Tuesday 28-11-2023 - 10:26

The decision by Durham University to increase the cost of college accommodation proves that the only ‘Durham Difference’ in sight is the increase in price.  

The University is far more capable of absorbing these financial challenges than individual students, who are enduring the lowest standards of living in decades because of the cost-of-living crisis and the housing crisis.  

Durham University says it wants to bring in students with low family income. Yet it is also: 

                        - seeking to control 45% of the market by 2027  

                        - making student rent unaffordable for most students living in college

We do not believe these things are consistent. 

Subsequently, Durham University has a responsibility to do the following for students: 

• Make public a comprehensive and updated breakdown of where a student’s college rent is spent, and what considerations shape the figure students pay each year. 

• Provide an assessment of the impact of their college rents on the market over the past decade, to determine whether the increased pricing of their accommodation mirrors the wider market or actively contributes to increasing rents in Durham. 

• Publish how they reconcile wanting to increase the number of underrepresented students at Durham with the lack of affordability in every aspect of university life. 

We will take these demands to the University and see that students are made fully aware of the reasoning behind and impacts of this price increase. Over the last decade, the price of a standard catered room has increased 55%. Affordability is a distant memory, an alien concept to students at Durham. 

We’ve also begun work to achieve a shared definition of affordability for students and bring financial support into line with it, which we’ll share plans and updates on soon. While financial support will never be a complete answer to affordability at Durham, it does matter. The 6.7% increase in the Durham Grant Scheme (Durham Grant) is a welcome starting point in responding to our calls to increase financial support. This includes asking the University to extend the Durham Grant to a wider range of students and make a £25,000 contribution to bolster college support funds, to help students who may fall through the cracks.

However, increasing the cost of college accommodation essentially negates the benefits of the Durham Grant increase for any liver-in receiving it. Taken alongside the wider issue of affordability in housing outside of college, and the cost-of-living crisis, the overall picture for Durham students remains unacceptable and further support is needed. 

If you need support

• Independent advice, support and knowledge from Durham SU's ASK service. 
• Cost of living and financial support information from Durham University
• Reach out to your College student support