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The shape of student financial support in 2024 Insights trends on the usage of financial support paid to 163 000 students via Aspire during the 2023 24 academic year
Table Of Contents Foreword 3 The Year In Numbers 4 Executive Summary 5 2024 Landscape 6 Awards Engagement Timeline 8 Awards Usage Priorities 13 Conclusions Sector Implications 20 Methodology Demographics 24
Foreword The 23 24 academic year has been one of significant upheaval for the UK s higher education sector and we are still coping with unprecedented headwinds facing university finances despite the announcement from the Education Secretary on lifting the cap on tuition fees to 9 535 for the 25 26 year Equally the financial pressures on students themselves have never been so challenging Coping with the cost of living crisis an increase in part time working a rise in commuter students and the accompanying challenges on retention progression and continuation these are all now embedded features of university life There is little if any national level evidence on how bursaries and scholarships impact universities and their students but through JS Group s data driven expertise drawing on our unique Aspire partnership platform we are able to identify patterns that all HEIs can learn from This report draws on specific evidence from 163 000 students who have benefitted from 40m of specialist funding from our 30 university partners over the last academic year We ve also captured more than 4 000 student user opinions through our own student feedback report We aim to encourage all universities to explore these insights into the levels of investment our partners have made the speed of delivery of funds to the student the timings of fund use and how students use those funds This year we are working with more universities and many more students and thereby have been able to increase the scale and richness of our data and impact This ability to provide highly valuable intelligence on student funding allows us to make a special contribution to UK higher education It moves us closer to our commitment to achieving a gold standard delivery in financial support for students especially those from underrepresented segments of our society Peter Gray CEO JS Group Page 3
The Year In Numbers 39 8m in financial support distributed as cash credit and food vouchers 33 funding organisations 31 universities 1 FE college 1 philanthropic provider 162 980 student beneficiaries 786 unique fund types 244 average allocated funds per person 93 of cash funds used in year Page 4 2 4 average cash transactions per student 62 of cash funds drawn for core cost of living purposes 12 Up to savings made to cycle back into student support
Executive Summary Last year we highlighted in our conclusions that with more partners we would be able to deliver deeper insight into the needs of students with the aim of supporting both our partners and the wider sector in getting the balance right between how much support to give when to give it and in what format to drive the best outcomes in terms of recruitment retention and student experience We are moving closer to that goal this year we can report on the actual usage of both cash and in kind financial support from over 160 000 students across 8 Million Plus 7 University Alliance 5 Guild HE and 4 Russell Group partners which helps to build the evidence base we need Reaching almost 800 individual fund code categories this year it is difficult to make direct comparisons to last year However for in kind support we see a progressive movement toward digital products and other services with a gradual reduction in the need for physical books which evidences the phenomenal job universities are doing in providing digital content For cash we are seeing barely any reduction from 63 to 62 on the core cost of living items of food rent and bills that we saw last year which highlights the continuing cost of living pressures students are finding themselves in With feedback from over 4 000 students we are also able to highlight the student voice and by analysing open text data we can catch a glimpse into the challenges students face and the variety of need Perhaps though of most interest is our growing understanding of when and for what purpose students use cash and in kind support that helps us best understand the true need rather than the stated want As this rich tapestry comes together we feel we are now pulling on the thread that will better help us and our partners understand how when and in what format to give financial support to reach the best outcomes Page 5
2024 Landscape The provider landscape Universities are under increasing financial pressure from rising costs and a tightening of student numbers leading to cutting costs driving efficiencies greater competition to recruit and retain students the importance of demonstrating that funding awarded to students meets their actual needs and delivers value Aspire Cash has significantly improved our service in terms of reducing time reducing cost and improving the student experience Ian Ashley Financial Support and Frontline Support Manager University of Chester The student landscape Students are facing choice limiting cost challenges financial struggles working more hours to help meet costs more are commuting students they want a greater sense of belonging and more contact They need access to suitable equipment and digital resources Having to work go to university and manage a new home was exhausting and extremely expensive Having that little bit of help changed everything With the money I have managed to come to uni every day without worrying about transportation funds or lunches and even supplies This has taken a huge weight off my shoulders Student Page 6
Awards 0 1 E n g a g e m e n t Timeline Section Title
