The Usual Suspects? Which graduates are more disadvantaged under the 2012 student finance

system in England?

Paper presented at SRHE Annual Conference, 7th-9th December 2016.

Dr Katy Vigurs, Dr Steven Jones, Dr Diane Harris, Julia Everitt

Institute for Fiscal Studies Report R93 (2014)

‘We estimate that students will leave university with nearly £20,000 more debt, on average, in 2014 prices (£44,035 under the new system compared with £24,754 under the old system).’

Crawford & Jin

Inequalities? Loans for fees & maintenance (2012-2016)

Impact of debt on families (West et al. 2015)

‘Almost all parents felt that they should contribute financially to their children’s higher education costs, and most with the means to do so were providing more than the government’s maximum assessed household contribution. However, for some parents this was stressful and caused financial difficulties. For other parents, their limited financial means resulted in them being unable to contribute, even though they wished to do so.’ (p31)‘One recurring theme was a lack of information about the fact that the government financial support did not cover their children’s living and accommodation costs. The cost came as a surprise to some parents… For another mother, the financial challenges had caused significant stress...’ (p31).

Anxiety about unequal graduate outcomes

Regular stories in the media (based on a range of research reports) that raise concerns about student debts, graduate jobs

and the value of a degree.

Wider Context for Uncertain Futures(Howie & Campbell, 2016)

Downstream effects of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC)The GFC gave way to conditions of precarious socio-economic lifeYoung adults face declining full-time job opportunities, increasing competition in employment, where qualifications alone lose out to experiencePrecarious employment situations have coincided with increasing costs of debt-based forms of HE paymentIn response to neo-liberal hardships, young adults are expected to become rational, autonomous, choice making, risk aware, prudential, responsible and enterprising (Kelly, 2015)

Graduate Trajectories (Roberts et al., 2016)

‘Beck (1992) describes a post-traditional age in which predictable or ‘normal’ trajectories are disrupted, to be replaced by ‘do-it-yourself’ biographies: responsibility is thrown onto the individual to achieve ‘self-realization’ (Beck and Beck-Gernsheim 2002: 26), including making decisions about career, leisure and education.’ (p321)

Impact on transitions to adulthood

(Arundel & Ronald, 2015)Transitions to adulthood are a key period for individual development, but also contribute to processes of social stratificationTransition dynamics today: increased complexity, postponement, diversity & individualisation - Precarity in transition pathwaysRise of ‘yo-yo’ and ‘boomerang’ transitionsUncertainty has reshaped routes to adulthood Young adults develop coping mechanisms… but which young adults have to do this and what sorts of coping mechanisms do they create? What do these strategies rely on?

Inequality in Graduate Employment (Abrahams, 2016)

Mass expansion in UK HE sector = diversified student bodyIn 2013, more students from non-traditional backgrounds entered HE than ever before (higher fees didn’t put people off)But HE sector increasingly stratified – those from non-traditional backgrounds less likely to study at Russell Group HEIs – may have impacts on these individuals’ future employabilityGoing to HE is not the key to equality – there is inequality in graduate outcomes (i.e. not equal chances of securing graduate jobs)Be wary of ‘the myth of meritocracy’ because it ‘normalises inequalities, converting them into individual rather than collective responsibilities.’ (Reay, 1998: 1)

Not all doom and gloom?The media also report ‘good news’ stories about the value of

higher education and positive graduate outcomes (again, based on a range of research report and national data sets).

So should some groups of students, graduates, families and universities be concerned?

Focus of PaperShould we have concerns about inequalities in

graduates’ transitions and outcomes in the wake of higher university fees and higher levels of student

debt?• Do graduates appear more disadvantaged under the

2012 student finance system in England?• If so, what does this disadvantage look like?

Comparing graduate transitions across different student finance

systemsThis paper compares the views and decision-making of 37 pairs of students from two different universities (Russell Group and Post-1992 HEI) in central England. One half of each pair graduated in 2014 (lower fees, lower debt) and the other half graduated in 2015 (first generation of students to have paid £9000 per year).Each pair was from the same social background, and had studied the same degree subject/discipline.

