King's College London

Large majorities of graduates say their degree was worth it for the experiences they had as a student, the knowledge and skills they gained and the overall benefits, and nine in 10 say they’d go to university again if given the choice, according to a new study.

Yet despite this, there are growing concerns about the value of courses and opinion is often divided on whether people are better off going straight in to work or vocational education instead of university.

The research, by the Policy Institute at King’s College London, finds 31% of the public overall now say a university education just isn’t worth the time and money it usually takes – up from 18% in 2018 – although people are still more likely to disagree with this view than agree with it (37% vs 31%).

And nearly twice as many people want greater opportunities for apprenticeships (76%) than greater opportunities to go to university (36%).

However, parents of children aged 11 to 17 are still far more likely than not to say their child going to university is important to them (47% vs 19%) and seven in 10 say a university education should be valued for its own sake, not just for getting a job.

The public also have a pretty accurate view of student debt levels: their median guess is that an English student graduating from an English university in 2023 started their repayment period with an average debt of £35,000, when the reality is £45,000.

But given concerns about the financial sustainability of universities, there is a need to explore alternative approaches to funding.

And when given more context about how some courses costs much more to deliver than others and how teaching and research quality can vary, nearly half (45%) the public feel undergraduate degrees should not all have the same tuition fees.

The findings are based on two nationally representative surveys, conducted with Focaldata in May and June, with results in some cases compared with previous surveys to see how attitudes have changed.

Graduates are generally very positive about their university experience

Around eight in 10 graduates say their degree was worth it for the academic knowledge and skills they gained (84%), the experiences they had as a student at university (78%), and the overall experience and benefits (81%).

Two-thirds also say their degree was worth it for the friends they made while studying (66%) and for finding jobs and advancing their career (66%) – though nearly a third (30%) feel it didn’t boost their job prospects.

There has been virtually no change in these views since 2020.

Nine in 10 graduates would go to university if given the choice again

87% of graduates say they would choose to do an undergraduate degree again if they could – similar to attitudes in 2020 (84%).

This includes around half (48%) who say they’d choose the same degree and four in 10 (39%) who would prefer to study a different subject. Just 8% say they would choose to not go to university.

And among those without undergraduate degrees, three in 10 (29%) wish they’d attended university, rising to four in 10 among 18- to 24-year-olds (43%).

And while many still have considerable student debt, most say it hasn’t negatively affected their life

Around three in five (57%) graduates who started university in or after 2012, when £9,000 fees were introduced in England, say they still have a significant amount of debt from studying, compared with one in five (19%) who started before 2012.

There is almost no difference between the two groups when asked about whether university debt has had a real impact on their lives, with majorities of each saying it has (55% pre-2012 vs 53% 2012 and later).

But there is a difference when it comes to views on whether it has had a negative impact: just 12% of pre-2012 students feel this is the case for them, compared with 22% of those who started later – though the majority of both groups still say this doesn’t apply to them (84% pre-2012 vs 69% 2012 and later).

Taken together, 80% of graduates overall say their student debt has not negatively impacted their life, compared with 15% who say it has.

The public know students accrue tens of thousands in debt

An English student graduating from an English university in 2023 started their repayment period with an average debt of £45,000.

The public’s median guess – selected by one in four (24%) – is that the figure is £35,000, compared with 19% who identify the correct amount, and 20% thinking it’s £55,000 or higher.

Parents are relatively split on whether university is overrated, good value for money or needed for a good career…

40% of parents with children aged 11 to 17 disagree that university education is overrated – similar to the 35% who agree.

And 37% of this group feel degrees are not good value for money compared to 10 years ago, while 29% think they are.

Meanwhile, parents’ views on career prospects vary depending on how the question is asked:

• 33% say you can’t get a decent job these days if you don’t have a degree – up from 26% a decade ago. Yet a greater proportion – half (49%) – still disagree with this view.
• But when the statement is softened from “can’t” to “it’s harder” to get a decent job without a degree, the public are more evenly split, with 37% agreeing it’s harder and 36% disagreeing.

…but only one in five say they don’t think it’s important for their child to attend

But despite these mixed views among parents, nearly half (47%) still say it is important to them that their child goes to university – more than double the share who say it isn’t important (19%).

And the majority of parents feel a degree isn’t just a means to an end, with seven in 10 (69%) agreeing university education should be valued for its own sake and not just for getting a job.

Most parents say their child will go to university – but they’re just as likely to prefer an apprenticeship

Six in 10 (59%) parents of children aged 11 to 17 say it’s likely their child will apply to university or that they’ve already applied – down slightly on 2014 (65%).

