The number of students dropping out of university due to financial reasons has increased by 28 per cent in the past five years.
Recent data from the Student Loans Company (SLC) shows this increase.
In the 2022-23 academic year, 41,630 students withdrew from courses, compared to 32,491 in 2018-19.
“Withdrawal” refers to a student leaving university without intent to re-enter their course.
Drop-out rates across UK universities are rising despite a nearly 11 per cent increase in first-year enrollment from 2018-19 to 2022-23.
This data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency applies to all UK universities.
Afiyah, a former University of Edinburgh student, withdrew from a master’s degree in 2022 after just a few months.
She cited expenses and mental health as reasons for her decision.
“I feel a great deal of pressure to advance my career, mainly due to life being so expensive.”
A Glasgow resident, Afiyah commuted to Edinburgh for lectures each week.
“Commuting was exhausting and involved many hidden costs. For example, your phone is dying and suddenly you’re buying a coffee just to charge and use your train tickets.”
When she made the decision not to continue her course, Afiyah stated: “I was billed £7k for dropping out, which continues to distress me.
“Over the last year, I’ve been saving up for another course; I worry about limited funding quite often.”
A 2023 report from the National Union of Students (NUS) Scotland found that 37 per cent of students considered dropping out of their course for financial reasons.
In comment to The Student, an NUS Scotland spokesperson stated, “It’s a sign of an education system in crisis when more than a third – 37 per cent – of students have considered dropping out for financial reasons.”
The report also found that 52 per cent of students have skipped a meal because of lack of money, and 45 per cent have gone without heating for the same reason.
The NUS Scotland spokesman added, “In almost all cases, the students who are struggling the most are from widening-access backgrounds, including estranged, disabled and care-experienced students, as well as students who are carers, single parents and come from low-income households.”
Audit Scotland, a government office responsible for auditing Scotland’s public organizations, found that over two‑thirds of students (68.6 per cent) successfully completed their course in 2020‑21.
For students from deprived backgrounds or the care system, this number was just over half (56.5 per cent).
The University of Highlands and Islands (UHI) saw a drop-out increase of 7.9 percent from 2011/12 to 2016/17.
According to a UHI spokesperson, in recent years “with the impact of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, we have seen some increases in withdrawal and non-completion rates.”
To aid students, UHI campuses have introduced local initiatives such as meal-clubs with free food, ‘warm spaces’ on campus, second-hand clothing sales, partnerships with food banks, and ensuring cafe prices are affordable.
“Our partnership has been very proactive in supporting students with the cost of living in ways that suit the local need . . . and have been using a variety of innovative ways of supporting and reaching geographically disparate students.”
Image: “Student” by UGL_UIUC is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.