Study title

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Student Income and Expenditure Survey, 2007-2008 (SIES) was designed to collect detailed information on income and expenditure of Higher Education students and investigated issues such as student debt or hardship. The survey covered both full-time and part-time students at higher education institutions (HEI) and further education colleges (FEC), including the Open University (OU), participating in undergraduate courses during the 2007-2008 academic year. Undergraduate courses included first degree and Higher National Diplomas/Certificates (HNDs/HNCs), or in university-based postgraduate initial teacher training courses (PGCEs). The study covered 69 institutions in England and ten institutions in Wales, plus the OU.

The 2007-2008 survey is the latest in a series of surveys carried out at approximately three year intervals. The methods and interview content have been kept as similar as possible to the previous wave carried out in 2004-2005, (not currently available from the UKDA) in order to make any trend comparisons as robust as possible.


Main Topics:

The dataset contains individual level data pertaining to students' finances including:

• income (support, family and friends, work, benefits, other)
• expenditure (living, housing, children, participation)
• overall financial position (borrowing – commercial and state, savings)
• financial well-being (missed bills, views on how finances have affected study)
• student attitudes and choices (future, choice of HE course, reasons for studying)

Standard Measures:

Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)
Likert Scale