Post on 02-Jun-2018
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t h e s t u d e n te x p e r ie n c er e p o r t 2 0 0 5
2 0 0 5 s t u d e n te x p e r ie n c e r e p o r t
com mis s ioned by UNITE in a s s ociat ion
wit h HEP I a nd conduct ed by MORI
5 t h a nnivers a ry edit ion
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c o n t e n t s
B a c kg r ound 2Met hodolog y 2For ew or d by S ir G ra eme Da vies , Cha irma n of HEP I 3Int r od uc t io n b y Nic ho la s P o r t e r, Chie f Exe c ut ive Offic e r o f U NITE G r oup 4
KEY FINDINGS 5
GETTING THERE 9
Widening par t icipa t ionWhy go t o univers it y?Whic h univers it y?
STUDENT LIFE 13
A happy a nd cont ent ed groupThe dow n-s ide of being a s t udentRela t ions hipsS oc ia l lifeS moking & t a king drugsG a d g e t sGet t ing around
CITIZENSHIP 1 9
Involvement in t he c ommunit yVot ing int ent ion
ACCOMMODATION 23
PAID EMPLOYMENT 26
Who works?Why work?At t it ud es t o w a r d s w o r k
ACADEMIC LIFE 32
Ge n era l s a t is f ac t io nThe c ours e
STUDENT FINANCES 37Financial orga nis a t ionS t udent expendit ureS t ud e nt d eb tUNITE/MOR I Fina nc ia l Ind ex
WHAT NEXT? 45
A pos it ive out lookSalary expecta t ionsS kills
ABOUT UNITE 50
UNIAID 50
APPENDIX 51FEEDBACK FORM 56
Main phot ogr aphy on cover by Da niel Phillips
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background
The UNITE S t udent Experience Report has had a name cha nget o re f lec t t he broad rea ch o f t he survey inves t iga t ing t hes t udent exper ienc e. When UNITE init ia t ed t he origina l S t udentLiving Repor t in 20 00 it w a s re a lly t he only one of it s kind now t here are myr iad s urveys in t o d if ferent fac et s of s t udent
life . In order t o ens ure t hat t he UNITE S t udent ExperienceRepor t con t inues t o have t he mos t robus t met hodology andexpert input we ha ve expanded t he report t o includecomment a ry f rom t he Higher Educa t ion Policy Ins t it ut e(HEP I). Als o new t his yea r, w e ha ve included a fr ee r es pons es ect ion for res pondent s t o t e ll us how t hey imag ine t hes t udent exper ienc e w ill cha nge five yea rs on. The Workba nkhave a ls o cont inued t heir s uppor t of t he s t udy by s ponsor ingt he S t udent Work Exper ience s ect ion.
For t his fift h w a ve of The UNITE S t udent Experience
Report , MORI conduct ed face-t o-face inter views wit h
1,007 ful l-t ime undergraduate and postgraduate students
at t went y univers it ies ac ross t he UK (England, S cot land,
Wales a nd Nort hern Ireland) bet ween 25 t h Oct ober and
24t h November 2004 . In t he previous s t udies t he sa mplewa s composed of 1 ,10 3 s t udent s in Wave 1 (fieldwork
23rd Oc tober t o 15 t h November 2000 ), 1 ,068 s t udents
in Wave 2 (22 nd Oct ober t o 16t h November, 20 01 ), 1, 08 6
s t udent s in Wave 3 (22nd Oct ober t o 15t h November,
2002) and 1,065 students in Wave 4 (30th October and
27 t h November 2 00 3). The s ample profile ha s been largely
consistent across al l f ive waves of the study and the
f ieldwork was conducted at the same t ime each year .
The ins t it ut ions w ere init ia lly s elect ed wit h proba bilit y
proport ional t o t he number of full-time st udents s t udying
any subject .
The s elect ion of universit ies wa s repres ent at ive of region
and t ype of univers it y (old a nd new) acr os s t he UK. Twent y-
t wo universit ies wer e included in Wave 1, t went y in Wave 2
and t went y-one in Waves 3 a nd 4, all using the s ame
s elect ion crit eria. To ensure t he profile of st udents wa s
representa t ive , quot as were se t and da t a we ighted bygender, year of s t udy, s ubject of st udy and et hnic minorit y.
The ques t ionnaire t ook approxima t ely 30 minut es t o complet e
on average.
P leas e note t ha t t o ta ls may not a lways equa l 100%.
In some inst ances t his is where res pondents were a llowed
t o choose mult iple res pons es for a par t icular quest ion. An
as t er isk (*) represent s a value of les s t han 0.5 per cent
but more than zero .
The appendix to t his report cont ains t he s ample profile a nd
a br ief out line of soc ial clas s definit ions a s used by t heInst it ut e of Pr ac t it ioners in Advert is ing.
met hodolog y
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forewordby Sir Graeme Davies, Chairman of HEPI
As Chairma n of The Higher Educa t ion Policy Ins t it ut e (HEPI)a nd Vice Cha nce llor of t he Univer s it y of London I a m delight edt o provide t his forew ord for U NITEs 5 t h Anniver s a ry Reportin t o t he S t udent Exper ience.
HEPI was es t ablis hed
wit h t he primary purpose
of ensuring t hat higher
educa t ion policy
development in t he UK is
informed by research
and by knowledge of t he
experience of ot hers .
The U NITE re por t int o
t he S t udent Experience
is a valued research
document w hich ra is es
awa reness o f t he needs ,
a t t it ud es a n d
requirements of
s tudents , and shows
both where they are
changing and where t hey
remain cons t an t .
A number of t he findings
of this report are veryrelevant t o current
policy deba t es for
example, t he ext ent t o
which s tudents work
during t erm t ime, t he
degree of t heir
indebtedness and how
t hey believe t hat t he
addit ional resource s
provided by variable fees
should be used.
The knowledge we ga in
from unders t anding the
s t udent experience from
t hese repor ts is
import ant not only for
organisat ions such as
HEPI but a ls o forunivers it ies ac ross t he
UK which are facing a
radically different
environment in t he
fut ure, as well as for
policy makers who need
to be aware of the
character is t ics ,
as pira t ions a nd behaviour
of the consumers of
Higher Educat ion.
The findings of t he UNITES t udent Experience
Report ar e encoura ging
and cont inue t o s how
t ha t s t udent s va lue
t heir t ime at univers it y
and have a rich and
va ried experience, which
equips our fut ure lea ders
wit h t he life and
ac ademic skills t hat t hey
w ill nee d in t heir
ca reers . It is pa rt icular ly
encouraging that the
overw helming ma jorit y
are sat is f ied wi th the
qualit y of t he educat ion
t hat t hey receive t he
f irs t t ime t his quest ion
has been posed.
This r epor t is invalua ble
t o all of us who ar e
dedica t ed t o maint aining
and improving a ll a s pect s
of univers it y life in t he
UK and I have no doubt
t hat t he findings will be
widely us ed t hroughout
t he yea r.
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Our expect at ions have been exceeded; t he St udent Experience Report is now
recog nis ed as one of t he lea ding publica t ions in t his s ect or used by a cr os s
s ect ion of organis at ions. The report cha llenges current t hinking, mea s ures
at t it udes and illuminat es fut ure t rends.
The met hodology has rema ined cons is t ent over t ime, a llowing us t o monit or a nd
rec ord c hang es during t he pas t five yea rs , like t he UNITE/MORI S t udent Financ ia lIndex, which wa s f irs t launched as part of our 2 00 4 s urvey. As well as t ra cking
t rends w e a re a b le t o explore new is s ues t hat evolve ea ch year.
I t has been recognised that the s tudent experience encapsulates both academic
and non aca demic a c t ivit y and t o furt her ref lect t his we ha ve broadened t his
annivers ar y edit ion, int roducing new q uest ions r elat ing t o: pers onal f inance,
s ervices for s t udents , personal poss es s ions in t he digit a l age, c ommunit y
involvement a nd life a ft er univers it y.
Our cust omers who buy int o higher educa t ion are t he very best people t o
t ell us w hat it s like. Of cours e, t he t es t will be how well we c an lis t en t o t hem.
I believe t hat t he UNITE S t udent Experience Report offers va luable and
informa t ive dat a a nd our own c hallenge will be t o a pply it s findings int ellige nt ly
t o s hape t he way we build grea t cust omer experiences for t he future.
UNITE is commit t ed t o cont inuing t o cont ribute t o t he unders t anding of the
s t udent experience, in order t hat we c an cons t ant ly improve our ser vicing of
t heir re quirement s and t hose of our par t ners . In part icular, I would like t o t ake
t his opport unit y to t hank our new part ners in t his res earc h HEPI, t oget her wit h
The Workba nk, Univers it ies UK and MORI for t heir on-going commit ment t o
working wit h us on t his project .
Welc ome t o ourfif t h a nnivers a ry oft he U NITE Repo rtin to the S tudentExperience. Whenwe f irs t launchedour research w i th
MORI five yearsa g o it w a s o urint ent ion t oca pt ure t he highsa nd lows of t hehigher educa t ionexperience, whilstproviding a uniquepiece of socialres earc h which wea re delight ed t o
s hare w it h ourcollea gues in t heHigher Educa t ionS e c to r .
int r oduc t ionby Nicho la s Por t er, Chief Execut ive Offic er of UNITE Gr oup
5 Yea rs on. . .
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5Ph ot ogr aphy by S am C lack/Da niel Ph illips
key finding s
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Student Life
Students are generally
a happy and contented
gro up, enjoying t he freedom
to live as they want and
cons idering t he experience
t o be wort hwhile.
