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

14. Changes to study arrangements and leaving course

14.1. Key findings

• Approximately a third or more of FE, HN/undergraduate, postgraduate and students from under-represented groups had considered leaving their course. This was highest for students from under-represented groups at 44%.
• Younger HN/undergraduate students were more likely than older HN/undergraduate students to have considered 'leaving their college/university to study a similar course at a different college or university' (22% of those aged 16 to 19 compared with 15% of those aged 25 or over).
• The most frequently reported reasons by all four student groups for considering dropping out of a course was difficulty balancing paid work and study and not having enough money to survive on through student loan and/or bursary. Deferring because of physical or mental illness was another common reason for all groups except postgraduates. In the qualitative research, some students had already experienced interruptions to their study, with others reporting that their finances had played a role in causing them to consider dropping out of or pausing their studies.
• A key finding was that 'Pausing a course and resuming it the next year' was the most frequently considered change to study arrangements for FE, HN/undergraduate and postgraduate students and students from under-represented groups.

14.2. Changes to study arrangements

All students were asked "Have you considered making any of the following changes to your study arrangements?" Students were given the following list of seven responses to choose from and were asked to select all that applied to them: 'pausing your course and resuming it next year'; 'leaving your college/university to study a similar course at a different college/university'; 'moving back to your non-term time address and commuting to college/university from there'; 'switching from full-time to part-time or vice-versa'; 'changing course type from classroom based to remote learning'; 'other'; and 'none of the above'.

The findings for FE, HN/undergraduate, postgraduate and students from under-represented groups are outlined in more detail below.

14.2.1. FE students

Among FE students, the most frequently considered change to their study arrangements was 'pausing your course and resuming it next year', chosen by around 4 in 10 students (42%). The second most frequently reported change considered by FE students was 'changing course type from classroom based to remote learning', chosen by around 3 in 10 students (29%). Similar proportions of FE students had thought about 'leaving their college/university to study a similar course at a different college/university' (24%) and 'switching from full-time to part-time study or vice versa' (22%) (Table 14.1).

Due to small base sizes in the study sample we cannot report robustly on significant variations by different student subgroups.

14.2.2. HN/undergraduate students

As with FE students, 'pausing your course and resuming it next year' was the most frequently considered change to study arrangements among HN/undergraduate students with over 3 in 5 choosing this option (65%).

The next most frequently considered changes to study arrangements were only chosen by around 1 in 5 HN/undergraduate students and were:

• 'Leaving your college/university to study a similar course at a different college/university' (19%)
• 'Moving back to your non-term time address and commuting to college/university from there' (15%)
• 'Switching from full-time to part-time study or vice versa' (22%).

Around one in 12 (8%) had thought about 'changing course type from classroom-based to remote learning'.

Considering changes to study arrangements varied significantly by age with younger students more likely than older students to have considered 'leaving their college/university to study a similar course at a different college or university' and 'moving back to a non-term time address and commuting to study'. For example, 22% of HN/undergraduate students aged 16 to 19 had considered 'leaving their college/university to study a similar course at a different college or university' compared with 15% of those aged 25 or over.

There were only two changes to study arrangements that varied by part-time or full-time status. Part-time students (29%) were more likely than full-time students (19%) to have considered 'switching from full-time to part-time study or vice versa', whereas full-time students (20%) were more likely to have considered 'moving back to a non-term time address and commuting to study' compared with part-time students (1%).

Those HN/undergraduate students who were living independently (renting or with a mortgage) were more likely than those living with their parents to report that they had considered pausing their course and resuming it next year (62% and 51%, respectively). There was no significant difference by area deprivation or sex.

14.2.3. Postgraduate students

As with FE and HN/undergraduate students, 'pausing a course and resuming it next year' was the most frequently considered change to study arrangements among postgraduate students (59%). Around a third (31%) had thought about switching from full-time to part-time study or vice versa. A relatively low proportion of postgraduate students (17%) had considered returning to a non-term time address. Only 11% of postgraduate students had thought about leaving their institution to study a similar course elsewhere, and fewer than 1 in 10 (8%) had considered changing from classroom based to remote learning.

For postgraduates, male students (21%) were significantly more likely than female students (7%) to have considered leaving their institution to study a similar course elsewhere.

There was no significant difference by age, accommodation type, or area deprivation.