But opinion is relatively split on whether they’d prefer their child do a university degree (40%) or an apprenticeship (48%).

There is widespread agreement on the value of and need for more vocational qualifications

Four in 10 (39%) of the public overall say opportunities for young people to go to university should be increased, but almost double that – three-quarters (76%) – think opportunities for apprenticeships should be increased.

However, this does not necessarily mean people think opportunities for university should be reduced, with only 14% expressing this view.

The public are most likely to say vocational qualifications are just as good as university degrees for getting a good job, building career networks, being financially stable and being happy. But the former come out on top in some areas:

• The public are around five times as likely to say vocational education (53%), rather than a university degree (11%), is better for helping people adjust to work life.
• 38% say vocational education is better for dealing with the changing demands of the job market over a career, compared with 19% who say university degrees are better.

Three in 10 think a university education just isn’t worth the time and money – up from two in 10 in 2018

Compared with 2018, the public are now more sceptical that a university education is worth the time and money it usually takes (31% vs 18%).

But despite this shift, people overall are still more likely to disagree with this view than agree with it (37% vs 31%).

Most think students should not have to incur debts while studying, although fewer think this now than in 1994

72% agree that students should be allowed to study without building up debts. While this is down from 83% when the same question was asked 30 years ago, it is a strikingly persistent opinion given high debt has become the norm for students in England in that time.

Opinion is split on whether there should be different tuition fees for different courses

One half of the sample was asked simply whether undergraduate courses should all have the same fees. 40% of this group said yes (rising to 49% of graduates who had started a degree since 2012), compared with 34% who said no.

The other half were given background information, such as how some courses cost more to deliver, or have higher earnings expectations. In this group, the balance of opinion was reversed, with 45% against all courses having the same fees and 37% in favour.

The cost of course delivery is the most popular basis for differential fees

Around six in 10 people say if different fees for different courses were ever introduced, courses that are more expensive to teach should cost more (57%), while around half think higher costs should be determined by the quality of teaching and research (47%) or their future earnings potential (45%).

Bobby Duffy, Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London, said:

“Recent statements from the new education secretary suggest the Labour government sees universities as a public good and central to creating opportunity, and our new survey shows graduates very much share this positive view. Eight in 10 say their degree was worth it for the overall experience and benefits, and nine in 10 say they’d go again if they had their time over.

“Three in 10 non-graduates also they wish they’d attended, and only one in five parents actively disagree that it’s important for their own child to go to university. But there are also clear tensions in the study, firstly around perceived value for money. Three in 10 think a university education just isn’t worth the time and money – up from two in 10 six years ago – and people are more likely to disagree than agree that degrees are still good value for money compared to a decade ago.

“This is based on some knowledge, as the public are pretty accurate in how much debt a student typically runs up. At a time of very real financial pressure on universities, with risks of institutions failing, it illustrates how limited the government’s options could be in raising fees by a significant amount. However, it’s worth noting that only one in five graduates who started their course under the £9,000 fee system say the debt has negatively impacted their lives.

“The second key message is that while universities are highly valued, they are not enough to meet all needs, with the public clearly in favour of more vocational education and apprenticeships. This again fits well with the Labour government’s stated priorities, which include developing a more comprehensive post-16 skills strategy, including establishing a new skills body for England and reforming the apprenticeship levy.”

Alison Wolf, Professor of Public Sector Management at King’s College London, and member of the Augur Review of post-18 education, said:

“These results clarify the challenges facing both universities and policymakers over the next decade. University finances are an increasing worry just when governments are facing ever-growing demands for expenditure in multiple areas, along with slow growth, high debt, and demographic challenges.

“The public understands the value of universities and graduates are positive about the experience, but there is evidence here of growing scepticism about some of what universities do and whether they alone are enough. People do not see them as the most important priority for education spending: our findings confirm and build on other evidence that support for apprenticeships ranks higher. All of this will, inevitably, feed into government decisions and underlines the need to think hard about how – not whether – our university system should develop and change.”

 

Survey details
Fieldwork was conducted via Focaldata’s in-house platform, with API integration to an online panel network. Data collection took place over two fieldwork periods: 1–9 May (2,683 respondents) and 6–10 June (1,049 respondents, plus a booster of 369 parents of children aged 11-17, who feature only in certain questions specific to this group). Respondents were from a nationally representative group of those aged 16+ in the UK, with data weighted by age, gender, region, ethnicity and education status.