Thos e w ho live aw ay
from home are the
happies t , e njoying t he
freedom t o live as t hey
choos e. Over t hree in five
feel t hat t hose living at
home do not ga in t he full
benefit of being a s t udent.
On t he downs ide,
increa s ing proport ions ar e
feeling s t res s ed s ince
coming t o univers it y.
Financial const raint s are
likely t o be a dding t o t he
stress factor with l i t t le
money, debt and t he lac k of
a regular income being t he
three wors t aspec ts o f
s t udent life. Trying t o juggle
s t udying with ot her
commit ments , es pecially
work ar e also key tr igger s .
S t udent s enjoy their
s ocial lives, a lar ge ma jorit y
feel t hat t hey have good
opport unit ies for s ocial
act ivit ies, t o meet people
and t o t ry new experiences.
The pub is t heir favourit e
ac t ivit y but des pit e a high
level of awa reness of the
ris ks of binge dr inking,
s ignifica nt proport ions buy
more alcohol t han t he
recommended levels for safe
drinking. S imila rly, s ignifica ntproport ions cont inue t o
smoke and do not
ac knowledge t he risks
involved. Howe ver, t hey ar e
more likely t o rec ognise t he
dangers of smoking
ca nnabis and, es pecially,
using hard drugs .
Des pit e t heir vices ,
more students today care
about fitness than in
previous year s . S even in t en
now claim t o ca re very
much about health and
fit ness in body and mind
compar ed with t he four in
ten who said three years
ago that they spent their
s pare t ime playing sport or
t aking exercise.
Mobile phones wit h
picture messaging are the
gadget of choice w it h malesowning the most gadget s
overall.
Citizenship
Three in t en report t hey
have involved t hems elves in
cha rit ab le work; previous
research sugges ts tha t
more would become involved
if t hey had t he t ime. Twice
as many (62%) s ay t hey
have donat ed money to
charit y as have t hemselves
bee n involved in cha rit ywork.
Reflect ing genera l
diss at isfact ion wit h t he
Governments student
policies, a sizeable
propor t ion (17 %) dont
know or are undecided
about how t hey will vot e in
t he next Genera l Elect ion.
S ix in t en believe t he
Government to be out of
touch with students ,
although this is an
improvement on las t years
st udy when the debat e
about t op-up fees was at
its height.
S t ud ent s w ho s t a t e a
preference a re m os t likely
to support the Liberal
Democ ra t s (34%) follow ed
by Labour (28%) and t he
Tor ies ha ve a one in fivesha re of t he vot e. The sha re
of vot e for t he Government
has st abilized s ince 2003 ,
remaining at t he lowes t
level s ince t he s urvey bega n
in 2000.
Getting there
Des pit e t he Government
aim t o widen par t icipat ion in
higher educat ion, t he s ocial
c las s profile of s t udent s
going t o university ha s
remained fair ly const ant .
Over t he pas t five years
s ince UNITE st ar t ed t he
S t udent Experience Report ,
there has been no
stat ist ical s ignif icant
cha nge in t he proport ion of
working c las s s t udents .
The mos t import ant
fac t or in t he init ial choice of
universit y continues t o be
t he course on of fer. Ot her
impor ta nt f ac t or s
influencing t he dec is ion ar e
the academic reputation
and t he feel of the
universit y, ba s ed on
experience of vis it ing.
The vas t ma jorit y of
s t udents rece ive help from
t heir family and fr iends
during t heir univers it y
ca reer, while one in t en
rece ive no such s upport ,
es pecially older st udents .
M os t o f t h e s t ud en t s
who ar e current ly in debt,
have t aken out a s t udent
loan, w it h ot hers ha ving
overdraf t s f rom their bank
and outstanding balances
on their credit cards.
Accommodation
The majorit y of s t udents cont inue to live in rent ed ac commoda t ion while a q uart er s t ill
live at home, es pecially t hos e from C2 DE bac kgrounds . Those living a t home do s o ma inlyt o s ave money but many believe tha t t hey do not get t he full benefit of being at university.
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key findings
Paid Employment
Four in t en st udent s
cont inue t o wor k during
t erm-t ime and ar e working
an average of 14.5 hours
a week, earning 86.
However, t here is a w ide
dis par it y in t erms of the
hours worked w it h one in
t welve working les s t han
five hours a week and
14 % working more t han
20 hours.
Working cla s s
s tudents remain
dis proport ionat ely more
likely t o w ork t ha n t heir
middle c las s count erpar t s(54 % vs 3 5 %).
Popular s t udent jobs
cont inue t o be in ret ail,
bar w ork and ca t er ing
while a s ma ll proport ion
use t he s kills lea rned on
t he ir course t o
s upplement t heir income,
for example t eac hing,
wor king for t heir univers it y
or in nursing or
healthcare.
Ove r t h e p a s t t w o
ye a r s , s t u de nt s a r e
incre a s ingly wor king
because they have to;
almost s even in t en claimto work to pay for basic
ess ent ia ls and fewer are
able to manage on a
s tudent loan than
pre vious ly.
While food and
accommodation feature
a m ong t h e a r ea s t h a t
working s t udent s would
need to c ut back on if t hey
didnt work, curt ailing t heir
s oc ia lising (60 %) a nd
making s avings on clot hes
(45%) would be higher
priorit ies .
S t udents percept ion
of the e ffec t t ha t pa id
employment ha s on t heir
s t udies has not changed
appreciably from las t year.
Almos t as many now hold
t he view t ha t t here is no
adverse ef fect as hold the
oppos ing view. Thos e w ho
work cont inue t o view it as
a posit ive experience and
feel appreciat ed a nd valued
by t heir e mployers . Theya lso fee l t ha t t hey are
ga ining valua ble experience
for the future.
Student Finances
Money or lack of it ,
continue to be the worst
as pec t s o f s t udent l if e .
Most st udent s consider
t hemselves t o be good at
orga nizing t heir financ es
and incre as ingly feel t hat
t hey are keeping up without
a ny difficult ies (up 6 point s
s ince 20 03 t o 42%).
S t ud en t s s p e nd t h e
highes t proport ion of t heir
income on ac commoda t ion,
a s d o mos t a d ult s .
Student Debt
As more and more st udent s feel conf ident a bout t heir
abilit y to ma nage t heir f inances , fewer w orry about t he
debts t hey will incur at univers it y t han at any t ime s ince
t his s eries of s urveys c ommenced. Three in t en expres s
concern about t heir debt s (a t en point drop since 200 3).
At t he s ame t ime, ha lf s t ill feel t hey can put off t hinking
about t hem unt il t hey get a job. For t he f irs t t ime in t he
surveys history , working c lass C2DE students are now
among t he most conf ident a bout t heir prospect s of paying
off t heir debt (56 %).
Des pit e t his high level of debt , a n increa s ing number
of st udent s regar d s pending on univers it y educa t ion as
wort hwhile a nd a good inves t ment for t heir future.
Averag e s t udent debt has r is en quit e drama t ical ly in
t he pas t year (up 11% t o 5,28 5) and by 59% in t he
past f ive years. Antic ipated debt has also increased with
s t udents expec t ing t o owe an a verage of 9 ,744 when
t hey lea ve univers it y (up 39% s ince 2 00 0).
Students continue to borrow from a wide range of
sources and their main forms of debt are student loans,bank overdraf t s , credit car ds and loans from families.
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What Next?
The major it y of graduat es c ontinue to aim to s t ar t working as s oon as t hey graduat e and are optimis t ic about t heir
chances of gett ing work.
Students are conf ident about their prospects , despite growing concerns that increasing numbers of graduates wil l
make it harder for t hem t o get jobs. However, f inal year s t udent s are g enerally les s optimis t ic , a s t hey approach t he
rea lit y of ent ering t he job market .
Compared w it h a year a go, fewer s t udent s feel under press ure t o be succes s ful and make money when t hey leave
univers it y t wo in five overa ll experience t his pres s ure.
This s urvey c lear ly s hows t hat gender dif ferences in t erms of sa lary expect at ions s t ar t ear ly wit h male s t udent s
already expect ing t o earn more t han t heir female counterpar t s (20,50 0 vs. 18,40 0). S imilar ly t hose from C2DE
backgrounds expect t o earn less t han t heir middle c lass counterpar t s (18,50 0 vs 19,500 ). This is despit e t heir
increa s ed confidence in being able to ma nage t heir debt s .
While s t udents genera lly believe t hat univers it y has s et t hem in good s t ead for t heir w orking life, ma ny, es pecially
t hose nea ring t he end of t heir universit y career s (t hird or s ubseq uent yea rs ) ar e les s c onfident about t he specific s kills
t hey ar e a ble t o offer employers . Only one in five t hink t hey have good gr a mma r a nd s pelling s kills or bus ines s s kills a nd
just one in t en feel t hat t hey ar e eit her commerc ially as t ut e or have office s kills . However, t hey s ee t hems elves as being
good at working under pres s ure, report writ ing and poss es s ing ITs kills a nd being able to offer soft er s kills s uch as s elf-
confidence and t he abilit y t o work cons t ruct ively wit h others .
Academic Life
Almos t nine in t en
st udents cont inue t o have a
pos it ive view (very or fa irly
favourable) of t heir
univers it y, a lt hough t he
propensit y to be veryfavourable decreases as t hey
progress t hrough univers it y
life. There has been a n
improvement in s at is fac t ion
with s pecific element s of the
univers it y offer s uch as t he
availa bility of IT, periodica ls
and journals and course
books in t he librar y (ra t ed a s
very good by around half).
Students are more critical of
t he s upport t hey receive for
t heir ac ademic s t udies.
