Student Income and Expenditure Survey 2007/2008: Welsh-domiciled students

This report presents the most detailed, comprehensive and authoritative assessment undertaken about the income and expenditure of students in Higher Education in Wales.

It builds on a series of earlier surveys which were undertaken at regular intervals since the mid 1980s, but in particular updates the findings of the most recent SIES undertaken in 2004/05.

Key results for Wales:

• Full-time student income rose by eight per cent in real terms between 2004/05 and 2007/08 to over £10,000 during the academic year. However, the bulk of this increase is accounted for by tuition fee loans and grants which are paid direct to the students’ institution.
• Compared with their counterparts in 2004/05, full-time students are less reliant on family and friends for income and more dependent on sources of government financial support, ie loans and, increasingly, grants.
• The total average expenditure of full-time students went up by nine per cent in real terms, driven by an increase in participation costs (including tuition fees). However, spending in real terms on living and housing costs has not changed in the last three years.
• Estimated debt levels for full-time students graduating in 2008 were around £7,200. Debt is mainly funded by student loans and the amount borrowed from commercial sources has fallen.
• Income among part-time students has remained steady in real terms, at around £11,700, while overall spending increased by nine per cent in real terms, at £12,430.

A separate report covers students from England.