Survey tracks changing face of student life at university

That is the major trend identified in the 2012 Sodexo University Lifestyle Survey published today. The majority of students, 74%, said that the main reason for going to university is to improve job prospects with 56% of students, up from 46% in 2010, worrying about finding work on completion of their studies. Peter Taylor, Sodexo's head of universities said: "Students are increasingly concerned about finding work after leaving university. "To help students, we have introduced, at some of the universities where we provide services, work placement opportunities where they can work at Sodexo in areas such as marketing, food photography and media studies. "We also provide part-time jobs in some of our catering facilities on campus." When asked what they would like their universities to spend more money on to improve the student experience, the second biggest demand, for around 15% of students, was better social facilities such as cafés, social space and student union facilities. When buying food from a university catering outlet it is no surprise that price is the top consideration (70% stated this), and for those students who buy lunch from a university café or canteen, 94% spend less than £5. Students looking for quality when buying from a campus catering outlet, has dropped with 55% stating this as a factor in 2012 compared to 65% in 2010. Value for money, although still third on the list, has become an increased consideration with 34% of students stating this in 2010 compared to 45% today. Concern for the provenance of the food they are buying does influence around half of all students with 59% and 57% respectively stating they might or definitely would pay a premium price for Fairtrade or free range produce.