Universities must do more to tackle homelessness and should collect data on the housing status of current and former students, according to a new study.
The report adds that universities drawing up access and participation plans for the Office for Students “should consider how they can recruit and support students who have been affected by homelessness and other adverse experiences both during their schooling and in adulthood”.
The paper, written by Greg Hurst for the Higher Education Policy Institute, says it is “striking” that universities have been “incurious” about collecting more robust data on homelessness, despite there being anecdotal evidence of “hidden homelessness” in some universities, for example where students are “sofa surfing”.