The ma jority of s t udent s
are s at is fied wit h the qualit y
of t ea ching (88%) alt hough
only a t hird a re very sa t is fied.
Having sa id t hat , few s ee
aca demic as pects as key
cont enders for addit ional
res ources from t op-up fees.
While ma ny recog nis e t hat
res ources a t t heir universit y
are st retched due to
increas ed s t udent numbers,
most would like t o s ee t he
money used on t he libra ry
and increased security
(ment ioned by ar ound thre e
in ten) ra t her t han more
conta ct t ime and sma ller
t eac hing g roups (18 % eac h).
Mos t continue t o feel
t hat t heir course eit her
meets or exceeds t heir
expecta t ions. Coursew ork
appears to be less
demanding t han it wa s five
years ag o, with fewer feeling
fully st ret ched (-6 t o 52 %)
and more feeling part ially
st retched (+ 7 t o 42%).
However, one in eight
have eit her changed or are
s erious ly c ons idering
changing t heir cours e, eit her
because t hey have changed
t heir minds about what t hey
want t o st udy or t he course
has not met their
expect at ions in s ome wa y.
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9Photography by Sam Clack
g e t t ing t he re
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Widening Participation
There has been no st at is t ical s ignif icant change in the
proport ion of working clas s s t udents over the five years
s ince UNITE s t ar t ed t he S t udent Experience Report ,
des pit e a G overnment aim to w iden part icipat ion in
higher educa t ion.
The majorit y of s t udents cont inue to come from a w hit e-
collar bac kground, in fac t t he proport ion from AB
households (where t he chief wa ge ea rner is of higher or
intermediate management or professional status) has
increa s ed over t he period from 40 % t o 45 %. A third
(34 %) a re from C1 hous eholds (junior ma nag ement or
profess ional) and only one in five c ome from a t ra dit ional
working clas s bac kground a proport ion uncha nged s ince
t he f irs t wa ve of t he survey.
Why Go To University?
The reas ons for at t ending univers it y are s imilar t o t hose
mentioned f ive years ago, al though st udent s now s upply a
great er number of reas ons t o just ify their decis ion,
poss ibly due t o t he increas ed cos t of at t ending univers it y.
Gaining qua lifica t ions (70 %) rema ins t he main reas on t o
at t end a universit y, followed by improving c ar eer
pros pect s (57 %).
The ma jorit y of s t udent s e njoyed t he bac king of t heir fam ily
in t heir decision t o at t end university a nd t wo-t hirds (66 %)
say that their family gave them a great deal of
encourag ement . However, one in t en (9%) received not
very much/none at all encoura gement and a s for a furt her
6% t his does not apply, for example mat ure st udent s , t his
means t hat one in seven s t udent s are ef fect ively wit hout
any fa mily s upport . Inter es t ingly, fa mily s upport is s light ly
lower from t hose from C1 bac kgrounds (79% give a grea t
deal/a fair amount ) t han from eit her AB or C2DE
hous eholds (90 % and 8 6% res pect ively), t hes e ar e families
who a re likely not t o be pa rt icular ly well off but ar e a ls o
likely t o be expect ed t o cont r ibut e t owards t uit ion fees.
Source: MORI Source: MORI
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1 1
S upport from t he fa mily will undoubt edly be influence d by
t heir pers ona l experience of univers it y life. In Wa ve 4
(200 3), we found t hat a higher proport ion of s t udent s from
AB ba ckgrounds had family members w ho had at t ended
universit y and t his is reflect ed in t he higher level of s upport
AB s t udent s received in 200 5 (73% a grea t deal).
Which University?
S t udent s consult a w ide range of publica t ions w hen
deciding which universit y to a t t end but t he most popular,
by far , are t he UCAS publica t ions ( this has been the c as e
acros s t he las t t hree waves of t he survey a lt hough the
proport ion us ing t hes e has dropped by five percent ag e
point s over t he la s t year (from 7 3% t o 68 %). The Times
Good Univers it y Guide and t he Times and Gua rdian
news papers and websites are cons ult ed by around
one in seven s t udent s .
As for t he major it y of s t udents t he most impor ta nt f ac t or
in the s elect ion of university cont inues t o be the c ourse
(59%), it may be deduced t hat t hey are us ing t hese
s ources primar ily for cours e informat ion. However, a
s ubst ant ial minorit y of s t udent s are inf luenced by t he
reput a t ion of t he univers it y, bot h overa ll (39 %), by it s
ac ademic s t anding (37 %) and its plac e in t he universit y
leag ue t ables (19%). On the ot her hand, t he feel of t he
universit y is also import ant , a q uart er (26 %) s ay t heir
Source: MORISource: MORI
Source: MORI
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1 2
choice w as bas ed on t heir vis it t o t he univers it y and a f if th
chose t he univers it y because t hey liked t he at mosphere.
The cours e is t he main fac t or in t he se lect ion of the
universit y for all s ocial gra des , howe ver t he universities
reputation is much stronger among students f rom AB
backgrounds , 4 7% compared t o 33 % for t hose from C1
and C2D E hous eholds . As las t year, t he abilit y t o live athome is t wice as impor ta nt t o s t udents f rom C2DE
households as it is t o ABs (30 % vers us 1 5%).
The t ype of univers it y a s t udent chooses t o at t end would
also s eem t o be influenced by a number of social fac t ors .
S t udents at t he old univers it ies ar e more likely t o be of AB
social grade, white , pr ivately educated and at tend as a
na t ura l progress ion from school, whereas s t udents a t t he
new univers it ies ar e more likely t o be C2 DE, from a n
e thnic group, s ta te educa ted and a mature s tudent .
5 Years on
When as ked a n open quest ion on how s t udent life will
change over t he next f ive years , one of t he t hemes t o
spontaneously emerge is a bel ief that s tudent numbers
may increas e. Mos t comments indicat e a percept ion that
t his increa s e will have an advers e affect on t he exis t ing
s t udent populat ion. St udent s believe t hat t he qualit y of
t uit ion may suf fer along wit h t heir chances of get t ing a job
when t hey graduat e respondents comments highlight ing
t he perceived changes are quoted below.
The Government t ar get of 50% int o higher educa t ion will
dilut e value and res ources
There is also a feeling t hat s t udents from higher income or
middle c las s bac kgrounds will be in a fa r more
advanta geous posit ion, as t hey receive grea t er f inancial
and ot her support whis t at univers it y, and t hat t his c ould
polar is e opport unit y t hos e who ca n afford it would be
able t o pay for a good course.
There will be s egrega t ion betw een t he wealthier s t udent s
and poorer st udents . The wea lt hier s t udents will be able
t o a f ford t o go t o t he be t t e r univers it ies and do the
be t te r courses so c rea t ing a two t ie r sys tem. Poorers t udents will t hink t wice about going t o universit y
Comment on Getting to University fromthe Higher Education Policy Institute
This s urvey confirms wha t is well known from a necdot e a nd
from ot her s urveys. There is a huge clas s bias in t hose
who go t o higher educa t ion t hrough no-fault of t he
univers it ies : t he problem is different ia l a chievement in
s chools . What is of part icular c oncern, however, is t hat
despite the fact that widening par t ic ipation has been at
centre stage of the Governments and the Funding
Councils policies , t here ha s been virt ually no cha nge in t he
proportion of s t udents from poor backgrounds in higher
educat ion s ince t he firs t s urvey of five year s ag o. This is along-t erm c hallenge, a nd chang es will not be s een quickly.
One part icular ly int eres t ing, and perhaps s urpris ing finding
is that s tudents f rom the poorest backgrounds receive
almost as much support in their decision to at tend
universi ty as students f rom the best of f backgrounds.
This may c aus e us t o rec onsider t he widely held percept ion
(supported by some research) which suggests at t i tudes to
educat ion are cult urally based, a nd tha t one reas on for
t he poorer performa nce of young people from
disadvantaged backgrounds is that education is not
valued in t heir fa mily environment s as much a s it is infamilies t hat are bet t er of f.
Source: MORI
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1 3Pho t ogr aphy by Daniel Ph illips
s t udent life
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A Happy and Contented Group
The vas t majorit y of s t udents (95 %) would ag ree t hat
going t o university is a worthwhile experience. However
t he proport ion who st rongly agr ee is fa lling, from t hree-
qua rt ers (74 %) in Wave 1 (200 0) t o t wo -t hirds (66 %) in
Wave 5. Younger s t udents ar e more likely t o s t rongly
agr ee t han older ones (67% aga inst 58%) and t hose from
AB bac kgrounds ar e more likely t han C1 s (70% compar ed
wit h 6 0%).
S t udent s are a cont ent ed group and nine in t en (88%)
agree I am happy with my life, just under half of thes e
(42 % overall) s t rongly a gree. In genera l t hose with few er
res ponsibilit ies a nd financial pres s ures a re t he happies t
t hese a re s t udent s aged up to 22 (90%), f rom an AB
hous ehold (91%), living in ha lls (94%), fr ee from debt
(92 %) a nd t he financially compet ent (90 %).
For many s t udents the freedom to live how I want is thebest part of the student experience (66 % ag reeing with
t his s t at ement ). This is part icular ly t rue for young people
who have recently lef t home (72% of st udent s aged up to
22) when compared t o mat ure st udent s who are l ikely to
have more re s ponsibilit ies (only 35% of t hos e a ged 2 6 a nd
over agr ee wit h t his ). Overs eas st udent s (73%) and t hose
living in halls (80%) a re a ls o mor e likely t o a gr ee .
