STUDENT INCOME AND EXPENDITURE IN THE UNIVERSITIES OF GLASGOW AND BIRMINGHAM: A COMPARATIVE SURVEY
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9485.1957.tb00233.x |
| Date | 01 November 1957 |
| Published date | 01 November 1957 |
STUDENT INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
IN
THE
UNlVERSITIES OF GLASGOW
AND
BlRMlNGHAM
:
A COMPARATIVE SURVEY
IN
1952
an analysis of the expenditure
of
Glasgow University students
was carried out by Dr. Jean Pattison of the Dundee School of Econo-
mics on behalf of the Scottish Union
of
Students.' Four years later,
the Union decided to undertake a similar survey, the scope of which
was extended to include Birmingham University. Birmingham seemed
the obvious choice as
a
counterpart to Glasgow. Both are industrial
towns, similar in size, and specialising in the coal, metal and engineer-
ing trades. Although the Universities differ in age by as much as
400
years and in size by
3,000
students, they attract undergraduates of
similar types. How do these students live? How do they spend their
money? How
do
they obtain it? It was in order to answer these
questions and to provide a comparison between the students of the
two Universities that the survey was undertaken, starting in February
1956.2
Every tenth student on the matriculation rolls of the Universities
was sent a questionnaire, and out of
580
forms sent out in Glasgow
34960
per cent.-were returned. This is a very satisfactory return
for a survey of this kind and compares favourably with the
37
per
cent. response in
1952.
Of the
349, 26
were rejected as postgraduate
and
6
as single class enrolments. In Birmingham,
187
forms were
returned out
of
a total of
321,
an average of
58
per cent.; of these,
8
were rejected. The percentage of returns in each faculty corresponds
fairly closely with the corresponding percentages on the matriculation
roll. (See Table
I.)
Extensive analysis has been carried out by Union officials working
on a voluntary basis and much detailed information has been produced.
The data have been analysed by faculty, sex and residence
;
individual
items
of
expenditure have been correlated with grant income
;
and
the frequency distribution, quartile ranges, etc., have also been worked
out. For present purposes it is proposed to deal with income and
expenditure as
a
whole, using this detailed information for comment
only.
1
Dr. Pattison published the results in the
Bulletin
of
rhe
Oxford
Institute
of
Statistics,
Vol.
15,
No.
5 (1953).
a
I
should
like to acknowledge the help given to the Union in the prepara-
tion
of
this survey by Professor A.
K.
Cairncross, Dr.
T.
T.
Paterson and Dr.
John Highet,
of
the Department of Social and Economic Research at Glasgow
University.
194
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