Student Finance and Wellbeing Study (SFWS) Scotland 2023-2024: main report

11. Impact of finances on academic achievement

In the survey, students were asked 'To what extent, if at all, do you think that financial difficulties have affected how well you do at college or university', with answer categories 'a great deal', 'a fair amount', 'a little', and 'not at all'. Students who gave one of the first three answer options were also asked 'in what ways this had affected how well they did at college or university' with a list of 10 impacts to choose from which they could select all that applied.

More details on the extent to which financial difficulties affected each student group are reported below.

11.1. Key findings

• There were a small proportion of students who said that financial difficulties had not affected their studies (9% of FE, 6% of HN/undergraduates and postgraduates and 7% of students from under-represented groups). However, between half and two-thirds of all student groups reported that financial difficulties had affected their studies 'a great deal' or 'a fair amount'.
• Financial difficulties caused worry and stress for 9 out of 10 students (FE, HN/undergraduate, postgraduate and students from under-represented groups) – this was the most commonly reported impact of experiencing financial difficulties.
• Finding it necessary to work in a paid job was also a commonly reported impact across all student groups as a result of experiencing financial difficulties.
• Being unable to participate in course-related activities such as field trips affected the lowest proportion of students across all groups, except FE students where the lowest recorded impact was attending lectures remotely.
• There was no consistent pattern across student groups on how the impact of financial difficulties on studies varied by subgroups such as age, area deprivation and sex.
• In the qualitative research, students' concerns about money, and how they might pay for essentials, impacted on their ability to concentrate on their studies. This was particularly the case for students who had to take on paid work or increase their hours in response to the financial pressures they faced.
• Impacts of finance on academic studies included failing course modules, extension requests and missing classes as a result of not being able to afford travel to college or university.

11.2. FE students

Over half (55%) of FE students thought that their performance at college was being affected 'a great deal' or 'a fair amount' by financial difficulties. The only differences by subgroup were by whether their parents had HE experience.

FE students whose parents had no HE experience were more likely to report 'a great deal' or 'a fair amount' of impact on how well they were doing at college due to financial difficulties (60%) compared with students whose parents had HE experience (46%).

11.2.1. Impact of financial difficulties on academic achievement

The most common way in which experiencing financial difficulties affected FE students was that it caused worry and stress (93%). In addition, around 1 in 3 said that financial difficulties caused them health problems (30%) and 1 in 4 said that financial difficulties made it necessary for them to work in a paid job (25%), or made it difficult to buy books, materials and other equipment for their course (24%).

Approximately 1 in 5 said experiencing financial difficulties affected them by:

• Experiencing difficulties paying for social activities or clubs (22%)
• Having to work extra hours in a paid job (21%)
• Having to miss classes/lectures/tutorials or lessons (20%)
• Unable to cover travel costs to and from their college or university (19%).

Only a small proportion of FE students said that experiencing financial difficulties resulted in them being unable to participate in course-related activities, such as field trips (6%) or attending lectures remotely, where possible (3%) (Table 11.1).

The extent to which FE students experience of financial difficulties differed by sex or age varied by type of impact. For example, there were no statistically significant differences by subgroups for the most frequently reported impact, that financial difficulties had caused worry and stress. However, male students (31%) were more likely than female students (15%) to report not being able to cover travel costs to college, whilst those aged 25 and over (39%) were more likely to experience health problems as a result of financial difficulties than those aged 16 to 19 (15%). There were additional differences by age with older students more likely to report that they found it necessary to work in a paid job, to work extra hours, or that they had difficulties paying for social activities compared with younger students. For example, those aged 25 or over (29%) were more likely than those aged 16 to 19 (16%) to report having to work in a paid job due to financial difficulties.

There were also significant differences by accommodation type, with FE students living independently more likely to report having to work extra hours (29%) and report health problems as a result of financial difficulties (39%) than those living with parents (10% and 17% respectively). Overall, the impact of financial difficulties did not vary considerably by parental HE experience or area deprivation, with a few exceptions.

