TARGETcourses Postgraduate Study and Funding Survey

Transcription

1 TARGETcourses Postgraduate Study and Funding Survey February 2014 Is there a crisis looming in UK postgraduate education? In a competitive job market, many students look for a postgraduate qualification to enhance their employability or become more specialised. But how and why do they choose a particular course and university? What are the barriers to enrolling on a course? Why do so many want to study outside the UK? And are increased indebtedness and concerns over finances very real threats to the viability of postgraduate education in the UK? GTI Media Ltd, February The ideas, concepts, printed matter and graphics portrayed in this document are the copyright of GTI Media Ltd part of Group GTI. They may not be copied, reproduced or used without the prior written permission of GTI Media Ltd. 1

2 Introduction, contents and key findings Introduction The survey was online on targetcourses.co.uk for three weeks from 21 January to 9 February 2014 and, in addition, students on our TARGETjobs database who registered an interest in postgraduate study were invited to take part. We received 1,933 survey completions, an indication that postgraduate study, despite the costs involved, is still a popular choice for students. Students were asked questions about what drives them to consider postgraduate study; what influences their choice of institution; and how they plan to finance their studies. The results of the survey were revealed at the fourth annual TARGETcourses Course Providers Forum at the TARGETcourses Midlands Postgraduate Study and Funding Fair on 19 February Many responses were coloured by a tangible concern with costs and funding, which, if they were to affect students ability to undertake PG study in the UK, could create a crisis in HE in years to come. We haven t yet experienced the direct effects of increased personal debt on career choice that will come from the recent introduction of higher fees. The first cohort is graduating soon, however, and this survey shows that funding and finance issues are front of mind. Many of the same questions were asked in the 2013 survey, enabling comparisons to be made and trends to be identified. New for 2014 is the segmenting of respondents by degree subject*, nationality and pre-university education, allowing us to identify differences in response between groups. We have included analysis of the respondent pool by group in italics in each section. *Degree subject: we split respondents into four main groupings: engineering; science; arts and humanities; social science (including business, management and law) Key findings The top two reasons for wanting to do postgraduate study are a passion for the subject and to get a better job. Over 20% are actively considering postgraduate study in subjects different from their undergraduate degree. Although most plan to go straight into PG study, a significant percentage of UK students plan to wait a few years, perhaps influenced by the need to accumulate funds first. The main reason for choice of university was the reputation of the department and the course not the university. The main reasons for choice of course were the subject matter followed by close links with industry. More than a quarter of state-educated UK students plan to live at home while studying. Nearly 60% had been encouraged by their department to stay at their university to continue their studies and this is a growing trend. The top two reasons for not enrolling on a PG course were the same as in 2013 and 2012: the cost and the lack of funding available. Just over 60% expected to work part-time during their course to keep their heads above water. Nearly half said they would borrow money from their family to finance their study. With cost being an issue, the interest in part-time and online courses increased again in % said that they would consider taking a postgraduate course outside the UK with USA, Canada and Germany the most popular destinations. The level of fees (often lower than in the UK) are a significant reason for their choice. Over 70% were confident or very confident about landing a related job but men were much more confident than women; engineers more confident than arts students and international students most confident of all. Contents Making choices...3 Support and advice...5 Finance and funding...6 Studying outside the UK...8 Confidence in the future...9 Issues and concerns...9 2

3 Making choices Figure 1 What are the 3 main reasons you are considering postgraduate study? Tick 3 answers The reasons students give for choosing postgraduate study, university and course The top two reasons for wanting to undertake postgraduate study were the same as in the 2012 and 2013 surveys: a passion for the subject and to get a better job. These were considered to be much more important than anything else. The percentage of arts graduates choosing PG study to get a better job (52%) was much lower than engineering graduates (70%). Over a fifth are actively considering postgraduate study in subjects different from their undergraduate degree. The main reason is because they don t want a career related to their degree. But a quarter of arts graduates and social science grads say it s because they don t think they ll get a job otherwise (not such a concern for science and engineering graduates) and only 7% of arts graduates say it s because they don t enjoy their first degree. Although most respondents say that they plan to go straight into PG study, a significant percentage plan to wait, perhaps influenced by the need to accumulate funds. UK nationals are much more likely to plan PG study a few years after their first degree: 67% of international students plan to go straight onto PG study compared to 56% of UK students. Arts graduates are least likely to go straight into postgraduate study (56%). Science graduates most likely (64%) Figure 2 Are you considering postgraduate courses in a similar subject area to your first degree? Figure 3 Why are you considering postgraduate courses where the subject is different from your first degree? Figure 4 When are you thinking of doing a postgraduate course? 3

