UCU responds to NUS/HSBC student survey

However, the union expressed its concerns that the results also reveal that student debt and the prohibitive costs of study remain the biggest concerns for students.

Key points from the survey:

• 74% of students said they were enjoying university. 85% of students were pleased that they decided to go to university.
• 31% of students were motivated to choose their university because it was close to home; however, in the lowest socio-economic groups (D and E), this figure rose to 53%.
• 85% rated the quality of teaching and learning as good or excellent. Students receive on average 15 contact hours a week and 16 hours of private study, although this varied by institution and subject.
• 81% of students say that academic support partly or fully meets their needs. 26% of students say that financial advice does not meet their needs, or only partly does so.
• The average cost of university life is nearly £450 a year higher than students expect. Prospective students expect more financial help than they will actually receive; 42% believe they will be entitled to a bursary to help support their studies, but only 28% actually receive one.
• 46% of students who work during term time are forced to do so because their basic living costs exceed their loans.
• 45% of working students admit that this work is having a negative impact on their studies. A third of them are working more than 17 hours a week during term time, and 3% work more than 33 hours.

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'We are pleased that the vast majority of students rate the teaching they receive as good or excellent. We are concerned that so many say they are forced into paid work during term time and that they concede this has a negative impact on their studies. Staff have little desire to be teaching students that are exhausted from their employment or even forced to skip classes to pay the bills.

'We have concerns that students from poorer backgrounds are more likely to choose a university closer to home. There is not the same range of choices of courses throughout the country and we do not see the benefit for the student, institution or the country of students forced to settle for second best because of prohibitive costs.'

• The full report can be found here