The cost-of-learning crisis: How students across the country are being affected

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The cost-of-living crisis has been depicted as an issue affecting families. The image most people attach is one of parents going hungry while they struggle to feed their children and keep them warm this winter. There is no doubt that families are struggling in our current financial climate, but students, often stereotyped as avocado toast-eating party animals with reckless spending habits, risk being forgotten in this conversation.

Students have balanced studies and work for decades before our current cost-of-living crisis. Working alongside gaining their qualifications has allowed many students luxuries their loan wouldn’t quite stretch to. It can also teach valuable skills a lecture hall wouldn’t, such as communication skills, time management and maintaining a work-life balance.

Although working alongside studying can be beneficial, too many hours alongside studying and maintaining a social life will eventually lead to burnout. UCAS, the UK’s university admissions website, recommends that students work no more than 15 hours weekly. However, in recent years, excessive hours of paid work have been the only way for many to survive soaring inflation.

According to the annual National Student Money Survey published by Save the Student, 82% of students are worried about surviving their degree due to the continual increase in living costs. Universities UK (UKK) have also reported that more than half of students seriously considered abandoning their studies due to the current cost-of-living crisis.

The latest research from the National Union of Students (NUS) found that a third of students reported that the value of their maintenance package by student loan companies was insufficient to cover their rent and bills, let alone their living costs.

NUS most recent ‘Big Student Survey’ found that many students survive on less than £40 a month after paying rent and utilities. This means they only have £10 a week to cover food shopping, transportation, emergency costs, and social events.

This current situation for students is unbearable, but for most, it is inevitable. Many students are turning to other options to compensate for the gap between their maintenance loans and realistic living costs. In the NUS survey, 83% of students reported seeking financial support by other means. A quarter frequently uses buy now pay later credit schemes, and 32% say they use their yearly student overdraft increase as a form of income.

Worryingly more than 40% admitted to taking out payday loans to afford to live. Payday loans usually have an extortionately high APR; in many cases, you pay back double the original loan. Since students only receive their maintenance loan and grant three times a year, the short time frame payday lenders expect repayment can cause further ongoing issues and debt.  

The support given to students by the government has dropped to its lowest level in over seven years despite living costs being at an all-time high and increasing at their fastest rate in 40 years. Parental earnings are used to calculate student loans meaning families are often left feeling responsible for making up the difference.

Students also missed out on most of the targeted support created to help with the cost-of-living crisis. Students in ‘bills included’ rental properties will not receive the £400 energy rebate; it will go to their landlord. Most all-inclusive contracts have an energy cap policy meaning many students still pay some money towards their monthly bills but will miss out on the deductions. Students were also excluded from the £650 cost of living payment. 

The parental earnings threshold has not increased in line with the increase in the cost of living. Parents are not immune to these increasing costs; many will be affected by the recent rise in mortgage rates. Students who rely on parental contributions to make up for reduced loan payments (due to parental income) cannot apply for additional loans even though their parents may struggle to support them.

40% of students rely on financial help from their family and friends. In a survey by The Property Marketing Strategists, 73% of parents said they were “extremely worried” about their child’s living costs while studying.

36% of parents reported they now struggle to financially support themselves alongside their children at university. Many have now turned to other income streams, including 10% of parents who have taken out extra bank loans and 3% who have decided to re-mortgage their home to support their children while studying.

Many institutions can also provide additional financial support to their students through the cost-of-living crisis. Graeme Smith, a student advisor at the City of Glasgow College, said: “When it comes to financing, we can provide help in various ways. One of the biggest ways that we help is that we can administer the discretionary fund.

“This is a little extra funding on top of the student loan or bursary, and they don’t have to pay it back.

“This can help with essential living costs such as rent, gas, electricity, debts and even students in rent arrears; we can help contribute towards that.”

The Scottish government provides a discretionary or hardship fund for the college. Graeme explains: “There has been a more than slight reduction in the money available this year as opposed to the last couple of years.

“It can be applied for any time of the year, including the end of the year, but it depends on how much leftover funds we have. It is common for our students to apply to help with their cost of living.”

