The Student Experience Report 2005

8/10/2019 The Student Experience Report 2005

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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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1 0

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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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


13/60

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


14/60

1 3Pho t ogr aphy by Daniel Ph illips

s t udent life


15/60

1 4

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



16/60

1 5

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


17/60

1 6

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



18/60

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 .



19/60

1 8

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.


20/60

1 9Pho t ogr aphy by Daniel Ph illips

c it izens hip


21/60

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.



22/60

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


23/60

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


24/60

2 3Phot ogra phy by Da niel Phillips/S am Clac k

a c c ommoda t ion


25/60

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%).



26/60


27/60

2 6

paid employment

Phot ogra phy by D aniel Phillips


28/60

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


29/60

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.



30/60

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.



31/60

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 .



32/60

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 .


33/60

3 2Top photog ra ph by Sa m Clack

academic life


34/60

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


35/60

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



36/60

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).



37/60

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


38/60

3 7Photography by Sam Clack

s t udent fina nc es


39/60

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


40/60

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


41/60

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

The Student Experience Report 2005

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