Summer support for students: review

Student Summer Support Survey

The Student Summer Support Survey ran from December 2021 – January 2022 and received responses from 758 students across Scotland.

Key topics covered in this short survey included:

• student employment over summer 2021,
• student accommodation costs over summer 2021,
• applying for support from college/university Discretionary Funds, and
• access to benefits over the summer months.

A summary of the high-level findings can be found in the below infographic:

Student Summer Support Survey

758 valid responses were received to an online survey about the financial support received over the summer months (June to September 2021).

Students invited to take part were:

• - FE and HE college students
• - Undergraduate and Postgraduate students at university

Financial Support

57% of respondents struggled with financial support/income over the summer more than they did during term time

Rent and Accommodation Costs

67% of respondents to the survey said that they paid rent/accommodation costs over the summer of 2021

59% of these paid the same amount as they did during term time

Hardship Experiences

63% of respondents experienced financial hardship over the summer of 2021

Employment

50% of respondents were in paid employment over the summer of 2021

The most common reason for not working over the summer , or only being employed for part of the summer 2021, was a lack of employment opportunities

Access to Benefits

48% of respondents said that they were not eligible for benefits over the summer months of 2021

25% of respondents did not know if they were able to access financial support from benefits for living costs and/or housing costs over the summer months

77% of HE college respondents experienced financial hardship

67% of degree university respondents experienced financial hardship

55% of FE college respondents experienced financial hardship

54% of postgraduate university respondents experienced financial hardship

As the survey was available to students to access on the Student Information Scotland website and the link was publicised by stakeholders, the survey sample was self- selecting. Therefore, the survey findings are not representative of all students in Scotland, and the results cannot be generalised to all FE and/or HE students, or the wider student population as a whole. Although the sample size is small, the full report does explore how this compares with the overall Scottish student population by level of study. The survey results publication provides an initial high-level insight into students' experiences of finance over the summer of 2021 and provided a platform from which to explore this issue further.