Prof Andy Long, vice chancellor and chief executive at Northumbria University, says around 38% of students commute to his university.
“It’s not a lifestyle choice,” he says. “[It’s] an additional burden that students having the traditional university experience simply don’t have to deal with.”
Northumbria University is holding dedicated freshers events to build a sense of community among commuter students this term, and is looking into whether contact hours can be condensed into fewer days to help them and those with part-time jobs.
He says, like other universities, students have been able to apply for deadline extensions because of working commitments in recent years, and have the option to catch up on recorded lectures when they can’t attend in person.
“It’s supposed to reinforce what you have learned in the lecture, but obviously for those students, that may not be a choice for them,” he says.
Prof Long wants the Department for Education (DfE) to reintroduce maintenance grants in England when it publishes its post-16 white paper this autumn.
He says the amount that students can borrow for living costs should increase with inflation, and the household income threshold that determines which students receive the maximum maintenance loan should rise “significantly”.
Skills minister Jacqui Smith says the government “recognises that too many students are facing real financial hardship”.
She said she was “determined to deliver change” and that the DfE’s white paper, would “soon set out how we plan to improve access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds”.