Stay at home students change university life as we know it

Faced with the prospect of burgeoning debt, significant numbers are opting to stay put and no longer fly the nest for their first taste of independence, an experience many have taken for granted for years.

Eight out of ten pay no rent to their families and of those that do, the majority pay just a token to the running of household. Their preference for new universities in metropolitan centres has led to researchers dubbing them the 'Metros', as opposed to 'Retros' who still adopt a more traditional approach.

Metro students commute for up to four hours day. They are five times more likely to have part-time paid employment during term-time than their counterparts living in halls, and two thirds never join in with campus social life, according to The 2006 Sodexho University Lifestyle Survey.

After university halls, living at home is the second most popular option and is adopted by two out of ten students, or 449,488 of the 2,247,440 recorded student population, the report says. Students who live at home are three times more likely to attend a modern university than a traditional or red-brick institution.

Professor Stuart Sanderson, associate dean at Bradford University School of Management, said: "These findings bear out what many of us working in higher education have suspected for a little time: that increasingly students are choosing their university because of their lifestyle choice as well as class and income.
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"There is a clear group of students who worry more about being saddled with a huge debt when they graduate, and have adapted the traditional university lifestyle. They live at home, commute long-distances, work in term-time and pursue their social life almost entirely off campus.

"They are missing out on the wider aspects of a university education while better-off undergraduates can spread their wings and whoop it up a little with their peers. The value of a degree remains undiminished. Students see it as a passport to a specific occupation and a better quality of life."

Peter Taylor, head of universities for Sodexho, said: "Many students have to juggle their studies with part-time jobs. Therefore it is very important for us to help improve their daily life by providing services which meet their needs and busy lifestyles. This survey helps us understand what these needs are and enables us to work with universities to provide suitable solutions."

Published first in 2004, the Sodexho survey is unique in the questions it asks. It shows students are becoming increasingly alert to third-world poverty and their environment. Half felt it was important to buy Fairtrade and farm assured produce.

A third of students work part-time during term-time, with half who work doing 11-20 hours a week. Working in retail is the most popular job. But having a job is no guarantee of financial comfort. One in five students who work survives on less than £30 a week.

Although one in four students expects to graduate debt-free - up from one in ten two years ago - most estimate they will graduate with an average debt of £11,345. For those living at home, the figure is £9,418.

The Sodexho survey questioned 2,200 students at 112 institutions using an on-line poll.