The Down-side of Being a Student
Being at universit y is not all fun and t he proportion of
students who feel stressed is on the increase. Almost six
in ten (58%) s t udent s now a gree t hat since being at
university I feel under a lot more stress than before
t his has increas ed by five percenta ge point s s ince t he
ques t ion wa s firs t as ked in Wave 2 (20 01 ).
Source: MORI
Source: MORI Source: MORI
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Financial const raint s ma y be adding to t he st res s fac t or,
as having lit t le money, being in debt and not having a
regular income are seen as t he three wors t as pec t s o f
s t udent life . In fact , t hose w ho current ly owe money are
more likely to feel s t res s ed t han t hose who do not (61%
compar ed t o 53 %). J uggling universit y work with ot her
commit ment s and the need t o work and s t udy a t t he
s ame t ime also appear in t he t op five wors e t hings about
univers it y life and it would seem t hese a ls o add t o s t res s
levels - thos e who a re curr ent ly working a re much more
likely to be s t res s ed t han t hose who ar e not (63%
compar ed t o 54 %).
Anot her dow nside t o univers it y life is crime. Howe ver, a s is
the case with the general public , the fear is much greater
t han t he realit y. Wave 3 (2002 ), res ult s found tha t t hree
in t en s t udents believed they had been a vict im of crime
while t he current wa ve s hows a much higher proport ion
(48 %) feel t hat wa lking alone at night in an s t ra nge a rea is
very ris ky. Females (69 %), t hose from C2DE bac kgrounds
(54 %), w hit e s t udent s (50 %) and t hos e living in halls
(53 %) a re mo re likely t o feel tha t it is very ris ky. At t he
ot her end of the s ca le, over half do not believe this t o be a
ris ky ac t ivit y just over a t hird s ay it is not very ris ky, if
ca reful (37 %), one in t en believe it is not risky in
modera t ion (10%) and less t han one in tw ent y (4%)
believe t his ac t ivit y is not ris ky at all .
RelationshipsTra dit ionally going t o universit y has mea nt a c hanc e t o
s prea d your wings a nd t o enjoy life t o t he full before s et t ling
down with a family and a job. However a quart er of
s t udent s (24%) s ay t hey are in a s erious relat ionship and a
furt her one in se ven (13 %) ar e eit her living w it h s omeone or
are married. Almost half of st udent s (49%) ca n be
clas s ified as s ingle, a nd 63% of thes e ar e happy t o be so.
As would be expect ed t here a re ma jor differences by age,
wit h a t hird (35%) of st udent s aged up t o 22 ha ppy to be
s ingle while a higher proport ion of t hose ag ed 26 and over
ar e eit her living w it h s omeone or ar e ma rried (38 %).
Source: MORI
Source: MORI
Source: MORI
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Social Life
Over t he las t f ive years it would seem t hat s t udent s ,
along with the rest of the population, have got the f i tness
bug. In Wave 2, four in t en st udent s s aid t hat t hey spent
t heir s pare t ime playing s port or t aking exercis e, w hile in
Wa ve 5, a m uch higher pr oport ion (71 %) a gr ee w it h I care
very much about health and fitness in body and mind.
The majorit y of st udents ar e happy wit h t he s ocial life at
t heir univers it y, eight out of t en (79 %) believe t heir
universit y provides good opport unit ies for great social
activities, 8 5% good opportunities to meet people they
actually want to get to know and 8 3% good
opportunities to try new experiences. Very few (fewe r
t han one in t went y) ra t e t heir university as very poor in
any of these cases .
In Wave 1 (2000) we as ked how s t udent s s pent t heir
s pare t ime and the a ge old st udent pas t imes of goingt o t he pub (53 %), s pending t ime w it h friends and
fam ily (43 %) and w at ching TV (41 %) were t he t op
t hree act ivit ies .
Even t hough going t o t he pub is t he favourit e ac t ivit y for
s t udents , 5 9% t hink t hat binge drinking is very ris ky and
only 1% s ay it is not ris ky at all . Des pit e t his , a t hird of
s t udent s buy alcohol in exces s of t he recommended s afe
level for drinking.
Source: MORI
Source: MORI Source: MORI
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1 7
Accept ed guidelines r ecommend tha t 21 unit s a week
s hould be t he alcohol limit for ma les . Howe ver 32 % of male
s t udents s pend over 2 0 a week on a lcohol. The guideline
for cons umption by women is 14 unit s a w eek, while 35 %
of fema le s t udents s pend over 15 a week on alcohol.
Smoking & Taking Drugs
The ant i-smoking mes s ag e has s t ill t o rea ch a minorit y of
students , as one in f ive buy tobacco products and 15%
believe s moking eit her t o be not ris ky in modera t ion or
not ris ky at all .
In Wave 3 (2002 ), our s urvey show ed t hat ar ound four in
ten students admitted to smoking cannabis , in the
current wa ve we a s ked t hem how r isky they t hought t his
t o be. While a lmos t t wo-t hirds (63 %) believe t hat s moking
ca nnabis is a very ris ky occupat ion, t he ot her t hird feel
t hat it is eit her not very ris ky if you are ca reful (16%) or
not ris ky in modera t ion (16 %). How ever, s t udentsrecog nis e t he much bigge r ris k in t aking har der drugs ,
87 % believe t aking da nce dr ugs is very ris ky, t he figure
ris es t o 91 % for t aking coc aine and t o 98 % for heroin.
Gadgets
The res ult s f rom t he f irs t wa ve of our survey showed t hat
s t udents owned a wide as sor t ment of poss ess ions . For
t he current wa ve we have updat ed t he lis t t o include the
la t e s t g a d ge t s .
Almos t half of all s t udents own a n advanced mobile phone
wit h pict ure mess aging, t his ref lect s f indings from other
surveys which show t ha t s t udents shop around for t he
bes t mobile phone deal, a nd many of t hes e dea ls will
include a phone wit h t he lat est funct ions. Few s t udent s
a s s ociat e risk with us ing a mobile phone - only 3% t hink it
is very risky while a far higher proport ion (38 %) t hink t hisis not ris ky at all .
In line wit h gender s t ereo-t yping, ma le s t udent s are much
more likely t o own prac t ica lly all t he ga dget s on our lis t
t han females , t his is par t icular ly t rue for ga mes consoles .
Source: MORI Source: MORI
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Getting Around
The ma jorit y of s t udent s believe t hat it is easy to get from
a to b a t t heir universit y (85 %) wit h just 7% ra t ing t his as
poor. Cons equently relat ively few s t udent s drive every day
(16 %) and only a t hird (36 %) s a y t hey ever dr ive while a t
universit y. As w ould be expect ed, t hos e w ho live in halls ar e
t he lea s t likely gr oup t o drive (14 % ever drive) while t hos e
who live at home a re found t o be t he mos t likely (56 %).
5 Years On
A s mall number of st udent s in our survey point out t hat t he
s t udent experience w ill rema in unchanged in t erms of t heir
s ocial life, a lt hough many believe tha t s t udents will be more
prone to suf fer ing from stress, par t icular ly as a result of
increasing student debt .
S t ud en t c omm e nt s :
Ot her tha n finances , I t hink s t udent s w ill s t ay t he sa me
probably somet hing t o do wit h t he age brac ket . At t his age
t hey just wa nt t o have a good t ime, having just lef t home
I cannot foresee a great deal of change in st udent life in
t erms of soc ial life
I believe univers it y will be ext rem ely demanding for
pros pect ive st udents , I think financially, a s t udent will feel
more s t ress ed and anxious
Comment on the Student Life by theHigher Education Policy Institute
That nine out of t en st udent s s hould express t hemselves
happy wit h life is rema rkable. No doubt t his is in part
nothing more t han t he pleas ure of youth and t o evaluat e
t his res pons e it would be necess ary t o as k s imilar
quest ions of young people who are not s t udent s but i t is
nevert heles s encouraging t hat 95% agr ee t hat going to
univers it y is a w ort hwhile experience . The high proport ion
saying that they would choose the same Universi ty again
coincides wit h t he f indings from ot her res earch 1.
The f inding t hat f inancial cons t raint s are t he wors t as pect
of universit y life is not s urpris ing most s t udents will be
having t o manage for t hemselves for the f irs t t ime, and on
a very t ight budget and needs to be seen both against
t he very high level of expendit ure on ga dget s and a lcohol,
and a ls o in t he cont ext of t he increas ing proport ion of
s t udents who work.
The ext ended quest ions a s ked t his year a bout t heir non-
academic activi t ies , a t t i tudes and preferences shed some
revealing light on t oday's s t udents , s ome of which will be
useful t o univers it ies as t hey seek to di fferent iat e
t hems elves in an increa s ingly compet it ive market plac e.
Apart f rom the at t i tudes revealed towards excessive
drinking, s moking and drugs, t he fact t hat near ly t hree
quar ter s sa id tha t t hey cared about hea lt h and f it ness -
belied by t he much lower (but s t ill high) 40 per c ent who
ac t ually spent t ime doing s port or t aking exercise - and
t ha t 85 per cent sa id tha t ge t t ing around t he ir
universit ies wa s eas y, provides universities w it h useful
informat ion, and a ls o a benc hmark by which t o judge t heir
own per formance . What t hey can make of the f ac t t ha t 22
per cent o f s t udents sa id t hey spent t he ir s pare t ime
s hopping, and t hat 28 per cent s pent t heir t ime s leeping,
is another mat t er.
1The Employment of UK gra duat es : Comparisons with Europe and
J apa n Cent re for Higher Educat ion Resea rch a nd Informat ion (CHERI),
J une 2001.
