FOI_24-314 Medical students facing financial hardship
Date of response: 03 December 2024
We have now considered your Freedom of Information request of 18 November 2024 for the following information:
In light of the fact that many medical students in the U.K. are facing financial hardship and report taking on additional paid-work outside of their training, we would, under the Freedom of Information Act, request the following information.
For the last two academic years (2022/23 and 2023/24), broken down by year of medicine (year 1-5), please tell us:
Question 1. How many medical students were enrolled on the course at the start of the academic year?
Our response:
| Year of study – MBBS Medicine | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 183 | 165 |
| 2 | 170 | 185 |
| 3 | 186 | 174 |
| 4 | 170 | 176 |
| 5 | 191 | 227 |
Question 2. Over the academic year, how many medical students either chose to drop off their course or take a break from their course?
Our response:
| 2022-23 | 2032-24 | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of MED students who withdrew from or had a break from their studies | 20 | 15 |
Question 3. Please set out all reasons that students have reported dropping out or taking a break from medical school, if this data is collected by the university.
Our response:
Medical students who chose to take a break from, or discontinued their studies cited the following reasons:
Employment, Health reasons, Academic fail, Not applicable, Other, Other personal, transferred.
Question 4. Over the academic year, how many medical students either chose to drop off their course or take a break from their course for reasons related to finance?
Our response:
Zero. There were no medical students citing financial reasons for leaving or taking a break in their studies for the requested period.
Question 5. What, if any, support is offered to students experiencing financial hardship?
Our response:
The following excerpt is taken from our internal web page:
‘Student Life Finance are here to provide advice and guidance on a range of financial circumstances that may impact students during their time at university
Our Student Life Advisers offer confidential non-judgemental advice through email correspondence and one-to-one appointments.
They can provide information about the financial support available to help students meet living and course-related costs, which includes:
• Student Finance loans and funding
• Budgeting and practical money management, including debt concerns
• The Student Services Fund (available to home students) and Emergency Loan Facility - Vice Chancellor's Hardship Fund (VC Loan)
• The financial implications of changing a course, withdrawing from the university or taking a break in studies
Bursaries, Grants and Scholarships
There are a number of bursaries, grants and scholarships available, as well as external grants and scholarships.
Budgeting workshops:
We hold budgeting workshops across the year, where you can come along, learn some tips on budgeting, speak to our Advisers, and have a go at creating your own budget. To see the dates of the sessions and to sign up, please click the button at the bottom of this page.
We recently recorded a podcast with Student Services Wellbeing team regarding finances, wellbeing, and the options available to you.
The Student Life Finance team administrates multiple financial aid packages of support to students who may have found themselves in financial difficulty during their time at UEA.
Although students are expected to ensure that they have sufficient funds to meet the cost of their tuition fees and living expenses before starting their course, we understand that personal circumstances can change, and students may be faced with unexpected or large financial costs, due to a family bereavement, emergency, or ongoing essential expenditure.
Students who are struggling to meet basic living costs or have recently been faced with a large or unexpected cost are encouraged to apply for support through the Student Services Fund. The fund has eligibility criteria, please be sure to read this to see if you are able to apply.
Students who are in need of urgent financial support to meet living costs (for example, paying for food) can consider making an application to our Emergency Loans. Please be aware that loans are not appropriate for managing long-term financial concerns.
If you have questions or concerns about applying for the Student Services Fund or emergency loan facility, please speak with a Student Life Finance advisor by emailing studentlife.finance@uea.ac.uk.
Foodbank parcels
We have been working with the Trussell Trust to offer Foodbank vouchers to students who are experiencing financial difficulties and in need of additional support.
We have established a Foodbank parcel collection point on campus to enable students in need to discreetly collect a parcel.
We ask students to be mindful that food parcels are reserved for those in need of additional support and therefore we only issue Foodbank vouchers to students who demonstrate that there is a clear financial need, or in instances where a student has taken out the maximum VC loan.’
Question 6. Over the academic year, how many medical students requested access to the universities ‘hardship fund’ or equivalent scheme?
Our response:
To date, in the 2024-25 academic year, we have had 18 applications to our Student Services Fund.