Survey reveals young people's confusion about financial arrangements for HE

Citation

(2004), "Survey reveals young people's confusion about financial arrangements for HE", Education + Training, Vol. 46 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2004.00446dab.001

Survey reveals young people's confusion about financial arrangements for HE

Survey reveals young people’s confusion about financial arrangements for HE

Most youngsters about to leave school or college have little awareness about the financial arrangements that await them in higher education. A survey of more than 300 Manchester-based 16-19 year olds in full-time education – all local schools and colleges with a wide social mix – reveals that most are confused by the barrage of news and initiatives on financial support and ignorant about the costs and fees they are likely to meet at universities. The research was a joint project between Manchester Metropolitan University’s education liaison office and the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA). Its prime purpose was to investigate factors affecting decisions about higher education made by sixth-form and further-education-college students. As well as investigating awareness about financial arrangements in higher education, young people were questioned about their interest in higher education, plus their main sources of advice and guidance.

Only 39 per cent of year 12 and 57 per cent of year 13 students knew both that they had to pay tuition fees and how much they would be. Even more alarmingly, only 9 per cent of year 12 and 30 per cent of year 13 students realized that top-up fees – due to come into effect only in 2006 – did not apply to them. About half of students expecting to be charged fees made unrealistic estimates of how much they would have to pay, with as many expecting to pay more as expecting to pay less. Most students either underestimated the costs of accommodation and living, or did not know what they might be. Awareness of the student loan is reassuringly high, but the numbers expecting a grant of some sort are worrying.

The people that the 16-19 year old students rely on most in choosing which universities to apply to are their friends, but teachers, tutors and parents also exert a strong influence. Advice from personal or form tutors is considered to be more significant than other professional sources such as careers advisers and the Connexions service. Students also rely heavily on published sources of information (to which they attach greater importance than to any person) such as prospectuses, although they look at relatively few before making their choice of university. Web sites and university open days are also rated highly.

The research reveals very high levels of interest in higher education, although many young people begin serious investigations about HE options relatively late. The vast majority (88 per cent of year 12 and 92 per cent of year 13) would like to enter higher education and similar numbers are confident, although unrealistically in some cases, of getting a place. More than 90 per cent of students say they have “parental support”. Only two out of 216 responses to one of the questionnaires indicated parental opposition to entering higher education. The majority of young people intend to study at a local higher-education institution and live at home with their parents. However, this pattern may not be typical of other areas of the UK as there are more higher-education institutions in Greater Manchester than in any UK city other than London. The perceived relevance of higher education to career development is very high, with 94 per cent rating it as important, although only half had any idea what that career might be.

Susan McGrath, head of education liaison at Manchester Metropolitan University, and project co-leader, said: “Ignorance about financial arrangements and the role of friends in advising about higher education were the two findings that most concerned us. The friends they rely on are those still at school or college, not those already in HE. We have found finance to be a major factor in decisions by students not to enter HE, so ready availability of clear, authoritative information is an urgent need.” She also pointed out that the current drive to increase participation rates in higher education makes sharing knowledge and good practice on progression particularly important. She said: “Getting progression right is vital. If students don’t get places on the right course, at the right university, they won’t be likely to finish their courses successfully.”

Getting Them in: An Investigation of Factors Affecting Progression to Higher Education of 16-19 Year Olds in Full-Time Education, by Susan McGrath and Peter Millen, is available from Susan McGrath at Manchester Metropolitan University, Education Liaison Department, Bellhouse Building, Lower Ormond Street, Manchester M15 6BX. Tel: +44 (0)161 247 2189.