Student Views on Policies
January 27 2003
In light of the government announcements in the UK this week on higher education, the UNITE Student Living Report 2003 carried out by MORI reveals interesting insights into what students make of it all.
The headline findings show:
- Only 17% of students are from working class backgrounds, (three per cent less than two years ago)
- Over twice as many agree as disagree that the Government's policy of increasing the proportion of adults with access to higher education to 50% is right but two in five believe that resources at their university will be stretched as a result and a third say it will lower standards
- Lower income students are more likely to believe that increasing numbers of graduates will make it even harder to get a job and are also more likely to consider dropping out.
This year UNITE has, in conjunction with MORI, developed a Student Debt Index which reveals what students themselves admit to rather than the views of financial institutions and industry experts.
- Student debt is rising. On average students currently owe £4,602 ( £399 up on last year) and expect to owe £8,816 by the time they finish (£683 more than last year)
- 88% continue to receive some support from their parents, guardian or partner, although helping out with tuition fees means students are getting less help for other expenses.
- Half (51%) consider having little money to be the worst aspect of university life.
In terms of the positive side, more than nine in 10 (96%) agree that going to university is a worthwhile experience, three in five believe their current course is good value for money though one in ten consider it to be of poor value and eight in 10 (79%) believe that university has set them in good stead for the rest of their working life.
Regarding government policies
- Only one in eight students (13%) believe that the Government listens to students when making policy decisions about future funding
- Nearly a quarter say none of the methods that are being proposed for raising capital to fund higher education are acceptable, or do not believe funding should be increased
- 22% said charging higher rates of tuition to wealthier families was the best option, 16% favoured increasing tax on goods such as alcohol and tobacco and 13% wanted to see an increase in the basic rate of income tax
- Blanket top-up fees are unpopular among students. Nearly three quarters of students (72%) said that if their first choice university had demanded top-up fees it would have made them reconsider to varying degrees going to another university which did not charge extra fees.
- Of students who would vote, if there were a general election tomorrow - 34% would vote Labour, 33% Liberal Democrat, 20% Conservative and 13% would select another party.
For the UNITE Student Living Report 2003, MORI carried out more than a thousand face-to-face interviews with full time undergraduate and post graduate students, in 21 universities across the UK. This is the third year of this ongoing study designed to explore how students are meeting the challenges and opportunities of university life. New areas this year look at attitudes to widening participation, crime rates and juggling academic studies with paid work. The survey also builds on the findings of earlier years by tracking opinions on issues including student finances, living on a budget, choice of university and job prospects.
Further breakdowns of the survey data and findings and copies of the full report are available from the UNITE website at
www.unite-group.co.uk
All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.
