How Universities Can Develop a Cost-of-Living Action Plan
As energy bills and inflation rise throughout winter, those working towards improving and enhancing student experience in higher education are under pressure to adapt and think creatively about the resources and support they provide. The cost-of-living crisis is a huge concern across the sector; while disadvantaged students in particular struggle with rising prices, so too do institutions as the cost of maintaining buildings increases.
Importantly, the cost-of-living crisis will not just have an impact on singular departments within universities; it will affect all kinds of practitioners working in student support, from those dedicated to improving mental wellbeing to those in widening participation roles.
This blog piece outlines practical solutions providers can take to support their students during this time. The guidance covers the work of different departments across institutions. It includes examples from across the sector, highlighting the innovative work professionals are undertaking to continue their commitment to front-line delivery for students.
Set Up a University-Wide Taskforce
The cost-of-living crisis, directly or indirectly, will affect professional services across the higher education sector. Whether it’s mental wellbeing services trying to cope with heightened demand and urgency, or campus and estates departments attempting to allocate their resources in new ways, practitioners will be experiencing increased strain on their services.
It’s clear that a multi-pronged approach is necessary for what is a complex crisis. Setting up a taskforce that includes representation from across the university is a vital resource for developing this approach.
When setting up your taskforce, all departments should be represented. Senior leadership should be involved in the project from the outset, and their communications should be encouraging, stressing the importance of inter-departmental collaboration.
Student representatives are also an important inclusion. While many staff across professional services will have excellent working knowledge of the challenges faced by students, feedback from the students themselves is invaluable. Reach out to SU committees and ensure their participation is treated with the same importance as that of your staff. This inclusion will also indicate to students that your institution is taking the crisis and their concerns seriously, which may help to ease student anxiety in the coming months.
The University of St Andrews recently embarked a project like this, and there are many takeaways to be extracted from their approach. By encouraging university-wide participation in their Cost of Living Taskforce, they have developed a number of innovative strategies for supporting students, both small and large, including:
Partnering with local travel providers to secure subsidised tickets for students
Increasing spending on student discretionary funds
Developing resources, bursaries and support with the Careers Centre
Uplifting postgraduate research stipends
Reviewing existing scholarships and bursary provision
Delivering a cost-of-living raise to all staff
Working with the Students’ Association to produce a comprehensive Cost-of-Living guide
Offering a 50% discount on food served in university buildings
Partnering with local community through the University Community Fund
Keeping university buildings open and heated for students and staff to use, with signposting on a dedicated website
Providing an online form for students to submit feedback and ideas to the Taskforce
The strategies undertaken by staff at St Andrews include a mixture of immediate deliverables as well as other provisions that will be rolled out on a longer-term basis throughout the academic year.
The development of a university-wide approach will enable you to identify what departments are under greater strain than others. During this time, it’s important that colleagues from across the university support one another; if some have greater capacity than others, try to find places and ways that they can support the services that will be under the most pressure, such as mental wellbeing and finance departments.
Points to consider when building a cost-of-living taskforce:
Ensure all departments are represented
Encourage student participation and representation
Get senior leadership on board from the outset
Ask departments under less strain to support those whose capacity is limited
Deliver Effective Communications and Outreach
While developing your objectives is one step in your cost-of-living action plan, communicating the measures you are putting in place and delivering outreach work to identify at-risk students are equally important.
Without clear signposting or accessible information, students may struggle to make use of adaptation to and enhancement of your services.
Your signposting should be obvious, direct and easy to access. Many institutions across the sector are publishing Cost of Living ‘hubs’ on their website, such as the University of Leeds, the University of Nottingham and Queen’s University Belfast. Some key highlights from these examples include:
Making links to mental wellbeing services prominent, such as Nottingham’s My Wellbeing Hub
Publishing information about future or planned developments, such as QUB’s plans to provide free public transport for students
Categorising different concerns and offering a drop-down menu of potential solutions
Including a mixture of existing or extra support the university offers and steps students can take to build their financial education, such as tips on budgeting and finding part-time work
Directing students to support beyond the university, such as the Disabled Students Allowance, the Adults’ Dependants’ Grant and the Care Experienced Students Bursary
Giving and fundraising teams may deliver cost-of-living communications to encourage benefactors to support students during this time
Make sure that any pages where students may look if they have financial concerns link to your cost-of-living information. This could include Fees and Funding pages, but also the webpages of mental wellbeing services.
