* Universities must consider nurturing their "cash cow" of postgraduate students by helping to improve their social life and giving them their own accommodation.
The National Postgraduate Committee annual conference at St Andrews University next week will hear that the majority of postgraduates would prefer to live with other postgraduates.
Tim Brown, NPC project officer, carried out an online survey that reveals that 85 per cent of postgraduates support the idea of separate accommodation. The majority also want a "significant increase" in postgraduate facilities. Preliminary survey results show that 55 per cent feel it is harder for them to socialise and meet their peers than for undergraduates, while 60 per cent feel they have fewer opportunities in terms of social life.