11.3. HN/undergraduate students

Among HN/undergraduate students, 61% reported that financial difficulties had affected their studies 'a great deal' or 'a fair amount'. HN/undergraduate students who were more likely to report that financial difficulties had affected their studies 'a great deal' or 'a fair amount' were:

• Students whose parents had no experience of HE (65%, compared with 57% of those whose parents had experience of HE).
• Students from the 20% most deprived areas (68%, compared with 58% from the 80% least deprived areas).

11.3.1. Impact of financial difficulties on academic achievement

As with FE students, the most common way in which experiencing financial difficulties affected how well HN/undergraduate students did at college or university was that it caused worry and stress (94%). In addition, around half (49%) reported that they found it necessary to work in a paid job as a result of financial difficulties. Experiencing difficulties paying for social activities or clubs (38%) and having to work extra hours in a paid job (37%) were also common impacts of experiencing financial difficulties.

Furthermore, between a quarter and a third students reported that experiencing financial difficulties resulted in:

• Difficulties buying books, materials and other equipment for their course (29%)
• Having to miss classes/lectures/tutorials or lessons (28%)
• Health problems (25%)
• Being unable to cover travel costs to and from college or university (20%).

Smaller proportions of HN/undergraduate students said that experiencing financial difficulties resulted in them attending lectures remotely, where possible (16%) and being unable to participate in course-related activities, such as field trips (10%).

The ways in which experiencing financial difficulties affected how well HN/undergraduate students did at college or university varied significantly by age and sex, but this was not consistent across types of impact and there was no clear pattern. For example, female students (40%) were more likely to have to work extra hours in a paid job as a result of financial difficulties than male students (27%). Conversely, male students were more likely to report having difficulties paying for social activities (46%) and that they were attending lectures remotely, where possible (22%) than female students (36% and 15%, respectively).

In relation to age, younger HN/undergraduates students, aged 24 and below, were more likely to report that they had to work in a paid job (51% of those aged 16 to 19) than those aged 25 and over (44%). However, those aged 25 and over, were more likely to report health issues as a result of financial difficulties (30%) and having difficulty buying books (37%) compared with those aged 16 to 19 (14% and 21%, respectively).

There were also significant differences by area deprivation with those from the 20% most deprived areas generally facing more financial difficulties (Figure 11.2). For example, students from the 20% most deprived areas were more likely (35%) than those from the 80% least deprived areas (23%) to have health problems as a result of experiencing financial difficulties. Those from the 20% most deprived areas were also more likely to report that they had difficulties buying books, materials and other equipment for their course (35%) or they were unable to take part in course-related activities, such as field trips (14%) compared with those in the 80% least deprived areas (27% and 9%, respectively). There was no clear pattern to the differences by whether the student had a parent with HE experience, or not.

11.4. Postgraduate students

Similar to findings for HN/undergraduate students, 65% of postgraduate students reported that financial difficulties had affected their studies 'a great deal' or 'a fair amount'.

Postgraduate students aged 25 and over (69%) were more likely than those aged 20 to 24 (46%) to report that financial difficulties had 'a great deal' or 'a fair amount' of impact on their studies compared with fewer than half (46%) of those aged 20 to 24. There were no other significant differences by subgroups.

11.4.1. Impact of financial difficulties on academic achievement

As with FE and HN/undergraduate students, the most common way in which financial difficulties affected postgraduate students was that it caused worry and stress for the majority (95%), and more than half of students (55%) found it necessary to work in a paid job, which was a higher proportion than for FE and HN/undergraduate students. As with HN/undergraduate students, difficulties paying for social activities or clubs (40%) and having to work extra hours in a paid job (36%) were also common impacts of experiencing financial difficulties.

Furthermore, between 1 in 4 and 1 in 3 students reported that experiencing financial difficulties resulted in:

• Difficulties buying books, materials and other equipment for their course (32%)
• Attending lectures remotely where possible (29%)
• Health problems (27%)
• Being unable to cover travel costs to and from college or university (26%).