14.2.4. Students from under-represented groups

As with students across the three study levels, pausing a course and resuming it the next year was the most frequently considered change to study arrangements among students from under-represented groups (63%). A quarter of students had considered switching from full-time to part-time study (or vice versa), with a quarter (25%) having considered leaving their institution to study a similar course elsewhere. Only around 13% of students from under-represented groups had considered moving back to a non-term time address and commuting, or switching from classroom based to remote learning.

Overall, considering changes to study arrangements did not vary significantly by sex, with one exception. Female students from under-represented groups (15%) were more likely than male students (5%) to have considered changing from classroom based to remote learning.

Considering changes to study arrangements did vary significantly by age for some of the option choices in this question, but there was no consistent pattern. For example, students aged 25 or over (65%) were more likely than those aged 16 to 19 (52%) to have considered pausing their course and resuming it next year. Conversely, those aged 16 to 19 (36%) were more likely than those aged 25 or over (12%) to have considered leaving their institution to study a similar course at a different institution and to have considered moving back to their non-term time address and commuting (19% and 7%, respectively) (Figure 14.1). There was no clear pattern observed by differences in accommodation type and no significant differences by parental experience of HE or area deprivation.

14.2. Leaving university or college course

All students were asked, 'Have you ever considered leaving your course, with answer options 'yes' and 'no' and, if they responded 'yes', they were then asked their reasons for this. Students were given a list of 14 reasons to choose from and could select multiple responses. These options were:

• difficulty balancing paid work and studies
• not having enough money to survive on through student loan or bursary
• worry over student loan debt
• worry over commercial debt like credit cards, overdrafts, etc.
• being made homeless
• not able to do my course through online learning
• limited social activities
• defer because of physical or mental illness
• university/college life is not what I expected
• course was not what I expected
• responsibilities outside of studies, e.g. caring for someone
• lack of support available from university/college
• other
• none of the above.

The findings for FE, HN/undergraduate, postgraduate and students from under-represented groups are outlined below.

14.2.1. FE students

Around one-third (30%) of FE students stated that they had considered leaving their course, with female students more likely (33%) than males (22%) to have thought about this. Younger FE students (aged 16 to 19, 30%) and older FE students (aged 25 or over, 34%) were more likely to have considered leaving their course than those aged 20 to 24 (13%).

Among FE students who had reported facing financial difficulties, 45% had considered leaving their course compared with 6% of students who had not reported facing financial difficulties.

Reasons students considered dropping out

Of those who had considered leaving their course, the most frequently reported reason for considering dropping out of an FE course was 'not having enough money to survive on through student loan or bursary' which was reported by almost half of all FE students (47%).

The next most frequently reported reasons were to 'defer studies due to a physical or mental illness' reported by a third of FE students (33%), 'difficulty balancing paid work and studies' and having 'responsibilities outside of studies (e.g. caring for someone)' reported by around 3 in 10 students (29% and 28% respectively) (Table 14.2).

Overall, reasons for considering dropping out of a course did not vary by age or accommodation type, with a few exceptions. For example, FE students aged 25 or over (37%) and those living independently (39%) were more likely to consider dropping out of their course because of 'difficulty balancing paid work and studies' compared with those aged 16 to 19 (16%) and those living with their parents (15%). Over half (56%) of those living independently (renting or with a mortgage) reported 'not having enough money to survive on through student loan or bursary' compared with a third (33%) of those living with their parents. Conversely, those living with their parents (20%) were more likely than those living independently (renting or with a mortgage) (3%) to report that 'college life is not what I expected'.

Generally, the reasons for considering dropping out of a course did not vary by area deprivation and due to a small base size for males, differences by sex cannot be reported robustly.

14.2.2. HN/undergraduate students

Compared with FE students, a higher proportion of HN/undergraduate students (40%) stated that they had considered leaving their course. Around half (51%) of HN/undergraduate students who reported facing financial difficulties had also considered leaving their course, compared with a quarter (25%) of those who had not faced financial difficulties.

Female HN/undergraduate students (41%) and students aged 20 to 24 (44%) and 25 or over (42%) were more likely than males (33%) and those aged 16 to 19 (32%) to have thought about dropping out. HN/undergraduate students from the 20% most deprived areas (45%) were also more likely to have considered leaving their course than those from the 80% least deprived areas (38%), as were those living independently (41%) compared with those living with their parents (35%).

There was no difference reported between the proportion of part-time and full-time HN/undergraduate students considering leaving their course.

Reasons students considered dropping out

Over half (52%) of HN/undergraduate students who had considered leaving their course reported difficulty balancing paid work and study as a reason. Not having enough money to survive on through a student loan or bursary (41%), and deferring because of physical and mental health difficulties (38%) were also among the most frequently reported reasons for considering leaving their course.

