This HEPI blog was kindly authored by Nathalie Hulbert, Content Marketing Manager at Instructure.
It would be misleading to imply that there was a time when the average student didn’t struggle to make ends meet. But rewind 10 years or so, and for most, being a ‘broke student’ meant embracing the beans-on-toast, £2-quad-vod lifestyle. It certainly didn’t mean working 50+ hours a week and questioning the financial viability of continued study. But fast forward to 2024, and this is now the reality for many students.
Students have been hit hard by the rising costs of living, costs which remain unmatched by current maintenance loan offerings. Tellingly, the National Union of Students (NUS) found that student foodbank use has doubled in the last two years. Furthermore, a recent report conducted by HEPI and Advance HE found that a record number of students (56%) are currently working part-time, with some juggling 48-56 hour work weeks of combined study and employment. Most worryingly, HEPI’s report found that almost a third of students have considered dropping out due to the cost of living, which threatens to worsen the current financial crisis in higher education (HE), begging the question – where do we go from here?
What efforts have been made to remedy the situation?
No official policy changes surrounding student finance have been announced at the time of writing this article.
In the meantime, HEPI and TechnologyOne in partnership with CRSP, have developed ‘A Minimum Income Standard for Students.’ According to their calculations, even if a student were to work 10 hours a week and receive the maximum maintenance grant, they wouldn’t have enough money to support a minimum standard of living. As such, they’ve recommended that Labour increase maintenance grants and remove expectations for parents to contribute unless they meet the minimum standard of living.
As we await any policy changes, it’s worth considering how universities can leverage another tool in their armour to alleviate the crisis – their EdTech stack.
How could EdTech investment create a win-win?
There’s no debating that in-person learning has been a mainstay of the traditional student experience. But as we can all agree, there is nothing traditional about students using food banks and ditching lectures for work shifts as their universities face financial freefall. What’s more, amid rife job market skills gaps and worsening social mobility, many HE leaders are being encouraged to reimagine ‘traditional’ HE to accommodate the needs of non-traditional learners.
Several universities have been making concerted efforts in this direction since the pandemic, and it’s estimated that a third are now offering blended learning options, that is, a mixture of online and face-to-face provision. But for the majority, this would mean pivoting from convention and investing in better online learning technology, which is a big ask at the best of times, not least when they’re facing financial difficulty. However, one could argue that now is the perfect time to make the pivot towards a better online learning approach, and when done properly, the investment will pay dividends. Here’s why:
Online learning saves money for students and makes money for institutions
According to a report from COSMO: The COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities Study, almost a third of students are considering living at home to save costs. While the universities that offer blended learning options can arguably accommodate these students better, this benefit is limited to those who can afford to commute to campus, and to those living within a commutable distance.
Rolling out fully remote options alongside blended learning, and powering these options using robust, reliable and accessible technology, would incentivise a wider range of students to pursue HE.
Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are the key vehicle for delivering online learning, and most universities will have one in place, but not all are born equal. Therefore universities should consider whether their VLE enables students to learn and collaborate with their peers and educators, wherever they are, broadening the university’s appeal to a wider demographic of learners, creating new revenue streams for the institutions and easing the costs for the learner.
Learners can better balance work and study – leading to improved student outcomes
Findings from The Sutton Trust suggest that almost half of students are missing lectures to do paid work. While it’s not exactly tackling the core issue of insubstantial maintenance loans, online learning can help a student balance employment and study without burning out.
Again, a good VLE will support flexible learning options – allowing students to access course content and complete assignments on their schedule. It will also facilitate smaller learning opportunities (such as micro-credentials and short courses). Options like this can accommodate non-traditional learners who are considering HE but are concerned about cost, time commitments, and juggling work with study.
You can improve the student experience through online resources
Most universities will know that having a central online hub to hold course materials, lecture notes and books reduces spend on printing and purchasing reading materials for the student.
More recently, it’s also been estimated around 82% of universities are using these platforms to communicate with students about available cost-of-living support, sharing timely and targeted information about deals, discounts, scholarships, and grants. Nonetheless, successful uptake from the students, requires an intuitive, reliable and secure VLE to support this practice, especially as it becomes more widespread across the sector.
In summary, online learning is not the panacea for solving this crisis by any means. But in tandem with HEPI’s recommended actions for our new government, better online learning can, in more ways than one, improve not just the quantity of students pursuing HE, but their quality of life once they get there.