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1 9Pho t ogr aphy by Daniel Ph illips
c it izens hip
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2 0
Involvement in the Community
A quar t er of s t udent s would descr ibe t hemselves as
et hica l cons umers a nd a fift h (21 %) frequent ly dis cus s t he
ques t ion of company et hics with fa mily and friends .
However, alt hough concer ned, a lar ge proport ion (60 %),
a re not a ct ively involved in eit her improving t heir phys ica l
or s ocial environme nt a nd only a t hird (32%) have t a ken
ac t ion t o be more energy ef fic ient at home.
The levels of involvement s hown by t his s urvey, for example
29 % have volunta rily helped a cha rit able orga nis at ion,
ref lect res ult s f rom Wave 3 (200 2), w hich s how t hat
s t udents would become more involved in charita ble w ork if
they had the t ime.
Alt hough s t udent s are more g enerous wit h t heir money
t han wit h t heir t ime and 62% have donat ed money to
char i ty in the last 12 months, i t would seem that almost
a t hird of thes e do so on a n irregular bas is as Wave 3
res ult s s how t hat just 46% make regular donat ions t o
cha rit y.
Over half of s t udent s (56%) s ay t hat t hey have sent it ems
t o be recycled. As t he proport ion ris es t o s ix in t en (62 %)
of those who l ive at home, this adds weight to the
suggestion that more students would recycle i f they could
a nd t hat improved rec ycling fac ilit ies s hould be provided on
campus and in halls.
Source: MORISource: MORI
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2 1
J ust over a t hird of st udent s (36%) could be desc r ibed as
being a ct ive cit izens , having done at leas t five of t he
lis t ed a ct ivit ies , a nd almos t one in five (18 %) have done
s even or more. At t he other end of t he sc ale one in t enhave done none of t hes e act ivit ies .
Are students better citizens thanother adults?
Where poss ible , w e have compared t he result s of t he
students survey with results to a previous survey carr ied
out among Bri t is h adult s . Bet ween J uly and Sept ember
200 4 MORI int erviewed 2, 037 adult s aged 1 6 a nd over a s
part of an Omnibus s t udy and covered nine out of t he
s eventeen mora l and et hical is s ues c overed in t he s t udent
s urvey. These res ult s for t he Br i t is h adult s appear in the
far r ight hand side of the char t t o follow.
Given t he current level of st udent debt , it is not s urpris ing
t hat t hey are les s likely t han t he Br it is h public t o donat e
money t o cha rit y (61 % vs. 7 1%).
S t udent s are also less likely t han Br i t is h adult s t o give up
t heir t ime t o help a c harit able organisa t ion (29 % vs. 3 9%)
or t o a t t end a loca l cha rit y event (27 % vs. 3 8%). This may
be due t o t he increas ing demands on st udent s t ime wit h
more t han four in te n st udents ac t ively enga ged in paid
employment . Als o, giving t ime volunt a rily to c har it a ble
organisa t ions and a t t ending events such as t hese t end t o
be more popula r a mong t hos e ac t ively living in a c ommunit y
with c hildren of t heir own a life st ag e t he majorit y of
s tudents have not ye t reached .
Wit h rega rd t o exercis ing t heir cons umer power, s t udent s
are not drama t ica lly dif ferent f rom Brit is h adult s in t erms
of buying s omet hing due t o a companys et hical reput at ion
(22 % vs. 19 % for B rit is h a dult s ), buying s omet hing
becaus e of t he companys link t o a char it able orga nis at ion
(24 % vs. 26 %) and boycot t ing a compa nys product s on
et hica l gr ounds (16 % vs. 18 %).
S t udent s are however more l ikely t han Br i t is h adult s t o
have s ought informat ion on a compa nys et hica l policies
(11 % vs. 7% for Br it is h adult s ). This may be relat ed t o
s ome s t udent s s eeking informat ion on pot ent ial fut ure
employees.
S t udents ar e however found to be far mor e likely then
Brit is h adults t o have given blood. Giving blood is made
much eas ier for s t udents as t here are ac t ive ca mpaigns
on many of t he university ca mpuses and t he mobile unit s
for collect ing blood are on t heir doors t ep t o make t he
process easier .
Voting Intention
A higher proport ion of st udent s s ay t hey will exercise t heir
democra t ic right t o vot e only 6% s ay t hey will not vot e,
t wo-t hirds of t he level of previous yea rs . However, a higher
percenta ge t han usual are undecided on who to vote for
(17 % undecided/do not know) perha ps a reflect ion, in wha t
is likely t o be a n elect ion year, of t he genera l
dis s at is fact ion wit h the Governments s t udent polic ies.
Six in ten students agree with the government is out of
touch with the views of students like myselfwhile only
one in t welve (8%) dis ag ree t hes e figures ar e fa irly
consistent across al l of the main sub-groups.
Some good news for t he Government i s t ha t t he
propor t ion of s t udents who agree wit h th is s t a t ement has
fallen by nine percent ag e point s from t his t ime las t year
when t he debat e about t he int roduct ion of t op-up fees
was a t it s he ight . This has not t r ans la t ed in to a n
Source: MORI
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2 2
increased share of the vote for the Government, whose
s upport a mong t hose who have a preferred par t y is s t eady
at 28 %, down from 4 2% at it s peak in Wave 2 (2001 ).
The par t y of choice, a s las t year, is t he Liberal Democrat s ,
a t hird of all s t udents who would vote (34%) plan t o ca s t
t heir vot e for t his part y, w it h a fif t h (19 %) planning t o
vot e for t he Cons ervat ive par t y. Among others by far t he
biggest share is for the Green Par ty , whose support
s t ands a t 12% of al l who have st at ed a preference.
Comment on Citizenship by the HigherEducation Policy Institute
Resea rch by t he Wider Benef it s of Learning Group at t he
Ins t it u te of Educa t ion has s hown tha t g r adua tes a re
s ignifica nt ly more civica lly engage d t han non-gra duat es ,
and t his is reflect ed in the very high proport ion int ending
t o vot e revea led in t his s urvey - only 6% s a y t hey will not
vote c ompared t o 12% of t he populat ion as a w hole (MORI
October 2004).
One apparent ly surpris ing finding is t hat t he proportion of
s t udent s planning t o vot e Labour is unchanged af t er a
year in which t he Educa t ion Act int roducing t op up fees
was passed, amid a huge amount of controversy and
nega t ive publicity for t he Government . The Labour Pa rt y
has t he same s hare of t he vote a mong t hose express ing a
vot ing preference, and t he Conservat ives have lost one
percenta ge point . The bigges t s urpris e is t hat t he Liberal
Democrats should have lost three percentage points .
The rea s on for t his is very likely t hat t he Labour Part y had
already los t a very grea t deal of ground in t he previous
t wo s urveys, when it lost it s posi t ion as t he par t y of
choice by a s ubs t ant ial margin.
Source: MORI
Source: MORI
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2 3Phot ogra phy by Da niel Phillips/S am Clac k
a c c ommoda t ion
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2 4
Around four in t en (42 %) s t udent s curr ent ly live in privat e
rent ed a cc ommodat ion, a fif t h (19 %) live in halls , a quar t er
(23 %) wit h t heir pa rent s or fa milies a nd one in t en (11 %)
live in t heir own house o r fla t a n ac com moda t ion profile
t hat has changed lit t le over t he f ive years of the s urvey.
Overa ll, t wo-t hirds live in rent ed a ccomm odat ion (65 %)
t hes e ar e more likely to be a ged up to 2 2 year s , from AB
households , t o have received a privat e educat ion and t o be
at t ending a n old univers it y.
The majorit y of st udents who live in rent ed ac commoda t ion
feel tha t t hey receive value for money (79%), alt hough one
in five (18 %) do not . Typica l problems enco unt ere d w it h
this type of accommodation are repairs that are not
ca rried out (27 %), a la ck of clea nlines s (18 %) and no t
being able t o cont ac t t he landlord eas ily t hese a re
part icular ly t rue for s t udents living in privat ely rent ed
propert y. Living in ha lls ca n bring it s own problems , nea rly
a quar t er (23%) s ay it is t oo nois y and 16% feel t hat t he
ac commodat ion is t oo far a wa y from t he univers it y.
S t udent s w ho live at home wit h their parents are more
likely to be from a C2DE or et hnic ba ckground, t o at t end a
new univers it y or t o live in London. The ma in rea s on t hes e
s t udent s choose t o live at home is t o s ave money (56%),
and a t hird sa y that t hey could not af ford to move awa y
from home t o s t udy (32%).
Source: MORI Source: MORI
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2 6
paid employment
Phot ogra phy by D aniel Phillips
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The WorkBa nk is , once ag ain, proud t o s ponsor t his
comprehens ive a nd importa nt inquiry int o s t udent s w ork
experience. Now t hat paid employment has become s uch an
es s ent ial part of the life of s t udent s it is vit al t hat proper
cont rols ar e in pla ce for t heir prot ect ion. The object ive
ana lysis provided by s uch a comprehens ive survey enables
us to ensure that our service helps overcome some oft he problems t hat s t udents face in t heir need to f ind
paid employment .
The s t art ing point for all s t udent s t hat find employment
wit h t he help of The WorkBa nk is t hat t he w ork will be s afe,
well paid and wit h a r es ponsible employer. It m ust fit in wit h
t heir t imet ables a nd, idea lly, relat e t o t heir ambit ions . The
proof of our s ucces s in t hese a reas is t hat The WorkBa nk
st udent employees earned an average 112 in a s hort er
week than it t ook for st udent s int erviewed in t his s urvey to
ea rn 86. While 63 % of t he s t udent s int erviewe d in t his
s urvey wor k in t he low s kill ar ea s of ret a il, ba r wor k andca t ering, t hese a reas ac count for just 5% of WorkBa nk
employment , w it h over 75 % wor king in area s which will
enhance t heir s kills , a nd t herefore t heir longer t erm
ca reer opport unit ies .