Given the persistent stigma around discussing financial hardship, it’s unlikely that all students will feel comfortable coming forward to ask for help, despite a strong communications campaign. This is where the work your institution performs to identify at-risk students is critical.
Collaboration between departments is vital. For example, you might ask:
Academic staff to report back on signs of financial hardship, such as low attainment or engagement.
Mental health support services to share information, with the consent of students, with financial support teams.
Student unions or representatives to direct and signpost students to the support you can provide. Those working with high-risk groups, such as Access Officers, should promote the support you are providing. For example, they might consider running drop-in sessions in which students can come and learn more about the options available to them.
You may also try some more targeted interventions, such as delivering webinars or workshops on how to apply for hardship funding or undertake part-time work. Offering sessions such as these reduces the burden on students to come forward and disclose their financial concerns, while still providing them with tools to navigate the current economic climate.
Build Student Financial Capability
The additional support you provide to students facing the cost-of-living crisis is extremely important, but it’s also crucial to work towards building students’ ability to manage their finances.
The financial climate is affecting all students, but it will affect some more than others. Especially as universities themselves are also struggling with rising prices and limited resources, equipping students with the skills to be self-sufficient will be key in ensuring that your resources are allocated to those in greater need.
Delivering forms of financial education is an effective way to do this, and those working across finance in your institution will have a roster of knowledge and tips that your students can learn from. Some great examples from across the sector include:
Delivering events and updates on what your institution is doing to support staff and students through the crisis, such as the University of Birmingham’s event ‘Bringing Birmingham to You: Cost of Living Crisis’.
Using your cost-of-living online information to direct students to external resources, such as the Money Saving Expert or Save the Student budget calculators.
Publishing a blog with key tips and advice, such as the University of Northampton’s ‘Money Matters’ blog, written and coordinated by the Financial Guidance Team.
Organising teaching and learning sessions, such as webinars on handling money.
The more opportunities you provide for students to discuss monetary concerns, the less stigma is attached to these conversations. Students from low socioeconomic backgrounds have reported experiencing shame or embarrassment when discussing finances. However, rising living costs are making these discussions more commonplace and normalising them, which can have beneficial outcomes for students of all backgrounds.
Your careers services can also be a valuable resource for supporting students in this time. Employability professionals should invest time into supporting students who need to find part-time work.
LSE have published a series of online blogs written by their students. These pieces range from guidance on how to balance part-time work with your studies to finding on-campus work opportunities. Importantly, links to this content are included in the university’s online guidance on budgeting while living in London.
As students feel financial pressure, it’s likely that many will over-commit their time to working, leading to less focus on their studies. Make sure your careers service practitioners are comfortable having conversations with students about what working while studying may entail by providing targeted training or an information pack with guidance on how to conduct these discussions.
In the case that students’ academic work does suffer as a result of needing to undertake increased paid work, provide guidance on how students can approach their teachers or departments for support. This might include:
Publishing extensive and clear information on applying for deadline extensions and mitigating circumstances.
Asking academic staff to identify common signs of students struggling with financial or mental health problems, such as low engagement.
Considering a variety of alternative methods of assessment to suit the needs of a diverse student body.
Here, there are lessons to be learned from how universities responded to the pandemic. The University of Exeter discussed and agreed on alternative approaches to assessment along with their student guild and union. They provided students with a choice of three assessment formats and agreed to work with students who had difficulties accessing internet or a computer, along with the implementation of a simplified mitigation process.
These measures could be similarly helpful in the face of the cost-of-living crisis. Providing students with an array of different assessment options that they can undertake flexibly will enable them to manage other commitments, such as part-time work, with their studies.
Continuing the Cost-of-Living Conversation
As living costs rise, it’s likely that practitioners in higher education will face more challenges in delivering their services. This blog article has outlined three key areas in which you can begin to mitigate these concerns, but it’s crucial to ensure that you are responding to the unique needs of the students in your institution.
One of the most effective ways of ensuring your cost-of-living action plan is dynamic and impactful is by engaging with the sector at large and learning from examples. Sign up to our free weekly roundup below to receive free, implementation-focused content straight to your inbox.