4 The reputation of the department and the course was considered to be the most important reason for the choice of university, ahead of the reputation of the university itself. The least significant reason given was the social life on campus and in the town a measure of the commitment necessary to undertake postgraduate study. Department reputation is more important than university reputation for all groups, although international students rate place in league table much higher than UK students. The importance of location is a bigger factor in 2014 than Social life is a relatively unimportant factor in choice for all groups. When it came to choosing the actual course, the subject matter, not surprisingly, is the major factor followed by strong links with industry which is consistent with their desire that postgraduate study will help them get a job. Interest in the subject matter is the main reason for all groups to choose a course. Since 2012, there has been a growth in the percentage of respondents citing Because there is funding attached as a major factor: 8% in 2012 compared to 12% in Most plan to live in rented accommodation with 18% saying that they will live at home. The overall figures are distorted by the difference between state-educated and privately-educated students: 26% of the former plan to live at home, compared to 16% of the latter. International students are very unlikely to be able to do so, of course, and this too inflates the percentage planning to live in rented accommodation. Figure 5 What are the most important reasons for choosing a particular university? No 1 rankings Figure 6 What are the most important reasons for choosing a particular course? No 1 rankings Figure 7 Where will you live while studying for your postgraduate degree? 4

5 Support and advice Figure 8 Which of the following statements do you agree with? Where do students go for information, advice and support? Students find their information first and foremost from the websites of the universities offering the courses that interest them, followed by specialist course portal sites like targetcourses.co.uk which help them narrow down the alternatives and to find out more about funding. This has been at the expense of advice and information given by their academic department which has been slowly falling in importance as a factor for the last three years. Their own careers service, too, is an important source of advice and information. The last three years has also seen a growth in the number of respondents who received positive encouragement from their undergraduate tutors to stay at their own university for postgraduate study. Nearly 60% of those surveyed had been encouraged not to move university to continue their studies. Universities work very hard to retain their undergrads and this pressure is growing: 51% in 2012, 55% in 2013 and 58% in 2014 of students received encouragement to stay on at their university for PG study. In terms of nationality, international students recorded the highest positive encouragement rate at 65%, reflecting the importance of the additional fees they bring to the institution. Figure 9 Did you receive positive encouragement from your department to stay at your current university for postgraduate study? 5

6 Finance and funding Figure 10 What are the 2 major factors that would stop you enrolling on a postgraduate course? Please tick only 2. Students views on the costs of postgraduate study and the barriers to taking up a place The top two reasons in 2014 for not enrolling on a PG course were the same as in 2013 and 2012: the cost and the lack of funding available. The financial barriers to postgraduate study were again reinforced by a significant percentage considering accepting a job offer to be a factor stopping them from continuing their studies. Those who had attended state schools have more of an issue with cost/funding: 61% of state-educated respondents compared to 49% privately educated cited expense and lack of funding as major factors. 44% said that they would commit up to 3,000 of their own money towards the costs of postgraduate study but there was a slight increase in the percentage that would pay more compared to Engineering and social science students are much more willing to spend over 10K on PG study than arts and science students. Independently-educated respondents and international students are more likely to spend over 5K of their own money than those with a state education: Independently-educated 35%, international 38% and state-educated only 22%. Just over 60% expect to work part-time during their course to keep their heads above water (same as last year) and about the same number are relying on funding through the Research Councils or the university. Nearly half say that they would borrow money from their family (presumably if no statutory funding was available) a staggeringly large percentage. There could be a reality shock in store for the 60% who are looking for bursaries and studentships and the 32% planning a bank loan. They will not all be successful and may be lost to PG study as a result. Figure 11 How much of your own money are you willing to pay to finance your postgraduate course? Figure 12 How do you intend to finance your course? Select 3 most likely sources of funding 6

