Time still matters: why clarity about study hours now matters more than ever

Over the weekend HEPI published blogs on the question of governor remuneration and the paradox of university transformation.

This blog was kindly authored by Ewan Fairweather who works in International and Postgraduate Student Recruitment Manager at The University of Edinburgh.

A year ago, I wrote about why universities can struggle to recruit part-time students. It was a simple argument. We ask people with full and complicated lives to make decisions about study while being vague about what that study will look like in practice. In particular, we are often unclear about the one thing busy people need most in order to plan: time.

Since then, I have become even more convinced this remains the issue. But I now also believe that it is not just a part-time problem. It reflects how a growing number of students now live, work and study, and how higher education needs to respond to that reality.

Time, work and travel now shape the student week

In recent months, two pieces of research have helped clarify why time matters so much in students’ decision-making.  HEPI’s Student Working Lives report and the subsequent blogs written by the report’s authors, sit neatly alongside Blackbullion’s Student Money and Wellbeing 2026 report in painting a consistent picture of how study, money and work intersect.

The Student Working Lives authors describe a ‘commuter paradox’, whereby commuter students often carry heavier combined loads of paid work and travel, yet still manage to keep up academically, at least up to a point. We can admire that resilience, but it also underlines how quickly things can become fragile when weeks are already tightly packed and there is very little margin for uncertainty.

One of the report’s headline recommendations is telling. Timetables should be condensed where possible, made more consistent and published earlier so students can organise work and caring responsibilities around study. Uneven timetabling increases travel costs and makes engagement harder. Put simply, it helps students to know as far in advance as possible when they are expected to be somewhere.

This chimes strongly with what prospective postgraduate students ask us about. They are not demanding certainty, but want something solid enough to react to.

When money is tight, time gets tighter

Alongside this, Blackbullion’s Student Money and Wellbeing 2026 report adds an important layer. It shows that financial anxiety is not an occasional pressure but a constant one for many students. Commuter students in particular face higher costs, longer days and a greater need to work alongside study.

The link between time and money comes through clearly. When finances are stretched, students respond pragmatically by taking on paid work, commuting further and compressing already busy weeks. In that context, uncertainty about workload and timetables makes committing to study feel harder and more precarious.

From a policy perspective, this matters because decisions about postgraduate study are being made against a backdrop of persistent pressure. Clarity about time does not remove that pressure, but it reduces guesswork and helps people judge whether study is realistically manageable.

Making time visible in practice

This year, I wanted to see what happened when we took time more seriously in our communications. During our November Postgraduate Virtual Open Days, academic colleagues were encouraged to include a sample timetable in their presentations. By outlining a typical week, or clearly explaining how teaching, independent study and assessment fit together, we gave prospective students something simple and practical to relate to.

Reviewing the recordings afterwards, I was pleased to see how naturally many presenters approached this. They framed timetables with empathy and respect for their audience’s time. Some explained how lab-based weeks differed from classroom-based programmes. Others set out realistic ranges for weekly contact hours alongside expectations for independent study. All were candid about intensity and workload.

Taken together, these examples made programmes easier to understand for people who do not yet know the institution. Uncertainty was not removed completely, but vagueness was replaced with something more tangible. Prospective students could look at a ‘typical week’ and see more clearly how it might fit alongside the rest of their lives.

Small changes, meaningful impact

This is not about wholesale change but rather a small number of  practical improvements that institutions can make, often using information they already have:

• Publish sample timetables or typical weeks, even where final schedules cannot be confirmed.
• Be explicit about workload expectations, including independent study.
• Aim for consistency in timetabling, recognising the realities of commuting and paid work.
• Treat time as a core access issue, not an administrative detail.

The Student Money and Wellbeing Report 2026 helps explain why this matters now. When financial pressure is persistent, students need to understand what a course is about and how it fits into a life that already feels full. The Student Working Lives research reinforces the point from another angle, showing how clarity about time supports engagement and belonging for all students, not just commuters.

Time still matters

With that in mind, I find myself now asking a slightly different question: Should we be surprised when people hesitate if we do not help them understand how study fits into real life?

We cannot fix every structural problem students face, but we can communicate better and make time more visible. We can also respect the reality that for today’s students, feasibility is as important as aspiration. Time still matters.