Smaller percentages of postgraduate students said that experiencing financial difficulties resulted in them having to miss classes/lectures/tutorials or lessons (18%) or being unable to participate in course-related activities, such as field trips (14%).

There were only significant differences between subgroups by age for postgraduate students. Those aged 25 and over (36%) were more likely than those aged 20 to 24 (16%) to say they had difficulties buying books, materials and other equipment for their course and also to say that financial difficulties had led to health problems (31% compared with 11%, respectively).

11.5. Students from under-represented groups

As for postgraduate students, 65% of students from under-represented groups reported that financial difficulties had affected their studies 'a great deal' or 'a fair amount', which was higher than the proportion reported by FE students (55%).

Students whose parents did not have experience of HE (68%) were more likely to report that financial difficulties had 'a great deal' or 'a fair amount' of impact on their studies compared with those whose parents had experience of HE (61%). There were no other significant differences by subgroups.

11.5.1. Impact of financial difficulties on academic achievement

As with FE, HN/undergraduate and postgraduate students, the most common way in which experiencing financial difficulties affected students from under-represented groups was that it caused worry and stress (95%), and around 4 in 10 found it necessary to work in a paid job (43%).

Other reported responses to financial difficulties were:

• Difficulties paying for social activities or clubs (35%)
• Health problems (34%)
• Difficulties buying books, materials and other equipment for your course (32%)
• Having to work extra hours in a paid job (30%)
• Having to miss classes/lectures/tutorials or lessons (29%)
• Being unable to cover travel costs to and from college or university (23%).

Smaller proportions of students from under-represented groups said that experiencing financial difficulties resulted in them attending lectures remotely where possible (16%) and being unable to participate in course-related activities, such as field trips (11%).

The extent to which experience of financial difficulties differed by sex and age varied by type of impact but with no clear pattern. Male students were more likely to experience difficulties paying for social activities and clubs (45%) and more likely to say that they had missed classes (38%) as a result of financial difficulties than female students (33% and 26%, respectively). Conversely, female students from under-represented groups (96%) were more likely to say financial difficulties had caused worry and stress compared with male students (91%).

However, there were differences by age for those who needed to work in a paid job or who had to work extra hours. For example, over half (55%) of those aged 20 to 24 found it necessary to work in a paid job, compared with around 4 in 10 (41%) of those aged 25 and over and those aged 16 to 19 (37%). Those aged 25 and over were more likely than younger students to say that financial difficulties had impacted on their health (39% compared with 21% for those aged 16 to 19).

The impact of financial difficulties did differ by accommodation type, with those living independently more likely to report finding it necessary to work in a paid job (46%) and having to work extra hours (33%) than those living with parents (36% and 24% respectively). Those living independently were also more likely to say they were unable to participate in course-related activities (13%) and to report health problems (39%) than those living with parents (6% and 22% respectively).

Overall, the impact of financial difficulties did not vary considerably by area deprivation, with two exceptions. Those from the 20% most deprived areas were more likely to have health problems (42%) because of financial difficulties (compared with 32% of those from the 80% least deprived areas) and more likely to have reported being unable to participate in course-related activities (14% compared with 9% of those from the 80% most deprived areas).

11.6. How finances impacted on academic achievement

The qualitative data sheds light on the extent to which students' academic studies were impacted by financial issues both positively and negatively.

11.6.1. Impact of paid work on ability to study

Students' concerns about money, and how they might pay for essentials, impacted on their ability to concentrate on their studies. Students who had to take on paid work or increase their hours in response to the financial pressures they faced described how this made studying more challenging. Students spoke of the pressure of balancing their studies, paid work, and in some cases parenting or caring responsibilities, with the result that they were not able to focus on their studies as much as they would have liked.

