Study title

Subsistence of University Students in the Capital Region 2018

Dataset ID Number

FSD3340

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3340

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Reinikainen, Rasmus (Research Foundation for Studies and Education)

Other Identification/Acknowledgements

• Student Union of Aalto University
• Student Union of the University of Helsinki

Abstract

The study charted the subsistence, employment and housing of university students in the capital region in Finland. The study was funded by the Student Union of the University of Helsinki and the Student Union of Aalto University.

First, the respondents were asked questions relating to student grant. The questions focused on, for example, whether the respondents had received student grant for the degree they were studying for and if not, why (e.g. because of too large income or too few study credits), as well as whether the months of student financial aid available for them had been or would be sufficient for their bachelor's and master's degrees. The respondents were also asked whether they felt it was easy or hard for them to sufficiently progress in their studies (approximately 5 study credits per month) to qualify for student financial aid as well as how they were planning to fund their studies if they could not receive student financial aid any longer (e.g. by working, with savings, with the help of their family or spouse).

Next, questions relating to student loan were presented. The respondents were asked whether they had taken out student loan and why (e.g. to secure income, to improve standard of living, for investing). They were also asked whether changes such as student financial aid cuts, reduction in the maximum number of months student financial aid was available and the transfer to general housing allowance for accommodation costs had had an impact on their need to take study loan.

Employment and other sources of income were examined with questions concerning the amount of time the respondents worked at present or had worked during the past school year. If the respondents had not worked, they were asked whether they would have wanted to. The respondents were asked about the most important reason for working during their studies (e.g. for work experience or networking) and how they thought working would affect the progress of their studies. Some questions focused on income by charting, for example, how much how much salary the respondents thought they would receive a year after graduation and how much their monthly income from different sources was (e.g. salary, social assistance, aid from parents). The respondents were also asked about their savings and easily disposable property (e.g. shares/stock), whether they thought their financial circumstances were good or bad and whether and how much they received financial aid from their parents or other relatives. Ways of dealing with insufficient income were examined with questions relating to, for example, whether the respondents had taken out instant loans, done undeclared work or gone without eating for a day.

Next, the respondents were asked how the transfer of students to be covered under general housing allowance rather than student housing supplement had affected their subsistence and housing. Housing was examined with questions relating to, for example, accommodation type during the autumn semester, household composition and the allocation of expenses between the adults living in the household, as well as satisfaction in various aspects of the housing (e.g. rent, location, condition). The expenses related to housing were also charted and the respondents were asked how much general housing allowance they received per month. The respondents were presented with statements concerning housing and the changes in general housing allowance (e.g. whether one or two bedroom student housing had become a more interesting option and whether they thought that shared housing was no longer as cost-effective). Finally, statements concerning, for example, wellbeing, satisfaction in the physical environment of the university, and the amount of guidance received for studies were presented.

Background variables included, among others, the respondent's age group, gender, parents' highest level of education, highest previous degree, faculty (University of Helsinki) or school (Aalto University), the amount of credits completed during the past school year and whether the respondent had some condition, illness or injury that hindered their studies.

Keywords

educational grants; employment; higher education institutions; housing; housing benefits; social security benefits; student loans; undergraduates

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Higher and further education (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Reinikainen, Rasmus (Research Foundation for Studies and Education)

Data Producers

• Student Union of Aalto University
• Student Union of the University of Helsinki

Time Period Covered

2018

Collection Dates

2018-10-22 – 2018-11-05

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland, Capital region

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Undergraduates in the University of Helsinki who had given permission to use their information for research purposes and undergraduates in Aalto University

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Total universe/Complete enumeration

In the University of Helsinki, the link to the survey was sent personally to all students who had given permission to use their information for research purposes (N: 8,945). In Aalto University, an open link to the survey was shared electronically through e.g. email. The target population consisted of 50,573 students, of which 1,102 students from the University of Helsinki and 1,269 students from Aalto University responded to the survey. As such, the response rate in the University of Helsinki was 12.3% and in Aalto University 7.3%.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Data Version

2.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

To prevent identification of individuals, the researcher has anonymised the data as follows: year of birth (variable a1), age of youngest child (a5), country of birth (a10), completed study credits (a13) and year of beginning studies (a15) have been classified. Additionally, all open-ended responses to the response option "Other, please specify" as well as faculty information for foreign students have been removed at FSD.

Weighting

The data include a weight variable bv1. The over-representation and under-representation in the data have been compensated by weighting the data in terms of university, gender and age group, so that e.g. the over-representation of women and students from Aalto University is compensated. Respondent specific weights tend to run too large or small (0.3 - 4.2), but there are only a few groups with these minimum or maximum weights and they include very few cases, so the extreme weights are not very problematic. It is good to remember that the sample is often skewed due to, for example, the student's activity, class and interest in the theme. Additionally, the survey does not reach those who do not actively read their email. The survey reached more students in Aalto University than in the University of Helsinki, but responses came in from comprehensive groups of students, and part of the skewness can be compensated with weighting the data.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Reinikainen, Rasmus (Research Foundation for Studies and Education): Subsistence of University Students in the Capital Region 2018 [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2023-07-20). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3340

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Publications

Reinikainen, Rasmus (2019). Pääkaupunkiseudun yliopisto-opiskelijoiden toimeentuloselvitys 2018. Helsinki: Opiskelun ja koulutuksen tutkimussäätiö Otus.