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/)[email protected] 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)