The word 'student' invariably conjures up the image of a footloose and fancy-free teenager, fresh out of school and studying full-time at varsity or technical college. While many students do fit this bill, there is a large proportion of students who study part-time - many being ‘mature' students - and this number is growing rapidly. Says Johan Wasserfall, CEO of Eduloan, a dedicated education finance provider that has funded over 500,000 educational loans to the tune of R2bn since its inception in 1996: "Most of our student base is made up of part-time students and we recently did a Student Tracking Survey to get deeper insights into what makes our students tick: their average age, where they live, whether they work or not, how much they earn, and so on. The study involved a sample group of 315 of Eduloan's current students and provided some valuable insight into the lives of our students."
Student demographics...
Contrary to the popular image of students being teenagers or young adults, 53% of the students surveyed were between 35 and 49, with the average age of all being 33. Therefore, most of Eduloan's students have already been working for a number of years and possess solid life experience. The second largest group, 26%, were in the 25 to 34 age-bracket, with only 9% students being 18 to 24, the age traditionally associated with students and 12% of the students were 50 years and older. "To me, the fact that so many of our students fall into the ‘mature student' category can be ascribed to certain factors," says Johan. "Such as them being financially independent enough to afford their studies, and possessing the life experience necessary to enable them to narrow their focus down onto exactly what it is they want to be doing in the future, or building on their current skills. And certainly some in the 50 plus age bracket are sponsoring a student, as opposed to themselves being students. To me, those over 50 who are actually studying indicates that perhaps with many of their major financial life needs having been taken care of - the children are out of the house, property and cars paid off - these more mature students now have the space, time and finances to invest in themselves." It also seems that women are beating stronger paths to empowering themselves via education, with 57% of the participating students being female and 43% male. Gauteng is home to most of the students, with 38% of current students being from Gauteng South, 37% from Gauteng North, and the remaining 25% from the coastal regions; and the language mix indicates that 50% of the respondents speak Sotho, 43% speak Nguni, 6% speak English and 2% speak Afrikaans.
Employment...
In line with the findings that mature students make up the majority in the survey, it transpired that 70% of all students are also self-sponsored, and 87% work full-time. Of the 290 students employed full-time, it was found that most are working in the civil service. This is interesting in light of findings such as those released in a 2006 South African Graduate Survey held by Magnet Communications. Most of the 12,283 participating students, from all 23 of SA's varsities, indicated that they would prefer a career in the public service because of factors such as job security, greater work-life balance and equal-opportunities in terms of gender-equality in the workplace. In fact, women in the survey rated a career in the public service as their second overall choice, and men placed it third. Says Johan: "Eduloan has always had strong ties with the civil sector and has developed a good relationship with them in terms of enabling education finance for their employees. Historically, the public sector has been more amenable than the private sector to enable employee growth via continuing education, although this is changing as employers across the board realize the value of investing in their staff's human potential." The survey indicated that 41% of the students are employed in the education sector; 17% in the SA Police Service; 16% in the clerical/administrative sector; 8% in the medical/nursing sector; 4% in the financial (accounting) sector and 4% in the human resources sector.
"Obviously being in stable employment enables many of these students to undertake the financial commitment to their studies, as they know they will be comfortably able to pay off any study loans they incur," advises Johan. "Again, many of these students are ‘upping the ante' in their careers, by studying to enhance or increase their skills-base and ensure prime employability down the line. Often their employers are assisting them by paying for their studies - either completely or dependent on academic performance. And whether the student themselves or their company is paying for their studies, Eduloan has agreements with many companies whereby we take care of the admin side of the loan, deducting the repayment amount from the employee's salary or from the company directly, and paying it over to the relevant institution of education each month." The survey results indicated this was an important factor to the students involved, as 84% of them stated they preferred their loan repayments to be automatically deducted from their salary, as compared to 16% opting for the debit order route. Of the remaining students surveyed, 5% of the students work part-time - probably also in order to contribute to their educational expenses - while 8% of students are not currently employed and are probably sponsored by a parent or family member. Unsurprisingly, the study also indicated that most of the students chose UNISA as their educator of choice, which tallies with the fact that most are older, working students with families and need to fit their studies into their busy schedules.
Income...
The average household income for all students in the survey was R11,562 p/m, with 36% having a household income of between R9,000 and R12,999 p/m. Of the other students, 22% had a household income of between R6,000 and R8,999 p/m; 15% between R13,000 and R15,999 p/m; 12% up to R5,999 p/m; 10% between R16,000 and R19,999 p/m, with only 5% exceeding the R20,000+ p/m figure. "Eduloan's loan repayments will never exceed 25% of the student or sponsor's gross salary, and the repayments term is a minimum of 6 and maximum of 24 months," advises Johan. "This ensures that anyone, as long as they have a minimum income of R2,000 per month, is able to access a loan from us in order to study. And with our close alignment with the terms and provisions of the National Credit Act loaning criteria, we always ensure we finance responsibly and only according to each particular student's budget."
Of all the current students surveyed, 61% of the students had one loan from Eduloan, but as it is possible to take more than one loan if necessary, on average all the students had 1.57 loans in order to finance their studies. The survey also revealed that while most students were comfortable with their repayment amounts, a whopping 82% of students surveyed had no idea of what interest rate they were paying. "This is ironic, considering that 40% of all students cited low interest rates and affordable repayments as the most important considerations when applying for a loan!" says Johan. "However, the survey definitely brought to our attention the fact that students need to empower themselves with financial knowledge regarding their loans. As such, Eduloan has now made it a top priority to ensure students are completely au fait with the full cost of their finance - in terms of exactly what interest rates and charges apply to their loans - upon application."
Commitment to education...
"We also found that the majority of current students surveyed, 41%, hold a diploma or certificate, 29% hold a university degree and 3% hold a post-grad degree," says Johan. Of the remaining students, 25% possess a Grade 12 certificate and 1% have attended high-school below Grade 12 level. "Many of our students have started with us studying at Diploma level, and moved right up through to their Masters. This, plus the fact that these students study more, and not less, as they get older, shows us that our students have a healthy respect for learning and education and are committed to improving themselves and their career prospects. They don't gain one certificate or diploma and then rest on their laurels - they keep studying and see education as a lifelong process."
Johan concludes: "Our Student Tracking Survey has given us deeper insight into what makes our students tick, and helped us to build a profile of our predominantly part-time students. It also illustrates two things: in our tight economic times, full-time study may become the exception, rather than the rule; and that by working full-time and studying part-time, students, no matter what age, are empowering themselves. These students are not waiting for handouts or permission - they're aware of how further education is able to unlock their potential and they are going out there and making their education happen for themselves!"
Eduloan is the only dedicated educational financial services company in South Africa, focusing on providing financial solutions to students with the goal of ensuring that tertiary education is accessible to all. Eduloan is firmly committed to contributing meaningfully to social and economic upliftment through education and is a responsible financial services provider with the interests of its students foremost in mind. For further information, contact Eduloan's Client Services Department on 0860-55-55-44.
Editorial Contact:
Keri-Ann Clark
Kezi Communications (Pty) Ltd
Tel: 011 616 1860
keri-ann@kezi.co.za
www.kezi.co.za
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