Upon learning that last year's off-campus rent grant will not return in the midst of the University’s financial struggles, Nouse spoke to students across campus about their experience of being a working-class student at the University.
*any names of students in this article have been omitted or changed for anonymity
The recent financial vicissitudes of the University have been well documented, resulting in the University taking compulsory redundancy measures which will see the loss of 30 staff members before May next year, with an additional 140 staff members having already lost their jobs. However, the lived impact of these financial constraints is scarcely discussed in the discourse surrounding higher education’s financial crisis. Nouse has now been informed by the Student Union that the off-campus rent grant, that was available to students last year, will not be making a return. We spoke to a range of students who identify as low-income, working-class or first generation university students to understand their experience at the University.
The University offers a non-repayable Bursary of £2000 for the first year of study (which is deducted from rent if staying in campus accommodation) and £1,100 for subsequent years, which is paid in cash to those living off-campus. This is automatically allocated to students with a household income of less than £25,000, and students with a combined household income of between £25,001-£35,000 are eligible to receive £2000 in their first year of study, then £1000 in subsequent years.
However, one student spoke of their difficulty in accessing the bursary in the first place: “I was told I was eligible for a bursary, but I didn’t receive it for the time of my first rent like I had budgeted, it only came in January due to a ‘glitch’ as I don’t have a British passport but I am a home student.
“The communication was terrible, and I was being passed back and forth between emails, it was a really distressing situation for my first semester at the University”.
Nouse asked if they felt they received enough support from the University after receiving their Bursary: “York is such an expensive place to be, even paying for transport in York seems to be so much more expensive than other cities, and there’s not really extra help with that, I think more than anything though the University needs to be way more involved in student housing, it’s ridiculous that after first year you’re expected to pay rent before you’ve moved in or received your student loan”.
The problems with the student housing market in York pervaded the concerns of every student I spoke to, particularly the lack of cohesion between the University, letting agents and landlords.
Many students stated how they had to pay rent on properties in June or July, whilst still paying for on-campus accommodation, so they had no support from student loans. This meant many students had to borrow or take money from savings in order to pay. Some students even go into debt with overdrafts.
It also appears commonplace for rent dates to be totally unaligned with student loan payments, further plunging many students into debts they cannot repay, or forcing them to work extra hours, often impacting their degree performance. When speaking to another student, Jenna*, she spoke of the mental toll she felt when faced with a £2000 rent payment in July: “I’ve had sleepless nights over it, and even thoughts about dropping out and going elsewhere. I feel embarrassed after having to ask multiple family members and friends to borrow money as I simply can’t afford it. Now I’m in a constant state of worry about meeting my next rent payments, I get the maximum student loan yet I’m still left with hardly anything.”
Nouse asked Jenna if they had reached out to the University for welfare support. They said: “I did seek support but it all just came back down to the financial aspect, I was pointed towards the hardship fund but it’s not available for rent. I felt totally defeated, it's like working-class students are invisible. It’s like we don’t exist.”
The average monthly payment for off-campus student rent in York is £900 per month, ranking it the 8th most expensive University for students. On top of this, 55% of students have at least one job during their time of study. Yet the £100 off-campus rent grant, available to students last year, will not be returning - this is ostensibly due to ‘rent costs rising more than usual last year’. There is no similar grant in the works.
Community and Wellbeing Sabbatical Officer, Freddy Russell, shared his thoughts with us: “I was incredibly surprised to discover that there was no off-campus rent grant for this academic year given the price of rent for York students. I was told that the university cannot support students who face costs that are not 'unexpected.' Whether it is expected or not, rent is as high in York as it is in London. This is simply not a liveable position for most students, especially those without financial support from family or part-time jobs. Furthermore, rent continues to rise steadily in York, so it is certainly not an issue limited to last academic year.”
An emergency hardship fund is available for 150 students per year (607 applied in 2022/23) which is either offered as a non-repayable grant or repayable loan. Students applying for this grant must provide evidence of rent, a tenancy agreement, evidence of degree funding, and bank statements for the past 3 months with full explanations for any spending over £100, any transfers between accounts and all payments from others regardless of how big or small.
For many students, this process seems to be a surveillance mechanism. One applicant told Nouse “I felt degraded having to explain all of my spending, it took such a long time to fill out, and just made me feel guilty about not having enough money, and explaining all my outgoings made me feel like my situation was completely my fault”.
On investigating the available scholarships from the University, it appeared the ostensible dearth of support for home students was starkly contrasted by the support available for international students, with a plethora of large scholarships available, such as the International Regional Scholarship which offers £7,500, with all international undergraduate and postgraduate taught students holding an offer at York will be automatically considered. Similarly, the International Achievement Scholarship which awards £10,000 in a student’s first year of study, with all international undergrad students automatically considered. The Dean Excellence Scholarship offers a full tuition fee discount for the first year followed by a £10,000 tuition fee discount for the second and third years. It does not appear that the University has plans to remove these scholarships in the next year.
The main scholarship available for home students is the York Opportunities scholarship, offering £1,100 each year across a three year period, with considerations for applications to student ambassador roles and other paid opportunities within the university.
A University spokesperson gave the following statement to Nouse: “We're very concerned about the impact of money worries on our students and are sorry to hear of members of our community experiencing financial difficulties. We urge anyone who is struggling to get in touch with the specialist-trained advisors in our Student Support and Advice Team for information, advice and guidance.
“As a University shaped by our founding values, we take our responsibility to ensure that financial means are not a barrier to higher education very seriously.
“We have stepped up efforts to provide support to students during the cost of living crisis via schemes including bursaries and the Student Support Fund and are working closely with external partners and organisations to address the limited availability of affordable accommodation in York, while also striving to improve the quality of housing stock.
“We annually review the impact of cost of living support from the previous year and collaborate with sabbatical officers to focus support on areas that will have the greatest impact in the future.”
Vice Chancellor, Charlie Jefferey has also called for inflation-indexed maintenance grants for students from disadvantaged backgrounds to be reinstated to make sure they can have access to the opportunities young people from better-off backgrounds take for granted.
The University of York pledges that its institutional raison d'être is to promote ‘the public good’, and whilst its intentions appear to be contingent with this, whether this maxim is a reality for many working-class students must be called into question.
