools are important anchor institutions in their local economies, delivering good growth in every postcode. That role is now being severely undermined.”

Download the Chartered ABS Annual Membership Survey 2026