SampleOne Post-1992 HEI (Million+)Interviewed graduating students in

2014 & 2015

One Russell Group HEIInterviewed graduating students in

2014 & 2015

WP indicators:4 pairs

No WP indicators:10 pairs

WP indicators:14 pairs

No WP indicators:

9 pairs

74 students (pseudonyms) 37 peer pairs

Euan & Lawrence,

Ellie & Annie,Neve & Claudia,

Kim & Joanne

Alfie & Dylan,Poppy & Ari,Gemma &

Sophie,Sasha & Veronika,

David & Jamie,Bella & Adelle,Olly & Mark,

Colum & Craig,Fliss & Siobhan,

Ash & Dan

Munnas & Max,Abdul & Yasir,Debi & Tahira,Sahar & Cate,

Lola & Rachika,Amelia & Sangita,

Will & Rob,Lydia & Jayden,Anav & Martyn,Lucie & Shaila,Sanjiv & Vazir,Grace & Helen,Fahim & Chris,

Chloe & Kidjana

Lexi & Jamilla,Peter & Adrian,Nia & Naomi,Angus & Tom,

Sian & Candice,Jake & Charlie,

Anna & Francesca,Lindsey & Annabel,

Verity & Olivia

Comparing 2014 & 2015 Graduates. Much difference?Headline % across whole sample

2014 2015

Saved £ at university

14% 16%

Professional work experience whilst at university

41% 32%

Graduate job anxiety

57% 59%

Secured graduate job

16% 19%

Seeking non-graduate job after graduation

49% 49%

Studying a postgraduate qualification after graduation

16% 16%

Participants by HEI type & socio-economic background

% Saved £ at uni

% Professional work experience

% Graduate job anxiety

% Got a graduate job

% Seeking non-graduate job

% PG study after graduation

Post-92WPn8

2014

0 75 75 0 50 0

2015

0 25 75 0 100 0

Post-92Non-WP

n20

2014

10 20 60 10 40 30

2015

0 20 80 10 60 10

RGWPn28

2014

14 43 43 29 50 14

2015

43 21 43 29 36 29

RGNon-WP

n18

2014

22 44 67 11 56 11

2015

0 67 56 22 33 11

2014 Total 14% 41% 57% 16% 49% 16%

2015 Total 16% 32% 59% 19% 49% 16%

% broken down by HEI type & student background: Inequalities?

Which groups did well in 2015?

WP students at RG university

Why were so many able to save money whilst at university? How did this affect their graduate trajectories?How did so many secure graduate jobs prior to graduation?How were so many able to start postgraduate courses straight after graduation?

“[Finances are] the number one thing in deciding what I’m going to do next, it’s just whether I can afford it or I can’t… I will go to do my masters either this year or next. I have money saved up but I’m just a bit off… I’ve been able to live comfortably as a student whilst saving for my MA.”

Max – RG WP – 2015 – BA Hons

“Paying for my Masters isn’t a concern because I have been saving up and … there is a new postgraduate bursary scheme available for £10K which I’ve applied for too and it’s based on geographical location and other factors … If I didn’t [get that], then it would just mean that I fund myself, which wouldn’t be ideal, but I really do want to do further education so I would

just, you know, find a way.”

Rachika – RG WP – 2015 – BSc Hons

“I am comfortable with my financial situation. Obviously I planned

financially to leave university and I’ve got six months’ worth of

money saved for my bills before I start worrying. Erm, you know, with a couple of [graduate job]

offers on the table, I’m not really concerned about the financial side

of things.”

Martyn – RG WP – 2015 – BSc Hons

“The university is really helpful because I got an internship last summer with Lloyds and the university has a scheme where they provide you with funding for work experience; that could be travel or accommodation. I’ve now got a graduate job as a tax consultant with an accountancy firm in London.”

Yasir – RG WP – 2015 – BA Hons

“I’ve actually got a job… I’m going to be a trainee solicitor but that doesn’t start until 2016, I have another course to do in January this coming year. So I have some free time before

January. I’m going to work at Waitrose in my home town until then. I’ll maybe try and get an office job as well just to get a

few months’ work. I’ve got Waitrose provisionally. ”

Kidjana– RG WP – 2015 – Law LLB

“I’ve applied for quite a few jobs. I’ve got two different offers to think

about at the moment; one is in a medical field, it’s to do with

doctors’ surgeries… I worked at an NHS hostel for two years and I do

Air Cadets so I’ve got a load of skills outside [of my degree].”

Martyn – RG WP – 2015 – BSc Hons

“I want to get accepted on a Masters course given that I get funding for it. I’ve not done much research on the job market but I want a part-time job over the summer … I’ve got a lot of experience in schools … hopefully when I do a Masters course I’ll be more, definitely more sure of what I want to do [in the future].”

Sangita– RG WP – 2015 – BSc Hons

“I’m going to do a PGCE because I know I can get student finance … and then later on I can go back and do a Masters

when I’m more financially secure. And also at [the Post-1992 University in same city] they do a bursary for PGCEs as well so I thought, “Right that’ll really help if I get that bursary”. They’ll

pay my tuition fees and they also give me maintenance as well so I was like “Yay”. I can survive.”

Jayden – RG WP – 2015 – BA Hons

“I’ve applied at [this University to do a Masters] and received a conditional offer and I’ve also

applied at [the post-1992 university in the same city] and I’ve got an

interview for that. I’ve got the two options.”

