Alumni of the University of St Andrews for Affordable Accommodation

We, the alumni of the University of St Andrews:

• Are concerned that students from less economically-privileged backgrounds may not have the means to study at St Andrews;

• Remind the University that it has been consistently identified as a poor performer in this regard by organisations such as the Sutton Trust;

• Note that accommodation represents the largest cost to most students studying at UK universities, and that there is now a significantly larger financial burden upon students at St Andrews than was the case only a few years ago;

• Recognise and welcome the University’s firm commitment to maintain 500 beds in the lowest quartile of UK student rents, but do not feel that a commitment to provide affordable accommodation to fewer than 1 in 12 students is sufficient;

• Understand that the replacement of Fife Park will decrease the provision of affordable University accommodation by approximately one third;

• Believe that any reduction in affordable accommodation would be a huge step backwards in terms of access, and would only act to perpetuate the image of St Andrews as a socially elitist institution;

• Call upon the University to provide, either by subsidising an existing hall or by providing means-tested bursaries, 1,000 beds in the lowest quartile of UK student rents;

• Remind the University that alumni are an important part of its fundraising strategy, and offer support in favour of the above proposal.