Around 1 in 5 HN/undergraduate students had considered leaving their course due to:

• University/college life or their course not being what they had expected (both 23%), limited social activities (20%), or a lack of support from their university/college (18%)
• Worry over student loan debt and worry over commercial debt (both 21%)
• Responsibilities outside of their studies, e.g. caring for someone (21%).

Overall, female HN/undergraduates were more likely than males to consider leaving their course for a variety of reasons, with one exception. A higher proportion of female students (54%) than male students (44%) said that difficulty balancing paid work and study had led them to consider leaving their course. Furthermore, female students (24%) were more likely than male students (12%) to have considered leaving their course because of worry over commercial debt such as credit cards or

overdrafts. Female students were also significantly more likely to have considered leaving their course due to responsibilities outside of their studies, e.g. caring for someone (23% of female compared with 15% of male students) (Figure 14.2). Conversely, male HN/undergraduates were more likely to consider leaving their course due to being made homeless (11%) than female HN/undergraduates (5%).

Considering leaving a course varied significantly by age for the majority of reasons listed, however there was no clear pattern. For example, HN/undergraduate students aged 16 to 19 (24%) were more likely than students aged 25 and over (13%) to have considered leaving their course due to a lack of support available from the university or college, and were more likely to say that 'university/college life is not what I expected' (37% compared with 11% of students aged 25 and over) and that the 'course was not what I expected' (35% and 11%, respectively).

Conversely, HN/undergraduate students aged 25 and over were more likely than those aged 16 to 19 to have considered leaving their course due to 'not having enough money to survive on through student loan or bursary' (49%), having responsibilities outside of their studies, e.g. caring for someone (36%), or worry over commercial debt (34%) than students aged 16 to 19 (32%, 9% and 7% respectively).

Reasons for considering leaving a course also varied significantly by part-time or full-time status for a number of the reasons listed. However, again there was no clear pattern to these differences. For example, part-time HN/undergraduates were more likely to have considered leaving their course due to worry over commercial debt (36%) and responsibilities outside of their studies, e.g. caring for someone (31%) than full-time HN/undergraduates (18% and 19% respectively). Conversely, full-time HN/undergraduates were more likely than part-time students to have considered leaving their course for the following reasons:

• Not having enough money to survive on through student loan or bursary (full-time 46%; part-time 20%)
• Worry over student loan debt (full-time 25%; part-time 2%)
• Limited social activities (full-time 22%; part-time 10%)
• University/college life is not what I expected (full-time 27%; part-time 4%)
• Course was not what I expected (full-time 26%; part-time 10%)
• Lack of support available from university/college (full-time 19%; part-time 12%).

A number of reasons for considering leaving a course varied significantly by parental experience of HE. Those whose parents had no HE experience were more likely than those whose parents had HE experience to report difficulty balancing paid work and studies, not having enough money to survive, worry over commercial debt and responsibilities outside of studies as reasons for considering leaving their course. For example, around half (51%) of students whose parents had no HE experience said not having enough money to survive as a reason compared with around a third (32%) of those whose parent had HE experience.

There were differences between those living independently (renting or with a mortgage) and those living with their parents in the reasons given for considering leaving a course, but the pattern was not consistent. Those living independently (renting or with a mortgage) were more likely to say that they had considered leaving their course due to not having enough money to survive on through student loan or bursary (45%), worry over student loan debt (24%), worry over commercial debt (24%), and that they had responsibilities outside of studies (25%) compared with those living with their parents (30%, 16%, 11% and 12%, respectively). Conversely, those living with their parents were more likely to say that university/college life was not what they expected (34%) compared with those living independently (20%).

Overall, reasons for considering leaving a course did not vary significantly by area deprivation, with a few exceptions. HN/undergraduate students from the 20% most deprived areas were more likely to consider leaving a course because of responsibilities outside of their studies such as caring for someone (33%), worry over commercial debt (29%) and being made homeless (12%) than HN/undergraduates from the 80% least deprived areas (19%, 20% and 5% respectively).

14.2.3. Postgraduate students

More than one-third (37%) of postgraduate students reported having considered leaving their course. Postgraduate students aged 25 and over and those living independently (renting or with a mortgage) (both, 39%) were more likely than those aged 20 to 24 and those living with their parents to have considered leaving their course (26% and 21%, respectively).

As with HN/undergraduate students around half (49%) of postgraduate students who reported facing financial difficulties while studying had considered leaving their course, compared with a quarter (25%) of those who had not.