A ca mpus ba s ed WorkBa nk bra nch enables universit ies t o
appeal to a wide ra nge of s ocial and et hnic ba ckgrounds
t hanks t o t he high likelihood t hat t he s t udent s will be a ble
t o find w ell paid a nd fulfilling e mployment t ha t will ha ve
minima l impac t on t heir s t udies . The s ervice is free t o
universit ies , and has t he addit ional benefit of being able to
provide comprehens ive ma nag ement informat ion rega rdingt heir st udents lifest y les.
For more information aboutThe WorkBank visit:
www.theworkbank.co.uk
telephone: 01242 265159
Who Works?
The proport ion of s t udent s in pa id employment while t hey
study remains constant at just over four in ten of the
s t udent populat ion. As in previous years , a disproport ionat e
number of st udent s from working clas s backgrounds are in
paid employment, 57 %, w hile just over a t hird of t hose from
AB s ocial gra de ba ckgrounds wor k (36 %).
Relat ively few s t udent s r eceive any support from t heir
universit y just one in t en (11 %) ag ree t hat t hey received
help choos ing a n a ppropriat e job and o ne in five (19 %)
rece ived advice on how t o balance t heir wor k and cours e
commit ments . However, 46% of s t udent s a gree t hat
t u tor s and lec t urers a re , on t he whole , more
underst anding about t he need to w ork during t erm t ime
while only 17% dis a gr ee.
2 7
Source: MORI
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2 8
The avera ge number of hours worked per we ek has crept
up from 13 .3 hours , w hen firs t as ked in Wave 3 (2002 ),
to 14.5 hours in the current wave. However , this masks
s ome large differences . One in t welve (8%) of s t udents
wor k bet wee n one and five hours a w eek, w hile 14 % wor k
for more t han 20 hours. Older st udents , t hose from C1
and C2DE backgrounds, social s c iences s t udents and t hoseat new univers it ies all, on average, work longer hours.
The average s alary is 86 per w eek before t ax - a 4%
increa s e from las t year. Eight in t en st udent s (83%) believe
t hey earn more t han t he minimum wage and t his is
s upported w it h average ea rnings of around 6 a n hour (t he
minimum wa ge is current ly 4.10 for 18 -21 year olds).
S t udents cont inue to w ork in low s killed jobs t hat bear
lit t le or no relevance t o t heir course, and t he most
popula r job ar ea cont inues t o be ret ail (33 %), follow ed by
ba r w ork (17 %) a nd ca t ering (12 %). Around one in t we nt y
a re t ea ching (5%), w ork for t he univers it y (5%) or ha ve a
job nurs ing or in hea lt hca re (7%), us ing t he s kills lea rned
on t heir cours e t o supplement t heir income.
S t udent s a re learning t o netw ork early on, the bigges t
s ource of employment being t hrough family, friends or ot her
cont ac t s (35%). Others reply to advert is ement s (14% t o
an a dvert is ement in a window and 8% t o a news paper
advert is ement ) and a g row ing number are a pplying
s peculat ively (16 %, up from 1 3% la s t yea r). Only 7% found
t heir jobs w it h t he help of recruit ment ag encies , but t his ishigher t han t he 6% who found t heir job t hrough a universit y
ca reers s ervice. 2 % found t heir jobs t hrough their cours e
or depar t ment and 2% t hrough t he st udents union.
Source: MORI Source: MORI
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2 9
Why Work?
Most s t udents who work do so out o f necess i ty, 68% sa y
they work to pay for basic essentials , an increase of
eleven percent ag e point s s ince Wave 3 (20 02 ). Increa s es
are also shown for cannot manage on student loan
(up three percent age point s ) and to pay for tuition fees
(up one perce nt ag e point ).
The proport ions w orking t o fund t he s ocial as pect s of
s t udent life are eit her down or ar e unchanged s ince Wave 3.
As previously, t here is a proport ion of s t udents who ar e
current ly working for ca reer g ains in t he future. Over a
quar t er (27%) ar e w orking t o ga in extra s kills and jus t
under a q ua rt er (23 %) believe it w ill look go od on t heir CV.
Students from C1 and C2DE social class backgrounds are
more likely t o be wor king t o pay for es s ent ia ls , w hile a higher
proport ion of ABs wor k bec a us e it looks good on t heir CV.
(Ba s ic es s ent ials: AB, 61 %; C1, 69 %; C2DE, 78 %. Looks
good on my CV: AB, 2 9%; C1 , 1 9%; C2 DE, 2 0%).
S t udent s s t udying at new univers it ies (76%) are also
more likely t o be w orking t o pay for e s s ent ials, while
s t udents at older universities a re more likely to w ork t o
help t heir CV (28 %). Younger, 1 s t year s t udents ar e
par t icularly likely t o be w orking t o fund t heir s ocial life.
When as ked what t hey would have t o go w it hout if t hey
didnt work, six in t en sa y they would not be a ble t o go out
s ocially as oft en and 45 % s ay t hey would make s avings on
clot hes. S upporting t he high proport ion who s ay t hey need
t o work t o pay for es s ent ials , a quar t er believe t hey would
need t o c ut ba ck on food (26 %) and one in five (20 %) on
accommodation.
Source: MORI Source: MORI
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3 0
Attitudes Towards Work
Thos e who do w ork t end t o find it a pos it ive experience,
despit e t he impact on t heir univers it y st udies . Most feel
appreciat ed and valued and work for employers w ho t ry t o
underst and t heir s it uat ion. A lar ge ma jorit y (74 %) feel
t hat working has helped them develop their t ime
mana gement s kills , w hile only 13% dis ag ree, perhaps
becaus e t hey already feel t hey have st rong t ime
mana gement abilit y.
During Wave 2 (200 1), over four in t en s t udents believed
t h a t it would be difficult to get a part time job because
of the rigid nature of their timetables.
Howe ver, opinion on whet her w orking during t erm
adversely af fect s a s t udent s s t udies is polar ised, wit h a
ma rg inally higher proport ion (42 %) a gre eing with I feel
that working during term time adversely affects my
studies t han disa greeing (38 %). Older s t udents (55 %) and
t hose s t udying a t new univers it ies (51%) are t he more
likely t o a gree while ABs and t hose at old univers it ies ar emore likely t o dis ag ree .
Source: MORISource: MORI
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3 1
Comment on Paid Employment by theHigher Education Policy Institute
That s t udent s work while s t udying is s omet hing s t udent s
in t his count ry have in common wit h ot hers around the
world. In fact , compared to students in the USA, for
example, t he proport ion wor king is re la t ively low in t he
USA about 50 per cent higher t han in t he UK. S t udent s
working might not be of concern, except t hat t here is
evidence t hat t here is a direct , l inear a nd invers e
corr elat ion betw een t he number of hours wor ked and
degree s uccess (t hough not necess ar i ly employment
out comes and there is o ther resea rch which shows t ha t
in fac t s t ruct ured work experience ca n have a pos it ive
impact on t his ). (The evidence a bout t he effect s of t erm-
t ime employment contr as t s wit h research in t he USA
which sugges t s t ha t working by s t udents has a pos i t ive
ef fect on t heir a cademic c areers cont ras t ing f indings
t hat have not been properly inves t igat ed). The fact t hat
s t udents from poorer backgrounds a re more likely to w ork
than others simply compounds the disadvantages seen in
o t h e r r es p e c t s .
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3 2Top photog ra ph by Sa m Clack
academic life
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3 3
General Satisfaction
As in previous year s of t he res ea rch, t he majorit y of
s t udent s , a lmost nine in t en, sa y they have a favourable
impres s ion of t heir university overa ll. How ever, with t he
int roduct ion of t he HEFCE Nat ional S t udent S urvey among
final yea r s t udent s and t he likely inclusion of t his res ear ch
in some form of universit y t able, it is vit al t hat final yea r
s t udents have a part icular ly good impres s ion of t heir
universit y. It is t herefore of some conc ern t hat only 39%
of all s t udents have a very favourable impres s ion of their
univers it y, w it h t his falling t o jus t a t hird (32%) of
s t udent s in t heir t hird or s ubs equent year . However it is
encoura ging t hat t he overa ll f igure is up by s even
percent ag e point s from Wave 1 (20 00 ).
Given t he overa ll level of favourabilit y, it is ha rdly surpris ing
t hat few would choose a dif ferent univers it y If I had my
time again only one in t went y st rongly ag ree w it h t his
s t a t e m en t a n ot h er s t a t is t ic t h a t h a s b e e n s t a b le ove r
t he five waves of t he s urvey. Alt hough bas ed on sma ll
s ample s izes , it would seem t hat UK bas ed et hnic
s t udent s (13%) and st udent s w ho have been t hrough t heclearing s yst em (12%) ar e more likely t o s ay t his .
A s ignifica nt ly lower proport ion of st udents perceive t hat
t h e value for money and the customer service t h e y
rece ive from t heir univers it y as very good. How ever, it
would s eem t hat t he univers it ies are making progress in
t his area . Over a quar t er (26%) of s t udent s now believe
t hat t hey receive very good value for money from t heir
cours e (up from one in five at Wave 1, 200 0) and a fift h
now believe t he cus t omer s ervice t hey receive is very
good (up s even percent ag e point s s ince Wave 4, 2 00 3).
