Introduction to The Pound in Your Pocket

4. Introduction to The Pound in Your Pocket

5. Aims and Scope • Comprehensive review of student financial support for maintenance and the cost of living • Understanding student experiences and attitudes in relation to financial support • Scope covers home students in England

6. Major Reports from the Programme

7. Complementary Work Accommodation Costs Survey 2012 Students Working While Studying 2012 Hidden Costs Toolkit 2012 Evaluating Estrangement 2008 True Costs of College 2008 Broke and Broken, Postgraduate Finance Report 2010 From NUS Scotland: Still in the Red 2010

8. In a Nutshell “Many students are struggling to make ends meet, concentrate on their studies and stay the course, because financial support is systemically inadequate across both further and higher education.”

9. Next Steps • Microsite launched tomorrow; sneak preview this evening • Policy Proposals consultation opens on 16 January and runs for three weeks • Informal discussions to take place with: • Students’ unions • Political stakeholders • Academic/Policy communities • Results feed into NUS National Conference in April

10. Understanding the ImpactWhat the survey evidence tells us about student wellbeing

11. The Survey • 14,404 valid responses • Report in five sections • Financial support, students’ lives and wellbeing • Understanding the costs • The system at work: Support from government, colleges and universities • Minding the gap: Meeting the costs with other sources of support • Student debt and its impact • About 250 graphs and figures published in main report • Many more graphs and other figures to be made available in excel format • 14 students’ unions individual response rate was above 200, which means they can analyse their own data • Most raw data released to everyone at a future date, meeting HESA standards on disclosure control

12. The Survey • 21% FE; 79% HE • 69% women; 31% men • 86% White; 12% BME (2% undeclared) • 7.6% LGBO • 14% self identify as having a disability, impairment or long-term health condition • 9% of HE sample NHS-funded • 7% have dependent children • 1% (n =135) have been in care

13. The Survey Key Findings…

14. The risk of ‘dropping out’

15. Finance a major factor in the risk

16. Finance a major factor in the risk Further Education Higher Education

17. Core Wellbeing Indicators Higher score is worse: • ‘I feel l have little control of my financial situation’ • ‘I regularly worry about not having enough income to meet my basic living expenses such as rent and utility bills’ • ‘I am concerned about my future levels of debt’ Lower score is worse: • ‘I feel able to concentrate on my studies without worrying about finances’ • ‘In general I don’t worry about my financial situation’

18. Core Wellbeing Indicators Higher score is worse: • ‘I feel l have little control of my financial situation’ • ‘I regularly worry about not having enough income to meet my basic living expenses such as rent and utility bills’ • ‘I am concerned about my future levels of debt’ Lower score is worse: • ‘I feel able to concentrate on my studies without worrying about finances’ • ‘In general I don’t worry about my financial situation’

19. Worries about meeting basic living expenses

20. Worries about meeting basic living expenses

21. Worries about meeting basic living expenses

22. Ability to concentrate on studies

23. Ability to concentrate on studies

24. Ability to concentrate on studies

25. Course Costs – For Different Students

26. Course Costs – Relative Prevalence

27. Course Costs – An ‘Index of Hidden-ness’

28. Course Costs and Wellbeing

29. Family Support, Finance and Progression

30. Paid Work and Wellbeing

31. Student Debt – in ‘Categories of Concern’

32. Debt in ‘Categories of Concern’ and Wellbeing

33. Conclusions • There are clear associations between financial support policy and practice, student wellbeing, socio-economic background and retention. • Financial difficulties are pushing many students to the brink of ‘dropping out’. • Around a third of students across all groups report negatively on their wellbeing, on key indicators such as ‘ability to meet the cost of basic expenses like rent and bills’ and ‘ability to concentrate on studies without worrying about finances’. • Even relatively small levels of debt (over £1000) in the form of bank loans, credit cards, or high risk borrowing like ‘pay-day lenders’ and ‘cheque cashers’ are strongly associated with poor student wellbeing. • Excessive working hours are associated with poor wellbeing and with origination in areas with low higher education participation rates.

34. Conclusions • Access to financial support from the family has a significant association with both wellbeing and progression to further study. • Students across all groups want more cash support such as loans, grants and bursaries, with a high frequency of payments, either weekly or monthly depending on the level of study. • Course related costs are prevalent, expensive, and often concealed; there is a clear association between high course costs and low wellbeing. • High levels of accommodation and transport costs are associated with reduced wellbeing. • Adults (19+) in further education, older students (21+) in higher education, NHS supported students, student parents and disabled students appear to be under particular financial strain.

35. Spending and Beneficiaries

36. Negotiating the System Students’ unions contributing to new research

37. Discussion Professor Claire Callender Institute of Education & Birkbeck College, University of London Dr. Tessa Stone Chief Executive, Brightside Pete Mercer Vice-President, Welfare, NUS

38. Reception Thank you for coming – please do join us for a drink in The Vaults, and get your copy of the Summary Report