University students in England must undertake more than 20 hours of paid work a week to meet the basic standard of living, a report has suggested.
The Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) think tank has called for maintenance support to be increased so that all students can reach a “minimum socially acceptable standard of living”.
The pressures of part-time work are “squeezing out” the other elements of a university experience such as studying, sports, societies and socialising, according to the paper.
The findings come as students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland receive their A-level and Level 3 BTec results on Thursday, with many finding out if they have secured a university place.
University sector leaders have suggested that cost-of-living pressures are affecting young people’s choices – with more opting to stay living at home for university and more taking on part-time work alongside their studies.
A report from Hepi, TechnologyOne and the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) at Loughborough University has suggested how much first-year students need for a “minimum socially acceptable standard of living” that covers the basics and full participation in university life.
It estimated a student in England will need around £61,000 over the course of a three-year degree, or around £77,000 if studying in London, to reach a minimum socially acceptable standard of living – all excluding tuition fees.
For students in England, the maximum annual maintenance loan (up to £10,544), which is available only to people from low-income households, covers just half the costs faced by first-year students, the report said.
It also found that even with the highest levels of maintenance support, students in England must work more than 20 hours per week to meet a basic standard of living.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has said the Government is “looking at all of the options” for how to support university students facing costs.
When asked about the cost-of-living pressures facing university students, Ms Phillipson said the Government recognises that there is “still more to do” to tackle some of the disparities that young people experience.
She told the PA news agency: “I do want all students to be able to get the full benefits of their time at university, to be able to take up internships, study trips (and) other work experience opportunities.
“I don’t want students from less well-off backgrounds to be deterred from doing that because of having to take on more hours of paid work.”
Last year, the Government announced that undergraduate tuition fees in England, which have been frozen at £9,250 since 2017, will rise to £9,535 for the 2025-26 academic year.
It also announced that maintenance loans will increase in line with inflation in the 2025-26 academic year to help students with their living costs.
The latest report from Hepi has suggested students might be expected to undertake some part-time work, such as 10 hours of paid employment a week, but the remainder should be covered by maintenance support.
It has also called for maintenance support to be “pegged to inflation” and for the household income thresholds to be increased so parents do not need to contribute to their child’s living costs until they have enough money to meet a basic standard of living for themselves.
Nick Hillman, director of Hepi, said: “Maintenance support is currently woefully inadequate, leading students to live in substandard ways, to take on a dangerous number of hours of paid employment on top of their full-time studies or to take out commercial debts at high interest rates.
“We hope our results will lead to deeper conversations about the insufficiency of the current maintenance support packages, how much the imputed parental contribution should be and whether it is unreasonable to expect most full-time students to have to find lots of paid work even during term time.”
Josh Freeman, one of the authors of the report, said: “These findings demonstrate three serious risks to UK higher education: access to higher education becomes more unequal, the quality of the student experience suffers and the sustainability of the sector is put at risk.
“The harm students currently face cannot be overstated.
“Too many students are struggling to cover their basic costs, let alone participate fully in higher education.
“It is not only good policy: there is a moral imperative to give students a fair chance of succeeding and thriving in higher education.”
A spokesperson for Universities UK said: “Going to university is an investment in your future, and no-one should have their experience of higher education limited due to financial pressures.
“Universities already offer scholarships, bursaries and hardship support for students who are struggling, but this research shows that the maintenance package just doesn’t go far enough.
“This is why we are calling on the Government to increase maintenance support offered to students to better track inflation and living costs, so that everyone with the potential to succeed can do so, whatever their background.”