Univers it ies ar e a ls o s een t o be improving t he individual
elements t hat go t o make up their of fer ing, with t he
proport ion of st udents s aying t hat t he availabilit y of IT,
periodica ls and journals and cours e books in t he libra ry
are very good all up on Wave 1 (2000).
Source: MORI
Source: MORI
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3 4
While most s t udent s s ay t hey are s at is f ied wit h the
qualit y of t eac hing a t t heir university, only a t hird (35%)
ar e very s at is fied. This is reflect ed in t he ot her meas ures
of teaching standards asked about within this survey, 33%
r a t e t h e s t a n da r d o f teaching/lecturing as very good , a
quar t er (25%) rat e t he academic tutor system a s s uc h
and only 22% feel t hat t heir contact time with atutor/lecturer is very good.
In general, s t udent s f rom the old univers it ies and 1s t year
s t udents ar e likely to r at e all as pect s more highly while
t hose from new univers it ies and in t heir 3rd or
s ubsequent year of s t udy give t hem a lower ra t ing.
While over four in t en (44%) s t udents ag ree t hat
resources at my university are stretched due to the
increase in student numbers, a quar t er d isa gree .
However, w hen as ked how univers it ies s hould s pend t he
expect ed ext ra funding from t op-up fees , more cont act
t ime and s maller t eaching groups were bot h nominat ed by
ar ound one in five s t udents (18%), reflect ing t he relat ivelypoor cur rent s t a t e of t hese s ervices . However, t he most
popular use of t he ext ra monies would be t o s pend more in
t he library and t o increas e s ecurit y, bot h c it ed by around
three in ten s tudents .
Source: MORI
Source: MORI Source: MORI
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3 5
The Course
As t he course is t he main reas on for choos ing a s pecific
univers it y (and also t he main reas on why s t udent s drop out)
t he level of sat is fact ion wit h the cours e is par amount .
The proport ions s at is fied with t heir cours e rema in lar gely
unchanged from previous year s , almost one in five s ay t hatt heir cours e exceeds t heir expect at ions (18%), a s light ly
lower proport ion (15%) s ay it fa lls s hort , w hile t he
major it y sa y it is about what t hey expec t ed . S t udents
from new universit ies ar e more likely to s ay t hat t heir
cours e falls s hort of expect at ions (18%) and t his is
ref lect ed in t he higher proport ion of st udent s f rom C1 a nd
C2DE backgrounds who also believe t his t o be t he cas e
(17 % and 2 0% res pect ively). S t udents in t he final year s of
t heir cours e a re a ls o more likely t o be dis appoint ed (21 %
of thos e in t heir t hird or s ubsequent years ).
The proport ion of st udents who s ay t hey are fullys t ret ched by t heir course is down by s ix percent age
point s from Wave 1, from 58 % t o t he current 52%.
Convers ely, t hose who s ay t hat t hey are par t ial ly
s t ret ched have ris en by a s imilar proport ion. Older
s t udent s (59% of thos e aged 26 a nd over) and t hose
a t t ending o ld univers it ies (55 %) a re m ore likely t o be fully
s t ret ched, while 1s t years (42%), s ocial sc ience s t udent s
(42%) and s t udent s s t udying a t t he new univers it ies
(48 %) a re les s likely.
One in eight s t udent s have eit her changed t heir course or
a re s eriously cons idering doing s o (12 %). The ma in rea s on
t o change course is because t he s t udent has changed
t heir mind about w hat t hey want ed t o s t udy (35%),
however s ome blame t he course i ts elf, 3 0% feel t hat t he
content was not what I wanted and a f if th s ay t ha t
ei ther the course did/does not interest me or
wasnt/isnt what I expected (22 % a nd 2 1% res pect ively).
Source: MORI Source: MORI
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3 6
Comment on Academic Life from theHigher Education Policy Institute
The finding t hat s uch a high proportion of s t udent s are
s at is fied wit h t he ac ademic a s pect s of univers it y life is not
s urpris ing, given t he earlier findings t hat s t udent s are genera lly
happy about t he univers it y experience aca demic life is , a ft er
all, a n importa nt as pect of universit y life! Nevertheles s , t hese
findings , a nd in part icular t he general sa t is fact ion wit h t he
qualit y of tea ching where only three per cent ar e dis s at is fied
provides an importa nt cont ext for policy makers as t hey
cons ider qualit y as s urance regimes. One of the ra t ionales for
t he intr oduction of the nat ional qualit y as s urance
arra ngements in t he first place was concern that qualit y would
s uffer as funding reduced and st udent numbers increa s ed.
From t he st udents perspective, a nyway, this has not
happened. These findings of general sa t is fact ion are consist ent
with other studies which show that UK graduates more
s at is fied wit h their higher educat ion experience t han s t udent s
in ot her count ries 2.
Responses t o t he ques t ion how t he ext r a resources which
will be provided t hrough t he increa s ed fee s hould be s pent
will need t o be ca refully cons idere d by univers it ies . It is
s urpris ing t hat 30 per cent ment ion improved s ecurit y. On
t he ot her hand, only 12 per cent (down from 16 per c ent
las t year) mention improved ac ademic s alaries, w hich ar e
likely to be a n import ant cont ender for s ome of the
additional resourc es . And only 8 per cent ment ion increa s ed
bursa ries , w hich a re l ikely in s ome universit ies t o a cc ount
for a signi f icant par t of the resources raised by the student
fees . If increa s ing fees lea d t o s t udents behaving more l ike
consumers, a s s ome have sugges t ed, and if they ta ke an
increa s ing int eres t in t he way in which t heir fees a re use d,
t hen t here could be s ome difficult fault lines t hat t his s urvey
has begun to reveal.
2The CHERI Report , re ferred to a bove, shows t hat on 18 mea sures , UK
graduates are more sat is f ied than the EU average , in many cases by
subst ant ial margin.
5 Years On
When as ked about life in 5 years t ime, a number of s t udents
commented on the ef fect of growing student numbers on
t he qualit y of t uit ion. Most of thes e comments were
advers e; however some t hink t hat t he increa s ed funding
means t hat qualit y of t eac hing will ac t ually improve.
S tudent comments :
Eas ier a cademical ly as courses are dummed down
es pecially in sc ience a rea s and in t rying t o get more
s tudent s i n to the sys tem tha t a re l ess ab l e
B ecaus e of t he increas e in the number of s t udents and the
incr ea s e in fees , I believe univers it y will be a lot bus ier a nd
t he t ea ching will s uffer beca use of t his
Improved t ea ching fac ilit ies
S t udents in a changing, more compet it ive mar ket plac e of
Higher Educa t ion ar e beginning t o t hink about t heir
univers it y experience in t erms of cust omer s at is fac t ion and
value for money and t he cha nge in tuit ion fees policy ha s
radical ly acc elerat ed t his process .
Qualit y of degree will be a r ea l is s ue conc erning it s value
S ome s t udents believe t hey will become more demanding
and dis cerning in t heir choice of cours e a nd inst it ut ion and
will expect t o rec eive bett er value for money in ret urn for
t he fees t hey ar e paying. Addit iona lly, s ome feel the y will
expect t o have more of a s ay in the offering.
S t udent s will have more of a s ay in t he const ruct ion of
t heir cours e a nd how it is delivered
There is a whole host of speculat ion on what t ype of courseswill be on offer in the fut ure a nd s ome believe t hat t hey will
be more vocat ional in nat ure wit h fewer s t udent s s t udying t o
s imply widen t heir knowledge in a more a ca demic s ens e.
There will be more s t udents s t udying for voca t ional ra t her
t han ac ademic qualifica t ions, increa s ed fees w ill mean t hat
t here will be more s t udents in free college ba s ed cours es
and less at universi ty , more student debt , no guarantee of
jobs t o pay it of f a f ter g raduat ion
Many st udents t hought t hat a major change wi ll be an
increa s e in t he use of t echnology and ITin t he fut ure,
wi th computers featur ing in the teaching process.
More dis t anc e lear ning
Given t echnology, it may be t hat s t udents are less reliant
on manua l forms of t eac hing a nd lea rning. Text books et c
and more dependent on digit al met hods of learning
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3 7Photography by Sam Clack
s t udent fina nc es
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3 8
Financial Organisation
Money, or lac k of it , a re t hree of t he t op five wors t
as pect s of s t udent life concern money. Three quar t ers
(76 %) believe t hey are e it her very or fairly org anis ed
financ ia lly and a s imila r proport ion (80 %) s a y t hey ar e
competent in t his area only 3% of st udent s rat e
t hemselves a s not a t a ll compet ent .
The abilit y t o ma nag e ones finances well would s eem t o
develop wit h age and experience as older s t udent s are
almos t t wice a s likely t o s ay t hey are very competent
t han younger ones (31% of st udent s aged 2 6 or over
compared t o just 17% for thos e aged up to 22 ).
Competency is also borne from necessi ty and students
who d o not rec eive a ny financ ia l help ar e muc h more likely
t o be compet ent t han t hose who do (32% compared t o
18 %). Uns urprisingly, t hos e cur rent ly in debt believe
t hemselves t o be less compet ent t han those who are not
(18 % of st udents who a re curr ent ly in debt believe
t hemselves t o be very compet ent compared t o 27% whoare not) .
The ma jorit y of s t udents regular ly check t heir ba nk balance
(76%), ba nk and credit s t at ements (59%) and a quar t er
(23 %) make a ha bit of tr ans ferring any spa re ca s h from
their current accounts into savings. Again, older students
ar e genera lly more res ponsible in t erms of monit oring t heir
financial s it uat ion.
