This morning, a report on BBC Breakfast covered news that the number of UK students choosing to remain in halls after their first year has plummeted over the past five years due to marked changes in student lifestyles.

According to the report, the latest generation of students are “opting” for “more expensive” private accommodation over “cheaper” university halls of residence to escape the typical noise and mess - heralding the birth of the “modern student”. I don’t believe this is a preference or a natural change in attitude at all.

If you were to look beneath the surface a little, you would discover that this trend is actually forced on the students by the unversities themselves.

Firstly, the current surge in the admission of overseas students has drastically limited accommodation places in halls. These foreign students usually get preference for halls while UK students are put on the never-ending waiting list. Many students I know never lived in halls for this reason and, despite repeated attempts to apply, were refused every time. But remember everyone, overseas students = £££ and are therefore more important than a supposed obligation to home students.

Secondly, rent for halls of residence has reached diabolical heights - especially in the South-East. Halls, which were originally an essential part of the university welfare offering, are now a luxury for the richer students to endulge in. The university that I attended now has more double-ensuite rooms (with dimmer switches and all the trimmings) than cheaper communal accomodation. Surely this is isolating huge numbers of independent students from “living the university life” - if that notion even exists anymore.

In short, universities need to start rethinking their priorities. Accomodation should be a welfare asset rather than just a cog of the bigger commercial machine.

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