Aspire in 2023 24 In 2023 24 40 million of student financial support has been allocated through Aspire via cash credit and voucher awards to over 160 000 beneficiaries by 33 funding institutions including 31 universities 1 FE provider and 1 philanthropic funder With almost 800 distinct award types in 23 24 we have seen Aspire become the channel for distributing an increasingly broad range of awards including universal and WP awards Turing funds NHS and DFE bursaries transport reimbursement research funding food vouchers Providers using various award types emergency hardship loans care experienced and estranged student bursaries scholarships stipends and many many more Changes from 22 23 to 23 24 More types of funding More cash awards More mixed portfolios credit cash and voucher Cash uptake by students was slightly higher earlier This year over two thirds of cash funds was drawn down within a week compared to just under half last year Likely due to increased use of cash for hardship awards with immediate need Page 9
Engagement With Funding Cash Engagement Students allocated cash funds in 23 24 Credit Engagement Students allocated credit funds in 23 24 89 65 of students drew of students drew some or all of some or all of their cash funds their credit funds 93 71 of allocated cash funds withdrawn of allocated credit funds withdrawn Understanding student engagement Whether cash or credit students have the flexibility to use allocated funds as and when they need being able to spend credit or withdraw cash 24 7 365 days a year Patterns of engagement indicate that students use Aspire for budgeting purposes with an average 2 4 transactions for cash awards and some credit awards being utilised over the full term of students studies Credit funds are often spent later 85 or rolled into the following year to purchase resources This starts to build a picture of the difference between urgent needs such as the cost of living or for resources needed in the longer term of students agreed that the ability to choose when and how to withdraw helped them to budget Page 10
Two Kinds Of Timeline Speed Flexibility With Aspire cash can be in students accounts in less than 15 minutes Data shows that over half of cash funding is withdrawn within a day of being allocated This is particularly key for emergency and hardship funding which makes up nearly 20 of the cash portfolio 88 of students agreed that withdrawing funds was fast and easy of total funds drawn in specified timeframes after allocation in 2023 24 credit funds often roll over and are used during the full lifecycle Cash funds often have one year limit on use Resource planning efficiencies Unused funds are retained and tracked in the Aspire system Any funding allocated to students who are unable to continue their course can be reclaimed by the provider as savings or used for reallocation to other students in need of support allowing for efficiencies Credit funds can be ringfenced against specific types of resource and they may roll over to the next year From student feedback we know that some will save funds against known future costs such as textbooks for the following year Page 11
THE STUDENT VOICE In August 2024 over four thousand students gave us feedback on Aspire Cash and what 0 1 the financial support they have received has meant to them Flexible I can choose when to take money out and how much which helps me allocate expenses accordingly S e c t i o n T i t l e Empowering Gave me confidence and control over my future Motivating Inspired me to work harder and stay committed Transformative Changed my circumstances and opened new opportunities Enabling Allowed access to resources and opportunities previously out of reach Liberating Freed me from financial stress to focus on my goals
Awards Usage Priorities
Cash Award Usage What are cash awards used for Using Aspire Cash students can withdraw as much of their cash award as they wish when they choose in as many separate transactions as they want At each withdrawal they are asked to select the reason for drawing the funds from a short drop down menu They can also select Other and enter a short free text response The top categories by total sum withdrawn are shown below Combining Bills Accommodation and Groceries we see that Cost of Living needs account for 62 of cash funding withdrawn very little change from last year s 63 despite some easing of the initial crisis Accommodation has replaced Groceries in second place reflecting the ongoing rise in rental costs Page 14
Cash Spend Priorities Almost one third of cash awards issued are for WP students based on household income Other core categories for cash awards include Hardship or emergency awards Under represented students e g Carers Asylum seekers Career related and Placement funding e g NHS DfE Travel transport e g Travel reimbursement Commuter funds Study abroad e g Turing fund Disability e g DSA laptop award DSA top up While some students may have multiple types of financial support we can see some broad patterns of need across different award categories Under represented fund recipients 2 230 students includes parents and carers we see a higher proportion of funds drawn for childcare amongst students holding this category of award While bills and accommodation hold the top two places overall Bills account for 33 of funds withdrawn by Hardship emergency award beneficiaries 11 086 students against an average of 24 Accommodation also peaks at 33 compared to 22 overall amongst Loan recipients 252 students Most of these are welfare or emergency loans Page 15
THE STUDENT VOICE 0 1 Funding has been empowering enabling me to fully focus on my studies without the constant worry of financial burdens It has provided me with the resources needed to access essential S e c t i o n T i t l e academic materials participate in valuable extracurricular activities and even attend conferences that enhance my learning experience