More st udent s t his year c laim t o be managing t o keep up
with t heir financial commit ment s wit hout difficult y (up 6
points s ince 200 3 t o 43%) wit h t hose w hove recent ly
s t ar t ed univers it y finding t his eas ier t han t hose whove
been at university for longer (44% of t hose 22 or under
vs. 3 8% of t hose over 23 ).
Student Expenditure
The main expendit ure for st udents is a ccomm odat ion, as
wit h most adult s . A quar t er do not spend anything (mainly
t hose l iving at home) and on average s t udent s pay 54
per week. This is around three t imes as much as t hey
s pend on alcohol and g oing out .
Food continues t o be t he s econd main area of expendit ure
af t er accommodat ion. St udent s s pend 122 in a typica l
mont h (an increa s e of only 7 on las t year s s urvey).
S t udent s cont inue t o s pend high proport ions on alcohol,
going out , clot hes , mobile phones a nd ent ert ainment
produc ts .
S t udent s s pend an average of 18 per week on alcoholic
drinks but t hose who drink ar e s pending s light ly more now
on average (25 vs. 23 las t year).
Source: MORI
Source: MORI
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3 9
More claim not t o s pend money on alcohol t han a year a go
(26 % vs. 20 %), es pecially t hos e w ho a re older (39%),
et hnic minorit ies (57 %) a nd from overs ea s (42 %). Males ,
younger students and ABs continue to be among those
who dr ink t he most .
Expenditur e on s moking is dow n s light ly t his yea r (from
17 t o 13 per mont h) sugges t ing t hat ant i-s moking
mess ages might be get t ing t hrough, despit e t he low levels
of perceived r is k as s ociat ed with t his habit .
In an avera ge mont h 29 is s pent on mobile phones and
33 on c lot hes , w hile expendit ure on music has dropped in
t he past year (from 17 t o 11), quit e probably due t o
t he increa s e in mus ic being downloaded from t he int ernet .
Student Debt
The average a mount t hat s t udent s c urrently owe has
ris en quit e dram at ica lly since t he previous w ave of t he
research a nd now s t ands a t 5 ,285 on average up
525 since Wave 4.
A quar t er of s t udent s c ontinue to owe not hing at a l l and
a re m os t likely t o be s t udying for a n HND/HNC/Diploma
(66 %), co me from overs ea s (53 %) or from a n et hnic
ba ckgr ound (45 %).
Social c lass continues to be a discr iminator with a far
higher proport ion of t hose from t he manag erial and
profess ional c las s es being debt f ree (29%) than t hose
from blue collar ba ckground (wher e only 16 % ar e debt
free).
Debt mounts throughout their studies and during their
f irs t year averages 2,153 r is ing progress ively t o 7,803
during t heir t hird and s ubseq uent yea r.
There ha s also been a hike in ant icipat ed debt ris ing from
9,3 41 during Wave 4 t o it s current level of 9,74 4
an increase of 403 over the course of the last year .
Source: MORI Source: MORI
Source: MORI
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4 0
Aga in, it is predominant ly t he non-degree c ours e st udents
and t hose w ho are from t he et hnic minorit ies or overs eas
s t udents who a re t he mos t likely t o believe t hey will be
debt free on complet ion of t heir s t udies .
Des pit e t he level of current and a nt icipat ed debt , nine in t en
students continue to "agree" that the money I am spending
on my education is a good investment in my future. Indeed,
s ignifica ntly more s t udent s s t rongly agree w it h t his
statement during the current wave than during the first
wa ve of this s t udy (up 6 percent ag e point s t o 50%).
S t rengt h of ag reement is higher am ong ABs (51 %) and, in
cont ras t t o previous wa ves , among C2DEs (53%). C1s are
t he group who are now least likely t o feel t his is t he cas e
(46%).
Overseas s t udents cont inue t o be s t ronger advoca t es
t han t heir UK counter par t s (56% vs 48% s t rongly
ag reeing). Compared w it h previous w aves , et hnic gr oups
are no longer s ignif ica ntly les s enthusias t ic t han whit e
s t udents (47% vs 50 %).
The debt s t udents will incur as a r es ult of going t o
universit y is a s erious s ource of worry for three in t en
students ( the lowest point in four years) . Despite this ,
approaching half agree t hat t hey do not worry about t heir
debt s a t t he moment as t hey know t hey can pay them off
when t hey commence employment.
Males (54 %), younger s t udent s (54 %), ABs (49 %) a nd
C2DEs (56%) are t he leas t concerned about t heir
pros pect s of paying off t heir debt s . This is t he firs t t ime
in the his t ory of the s urvey that s t udent s f rom working
clas s ba ckgrounds ha ve been more pos it ive about t heir
debt s it uat ion t han both ABs and C1s (45%).
Even t hough t he overa ll proport ion concerned a bout t heir
debts has decrea s ed, thos e most worr ied include women
(36 %), older s t udents (33 % of t hose over 26) as well as
bot h C1s (34 %) and C2 DEs (32 %).
Source: MORI
Source: MORI
Source: MORI
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1
Type of debt
Almos t eight in t en s t udents (77 %) current ly have a
s t udent loan owing a n average of 6,51 4 (up from 6,20 0
in 2003 ). More t han a t hird have an overdraf t f rom the
bank avera ging 1, 127 overa ll (s light ly les s t han t he
1,244 owed in 200 3).
S t udent s borrow money from a wide var iet y of s ources
wit h t he most popular s ources being cr edit car ds (17%)
and pa rent s (11 %). Five per cent s t ill have pers onal loans
wit h a debt of 4,455 on average, a large increas e on t he
2003 figure (3,313 on average).
Average debt s which ar e lower in 20 04 include thos e t o
parent s (1,552 vs 2,000 in 2003 ) and fr iends (159 vs
800 in 20 03). However, s t udent s are borrowing s light ly
more on avera ge from ot her family members (1,29 9 vs
1,150 in 200 3).
5 Years On
Debt is t he predominant t heme emerging from the
s ponta neous comm ent ary on what s t udent life will be like
in five years t ime. Many highlight t he plight of t he
student as a result of the introduction of top-up fees.
One t hought is t hat s t udent s will be forced int o being
much mor e fina ncially proficient in order t o s urvive,
another is that , as debt increases, more universi t ies wil l
be forced to provide grant s and bursar ies in order t o
encourage students f rom poorer backgrounds.
S t ud e nt c omm e nt s :
S t udent debt will have increa s ed making it harder for
students f rom poorer backgrounds to star t universi ty
S t rugg le more financially more juggling wo rk wit h
univers it y
Much mor e financial proficiency w ill be needed t o keep upwith increa s ed living cos t s
P os s ibly receiving gra nt s and burs ar ies will be more
common prac t ice due to amount s of s t udent deb t
In many respect s , s ome feel t hat debt will become more
acc epta ble and a n acknowledged par t of s t udent life ,
alt hough some highlight ed t he need for a ddit ional help and
considerat ion from ot her par t ies .
S t udents seem less ab le t o manage debt , i t s become
the norm to be in debt
Hopefully grea t er cons idera t ion t o t he financial burdens
which s t udents must car ry
4 1
Source: MORI
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4 2
UNITE/MORI Student Financial Index
MORI, in conjunct ion w it h UNITE have de veloped t he UNITE/MORI S t udent Fina ncial Debt Index. S ince t he first wa ve of
t he s t udy (car r ied out in 200 0), w e have been closely monit or ing t he magnit ude of current and a ntic ipat ed debt and on
t he bas is of t his , formulat ed an index t o monit or change over t ime.
From t he ta b les t ha t follow it is c lear t o see t ha t cur rent debt has grown cons iderab ly and, ac ros s a ll s t udents , has
ris en by 59 % s ince Wave 1 (from 3,32 6 up to 5,2 85 ). Those c omplet ing post gra duat e s t udies appear t o have
experienced t he lar ges t increa s e (up 11 2% from 3,403 up t o 7,23 0).
The amount t hat s t udent s ant ic ipat e owing as a direct res ult of going t o univers it y has also r is en, alt hough not a sdrama t ica lly as a ct ual debt (up 39% s ince Wave 1 from 7,026 up to 9,744 ). Pos t gra duat e st udent s also show t he
larg es t increas e on predict ed fut ure debt (up 77% from 5,152 up to 9,1 44).
Comment on Student Finances by theHigher Education Policy Institute
The grea t majorit y of s t udents appear unconcerned a bout
t he debt t hat t hey will incur, w hich is no doubt in part a
reflect ion of t he ant icipat ed high earnings pos t -graduat ion,
revealed in t he next s ect ion, and a ls o t he belief revealed here
t hat t heir inves t ment in higher educat ion was a g ood one
(only 3% dis a gre ed w it h t his propos it ion). It will be
int eres t ing t o observe whet her t his re laxed view cont inues
aft er 20 06, when t he average debt on graduat ion will double
from the pres ent ant icipat ed level of nearly 10,0 00.
The fact t hat s t udent s from lower s ocial groups a nticipat e
higher levels of debt t han ot hers is not a s urpris e t heir
families will tend t o be a ble t o give t hem les s financial
support but it does mean that the cost of higher education
for these students will be greater than for others. When the
levels of debt increase post-2006, the additional grant that
will be a vailable t o s t udents from poor ba ckgrounds will be
import ant and should ensure t hat t hey do not become
furt her dis advanta ged. Indeed, it s hould mean t hat relat ive t oot her s t udents t heir level of indebt edness will improve.
The fact t hat HND s t udents have a much lower level of debt
t han ot hers is a reflect ion of economica lly rat ional behaviour
on their par t , s ince research has demonstrated that the
financial ret urns from s ub-degree cours es are on average
sign