Imperial needs to learn that ‘affordable’ is not a dirty word

Affordable. It is hardly a glamorous word. It does not make the heart race nor the mouth salivate. It implies a sort of glum settlement; when your shallow pockets deny you your desires, go for ‘affordable’. It is not a word that springs to one’s mind when thinking about Imperial College London. Nestled in the regal South Kensington environment, our university, with its history, buildings and international reputation, is the complete antithesis to the emotions evoked by the word ‘affordable’.

The new postgraduate halls in Clapham Junction are certainly not affordable. £235 per week will be attractive to certain students but the majority will rightly balk at spending around £12,000 on rent in one year. For comparison, an average PhD stipend is around £15-16,000.

This is not to say that they are bad value for money, unnecessary or a bad investment for the College Fund. Griffon Studios is clearly a high-quality product, there is a market for the halls – even if it is an exclusive one – and Felix will support sensible efforts to make Imperial richer; as Imperial grows wealthier, so its students receive a better service.

But the fact that the College Fund and the Accommodation Service are expecting international postgraduates to make up the bulk of residents at Griffon Studios reveals a truth about Imperial. Namely that overseas students, who make up a significant proportion of our student body, are more demanding of quality and convenience – and more able to pay for it – as well as being much less willing to settle for ‘affordable’.

With a large number of international students who rightly demand some bang for their buck and a disproportionate number of privately educated home students, are we at all surprised that Imperial opts for the sort of glitzy infrastructure that leaps from the page of a brochure?

Of course not. However, Imperial should not turn its back on ‘affordable’ entirely. London is an extremely expensive city in which to attend university and student concern about rising debt is becoming more and more of an issue. Extra efforts must be made to ensure that students from poor and middle-class backgrounds, and those who do not receive financial support from their family, are not deterred by high-living costs or drowned in part-time work.

Which means that Imperial must start to get more comfortable with the word affordable. It would be nice if we could all afford high-quality accommodation but the truth is that many of us, including international and privately educated students, quite enjoy having that little bit extra in our pockets.