Financial difficulties see increase in drop-outs

An increasing number of students are dropping out of university across the UK and rising tuition fees are putting off potential graduates from completing their university degrees.

These figures emerge at the same time as the Nuffield Review which talks of “the neglect of working-class adolescents” by schools.

However, whilst research has shown that across the board, universities are struggling to retain students, Warwick University has managed to keep drop-out rates low.

The Daily Telegraph reported that at London Metropolitan University, 48 per cent of students were expected to leave their course before they graduated.

Yet Warwick still maintains a 2.7 per cent drop out rate according to official figures. University Press Officer, Peter Dunn, said that that this was a “reflection on the students’ academic excellence”.

Nonetheless, the ability of top institutions to retain students has been said by some to be impacted by the domination of wealthy students in universities.

For example, Oxford University, whose drop out rate is 1.9 per cent, still has an extremely large population of private school pupils entering its doors. With 53 per cent of its undergraduates having attended state schools, this is 23 per cent behind what is expected of it.

St Andrews, Bristol and Durham continue to be amongst the worst offenders in their exclusion of state school pupils. Warwick is also below its benchmark of 80 per cent, with one quarter of its students having attended private schools.

The failure of top universities to recruit more students from lower economic backgrounds provoked the President of the National Union of Students, Wes Streeting, to state, “These figures show that universities are getting even worse at widening participation from students from poorer backgrounds, despite promising to work harder in this area in return for the ability to charge top-up fees.”

Financial worries have impacted on many people’s decisions on whether to have attended university or not.

Indeed, one first year English student spoke of her concern about paying back university debt, “especially in this economic climate”.

“It is not my wish to leave university heavily indebted. When my parents went to university, most things were paid for by the government. I think that the prospect of £20,000 to pay back as a graduate will put off many potential candidates for university,” she added.

The debate on tuition fees continues, with the NUS now advocating a graduate tax. Whilst, in a BBC survey, half of the vice chancellors who answered said they supported tuition fees rising to £5,000 per year.

Warwick offers help to students who are struggling to cope with money issues.

One example is the Warwick Undergraduate Aid Program, which offers £1,800 per year to students whose annual family income is equal to or less than £36,000.

Less working-class people applying to top universities can also be a symptom of misinformation.

One programme led by Warwick, called Pathways to Law, aims to educate pupils from less privileged backgrounds in the local area.

A first year law student who participates in the scheme said how makes university “much more accessible” to people who would be the first in their family to carry on to higher education and who would not have the information that other people would have.

Even though Warwick has missed its benchmark for its acceptance of state-school pupils, students who were interviewed talked about the distinct lack of a private school atmosphere in the university.

“It’s got an excellent mix”, said one undergraduate, “The majority of people I know came from state-school backgrounds”.

Peter Dunn remarked upon the arbitrary nature of the socio-economic targets. “I remember when the benchmark we were given was 76 per cent. As soon as we achieved that they moved it and is now 80 per cent…the university is committed to achieving access for the academically able from all income backgrounds.”