Supporting students’ wellbeing in the face of today’s financial pressures

Financial pressure is no longer something that affects a minority of students. It has become a defining feature of student life. 

Conversations with our SAB, echoing Blackbullion’s research, show that the scale and nature of the challenge have shifted. The burden of studying has grown; that burden is reshaping how students live, study, and make decisions; and meeting it will require coordinated change across both providers and the funding system. None of these challenges can be solved in isolation.

The financial burden of studying is widespread and more significant than ever.

The cost of studying has outpaced the support designed to cover it. Maintenance funding no longer stretches to meet basic living costs, and the gap is now felt almost universally rather than by a disadvantaged few. Blackbullion’s research found that as many as 57% of students have been too hungry or cold to study, while financial anxiety remains a concern for nearly 9 in 10.

This is not a temporary crisis that students can simply wait out. It is the new normal, and it stems from a system that has not kept pace with the realities of modern life. The financial burden often begins before enrolment, shaping decisions about whether to enter higher education at all, and continues throughout a student’s journey as a constant emotional and practical pressure.

Financial worries are changing the student experience

These pressures are not only felt – they are visibly reshaping how students live and study. Financial considerations now play a central role in decisions about where to study, whether to move away from home, and what subject feels feasible, not just desirable.

Students are continually adapting. More are commuting long distances to save on accommodation costs. More are working not alongside their studies but on top of them, with paid employment, side hustles, and self-employment now a standard part of student life rather than an optional extra. Many are choosing flexible or part-time study modes so they can fit learning around work.

At the same time, uncertainty about the future is intensifying these pressures. Students are not only asking how to manage day-to-day costs, but whether the long-term investment will pay off. A difficult job market, the growing role of AI in automating entry-level roles, and loan repayment becoming more expensive as thresholds remain frozen are all contributing to doubt about higher education. These concerns are shared widely across different student groups, including both younger and mature learners, and they are influencing choices about what to study, how to study, and whether higher education still feels worth it at all.

These challenges are connected – and the solution must be too

What makes these pressures difficult to resolve is that individual student experiences sit within wider systemic issues. Providers are navigating this alongside students, and while they cannot fix the system alone, they play a critical role in responding to it.

Providers need to adapt to how students actually live. This means designing flexibility into teaching, timetabling, and assessment so students can combine work and study sustainably, rather than struggling to manage both in parallel. It also means recognising that paid work is now a core part of the student experience and building models that reflect that reality.

At the same time, support needs to be more consistent, visible, and embedded. Financial education and wellbeing support should not be one-off interventions but a core part of the student offer, starting before enrolment and continuing throughout the student journey. Students are clear that they value practical tools and early, transparent information that allows them to make informed decisions. Resources like budgeting support and accessible digital tools demonstrate how this can be done effectively at scale.

There is also an opportunity to reframe financial pressure as a space for capability-building. Many students are already developing entrepreneurial skills through side hustles and alternative income streams. Providers can build on this by embedding financial literacy, employability, and skills such as personal branding and digital capability into course delivery, helping students manage their finances now while preparing for the future.

However, providers cannot carry this alone. The funding system must evolve alongside them, with more realistic maintenance support, clearer and earlier information about costs and debt, and funding models that recognise the diversity of modern student pathways, including part-time study, commuting, and working during study.

Our recommendations

If higher education is to remain accessible and worthwhile, we are calling for action from both providers and those who fund the system:

• Reform the funding system so it reflects how students live.

Maintenance support must align with the real cost of living, repayment terms should not quietly erode the value of a degree, and more flexible funding options should accommodate part-time study, commuting, and working alongside study.

• Give students clear information early.

Prospective and new students need honest, accessible information about costs, debt, and repayment before they commit, so they can make genuinely informed choices from the outset.

• Build flexibility into course design.

Teaching, timetabling, and assessment should reflect the reality that paid work is now a core part of student life, giving students more control over how and when they learn without compromising outcomes.

• Embed financial education and wellbeing support as standard.

These should be consistent, visible, and integrated throughout the student journey, rather than delivered as one-off responses to crisis.

• Equip students with skills for the long term.

Financial literacy, employability, and entrepreneurial skills should be embedded into learning, helping students manage immediate pressures while preparing for sustainable futures.

Students are facing pressures created by systemic issues, but there are clear, practical steps that providers and policymakers can take together. The independent sector, often at the forefront of flexible pathways for diverse student groups, is well placed to lead this change. If we act now, we can build a system in which students are not merely able to cope but genuinely supported to thrive.