A study of student retention, financial support and successful student continuation in UK Higher Education in 2020 January 2021

Student retention is an ongoing problem for HE impacting both student and University. It has been a focus for research for over 100 years resulting in the identification of many factors that contribute to student withdrawal. Whilst finance has long been recognised as an issue, this research aimed to look at financial issues and specifically the role of hardship funds in helping students to persist. The research was conducted in the form of semi-structured interviews with ten students of varying ages, who were in the process of successfully completing their first year. The interviewer asked questions around financial support, their experiences at university, and the factors they feel have contributed towards them successfully progressing on their course. The interviews were then manually coded, and then based on these, several recommendations are presented,

The recommendations proposed following analysis of the interviews are:

Universities should have significant Hardship Funds available to help retain students, Universities should focus retention efforts on students leaving as well as students progressing, and there should be a collaborative relationship between Universities and students towards retention efforts. In addition to these, this research also proposes that institutions should understand the pressure lecturers are under, should provide students with sufficient opportunity to vent frustrations at any perceived minor issues, and also provide sufficient support for students with mental health issues.