Managing study and work: the impact of full-time study and paid work on the undergraduate experience in Australian universities

Abstract

More full-time undergraduate students now rely on paid work as their main or sole source of income. They work an average of around 15 hours per week, but almost four out of every ten work 16 hours or more, and 18 per cent work 21 hours or more per week. The extent to which full-time undergraduate students combine full-time enrolment with substantial hours of paid work emerged as an issue for Australian universities in the last few years. This investigation, based on a survey of 1,563 full-time enrolled working students, explores the impacts of paid work on full-time students’ experience of university life and their academic performance. It also briefly reviews how universities are responding to these challenges.