Given the difficulties facing Cardiff University it is easy to ignore the problems facing other institutions across Wales.

Take the case of the University of South Wales (USW), which announced a shortfall of £20m in its finances with up to 350 jobs having already been lost or at risk of being lost because of this deficit.

How did the second largest university in Wales which had previously prided itself on its financial stability find itself in such a position?

According to recent financial statements and Freedom of Information requests, there seems to have been several significant strategic mistakes in its approach, ranging from aggressive international recruitment to a collapse in its ability to attract home students.

Initially, it seemed the decision by the new senior management team to focus on recruiting internationally was working and between 2021 and 2024, revenue from overseas students climbed from £19m to £56m, a 195% increase.

However, increased dependency on a small number of markets meant that USW was potentially exposed to changes in visa regulations or political climates. When these changed, the university, as its vice chancellor Ben Calvert announced last autumn, found itself in a situation where international student recruitment had fallen by 50%.

Should this have been a surprise? Certainly, whilst only 70 Nigerian students were registered to study in 2018 at USW, five years later this had grown to over 2,000, accounting for 30% of all international students at........

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