Open Text Key Themes Where students chose to enter free text reasons for their cash withdrawal we have conducted a qualitative analysis Over 3 500 comments were reviewed A large number of themes were identified with those shown below illustrating just a few This data while representing a very small proportion of total funding uses is nonetheless a rich addition to the overall picture of student life and needs Cost of Living To live on to feed my kids Help with day2day living costs Groceries and paying off overdraft Life Events Hotel homelessness Baby and hospital essentials Death of close family member Debt Consolidate debts Rent arrears Pay off debt collector Health Wellbeing Crutches laptop credit debt Travel food mobility aids Assistive equipment fee Car fuel and placement parking Transport Commuting university via train Emergency repairs to the car Page 17
In kind Credit Awards The use of Aspire credit funds can be analysed in detail with data drawn from online shop transactions Goods and services fall into three main areas Digital resources such as laptops headphones tablets and peripherals Course resources books stationery and equipment such as art supplies medical equipment catering equipment etc Other products services which includes essentials such as bedding kitchenware and bags in addition to society memberships sport fitness goods clothing and many other categories credit spend by categories Page 18
Meeting Core Needs Some credit awards are ringfenced for specific areas such as Laptops Specific course resources defined by faculty Society memberships Others are open for any spend category You can buy anything from there you could imagine From books stationery school supplies to nursing supplies which is handy for me doing nursing to kitchen home appliances clothes etc Student Broadly the distribution of spend has seen little change year on year from 22 23 Within categories however we do observe some changes Course resources continues to show a slow but steady decrease in book sales continuing a ten year trend that reflects the work done by HEIs to increase provision of online resources Within other products services there has been a notable increase in 23 24 in the home and accommodation segment led by kitchen and home electricals and personal care products Digital resources maintain over half of the share of credit spend The Jisc Student Digital Experience report published in Sept 2024 found that while universities are continuing to improve the student digital experience students do not always have access to the right devices indeed we see evidence in our open text data that some students are taking on private debt in order to purchase suitable devices After feedback from student focus groups last year JS Group introduced refurbished Apple Macs to the shop this year They have proven a popular option for students to access affordable and highspec devices Page 19
Conclusions Sector Implications
Conclusions As a well embedded partner for UK universities in tackling the efficiency and effectiveness of student funding JS Group now has an ever growing and substantial data set which reveals how this money is taken up by students The last academic year ending July 2024 has generated extremely insightful data patterns reflecting the use of such funds Particularly pertinent are the ongoing cost pressures arising from the aftermath of the peak of inflationary living the continuing struggle for student belonging engagement and continuation and the drive for better connecting financial support to student success outcomes We can also see the increase in the range of financial support streams now available this now stands at 786 from our annual data set with an average student allocation of 244 the growth in demand for far more cash based support than support simply delivered via vouchers and credits and a faster draw down of available cash funds by students two thirds now access this money within a week 62 of the cash drawn by students is used for coping with daily costof living pressures only marginally down from 63 in the academic year ending 2023 Our student survey also highlights the growth in demand for self ownership of funds the positivity that comes with empowered funding and the transformative power of Aspire as a fast accessible and user friendly system Our analysis points to three particular opportunities for universities Increasing the pace of delivery for scholarships bursaries and such funds as students want these made available to them more quickly and easily Allowing flexibility in the use of this funding at a time when daily living costs are still a priority while recognising that such investment also has the power to strengthen engagement and retention Understanding particular needs for students such as improving their digital access paying for devices supportive technologies online subscriptions that will strengthen their learning experience Page 21