Reasons students considered leaving a course

Like HN/undergraduates, among postgraduate students the most frequently reported reasons for considering leaving a course were financial reasons: difficulty balancing paid work and study (61%), and not having enough money to survive on through student loan or bursary (45%). Worry over commercial debt (28%) or student loan debt (22%) were less frequently reported.

Nearly 2 in 5 postgraduate students (39%) reported that deferring due to health reasons had made them consider leaving their course, and a quarter of postgraduate students (25%) reported responsibilities outside their studies as a reason e.g. 'caring for someone'.

Among postgraduate students, the most frequently reported course or institution-related reasons which led them to considering leaving a course were:

• Limited social activities (24%)
• Lack of support from university/college (22%)
• Course not as expected (18%)
• Not able to study through online learning (16%).

Compared with HN/undergraduate students, a very low proportion (4%) of postgraduates gave university or college life not being as expected as a reason for considering leaving their course. The same proportion (4%) of postgraduate students gave being made homeless as a reason for considering leaving their course.

Base sizes for sex, age, area deprivation and accommodation type are too low to report on robustly. There were only two reasons for considering leaving their course that varied significantly by parental HE experience. Postgraduates with no parental HE experience were more likely to have considered leaving their course due to not having enough money to survive on through student loan or bursary (57%) than those with parental HE experience (37%). Conversely, postgraduate with parental HE experience were more likely to leave their course because the course was not what they expected (28%) than those with no parental HE experience (10%).

14.2.4. Students from under-represented groups

Among all the student groups, students from under-represented groups had the highest proportion (44%) reporting that they had considered leaving their course. Students whose parents had no HE experience (50%) and those living independently (46%) were more likely to have considered leaving their course than those whose parents had experienced HE (40%) and those living with their parents (38%).

As for HN/undergraduate and postgraduate students, around half (54%) of students from under-represented groups who reported facing financial difficulties while studying had considered leaving their course, compared with around a quarter (24%) of those who had not faced financial difficulties.

Reasons students considered dropping out

Similar to HN/undergraduates and postgraduate students, students from under-represented groups most frequently reported difficulties in balancing paid work and study (50%) and not having enough money to survive on through student loan or bursary (50%) as reasons for considering leaving their course (Table 14.3). A similarly high proportion of students from under-represented groups cited deferring because of a physical or mental illness (47%) as a reason. Around one-third (30%) of students from under-represented groups had thought about leaving their course because of responsibilities outside of their studies, e.g. caring for someone, and a quarter (25%) had thought about leaving a course because of worry over commercial debt. Fewer than 1 in 5 (17%) reported considering dropping out because of worry over student loan debt.

Proportions of students from under-represented groups reporting course or institution-related reasons for thinking of leaving a course were broadly similar, ranging from around one-fifth (19%) who considered leaving their course because of limited social activities or a lack of support from their university or college, to 16% that their course was not meeting their expectations, because they could not study online, with 15% reporting that university or college life had not met their expectations.

Reasons for considering leaving their course varied significantly by age for the majority of the reasons listed, however, there was no clear pattern by age. For example, students aged 25 and over were more likely to consider leaving their course due to not having enough money to survive on through student loan or bursary (54%), responsibilities outside of studies, such as caring for someone (38%) and worry over commercial credit (33%) than those aged 16 to 19 (39%, 24% and 7% respectively). Conversely, students from under-represented groups aged 16 to 19 were more likely to consider leaving their course due to a lack of support available from college or university (29%) or because university life (32%) or their course (29%) was not what they expected, than those aged 25 and over (14%, 6% and 10% respectively).

There were differences by accommodation type although the pattern was not consistent. For example, around half (55%) of students from under-represented groups living independently (renting or with a mortgage) reported that they had considered leaving their course due to difficulty balancing paid work and studies and not having enough money to survive on through student loan or bursary (55%) compared with those living with their parents (both, 33%). Around 3 in 10 (29%) of those living independently (renting or with a mortgage) said worry over commercial debt had led them to consider leaving their course, compared with 12% who lived with their parents. In contrast, those living with their parents were more likely to say that they had considered deferring due to physical or mental illness (59%), had considered leaving due to university/college life was not what they had expected (29%), or the course was not what they expected (26%) compared with those living independently (45%, 11%, and 14%, respectively).

