Working part-time at uni risks worsening inequalities, warns think tank

Kerys says last year she needed to work 15 hours per week just to cover her rent

"Sometimes I close the bar at 01:00 and then I'm at the library at 09:00, so it's pretty heavy," said student Kerys Bettles. "But I needed to work 15 hours a week just to cover my rent."

The 21-year-old is one of thousands of students trying to make ends meet by working part-time while at university.

Nearly half of UK universities now promote job opportunities on their websites, new research has found.

But some are warning that working in term time risks worsening inequalities.

"I guess university is considered to be that big leveller but it's just not if some people have to do so many hours," Ms Bettles told the BBC.

The fourth-year geography student at St Andrews University, in Scotland, said part-time work "exacerbates some of the inequalities people come into university with".

'Rich student experience'

Research by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) in June found 55% of students are now doing paid work, compared with a total of 45% of them a year previously.

And new data from the think tank shows nearly half of universities are offering help and advice about part-time working on their websites as the cost-of-living crisis intensifies.

The Institute audited the websites of all 140 members of Universities UK, an advocacy organisation for universities, and found 48% now promote part-time work.

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Josh Freeman from the Institute said: "While some students have lots of funding options, others must work upwards of 20 or 30 hours a week to fund their cost of studying.

"The problem risks exacerbating inequalities between those who don't have to work, and those who can't study without it."

"And it's not just students' studies that are affected. When money is tight, extracurricular and social activities are the first things that students give up," he said.

"It's so much harder to feel part of a community when you're spending hours and hours a week off-campus. These students may already have given up on getting a rich student experience."

'Sea change in attitudes'

Mr Freeman said universities had historically been very resistant to students working part-time during term time over fears it could impact their studies.

The fact that so many universities are now promoting part-time work "really represents a sea change in the attitude of universities", he said.

The change was due to the institutions recognising that many students have no choice but to work given the current climate, he said.

"It's worth remembering that not all universities allow students to work part-time," he added. "There are a small number like Oxford or Cambridge who expressly prohibit students from working part-time.

"If you want to go to those universities therefore you have to find another way of financing your degree other than part-time work and for some students that simply may not be possible."

St Andrews University is the third-oldest university in the UK, founded in 1413

Limit on hours

Mr Freeman also said there were many benefits for students who do part-time work while studying.

"Employers like the skills part-time work offers and it can often help people decide about what future career they might enjoy or be good at.

"The money can also help not just with living costs but also allow students to experience a fuller social life while at university.

"The general advice from universities, however, is that students who do part-time work shouldn't do more than 15-20 hours per week to prevent it affecting their studies."

But a recent survey from the National Union of Students suggested that of those students that do part-time work, nearly one in five (18%) work more than 20 hours.

Barry Will, president of the student association at St Andrews University in Fife, said part-time work was now "absolutely essential to survive" for many students.

"The reality is that students need to work more than that and so what we are about to see, and what we are already seeing, is this new landscape of inequality where the poorest students have no options but to take hits," Mr Will said.

"A lot of [student jobs have] shifted to the gig economy, to hospitality," he told BBC Radio 4's Money Box.

"It means students are often working on zero-hours contracts with complete insecurity and uncertainty about what next week's pay cheque is going to look like. The stress on that is unimaginable."

Barry Will, president of the student association at St Andrews University, says for many students part-time work "absolutely essential"

Younger students also get paid a much lower rate of the National Minimum Wage.

Whilst people aged 23 and over receive £10.42 per hour, 18-20-year-olds get nearly £3 less at £7.49 per hour.

"Unless the government does something and unless we see increases in maintenance loans, we are essentially setting up a system where the richer students can fly through it and the poorer students are constantly struggling through each year of their university degree," said Mr Will.

A statement from the Scottish government said "ministers are taking strong action to help students through the cost-of-living crisis" and ensuring "access to university is based on the ability to learn and not the ability to pay".

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