Experiencing HE as a commuter student Dr Charlotte Coleman & Dr Lizzie Freeman Assisted by Zoe Green, Hiba Rahman, Anna Robson, bella Salloway

Method Survey – online via qualtrics Sample: 101 students, studying Psychology 69%, Sociology 14% Politics 13% or Applied Social Science 5%. 81% female, Mean Age = 21.5yrs, commuters slightly older (23.5 compared to 20) 30% L4; 36% L5; 34% L6 Chose SHU as 1st choice (64%), insurance (20%), only choice (15%) 46% are currently employed, 94% Part-time 6% are carers (all commuters), 13% identify as disabled (2/3 commuters) 56% currently live with other students 19% live with parents, 7% with a partner, 18% ‘other’ residence approx. 2/3 lived in student accommodation (SA) at L4

Survey findings Commuters more likely to ‘like where they live’ and enjoy living at home Lived at home more out of ‘choice’ than ‘convenience’, although they recognise it is cheaper Commuters feel less of a sense of ‘belonging’ but do feel that staff care about them as individuals. Commuters didn’t think they would perform as well academically if they lived in SA

However most differences are seen in responses about their physical environments Commuters don’t want to share their living space, are concerned about the lack of storage space and privacy and would feel less safe in SA Surprisingly – they felt that being in SA would not feel as far away from home to them as non-commuters – this is either because a) their home isn’t far away form Uni (M = 11.7m), or b) SA students wanted to be further away from home

Commuters who lived further away rated the Uni more positively for meeting their expectations (r2 = .40*) Distance didn’t impact upon perceptions of accessibility of the Uni or its facilities Nor did it impact upon feeling of belonging or where to go for support Living further away negatively correlated with feeling that SA would be private

Commuter students in different year groups had different concerns First years were less likely to want to leave pets 1st and 2nd years more likely to like where they live 1st and 2nd years also thought they would more likely be burgled in SA 2nd years thought it would be hard to fit into SA before they enrolled

Working commuters No association between those who work and being a commuter No differences in ages of those who work Working commuters have more concerns about affording to run a car than non-working commuters Are more concerned about the cost of SA Are more concerned about fitting in than non-working commuters

Study patterns 1/3 of commuter students had no set workspace at home More of those who did have workspace (70%) stated they worked at home than those who didn’t have workspace (30%).

What does it all mean? Suggests money is a driving force for some – perhaps for those who ‘need’ to work, SA is not an option Working commuters express most concerns over cost and socialising, perhaps because they need to work, and have the least time to spend on socialising Physical environment is a key factor – living in a safer, bigger, more private space has appeal. This may link to personal need, for example being a carer or having a disability Study environment is less likely to be as good for some commuters – suggests a need for the campus to be inviting/usable Commuters believe they will perform better studying at home - Post choice rationalisation? Less ‘belonging’ but no less anxious about being social Perceptions change over time, perhaps because Uni begins to feel like ‘home’ too

Method (Qual) N = 8 (6 females, 2 males). Focus group 1: 4 females ,1 male Focus group 2: 2 females, 1 male More focus groups will be conducted in October this year. Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006)

Findings (Qual) Accessibility of support and learning/social spaces Barriers: student service support (20); different needs and priorities (9); inconsistent teaching staff support(8); travel (7); lack of motivation (6); lack of personalised care (5), busy times in library and labs (5); cost (4) Enablers: social media and peer support/socialisation (19); regular contact (12); follow-up learning contract (12); confidence and knowledge to seek support and engage (8); better advertisement and communication of societies at collegiate campus (7). Reasons for living or not living in halls Environment & lifestyle (12) (against) Convenience (11) (for) 'That's what's normal' (for) (6) Experience & socialisation (for & against) (14) [Cost (4)] Following the crowd and developing confidence Peer pressure & culture (15) Peer support (10) Idealistic expectations and disappointment. Expectations are not realistic as do not predict the lows (8) Pre- enrolment starts the identity with University (bad first impressions) (6)

What does this mean? Pre-arrival & Induction Understanding and managing expectations Preparing students. Support: Student Services Course staff Personalised care/ support & bespoke service/ information Peer-support/ socialisation (systems, groups, activities, social media) Communication & journey Clear and consistent regular course & student support communication Consistent & 'Joined up' student experience journey throughout the course. Developing confidence, motivation/ engagement and positive student experience.

How can SHU use social media to support commuter students? Use twitter for timetable changes Online societies Connections with others BEFORE uni ‘Live’ feed of events & happenings Advertise cancellations on SM early Commuter student network Notifications further in advance to plan travel