Alongside financial support, such as the hardship fund, there is also access to free period products and heated study areas throughout the building. The college is also helping tackle food insecurity and recently started offering a free breakfast of a hot drink with toast or porridge to all students between 8:30 am and 9:15 am.

Research by the National Union of Students (NUS) revealed that over half of UK students regularly skip multiple meals or full days of eating as the cost-of-living crisis deepens. Students can now be referred to local food banks to help them survive financial hardships whilst completing their studies. 1 in 10 students now regularly utilise food bank services.

Niamh McGarrity, a volunteer at Food for Scotland and local food banks, explains what services can be provided. She said: “Our Food for Scotland delivery service is where we deliver meals to the community.

“We have a list of addresses of referred individuals that can opt-in to the service. We deliver to each person’s front door. Normally things like stew and bread, pasta, rice, and curry. Filling foods which are sometimes that persons only hot meal until we deliver again.

“I also volunteer at a few local food banks; users can use our services after being referred to us by local organisations such as social workers, Citizen Advice Bureau or health care workers such as a doctor.”

Niamh has noticed a change in service demand since the cost-of-living crisis. She said: “I have personally seen a huge increase since the cost-of-living crisis.

“We now struggle to have enough food to hand out. Whereas in the past, the service didn’t feel so stretched.

“The food banks are seeing more and more student referrals, which I didn’t see many of when I started volunteering five years ago.

“Many food banks are now partnering with local colleges and universities, which we hope will make it easier for institutions to make urgent referrals. I think a lot of students feel ashamed to ask for help or use a food bank and are less likely to go to a doctor to discuss a referral.”

Niamh talks about ending the stereotype about students and money. She says: “I think we tend to see students as frivolous spenders.

“But a lot of students I’ve spoken to are on an unrealistic budget. They maybe have a few pounds to spare after they have covered rent and utility bills – we couldn’t expect anybody to survive on that.

“Some are facing homelessness or juggling multiple jobs on top of coursework.”

A spokesperson from NUS recently said: “Huge increases in the price of bills, food and living costs coupled with soaring rent has students on the brink. We’re seeing stress and anxiety piling on them from bouncing debt between different cards to keep themselves afloat.

“Despite all of this, students are being completely ignored by the government. These findings are bleak; we’re knee-deep in a cost-of-learning crisis that will affect the poorest students the hardest.”

The NUS has recently put pressure on the government to create a cost-of-living support package tailored for students like many others have recently received. They have also requested the government bring the student maintenance provisions into line with the real living wage.

Post-graduate study levels are decreasing as many students rethink their career plans to survive the rising costs. Research commissioned by The Open University showed that over a third of students polled reported rethinking and making changes to their future study and career plans because of the cost-of-living crisis.    

Nicholas Francis further explains the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on post-graduate study.

The study showed that 30% of current students completing an undergraduate degree would likely leave their place at university if a job in their industry were offered to them. More than three-quarters of students polled also said they would not consider post-graduate study due to the associated costs. Nicholas Francis, a Professor at the University of West of Scotland, said: “Recruitment on the master’s programmes has definitely come down quite a lot.

“I think many institutions are finding post-graduate recruitment a lot more challenging with the cost-of-living crisis.

“People have a lot less money at the moment. The funding in Scotland is slightly better than England, and even we are really struggling, so I suspect it will be a lot worse in England.” 

The top reasons mentioned by students in The Open Universities research were leaving university early or not staying on for post-graduate study was getting into further debt they can’t afford to pay back. Many worried they couldn’t juggle coursework and a job simultaneously.  

Many also stated that they wanted the security of a full-time wage, and many said they would choose to leave their degree for the security of a lower-paying job over gaining their degree to get into a higher level in the future.

UK students are currently in a position where they are expected to compromise their education to, ironically, fund their education. Parents are also unfairly expected to jeopardise their financial security to support their children. Student finance loans need to rise to match the real living wage or be in line with inflation.

The NUS is currently petitioning for a support package like the one recently given to over 8 million family’s needs to be constructed for students. The government should not be allowing thousands of UK students to be relying on food banks, facing homelessness, or having to drop out due to stress.  

We must remember that the students who are currently being forced to choose between studying or eating are the same students who will one day run our country.