Rachika – RG WP – 2015 – BSc Hons

Which groups struggled in 2015?

Non-WP & WP students at Post-1992 HEI

None were able to save money. 50% of non-WP students disclosed suffering financial hardship. 40% of non-WP students were moving back home. What contributed to high levels of anxiety about gaining graduate employment?Why so many seeking non-graduate jobs?

“During university I struggled financially because I’d not applied for the loan because of my religious reasons, because I didn’t want to be in more debt because of the interest. So I didn’t apply for the loan so I just had a small maintenance grant but because I’m travelling to a different city [it’s difficult].”

Ari– Post-92 - Non WP – 2015 – BSc

“I guess because student finance doesn’t quite cover my living costs, this semester it’s been okay because I’ve had some left over and because I have a job on campus, I’m able to like fund

myself. It’s not too bad but last year and my first year, I struggled with money quite a bit… ”

Siobhan – Post-92 – Non WP – 2015 – BA Hons

“I’ve always had money concerns. I do have a lot of money concerns and I’m not particularly great at

saving. I have been meaning to put a little bit of my student loan away each time for that period where I

don’t have a job and I’m not in uni and so far I have saved none of it.”

Jamie – Post-92 – Non WP – 2015 – BSc

“I don’t feel like I’ve got as much of an advantage on those who don’t go to university, as say ten years ago. I don’t know if that’s right or not… it might be my degree as well; I just don’t think there’s an availability of jobs. People say “why don’t you go into teaching?” but I mean I’m not confident going into that area.”

Mark – Post-92 – Non WP – 2015 – BA“I’ve tried to get a few work placements but when you’re in uni

firms try to fob you off. I’ll tell you what would be good, a module on writing personal statements and applying and when to apply and what’s available, because we just write a personal

statement but then you don’t really know what to put in and what not to put in. I mean the limit was ten thousand

characters. I had no idea that was coming nor what two thousand words to put.”

Craig – Post-92 – Non WP – 2015 – Law LLB

“I think it’s so uncertain, like you’ve been at uni for three years and now everything’s going to change, even though you’ve got the ambition and the plan for the future, you don’t know what’s going to happen… uni is a bit of a safe haven and then you go out, you don’t know what’s going to happen, you don’t know whether you’re going to be broke.”

Joanne – Post-92 - WP – 2015 – BSc Hons

“Hopefully I’ll get a job within the industry but, being realistic, that might not happen initially or it might take a while because of the current climate… like I said before, I’d be happy to take a job that isn’t actually in the industry to at least get paid obviously. ”

Lawrence – Post-92 - WP – 2015 – BSc

“I’m going back home because of personal circumstances, it has become the most viable option because of money. I need to

keep my bank level up… the plan is to move back home to live with my parents and find my first full-time job to save up for the

deposit on a house… I just need to be secure, in my personal circumstances that’s the main consideration at the moment

rather than being a freelance creative kid.”

Dan – Post-92 – Non WP – 2015 – BSc

“I panic all the time. Because I live at home and I’d like to move out but then I can’t do that on just a McDonald’s wage, or I could but I feel like I’d be stuck in that job

forever… I’m like ‘I’ve already had this McDonalds job for five years’ so I do panic and think “I’m going

to be at home for the next few years” I don’t know what I’m going

to do.”

Annie– Post-92 - WP – 2015 – BA

Change since the end of this study• End of maintenance grants• Postgraduate loans

introduced (2016-17)• Brexit• Tuition fees rise above

£9000 at some universities (2016-17)

• End of NHS bursaries (Sept 2017)

Further implications for inequalities in higher education and beyond?

Increasing inequalities?

Fairer Future Finance Systems?

‘There is a strong case to be made for student maintenance loans to cover the realistic costs of higher education, including accommodation and living costs, given that excessive reliance on family resources is inequitable (Barr, 1997).’ (West et al., 2015: 40)

‘An extension of means-tested grants should be considered for students from low-income families in lieu of the current mix of grants, student loans and university bursaries. Such grants should be transparent; the amount easy to predict (cf. Baum et al., 2008), non-discretionary and based on financial need. This is especially important given that the effects of loans are worst for students from poor backgrounds with less access to family support (Barr, 2012). Such a move would protect those with the fewest familial assets from student loan debt. A system of loans moves costs into the private domain; it inevitably privileges some families and their children over others and also makes young people’s transition to adulthood a highly contingent process.’ (West et al., 2015: 40)

SRHE Project Outputshttps://www.srhe.ac.uk/downloads/vigurs-katy-002.

pdf The SRHE research report can be accessed in full

here.

https://www.srhe.ac.uk/downloads/vigurs-katy-003.pdf

The research-informed comic version of the report can be accessed here.

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