The key contribution of effective financial support in student retention

This blog was kindly authored by Peter Gray, Chairman and CEO, JS Group.

As universities and students settle into the term, attention inevitably turns to student continuation, retention, and belonging.

Institutions are now assessing the impact of seasonal discontent among their students, as this is traditionally a point at which many, especially first-year undergraduates, begin to question their ongoing commitment to higher education.

There are many reasons for doubts to creep in – but one of the most significant is the challenge of continued affordability. The latest National Student Money Survey produced by Save the Student identified that 41 per cent of students consider dropping out of university life purely due to money-related reasons.

Alongside this, undergraduates will also be asking themselves how else they can increase the financial resources that are available to them. More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of undergraduates are now working part-time to supplement their income – a 12 per cent year-on-year rise, as shown by the findings of HEPI and Advamce HE’s Student Academic Experience Survey in 2025.

While part-time work is an option, for many students it is the nature and smooth delivery of any additional financial support (in the form of bursaries, scholarships, hardship funds and the like) from their universities that really bolsters their commitment to stay the course. Policymakers and universities themselves need to be more aware of both the importance of such supplementary funding and of the most effective way to deliver this funding to achieve the greatest impact and outcomes (including student retention).

In recent years, JS Group have been able to build an evidence base on effective student financial support using our Aspire platform. This has been used to deliver £296 million of funding and has actively engaged with 584,000 students. For our latest academic cycle report, we’ve been able to collect in-year data on £46.3 million of support funds used by more than 145,000 students.

From the student perspective, 91.4 per cent of those receiving funding through Aspire report a significantly more positive higher education experience. Alongside this, 86 per cent say this way of providing funding has directly contributed to their continuation (amid the backdrop of the wide-ranging personal challenges they face). Nearly 80 per cent of students say the use of Aspire as the substantive method for accessing and deploying their funding allowed them to strengthen their sense of belonging and more fully participate in university activities and in overall student life.

The key is providing a highly effective and proven mechanism for planning, organising, and channelling the most appropriate types of student funding at the right time and in ways that achieve the greatest impact on student success. In our work with universities (designed to strengthen the effective delivery and impact of their student financial support), we describe this as enabling greater optionality for funders and increased agency – meaning genuine choice for beneficiaries.

While there are increasingly more institutions making use of Aspire (and therefore providing more sources of data year-on-year), we’ve been able to point to some key themes that are now emerging in student financial support:

• Range: We have recorded 801 unique types of funding streams being made available to students from the 40 Aspire-active institutions. The overall trend we are seeing is a slimmer range of provision strands but (financially) much deeper interventions by universities.
• Average investment: We have identified an average overall increase in funds being made available to students – rising from £244 (in 2023-24) to £318 per person (in 2024-25) – partly explained by the involvement of more institutions in our system, but nevertheless an interesting comparison of investment levels for individuals.
• Methods: The use of cash-based support has slightly increased (by about one per cent), while the use of credit-based and voucher funds has increased even more (by three per cent). The use of grocery vouchers has especially increased as universities work more closely with supermarkets to facilitate this type of access and support.
• Timing: Forty-seven per cent of cash funding is now being drawn down by students on the same day that these funds first become available – rising to 76 per cent within the first seven days. Credit-based funds are taking longer to access (just seven per cent on day one and 21 per cent in week one), with most funds being used more than a month after their launch.
• Use of funds: Half of all funds are now being used for cost-of-living purposes. Just over 20 per cent of cash funding alone, for example, has been used by students to pay for their accommodation – and, alongside household bills and food/groceries, these make up the three most prevalent uses of student funds. One interesting trend from the last academic year is the increasing use of cash funding to support travel, placement costs, and expenses most commonly associated with work-related experiences. This use of funding support for placements has risen by three per cent.

In terms of the difference that all this financial support is making to students, we are continuing to work with a growing number of institutions to strengthen the link between financial investment and measurable student outcomes, especially in areas such as retention, continuation, and performance.