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

3. Fieldwork

Recruitment and contact procedures

Survey

The first communication detailing the purpose and value of the study was sent to all college and university Principals from the Head of Education Analytical Services at the Scottish Government.

ScotCen Social Research subsequently sent an invitation to Principals of each of these institutions letting them know how to opt in and asking those taking part to assign a member of their staff to be the lead point of contact for the study (study administrator). Principals of insititutions who did not opt in or out during the given period were contacted by ScotCen via telephone to establish whether or not their institution would take part. During the recruitment period 36 institutions opted to take part in the study (20 colleges and 16 universities). Subsequently, 4 of these colleges opted out.

Participating institutions were then sent a detailed protocol for selecting a sample of eligible students studying at their insitution. Further detail of this is provided in the Sampling section of this report. The Research Team at ScotCen provided support via telephone and email to any institutions that needed any advice on what was required for the sampling and recruitment of students. The protocol used was based on that of the DfE SIES for selecting first year students. Feedback from the institutions on draft versions found the protocol for randomly selecting students across all years straightforward to follow.

Once ScotCen had reviewed the profile of all students and selected students at each institution, the lead contact for the survey at that institution was informed that they could send the invitation email to the sampled students. This invitation contained the survey link, information about the study and a link to the privacy notice. Sampled students were sent an email directly from their college or univeristy inviting them to participate in the survey. Institutions were asked to send two reminder emails to students after the first invitation. The number of reminders issued was increased due to lower than expected responses, particularly amongst students at college. Therefore many institutions sent 3-4 reminders. Institutions and other stakeholders publicised the study more generally using existing social media channels and websites to encourage responses amongst students in the sample. All communications sent to students and content for social media and website posts were designed and provided by the ScotCen Research Team.

Qualitative research

Students taking part in the survey were asked at the end of the questionnaire whether they would be willing to be contacted about taking part in the qualitative research. Those who agreed were asked for their contact details for this purpose only. They were subsequently contacted by a member of the ScotCen Research Team who gave them information about the qualitative research and asked them if they would like to take part.

Incentives

As a one off acknowledgement of the time that students had given to take part and also the information they had shared with the study, students who reached the end of the survey were asked if they would like to be entered into a prize draw with a chance to win an Apple 9^th generation iPad worth £370 or one of 3 £50 Love2Shop vouchers or one of 3 £25 Love2Shop vouchers.

The 53 students who participated in an interview or focus group received a one-off £30 Love2Shop voucher to thank them for their time and the insight they provided.

Details of these incentives were provided on respondent materials and on the study page with the terms and conditions of the prize draw also available online. The terms and conditions were based on other studies that had used a similar prize draw approach, to ensure that the process was robust and transparent for participants.

Response

Survey

Table 3.1 shows the final completion rates for the survey for the full sample and for HE, FE and postgraduate students. Overall, 5% of the issued sample of students completed the questionnaire. A further 1% of students were found to be ineligible when they entered their details at the start of the questionnaire (for example, they had dropped out of their course).

Qualitative Research

In total, 53 students took part in the qualitative research. The purpose of the qualitative research was to gather in-depth and rich information on the experiences of students in Scotland. A wide range of students from different backgrounds and with different characteristics were included to provide a breadth of student experiences. Thirty students participated in an in depth interview, and a further 23 took part in five focus groups, with students who were: care experienced; estranged; parents; enrolled on FE courses; and postgraduates.

Qualification levels

Interview and focus group participants were sampled to include participants at different qualification levels. Higher numbers of students enrolled on Higher National Certificate (HNC), Higher National Diploma (HND) and undergraduate degree courses (n=24) took part than those undertaking FE (n=15) or postgraduate (n=14) level courses (Table 3.2). This relates to the decision to purposely target HN and undergraduate students for the focus groups with care experienced and estranged students, due to the differing levels of support available at FE, and HNC/D and undergraduate levels. It is also illustrative of the fact that FE and postgraduate students were less receptive to invitations to participate in the follow-up qualitative research. To recruit 15 FE students 53 students were invited to participate. To recruit 14 postgraduate students 43 students were invited to participate. However, to recruit 24 HN/undergraduate students, 59 students were invited to participate.

Participating students were enrolled on a wide range of courses. At FE level, this included Access courses, National 1-5 courses, SQA National Progression Awards, Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQ) and National Certificates. At HN and undergraduate level, HNC, HND and undergraduates all took part, while at postgraduate level, students were enrolled on Masters degrees and PhDs.

Mode

The sample included both full-time (n=42) and part-time (n=11) students across all qualification levels. However, despite targeting, part-time students were less responsive to invitations to participate. This was particularly the case for those studying at FE level.

Institutions attended

Across the qualitative research, participants attended 9 colleges and 15 universities across Scotland. It included large and small colleges, and both ancient and modern universities. The number of participating students enrolled at any one institution ranged from one to four.

Under-represented groups

The qualitative research targeted a range of students including those from under-represented groups. More than half (n=31) of the qualitative participants self-identified with at least one of these groups. Seven students identified with more than one of these.

Disability

More than half (n=31) of the qualitative participants said they had some kind of disability. These included diagnoses of dyslexia, autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), dyspraxia, hearing loss, and mobility impairment, as well as mental health issues relating to anxiety, depression and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), among others.

Ethnicity

The majority (n=42) of qualitative participants identified their ethnicity as white. Approximately a fifth (n=11) of qualitative participants identified their ethnicity in another way including Asian, African and mixed or multiple ethnicities.

Sex and gender

Slightly more students who identified as female (n=29) than male (n=22) took part in the qualitative research. This is despite concerted attempts to increase the number of male participants..

Students were also asked to state whether they identified as a transgender student. Two students answered yes, self-identifying respectively as a trans man and transgender non-binary, while a further four students prefered not to say.

Age

Students who participated in the qualitative research ranged in age from 17 to 61 years (Table 3.8). The majority of students (n=29) were aged 25 and over. This is partly indicative of the study’s interest in some groups of students; for example, student parents, postgraduate and part-time students are more likely to be older. The lower number of students in the 16 to 20 year old category also points to the challenges of recruiting FE students, and younger students more broadly.

Fees

In total, 11 students who participated in the qualitative research paid fees. The majority of these (n=8) were studying postgraduate courses, 2 were enrolled on HN/undergraduate courses and 1 was enrolled on an FE level course. Four of the 11 students paying fees were part-time students.

Student loans

Eighteen qualitative participants were eligible for a student loan, 11 of which had taken out a loan.

*This excludes students who were ineligible as a result of their part-time status, or those who were in receipt of the Care Experienced Student Bursary or the Paramedic, Nursing and Midwifery Bursary.

**This excludes part-time Masters students and those studying for PhDs.

Sources of income

In recruiting participants to the qualitative research, the sample aimed to illustrate the breadth of different funding sources students draw upon whilst studying at college and university in Scotland. Table 3.11 below provides a breakdown of the numbers of participants in the qualitative research who were accessing loans, bursaries, discretionary funding, scholarships, paid work, and financial contributions from parents. The sample includes students who drew upon one source of income, such as parental financial contributions, and those who relied upon multiple sources of income, such as a combination of loans, bursaries, paid work and benefits.

Note: “-“ in the table denotes zero (0)

Accommodation

The qualitative sample includes a mix of students living in a range of different types of accommodation. The majority (n=25) were living in privately rented accommodation. Nine students had their own home, most of whom were aged over 35. Those living in halls of residence stayed in both privately owned and university owned halls. Three students were in temporary accommodation, such as homeless accommodation provided by the local authority or staying with friends.

Note: “-“ in the table denotes zero (0)