Dr. Dominic OrrFormer head of international coordination EUROSTUDENTAffiliated researcher at DZHW Hannover (http://www.dzhw.eu/en)Affiliated researcher at FiBS Research Berlin (http://fibs.eu/en/)dominicjorr@gmail.com and @DominicOrr

Student costs in comparison of 19 European countries – who has the best deal?

Higher Education Research Group, University of East London19th May 2015, 1- 2pm., UEL Cass School of Education and Communities, room venue: ED2.01

Rob Lee, CC BY 2.0 Flickr

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Student costs – the complete picture

An unhelpful, but typical approach…

Source: http://one-europe.info/eurographics/how-much-does-your-education-cost

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Outline

• Q: Who has the best deal?

• A (often): Those who don’t pay fees.

Objective of talk: To explore student costs

• …more comprehensively than usual

• …in a wider cross-country comparison than usual

• …looking at differences between student groups

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Introduction to EUROSTUDENT

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EUROSTUDENT V (2012-2015)

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EUROSTUDENT V (2012-2015)

EUROSTUDENT is an international network consisting of

• 30 countries in the EHEA

29 data contributors | 2 observing countries |4 pilot countries

• Organisations from 7 countries directly involved in the Consortium

• 3 European-level organisations & 5 ministries/ country representatives in the Steering Board

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Basic principles

• Working groups with external participation• Reference to on-going discussionsRelevance

• Core questionnaire• Handbooks on data cleaning & delivery• Standard target group

Comparability

• National comments• National profilesInterpretation

• Different reporting formats• Publicly available dataAccessibility

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Reporting formats for different purposes

(DRM)

Intelligence Briefs

Websitewww.eurostudent.eu

Twitter@EUROSTUDENTtwt

Bologna Process Implementation

Report

Data reporting module

incl. national profiles

Synopsis of Indicators

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A look at student costs using EUROSTUDENT data

Rob Lee, CC BY 2.0 Flickr

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How much does it cost to study?

-

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

SE DK NL IE FI AT DE EE SI CZ HR ME SK LV HU PL BA RS RO

MONTHLY COSTS FOR BA STUDENTS (NOT LIVING WITH PARENTS) IN EUROS AND PURCHASE POWER PARITY

Euros Purchase power parity Source: EUROSTUDENT V data set, subtopic F2

Two broad bands by PPP

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How much does it cost to study?

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How much does it cost to study?

Source: EUROSTUDENT V data set, subtopic F2

17,900 17,600

13,600

11,300 11,200 9,800

7,000

-200

-3,900 -4,800

-5,900 -6,600 -7,400 -7,900 -8,600 -8,900 -9,300 -11,000

-13,900

SE DK NL IE FI AT DE EE SI CZ HR ME SK LV HU PL BA RS RO

DIFFERENCE IN SIMPLE COST OF 3 YEAR COURSE (EST.) BASED ON AVERA GE OF 19,300 € (STUDENTS NOT LIVING WITH PARENTS)

Difference in simple cost of 3 year BA course (est.)

Germany: 19,300 + 7,000 = 26,300

Poland: 19,300 - 8,900 = 10,400

Sweden: 19,300 + 17,900 = 37,200

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0.4

1.3

1.5

1.7

2.7

3.6

3.8

6.6

7.2

8.3

10.1

21.5

31.8

- 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

social welfare contributionsother regular study-related costs

health costschildcare

debt paymentlearning materials

communicationsocial/leisure activities

transportationfees

other regular living costsfood

accommodation

AVERAGE MAKE-UP OF (ALL) STUDENTS' MONTHLY COSTS (STUDENTS NOT LIVING WITH THEIR PARENTS)

Major expenses by category

Source: EUROSTUDENT V data set, subtopic E2

Key costs

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-

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

-

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

NL EE SE DK AT DE ME IE FI CZ HR BA PL HU SI SK RS LV

Com

para

tive

tota

l mon

thly

cos

ts in

pur

chas

e po

wer

par

tiy

Shar

e of

mon

thly

exp

ense

s in

%

KEY EXPENSES FOR BA STUDENTS (NOT LIVING WITH PARENTS)

Accommodation Transportation Fees Monthly costs in purchase power parity

Major expenses in cross-country comparison

Source: EUROSTUDENT V data set, subtopic E2

Key cost: accommodation

Key cost: fees

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0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

NL IT PL HU RS

Shar

e of

mon

thly

inco

me

paid

as

tuiti

on fe

e (o

r sim

ilar)

in %

BA

MA

low-intensity

without HE

with HE

depend. family support

depend. own earnings

depend. pub. support

Source: EUROSTUDENT V data set, subtopics F2, F3, F4

Who pays fees? The forgotten difference between student groups

Public support (grants and loans) minimises financial impact

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56%

91%

92%

25%

53%

32%

88%

65% 77

%

102%

64%

49% 67

% 74%

56% 71

% 80%

78%

143%

-34%

-49% -3

1% -22%

-26% -22%

-46%

-49% -3

4%

-44% -38%

-38%

-54% -4

1% -33%

-36%

-52% -4

4%

-62%

NL EE SE DK AT DE ME IE FI CZ HR BA PL HU SI SK RS LV RO

percentage diff. min. income of top 20% of (all) students by income to median income level

percentage diff. max. income of bottom 20% of (all) students by income to median income level

Differences in student income levels (financial disparity)

Source: EUROSTUDENT V data set, subtopic G5

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-

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

NL EE SE DK AT DE ME IE FI CZ HR BA PL HU SI SK RS LV RO

SHARE OF (ALL) STUDENTS WITH FINANCIAL WORRIES (NOT LIVING WITH PARENTS)

Not at all / slightly worried Seriously / very seriously worried

Students’ own assessment of having financial difficulties

Source: EUROSTUDENT V data set, subtopic F7

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NL

EE

SE

DK

AT

DE

MEIE

FI

CZ

HRBA

PL

HU

SISK

RS

LV

RO

R² = 0.1116

-70

-60

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Diff

eren

ce b

etw

een

med

ian

inco

me

and

max

. inc

ome

leve

l of s

tude

nts i

n th

e bo

ttom

inco

me

quin

tile

Share of students with (very) serious financial worries

POOREST (ALL) STUDENTS' INCOMES (BOTTOM QUINTILE) VERSUS SHARE OF (ALL) STUDENTS WITH SERIOUS FINANCIAL WORRIES

Link between worried students and difference in poor students’ incomes compared to average students’ incomes

Source: EUROSTUDENT V data set, subtopic F7 & G6

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Resulting statements for consideration & discussion

• Attending higher education is never free• There are disparities in students’ income levels• It is necessary to investigate how these disparities can

influence students’ decisions, progress and study success• Re: expenses – accommodation costs and tuition-related fees

are key expenses and thus are central policy issues• Re: income – pulic support through grants and loans are key

financial instruments for reducing differences in affordability• NB: widening participation (i.e. increasing student diversity)

makes these issues more challenging• NB: we also have to look at what students get out of HE?

(i.e. impact and “value-added” of HE)