7 As expected from their earlier response to the question of choice of university, university websites were the most accessed source of funding information followed by portal sites like targetcourses.co.uk and their careers service. There is not much difference between groups except that UK nationals are marginally less likely to turn to university websites. They rely more on careers services and fairs than EU and international students do. With cost being an issue, the interest in part-time and online courses increased again in The percentage saying yes to part-time/online courses has, in fact, been steadily growing since 2012: %, % and %. There is a difference between state- and privately-educated too: 36% state-educated say a definite yes to part-time/online compared to 28% with private education. Figure 13 How have you researched the various ways to finance postgraduate study? Please tick all that apply Figure 14 Would you consider a part-time or online course if it were available in your chosen subject area? 7

8 Studying outside the UK Figure 15 Are you thinking about taking a postgraduate course outside the UK? What are the reasons that students give for wanting to study outside the UK? 35% of respondents said that they would consider taking a postgraduate course outside the UK. This is a small fall from the 40% in last year s survey but it s still a popular option. Nearly half of engineering students would consider PG study abroad: significantly more than social science students (37%) and arts students (34%). The privately-educated are more willing to consider it than the state-educated: 34% v 27%. International students are the most willing of all groups to study outside the UK. The most important reason given was the desire to experience a different culture or to learn a new language. The second most important reason was because the fees were lower, which represents a change from 2013 when this was considered a less important reason than to enhance employment prospects. It s clear from students responses that it s not a reflection on the quality of postgraduate education in the UK, it s just that it has become more affordable and more courses are being taught in English. As in 2013, the USA and Canada top the list of desired destinations but the highest riser has been Germany which replaces Australia/NZ in third place. The Scandinavian countries, Holland and Belgium follow all European countries which have been quickest to introduce courses taught in English and with reduced/zero fees. Figure 16 Why are you considering postgraduate study outside the UK. Tick all that apply. Figure 17 Which countries are you looking at for postgraduate study? Tick all that apply 8

9 Confidence in the future For the first time, we asked students about their confidence, after completing PG study, of getting a related job. Over 70% of respondents were confident or very confident but there were significant differences between groups. Men are more confident than women: 27% of men were very confident compared to 16% of women. International students are twice as confident as UK nationals. Arts students are the least confident: 13% saying they were very confident compared to 33% of engineering students. Those who had a private education are more confident than internationally-educated students who are more confident than state-educated students. Those professing to be confident or very confident about getting a relevant job were: Privatelyeducated 80%; International 77%; State-educated 68%. Figure 18 How confident are you, after completing postgraduate study, that you will get a related job? Issues and concerns At the end of the survey, respondents were asked if they had further comments on postgraduate study that could be published in this Report. There were five main issues and concerns that arose: The cost of PG study Clearer advice about funding Make the application process more straightforward More flexible course structures More focus on the employability benefits of the course Here is a selection of some of the more representative comments in their own words: Provide more affordable and flexible ways of paying That mature students have financial commitments that make it harder to finance post-grad studies and more could be done to help them access courses. The cost of some courses is ridiculous. This puts people who are from poorer backgrounds off further study. Universities are missing maybe attracting some of the best people in certain fields because the price to go there is just too much. The difference between tuition fee for local and international students is way too big. The majority of young people are not applying for courses, due to the rise in course fees More information please about how to fund postgraduate study There should be links on course descriptions to sources of funding. The process is quite unclear, should be more uniform Make application deadlines clearer More work placements and employability modules More online postgraduate courses would be great because it's so much easier to finance yourself Universities should look at the employability of graduates when designing courses Courses should be structured to meet industry requirements Universities should increase links with business and support their students to get internships Make employability record clear to applicants as this is why we re studying This report was written by Chris Phillips, Information and Research Director and compiled by Emma Newton, Client Marketing and PR Executive, GTI Media. If you have any questions or want to raise any issues, please contact: chris.phillips@groupgti.com For other research reports and releases from GTI Media, please go to: gtimedia.co.uk/media February