The Undeb Bangor Sustainability Survey was conducted in September 2023, throughout Welcome week with the aim of better understanding student opinions on Cost-of-Living related issues, and sustainability.
The survey consisted of 6 questions, including a combination of multiple-choice answers, and open-ended questions. The survey was promoted as a ‘Sustainability Survey’ to students, including social, financial, and environmental sustainability.
Students were asked to provide their university email address’ if they wanted to be potentially contacted about their answers and were made aware this was not a compulsory part of the survey.
Survey Results – Cost of Living
Regarding cost of living, students were asked what areas they were most concerned about and provided with a selection of possible answers (including food, heat, socialising, rent/housing, transportation, course/graduation costs, extracurricular activities, part time work, and clothing). Students were given the option to select multiple answers and to elaborate on their answers in the following question. 427 answers were provided for the multiple-choice questions.
Rent and housing was considered the highest concern relating to cost-of-living, being selected 96 times, with many students stating they’ve been “priced out of Bangor” and consequently transport costs have increased due to having to commute for lectures. Students raised the issue of maintenance loans not adequately increasing alongside inflation, resulting in household costs being out of budget for many or having to choose unsuitable, and unliveable housing.
The cost of food was identified as the second highest concern, being selected 91 times. Students stated that food costs are making it difficult to maintain a balanced and healthy diet, with many resorting to eating food past its use-by date or opting to go hungry in order to be able to afford rent and bills.
Course and graduation costs were seen as the third highest concern for students, with 49 selections. Students voiced concerns about the course costs during COVID 19, expressing the displeasure of having paid regular course costs for education that was received mostly online, with reduced opportunities for
fieldwork, lab work, socialisation, and general in-person lectures. Despite being the third highest concern, minimal additional comments were made on this topic.
Securing part time work was frequently mentioned in the open-ended questions, with discussions addressing the lack of part time work available for students in the area; alongside more specific barriers such as the 20-hour work limit for international students, jobs requiring Welsh speaking, and jobs requiring too much work experience.
Survey Results – Sustainability
The sustainability section of the survey followed the same structure as that of the cost-of-living section, including multiple choice questions in which more than one answer can be chosen, followed by an open-ended question, asking if the respondent would like to expand their answers. 386 answers were received on the multiple-choice section of this survey. There were significantly less responses to the open-ended questions in the sustainability section, compared to that of the cost-of-living section – with cost of living receiving 40 responses, and sustainability receiving 20.
Waste and recycling were identified as the highest sustainability concern by students, with 82 responses. Students felt that purchasing more sustainable products was not a realistic option in regard to cost and budgeting, and that buying products with less packaging resulted in higher costs. Other issues regarding waste refer to a lack of education/awareness of other students meaning waste is being incorrectly handled, such as black bin bags being placed in recycling bins.
The second highest concern for sustainability was Energy and fuel with 79 selections. Students identified that the more sustainable energy choices are often more expensive, making it inaccessible to most due to costs. Minimal written answers were provided in relation to energy costs.
Ethical purchasing received the third highest level of concern for sustainability, having been selected 66 times. As ethical purchasing is a wider issue, it encompasses other selections within the survey. For example, expanded answers refer to ethical purchasing for food being
unachievable due to the food with reduced packaging having a higher cost. Additionally, respondents highlighted the need for more accessible vegetarian and vegan options within university catering outlets and vending machines, due to the reduced emissions associated with following plant-based diets resulting in these choices often being more ethical.
Ideas for improvements
The final question for the survey, focused on any ideas for improvement at the university regarding sustainability and cost-of-living. 29 responses were received, with 6 of these indicating the respondent had no additional ideas or comments, or that the university is already doing well at addressing these concerns.
The most common theme among ideas included lowering the cost of food, greater support for transport costs, and rent control for student housing. The ideas suggested included, extending the £2 meals to weekends, altering the stock of on campus shops to more sustainable products, rent caps on private housing, and university support for reduced transport costs.