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Paying for University: The Impact of Increasing Costs on Student Employment, Debt and Satisfaction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2020

Hilary Metcalf
Hilary Metcalf*
Affiliation:
National Institute of Economic and Social Research
*
e-mail: h.metcalf@niesr.ac.uk
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Abstract

The costs of higher education in the UK have shifted increasingly from the state to the student (and students' families). In 1998, a fee contribution of £1,000 per annum was introduced for new entrants to full-time degree courses. This paper examines its effect on debt, term-time employment and student satisfaction. The analysis uses data from a survey of two cohorts of students and identifies how the impact varied with student and course characteristics. Fees led to an increase in student debt (particularly for disabled students and for students who did not receive financial support from their families) and a decline in student satisfaction. No general impact on term-time employment was identified, but term-time employment increased for students who did not receive financial support from their families. Whilst for these two groups inequality was increased, fees appeared to lead to greater equality, in terms of term-time employment, between children of graduate and non-graduate parents. The paper discusses the implications for the introduction of top-up fees in 2006.

Keywords

Higher educationuniversityfundingfeestop-up feesequalitydisabled peopleethnicitygenderfinancesocial classterm-time workingstudentemploymentdebtsatisfactionpolicydisadvantageII2I20I22I28I29
Type
Articles
Information
National Institute Economic Review , Volume 191 , January 2005 , pp. 106 - 117
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 National Institute of Economic and Social Research

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Footnotes

This paper has been produced as part of a Leverhulme Trustfunded study into the effects of fees on higher education. We are most grateful to the Leverhulme Trust for its support. My thanks also to the other members of the research team: Phil Stevens, Heather Rolfe and Martin Weale.

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