"It was a difficult period last year. I would say it held me back a bit. I wasn't actually able to learn as much as I could have with being worried about going to work, then thinking about working and money situations. It wasn't giving me my hundred per cent focus which I could have had in college doing the work that I should have been doing. (Estranged student focus group)"

"It has the almost correlational impact of, I'm thinking about money; I'm not thinking about studies, and if I'm not thinking about money then I'm trying to study or I'm able to study. I need to focus on the higher-order mental task rather than being stressed to about it. (Full-time postgraduate (Masters) student)"

In some cases, this need to take on paid employment was said to have led to student burn out. Students spoke of having very little downtime once they had been to college/university and then had to work in the evenings or the weekend. Among part-time students, who often worked in full-time employment, this was particularly pronounced. Both part-time and full-time students reported feeling exhausted as a result of combining paid work with their courses.

"I feel like it's a massive pressure. The last job I worked; it was bank but I had to work as many shifts as possible. So I was doing college from 9:30 till 4:00 in the afternoon and then I was working 5:00 till 10:00. On top of that as well, as I said earlier, I've got a child so it took time away from him. A lot of times I was reaching burnout and then college work didn't actually seem like that much of an issue. I was like, oh, if I take a couple of days off, I'll catch up myself. I'll read through the slides. It's actually a lot harder than that. That is due to the fact that it's just not enough to live off. So I feel like a lot of the time, a lot of us have to push ourselves to burnout to be able to survive. I wouldn't even say live. I would say survive because it's minimum wage and then the money from college - I just feel it isn't enough. (Care experienced student focus group)"

Some students explained that they had failed modules in previous years of their course and had reduced their hours of paid work in response to help them focus more on their studies. Other students spoke of having to request extensions to their assessments as a result of having to balance their studies with paid employment. Postgraduates in particular (but also noted by undergraduate students) reported that it was challenging to manage the amount of reading required to prepare for seminars.

"Semester 1 of third year, I failed three modules, which was partly to do with the amount that I was working and just not spending enough time doing uni stuff, so it had a bigger impact. I think that's what's really, this year, made me think, I can't do that again. (Full-time undergraduate estranged student)"

"There's a lot of prep work you need to do. […] but there'd be times where I just wouldn't have time to do that. If you're working straight from a lecture, and then you're getting home late, and then you have to be up early again the next day for the next lecture, I just wouldn't have time to actually sit down and look through the resources and do the readings that I needed to do, or even sometimes work on the assignments. So that's why I was like, right, I need to cut back a day so that I have an extra day a week to make sure I'm on top of everything. (Part-time undergraduate student parent)"

By contrast, there were some more affluent students who did not have to work as a result of having all their living costs covered by their parents' regular financial contributions. These students recognised the benefits they gained from not having to work in terms of being able to devote more time to studying (see section 6.4. on paid work). A student who only worked during university vacations reflected on how things may differ if they had to work during term time.

"It would be horrible, I think, because it's not just the time it consumes, just the fact that the time you're spending not working, you're absolutely dead tired, you don't really want to do anything. I can't imagine having to work a shift and then have to study or write an essay after that. (Full-time undergraduate student)"

11.6.2. Missing classes

Not being able to afford the travel costs to get to college or university also had an impact on students' ability to engage with their studies. Students spoke of missing classes because they could not afford petrol for their car or they could not afford to pay for buses or train tickets. One student had missed large amounts of their course due to the cost of running their car, and the difficulty of reaching college by public transport. This in turn impacted on their ability to access their college bursary, and meant that the college had suggested they should leave their course. Other students sought to be strategic in how they missed classes, for example, spreading their absences across different classes in order that they did not fall too far behind.

"With obviously me living on my own, I'm often left with not much money to last me the whole month. So, it means sometimes I can't put petrol in my car, which means I can't get to College - which I've had happen two or three times where I've not been able to get to College for maybe two weeks because I've not got any money to put [petrol] in the car. (Full-time FE estranged student)"

"There's definitely been times I've had to skip classes because I just can't make it work. I can't stretch the finances, but sometimes we have access to online lectures, so when we have the opportunity, that's when I usually stay at home. (Full-time postgraduate (Masters) student)"