Any number of reports and any amount of anecdotal evidence suggests that the 2022-23 academic year is a difficult one for students.
We’ve all heard, for example, that student attendance is down at seminars and lectures – both online and in person. We know that rises in the cost of living make it difficult to afford to eat well, to rent suitable accommodation, to commute to campus, and to fund everything from the purchase of resources and textbooks to the social aspects of the student experience. The energy crisis adds another layer of problems.
In times like this it is vital that providers are able to get a comprehensive view of how students are managing, and where support could be provided, as quickly as possible. This is also a financially difficult year for many universities – the value of fee income is dropping quickly as inflation rises, and those same cost of living pressures make it more expensive to do pretty much anything – so support for students needs to be carefully planned and targeted.
