Investigative Journalism: Concluding Article

Myself and a group of aspiring journalists have conducted an investigation into the issues surrounding universities, tuition fees and Access Agreements. As Editor, I was responsible to sum up our investigation by writing a concluding article, which can be read below. Our full investigation can be found at www.tuitionfeesandstudentloans.wordpress.com. 

University students missing out on financial support

University students are missing out on crucial financial support because of poor

communication, suggests Birmingham City University’s Financial Advisor, Harj Singh.

For universities to charge students higher tuition fees, an Access Agreement must be set up. This is a document put together by universities, which include targets and milestones. The Office for Fair Access (OFFA) then approve and monitor these documents. Sean Beynon, OFFA Officer, gives a brief overview of how Access Agreements work:

“Every year, universities publish an Access Agreement in the summer which covers what the university plans to do within the upcoming academic year.”

Birmingham City University have set targets relating to their financial support sector. The Access Agreement states that the university will promote the initiatives and support services available to all students.

Whilst discussing how the financial support services are publicised, Harj Singh acknowledged the need for further promotion of services and schemes for current students, briefly skimming over the university’s Access to Learning Fund.

The Access to Learning Fund is a hardship fund, which means students who are in need of extra financial support can receive it. However, students must apply for the funding to be assessed, but making this request is something Birmingham City University students are finding difficult. This is because many are completely unaware of the scheme.

Harj Singh uncomfortably stated:

“Not many students are aware of the programme.”

A recent study by The Independent Commission on Fees suggests that this lack of financial support promotion is deterring working class youngsters, boys in particular, to apply to university. The number of socio-economically deprived males taking a place at university fell by 1.4% between 2010 and 2012.

David Willetts, Universities Minister, stated that the OFFA should be targeting disadvantaged groups in regards to economic class:

“I don’t see why they couldn’t look at white, working class boys.”

He went onto imply that universities should be encouraging socio-economically deprived individuals to apply, by focussing on them in Access Agreements. It has become clear that Birmingham City University are failing to take part in this notion.

David Farrow, Director of Marketing at Aston University, commented on the issue of a lack of financial support deterring working class applicants. He stated that the university will be keeping a close eye on the situation. When asked if Aston University are doing all they can to promote financial support to socio-economically deprived youngsters, David Farrow said:

“Probably not… I don’t think we do as much as we feel we could do.”

A representative from the National Association of Student Money Advisers (NASMA), Harj Kallu, helps deal with students who have financial problems.

NASMA is a charity which trains people in supporting and advising university students in financial strain. The association then sends these trained representatives into universities, where they put their skills into practice.

Harj Kallu is based at Birmingham City University and has supported some of their students who have money issues. He emphasises that:

“There are people really struggling out there.”

Randel Brookes, who is studying second year Law, is just one of Birmingham City University’s students who are worried about finances. He felt disappointed in the university for not publicising the Access to Learning Fund to continuing students:

“I had never heard of such a thing before and by talking to colleagues, neither had they. The thing is I am actually eligible to apply for this but because I didn’t know, I haven’t.”

Other Birmingham City University students have significantly suffered because of the poor communication. Jenna Jarrett is dealing with financial worries while living away from home. She explained that student life has not been what she expected:

“My mum always told me to be sensible with money at university and I can honestly say I am, but sometimes there just isn’t enough financial support.”

The second year student at Birmingham City University feels like she has not been provided with enough financial knowledge:

“I have learned a lot through mistakes at university, but I do think that universities should have equipped us with better financial knowledge during our first year or before starting university.”

Jenna is finding the price of living a constant worry. She maintains her lifestyle by having a part-time job, just like around 50% of university students across the UK. She works long hours behind a bar at weekends, which is still not enough to avoid her overdraft. Jenna is also concerned about her work hours replacing the time to complete her studying:

“I work at a local club, it is long hours and sometimes I don’t get back until early hours of the morning. It’s hard to have this as well as my studies. I find I don’t sleep much because I haven’t got time due to assignment deadlines. I’m starting to wonder why I’m actually at university if all I do is work to live.”

Birmingham City University’s failure to communicate their financial support has had a negative impact on many of its students. Sean Beynon, OFFA Officer, has spoken of what action is taken when universities do not meet milestones set in their Access Agreements:

“If universities do not meet their targets, we would look to understand why and provide them with challenge and support to help them to progress.” 
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Abbey Hartley