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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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%).

9. 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

10. 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)

11. 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)

12. 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.

13. 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