THE LINK BETWEEN OFF CAMPUS WORK FOR STUDENTS, REDUCED ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND INCREASED MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES

Despite the Free Fees Initiative (introduced in 1996), Irish students pay an annual registration fee of €3,000 [1]. This fee, in combination with rising accommodation and living costs, means that the annual cost of college education ranges from €4,340 (living at home) to €8,206 (rented accommodation) [2]. Notwithstanding student need-based grants and financial support from parents [2], it is inevitable that some students have to combine/support their university life with paid employment [3]. Soliz et al. (2016) state that “the number of hours students are working during college appears to be increasing”. Research on the effects of off-campus work on student performance are contradictory [4], with some studies suggesting no negative impact and others suggesting that 0-9 hrs part-time work/week can result in minimal negative effect whilst longer hours can show greater negative effects on study-time [5] and academic performance [6]. Interestingly, studies also show work-based benefits of part-time work i.e. students develop transferrable labour market skills which can ultimately increase employability postcollege [7]. However, college life is not solely about attending lectures, it is also about the extracurricular social participation/interaction (i.e. sports/societies) that has a beneficial effect, both on academic performance and on the ‘growth’ of the individual [8] [5]. Working during third level education means that there is less time to devote to these activities and in turn can lead to increased levels of stress and feelings of isolation. A study in 2017, showed an increase in the percentage of Irish students seeking “help with depression, anxiety, relationships problems and academic issues has reached unprecedented levels ... a 40 per cent increase in demand for counselling over the last 10 years, with waiting lists for counselling services at many colleges” [9]. In this paper, the authors present the results of a survey of 180 engineering and informatics students comprising 109 undergraduate (UG) students and 71 postgraduate (PG) students. The purpose of this survey was to identify (1) the numbers engaged in off-campus work per year of the degree programme, (2) students’ perceptions of whether or not a link exists between off-campus part/full time work and stress/depression, (3) whether their off-campus work affects their academic performance, attendance and energy and enthusiasm for third level, (4) how they believe the university can best support them in this university-work conflict and (5) the benefits of working off-campus during term time. Note : Anecdotal commentary from the students is presented in italics in [].