Research shows that numerous factors affect why a student chooses to study at a particular higher education institution, including HE career advisors and teachers. For example, Purcell et al‟s study 34 of UCAS applicants found that around 18 per cent of students reported that their choice of HEI had been influenced by a teacher, and seven per cent by a school careers
51 advisor. So while HE advisors are not the most significant influence on students‟ choices, they do have some impact.35
The extent to which HE advisors may influence their students‟ HE choices and decision making, in relation to bursaries in particular is likely to depend on a wide range of factors including:
the extent to which HE advisors were aware of bursaries; the availability of information on bursaries;
the extent to which HE advisors accessed information on bursaries; the quality and clarity of the information provided;
whether and when they informed their students about bursaries; and the sort of information they provided their students on bursaries.
We have seen that 11 per cent (N=17) of all HE advisors had not heard of bursaries. Of those who were aware of bursaries, ten per cent (N= 13) had neither received information on bursaries nor looked at information on bursaries. Furthermore, a handful (N=8) of HE advisors had not provided their students with any information on bursaries. So at least a quarter of all the HE advisors surveyed were unlikely to be in a strong position to shape their students‟ decisions about bursaries.
What about the remaining HE advisors who had either been given information or looked at material on bursaries, and provided their students with material on bursaries.
As we have seen (section 4.2), around a quarter of them had found it difficult to find out about bursaries. However, once they did get hold of information, the majority thought the amount of information provided was about right and it was clear, except in relation to when students would receive their bursary and whether the receipt of a bursary affected a student‟s eligibility to other sources of financial support.
Were these HE advisors better placed to affect their students‟ decisions and choices? Could bursaries play a stronger role in their students‟ decisions about what and where to study? Research36 has identified two stages in this decision-making process, which could be
influenced by the availability of financial support. The first „searching‟ stage is when students search out what courses are available and think about what HEIs they want to apply to. This equates to the period of time before a student submits their UCAS application. The second stage of decision making – the „choice‟ stage - takes place once students have been offered a place at the HEIs they applied to. Students then have to choose which one HEI offer they will accept, and which one will be an insurance place in case they fail to obtain the grades required for their first choice.
The timing of when HE advisors provided their students with information on bursaries, therefore, is important in understanding the potential impact of bursaries of students‟
35
Purcell et al (2008) op cit found that students‟ choice of university was most influenced by whether it offered the particular course the students wanted to pursue and by a visit to the institution.
36
Hossler, D., Schmit, J. & Vesper, N. (1998). Going to college: Social, economic and educational factors‟ influence on decisions students make. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
52 decision-making. For bursaries to influence students‟ decisions in the search stage, and for HE advisors to play a role in that, HE advisors would need to have supplied information on bursaries before their students submitted their UCAS application form. In fact, as we have seen (Table 7.2), a half of HE advisors surveyed provided bursary information at that stage and the other half had given their students bursary information after their students had submitted their UCAS application. If bursaries were to have any impact on the choice stage and for HE advisors to be actively involved in that, then the HE advisors would need to have provided the information once their students had been offered a place at university. Ten HE advisors had given students information at that stage and another 15 had provided their student with information after the students had submitted their UCAS application but before they had a been offered a place. This leaves at least 19 HE advisors who provided information on bursaries at some other stage, apart from the „search‟ or „choice‟ stage.
If we add these 19 HE advisors to those HE advisors who were unaware of bursaries, had not looked at or been given information on bursaries, and had not provided their students with information, then we can conclude that 38 per cent of all the HE advisors surveyed were ill placed to shape their students‟ deliberations about bursaries, and hence the potential for bursaries to influence their students‟ decisions about what and where to study. Moreover, it is questionable how useful the information provided by the remaining 62 per cent of HE
advisors was. As we have seen the majority did not give their students some very basic information about bursaries.
Improving HE advisors‟ awareness of bursaries and ensuring the advisors access information about them before their students submits their UCAS application, therefore, is vital if