Cost of living crisis: impact on university students

The cost of living crisis continues to pose significant challenges for communities across the UK, including students. Universities are stepping up to provide extra support for students struggling with hardship by: 

• boosting their emergency financial assistance funds 
• providing food vouchers, access to food banks and affordable eating schemes 
• absorbing some of the increases in rental costs 
• providing free transportation between campuses 

Polling by Savanta ComRes for Universities UK (UUK) showed growing anxiety for students in the cost-of-living crisis: 

• On mental health: 72% agreed that money worries were having more of a negative impact on their mental health now than at the start of the academic year. 

• On how students manage their finances: 67% were concerned about managing their living costs this autumn.  

• On continuation of study: 55% of those who felt concerned about managing their living costs were also worried that this might prevent them from continuing their studies. 

The impact of increases in the cost of living will affect some groups of students more severely than others. Our research shows:  

• Disadvantaged students are much less likely to feel confident about managing their finances over the next 12 months – 68% of those from the most disadvantaged groups feel confident compared to 77% for more advantaged groups. 

• International students are not eligible to access government benefits and are limited to working a maximum of 20 hours per week. Some are unaware they are eligible for university sources of funds, and food banks are seeing increased demand from international students.   

As cost of living pressures intensify, it will become increasingly apparent where some groups of students are missing out on support and where there is a need for extra support.  

Universities would like to do more to help, but the tuition fee freeze in England means that they are already operating with a severely stretched funding base. Government and universities will therefore need to work together to assess how increased support is given to those who are most in need through: 

• Targeted government hardship funding for UK students. 

• The reinstatement of maintenance grants for those most in need. 

• Action to ensure that support for students is protected against inflation. 

• Increased financial support for postgraduate researchers. 

• Ensuring that any government action to support people with rising costs, such as energy, can be accessed by students across the UK, including those in halls.  

In response to the crisis we convened a Cost of Living Advisory Group in 2022, this was formed to understand the scale of the crisis and its impact on our members, their students and their staff. The group is informed by shared practice, taking inspiration from member institutions and has been working to identify the key challenges and offer recommendations on how these might be addressed. The group is led by Professor Karen Cox, Vice Chancellor and President of the University of Kent.

Universities are responding to the cost of living crisis in a variety of ways including:

• Engaging and understanding the issue: universities are in regular discussions with student unions and student representatives to better understand and monitor the extent of the problem. 

• Increasing their hardship support funds: universities are improving access to emergency loan support and revisiting measures to alleviate digital poverty. 

• Providing targeted support: universities are supporting students through food vouchers, food bank access, and affordable eating schemes. 

Below are some specific examples of how universities are responding to the crisis:

Case studies