Overall, reasons for considering leaving their course did not vary significantly by parental HE experience, with a couple of exceptions. Students from under-represented groups whose parents had no HE experience (55%) were more likely to have reported not having enough money to survive on as a reason for considering leaving their course than those with parents with HE experience (42%). Conversely, 55% of those whose parents had HE experience said they had considered deferring due to physical or mental illness, compared with 43% of those whose parents had no HE experience.

Reasons for considering leaving their course did not vary significantly by sex or area deprivation.

14.3. Student experiences of considering leaving their course

In the qualitative research, students discussed the extent to which they had considered dropping out of their current course. Some students had already experienced interruptions to their study, with others reporting that their finances had played a role in causing them to consider dropping out or pausing their studies. Those who had previously been in full-time work before undertaking their current course spoke of the shock of moving from a full-time wage to a student income. This led some to consider suspending their studies to improve their financial situation by returning to full-time employment.

"I have considered suspending study so that I could actually go and work full time to kind of get myself back in a more stable financial situation. […] Several of my friends have done it. One of them has taken a consecutive - a year-and-a-half out to earn enough because they didn't earn enough to cover the fees, never mind funding everyday expenses. (Postgraduate student focus group)"

"I did think about it close to the start of the course having gone down from full-time…working full-time to you know…at the time I'd then gone from being unemployed to being a student full-time and it was a fair drop in what I was used to and I wasn't expecting it to be quite so, 'oh no, I have to budget a lot more'. Also, I think because I gave up my full-time job to come back to college, I was sort of determined to stick it out. So I was like well I've left a good experience for this so …I've got to make it work. (FE student focus group)"

Students also spoke of their reasons for not dropping out. Partly, this was down to determination to finish the course. It was also said that the influence of friends and family had convinced them not to drop out by helping them see ways they could manage to complete the course. For example, an estranged student had considered dropping out after not being able to earn from paid work due to course requirements to undertake a work placement. They instead transferred to another course without a work placement attached.

"It's an unfunded placement, but you were expected to work full time and just like, 'How am I meant to do a full-time degree and do this placement that is full time and work as well on the side?' So, that's when I changed to [a different course] because there wasn't any placement requirement, but during that time I considered dropping out and then trying to work out what I would do instead. Then I spoke to my friend's parents and they gave me some parental advice of, 'Absolutely do not drop out of uni.' (Full-time undergraduate estranged student)"

Students also discussed the possibility of potentially having to consider dropping out in the future, as a result of a lack of suitable paid work opportunities. A postgraduate student in this situation reflected that while they sometimes considered dropping out, the fact that they had taken on a student loan deterred them from doing so.

"I think it has had a really severe impact on me as a student. There's been a lot of times where I've just considered dropping out, but then I know I've already accrued the loan and the costs associated, so it doesn't make sense to drop out, but there's definitely been times where I wish I could just stop it all and go back to full-time, get back on my feet and then go back to study. I feel like I've come so far now, so I just want to get it done, but it's affected my mental health, and I think that's also played a part in maybe going into uni. Maybe there are different things I could have done. Maybe I could have worked more, I don't know, but I think when you're in that kind of stressed mindset, you're not necessarily thinking logically. (Full-time postgraduate (Masters) student)"

Aside from financial problems, a range of other issues also influenced students' thoughts of dropping out. These included a lack of institutional support, mental health issues, the impact of learning disabilities, low grades, online learning, and the impact of factors relating to being care experienced, estranged from their parents/ guardians, carers or parents.

14.3.1. Routes through previous FE and HE study

The qualitative research also explored students' routes through education prior to enrolling on their current course. Students' responses illustrated the complex routes some had taken. While many younger students had taken 'traditional' routes entering college or university from sixth year of high school, others, particularly those who were estranged, care experienced, student parents, carers, and students aged 25 and over, had taken longer routes, moving in and out of education, sometimes over many years. Some had articulated from HNC and HND courses at college into second and third year university degree programmes. Others had undertaken several college or university courses, sometimes over a considerable period of time, before settling on their current course. Whilst finances were said to impact on current considerations of drop out, when students reflected on having dropped out of previous courses, other factors played a bigger role. These included mental health issues, neurodivergent diagnoses, the difficulty of processing trauma caused by experiences of care or family estrangement, not being in the right frame of mind at the time, and feeling unsupported by their institution. The impact of COVID-19 restrictions which took college and university learning online was also cited.

"I […] left high school in third year, went on to being a stupid child doing stupid stuff. Anyway, started working cash in hand […]. Then I wanted to get something under my belt, an apprenticeship or something. Tried to go to college. Was too young and dumb to stick at it. Then I finally went back and stuck at this, hopefully. (Estranged student focus group)"