A balancing act: financial and time constraints of students with a delayed transition to higher education

In general, European countries concur that the demographics of the student body should mirror the social structure of the population for higher education to be socially equitable (EHEA, 2020).
To promote diversity of students also in terms of age, framework conditions must be created that make starting studies at a later point in life possible. The necessity for flexible learning pathways to facilitate lifelong learning and equity is emphasised in the “Education 2030” agenda and Sustainable Development Goal 4 (OECD, 2018; United Nations, 2015).
Currently, only around one in six students is a so-called “student with a delayed transition” who starts studying for the first time more than two years after leaving the regular school system (i.e. excluding evening schools or schools for adults)1 (Schirmer, 2024). This raises the questions of the barriers and challenges those students might currently face. It has to be examined, whether the current support systems, which are often intended for students with direct transitions, are also suitable for students who start their studies later and thus for students who often have to juggle their time and financial resources between their studies and other commitments.
This intelligence brief provides insights into the financial situation and the time budget of students with a delayed transition to show the specific situation of this group and provide input for potential measures. The analysis builds on data of the EUROSTUDENT 8 database and includes students from 24 countries.