Understanding the housing experiences of undergraduate regional, rural and remote students

Housing matters: Understanding the housing experiences of undergraduate regional, rural and remote students living outside the family home

Julia Cook, Matthew Bunn, Penny Jane Burke, Hernán Cuervo, Stephanie Hardacre & Jace Blunden

The University of Newcastle Australia

Although regional, rural and remote students are far more likely to live outside the family home than their urban counterparts, insight into the impact of housing on their participation in higher education remains largely anecdotal. This study analysed the impact of housing on these students’ participation in higher education. It addressed issues relating to spatial, relational, temporal, and financial factors in the participation decision, using survey and interview data from regional and remote students at one Australian university who were living outside the family home.

BACKGROUND

The lower rates of higher education access, participation and completion by regional, rural and remote (RRR) students compared to their metropolitan peers led to the launch of the National Regional, Rural and Remote Tertiary Education Strategy in 2019 which contained a suite of measures to address this gap. While the Strategy identified finding and financing appropriate accommodation as a challenge for RRR students, it did not include measures to fully address the issue, reflecting the relative dearth of scholarly literature about the accommodation experiences of RRR students who relocate. This study was designed to begin to address this dual gap in the policy and scholarly literature.

OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY

The key objective of the study was to understand how RRR students’ experiences of housing impact upon their participation in higher education. It sought to identify both constraining and enabling factors for RRR tertiary students’ educational participation due to housing, as well as the specific housing challenges faced by students who experience multiple forms of disadvantage.

The study surveyed undergraduate students at the University of Newcastle (N = 502) who had relocated to Newcastle from a regional or remote location.

Follow-up interviews were then conducted with a subset of 27 participants to provide greater depth and contextualisation of student experiences.

KEY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Key findings

Students living in on-campus accommodation generally reported higher levels of satisfaction with their residence than those living in the private rental sector. Those who lived alone or with relatives in private accommodation reported higher satisfaction with their residence than those living with housemates. They also reported significantly lower impacts due to both their residence and work commitments on their studies. Students in private settings cited factors such as the lack of a quiet space to study as a challenge.

On-campus accommodation was not appropriate or desirable for all participants. Many of those for whom on-campus accommodation was not appropriate fit into one or more equity groups (for instance, non-traditional students, students living with disability).

Financial support from families was a significant enabling factor for students, in large part due to the reduced pressure to work longer hours. Students working one to 10 hours a week reported little impact on studies and those working more than 11 hours reported a significant impact on studies.

There was a strong intersection between low socioeconomic status (SES) students and RRR status, with low SES students more likely to be from outer regional and remote areas. Students from remote areas were found to be more likely to live in on-campus accommodation and receive income support from a scholarship payment.

Summary of recommendations

Funding and income support (recommendations for Services Australia)

• Expand the Fares Allowance to allow RRR students to secure appropriate accommodation ahead of commencement.

• Reduce the earnings requirements under the concessional workforce test for independent Youth Allowance and review the recent changes to the parental means test cut-offs (as per the Napthine Review).

• Tailor income-tested support payments such as Youth Allowance to allow RRR students to support themselves while working a maximum of 10 hours a week.

Navigational advocate (recommendations for higher education institutions)

• Institutions should foster specific positions intended to work with students to make sense of the formal, informal, and unexpected difficulties associated with the transition to university.

• Establish a widening participation framework to ensure students have access to opportunities to sustain their sense of connection and belonging as valued members of the university community.

Recommendations for student accommodation providers and higher education institutions

• Accommodation providers should reserve places and minimise application costs for RRR students, with priority given to those from remote and very remote areas.

• Providers should utilise lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to develop policies and procedures to aid students who need to leave during semester time.

• Higher education institutions should acknowledge that inadequate internet access may be a challenge for RRR students when they visit home during weekends and semester breaks.

Recommendations for the Department of Education, Skills and Employment

• Expand demand driven funding for RRR students irrespective of where they choose to study.

• Specify the nature of assistance in the indicator for accommodation assistance (on-campus or off-campus) in the framework for assessing university support services for regional and remote students on transition to university.

• Adjust the classification of remoteness to account for accessibility, rather than just distance.

• Ensure that policies concerning RRR students reflect the diversity of this student population and redistribute resources on the basis of intersectional inequalities and cumulative disadvantage.

Recommendation for state and territory governments

• Consider updating residential tenancy regulations to ensure minimum standards of quality are met and maintained for rental properties.

Professor Steven Rowley

School of Accounting, Economics and Finance Curtin University

Professor Steven Rowley

In this report, Julia Cook and her team explore the importance of housing for RRR students.

With student retention becoming more and more important for universities and government, the research highlights how the availability and affordability of housing is an important part of the decision-making process of RRR students and how the costs of sustaining both on- and off-campus accommodation puts pressure on students to work. As students work more, the report finds, the greater the impact on their studies.

The research reports the results of a survey of 500 RRR students at the University of Newcastle, finding that such students are generally more satisfied with on-campus accommodation than off-campus, private rental housing where students are often vulnerable in a complex and volatile private rental system. Perhaps the most useful aspect of the report is the qualitative work exploring the experiences of 27 RRR students relating to their choice of accommodation and the impact of that accommodation on their life.

The report concludes with an excellent discussion of the key issues affecting RRR students and provides a number of useful recommendations for policymakers and universities that would help support RRR students. The research highlights the importance of student housing and its impact on student retention and performance, both of which are key concerns for the sector.

ACCESS THE FINAL REPORT ONLINE

https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/publications/housing-regional-rural-remote-students/