Sector Implications UK higher education is in the eye of a storm The current financial pressures on universities are challenging and growing While operating and market conditions are frequently analysed there is less attention on what can be done immediately to bring about savings and efficiencies This isn t about directly cutting the costs of the university experience or about removing people and resources It is about finding the systems practices and expertise that can help universities to work smarter One such important area to tackle is ensuring that the significant investments that universities make in students through additional financial support is working effectively for both the investing institution and for the beneficiary During the last 12 months more than 30 universities have placed their trust in the JS Group as a partner for helping to solve this particular financial imperative The partnership technique that we deploy together based on our Aspire platform is making a real and radical difference to the management delivery and measurement of student payments We want many more universities to be able to benefit from the streamlining and the savings that our joint sector approach delivers and to derive more useful intelligence that the accompanying data as demonstrated in this report can bring By knowing when and how students are making use of their funding the sector can overhaul their student funding to provide a more cost effective and student centric approach In an under pressure climate this is a total win win for the sector it saves costs it saves that most valuable resource time and it is highly productive for students in terms of engagement commitment and satisfaction Page 22
UNIVERSITY VIEWS We are proud partners to over 30 institutions and their feedback helps us to shape Aspire to meet sector needs Here s what our partners say about Aspire Simply game changing taking the pressure off the university its resources University of Sunderland A faster more flexible and empowering approach to student payments University of Chester The right solution at the right time it s transformed our student payments function Canterbury Christchurch University Speed ease of access financial process security targeted delivery Buckinghamshire New University The Aspire Cash solution is a godsend that came at exactly the right moment University of Salford
Methodology 01 Demographics Section Title
Methodology Demographics Providers Awards were processed on behalf of 31 universities 1 FE college and 1 philanthropic provider Universities include 8 Million 7 University Alliance 5 Guild HE 4 Russell Group Beneficiaries Funds were distributed to approx 162 980 student and nonstudent beneficiaries Engagement and usage data is drawn from transactions in the 23 24 Regional distribution of providers academic year made through the Aspire system Student feedback was gathered via an optional online survey of Aspire Cash users in 2024 4 168 responses received University feedback was gathered through a series of structured conversations with 18 stakeholders at 9 universities Analysis was conducted in house by Hannah Moralee Head of Data Insights and Simon Massey Data Insights Analyst Detailed breakdown of engagement and spend data is provided to each university or provider Demographic analysis can also be undertaken in partnership with providers and sector benchmarking work is continually being developed Qualitative data is available for collaborative analysis on a range of topics Please contact us if you would like further information Page 25
References Headlines p8 Universities demand UK government finds cash for sector Financial Times 05 Sept 2024 UK student recruitment numbers down but is that the whole story HEPI 30 May 2024 Vice chancellors fear UK sector is hurtling into financial crisis Times Higher Education 18 Jan 2024 Disadvantaged pupils miss out as university entry gap hits record level in England Financial Times 24 Oct 2024 Financial struggles make it harder for students to connect and engage in their community Wonkhe 16 Oct 2024 Have laptop can travel the rise and rise of the commuter student The Guardian 19 Aug 2024 Universities viability depends on critical recruitment round Times Higher Education 01 Aug 2024 In some universities cash help per student has almost halved in five years Wonkhe 05 Jun 2024 How much does uni cost in the UK and is it worth it BBC News 17 Sept 2024 Higher education institutions in the UK are facing increasing financial pressures that threaten PwC and Universities UK January 2024 UK universities are grappling with unprecedented financial challenges Forbes 02 Sept 2024 More UK students struggle to balance paid work and studies Financial Times 12 June 2024 Other sources Advance HE Student Academic Experience Survey 2024 Cushman Wakefield UK Student Accommodation Report 2023 The Guardian More than half of UK students working long hours in paid jobs article 13 Jun 2024 HEPI A Minimum Income Standard for Students May 2024 Jisc Student digital experience insights survey 2023 24 UK higher education HE survey findings Save the Student Student Money Survey 2024 UPP Foundation UPP Foundation Student Futures Commission Two Years On March 2024 Page 26
UNIVERSITY VIEWS From a student point of view it s a phenomenally better service We can now pay a student award in as little as 25 seconds and the student can access those funds in less than 15 minutes Aspire Cash has significantly improved our service in terms of reducing time reducing cost and improving the student experience Ian Ashley Financial Support Frontline Support Manager University of Chester Page 27
About Us We are a trusted friend and expert partner currently working with 36 universities in the sector We have delivered over 250 million pounds of funding to students via Aspire and have a long history of delivering and managing student bursaries scholarships emergency cash and other student financial support in ways that drive better investment in student engagement and futures Our aspiration is to support better learner and life outcomes for all the beneficiaries we work with Our university partners report that we remove administrative and cost burdens for them while providing the data and insight that ensures maximum student benefit for their financial investment in student support Find Out More If you like to know more about Aspire or our data please get in touch we d love to hear from you Send Us An Email david marshall jsgroup co uk Director Group Board Follow Us On LinkedIn For the latest information