HEPI: Second consecutive year of students reporting better value for money

The key findings in the 2019 Student Academic Experience Survey by Jonathan Neves (lead author) and Nick Hillman include:

• ·         41% of students perceive ‘good’ or ‘very good’ value from their course – this is the second consecutive year with a three percentage point improvement. 29% of students perceive ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ value, which is a drop of three percentage points since last year and five percentage points since 2017.
• ·         Value-for-money perceptions differ by type of student. Students from Scotland have relatively high positive perceptions (63%) while non-EU international students have relatively low positive perceptions (37%). Recent funding changes for students from Wales have not yet had any material impact on perceptions of value for money.
• ·         Teaching quality is the main factor for students who perceive positive value (64%) and tuition fees are the main factor for students who perceive poorer value (62%).
• ·         Among students who say their experience surpasses their prior expectations, 59% cite the ‘right level of challenge’ as the key factor. Where students report a worse experience than expected, around one-third (35%) blame themselves for not putting in enough effort. This rises to 42% among BME students.

• ·         A new question shows most students feel they were ‘very prepared’ (16%) or ‘slightly prepared’ (44%) for university, compared to just one-quarter who were ‘slightly prepared’ (14%) or ‘very unprepared’ (9%).

• ·         Two-thirds of students (64%) would choose the same course and same university if they were applying again. Only 4% would opt to ‘do an apprenticeship’ and even fewer would not enter higher education to ‘get a job’ (3%) or not enter higher education to ‘do something else’ (2%).

• ·         There have been small changes to average contact hours and workload in recent years. Since 2015, there has been a decline in independent study (15.2 hours a week to 13.8) and an increase in timetabled contact hours (13.4 hours to 13.9 hours).

• ·         Given relatively low scores for student satisfaction with feedback in this and other surveys, a new question for 2019 asked how this might be improved. The most popular option, supported by 63% of students was ‘more detail on why the mark was awarded’.

• ·         Students are significantly more anxious than other young people: just 16% of students surveyed report feeling ‘low anxiety’, against 37% for all those aged 20 to 24.

• ·         A new question on disclosing mental health issues to students’ parents or guardian finds high levels of support – two-thirds (66%) of students support disclosure ‘under extreme circumstances’ and a further 15% support it ‘under any circumstances’.

• ·         The results confirm students want more support from taxpayers for the costs of teaching undergraduates: 43% say Government should pay over half the costs and 22% say it should pay all the costs. This is out of line with the recent Augar report on post-18 education in England, which says taxpayers should continue to pay half.
• ·         For the first time, students were asked about their views on two-year degrees. While 43% of students were ‘positive’ or ‘very positive’, 29% were ‘negative’ or ‘very negative’ and the rest were either neutral (24%) or unsure (4%). 

Alison Johns, Advance HE Chief Executive, said:

“These findings point to an emerging trend in students’ positive perceptions of value for money which is very welcome and encouraging. It’s particularly pleasing to see teaching at the core of this improvement, and it also reflects good leadership and sound governance which Advance HE is committed to supporting.

“Student well-being remains a huge concern, and if a green light were needed for changes to allow universities to contact parents and guardians where an individual may have mental health problems, we have a very strong signal here in support of that change.”

Nick Hillman, Director of HEPI, said:

“Our results prove universities have continued to improve the student experience, with a positive impact on students’ perceptions of value for money. Students and staff will recognise the overall picture of incremental improvements in teaching and learning. But students also say there is still much more to do. On many issues, around two-thirds of students are content, which means around one-third are less positive. Students from non-traditional backgrounds find adjusting to student life harder than others.

“Fortunately, it is clear how to deliver for students. They want to be stretched, they want clearer feedback and they want more support for mental health challenges. They also want the Government and taxpayers to cover more of the costs. Given current political and economic uncertainties, delivering further improvements won’t be easy. But it is necessary if our higher education system is to remain among the very best in the world.”

Notes for Editors

1. Advance HE is dedicated to helping higher education shape its own future: providing insight, so you can use the foresight; enhancing organisational performance, to deliver sustainable change; developing and connecting people, so they can share best practice; accrediting achievement, so you can be recognised; removing the barriers, so all can succeed; and driving positive change, to make higher education better for all. Advance HE is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales.
2. HEPI is the UK’s only think tank specialising in higher education. It was established in 2002 to influence the higher education debate with evidence and is a non-partisan charity.
3. The Student Academic Experience Survey has been recording the views of students since 2006. Between 4 February and 11 March 2019, 14,072 responses were collected from YouthSight’s Student Panel. Weighting has been applied to the responses to ensure the sample is balanced and reflective of the full-time student population as a whole, and to provide consistency in approach with previous years.

Please find attached a copy of the 2019 HEPI / Advance HE Student Academic Experience Survey Report.  Please note it is embargoed to 00.01 hours Thursday 13^th June.

The results of the 2019 survey will be launched in public at the 2019 HEPI Annual Conference “What is University For? Future-proofing the sector in the age of risk and regulation”, which is being held at the National Gallery in London on Thursday 13^th June. With an opening keynote from the Universities Minister, Chris Skidmore MP the programme includes an afternoon keynote by the Chief Executive of the Office for Students, Nicola Dandridge.  We have a reserved number of press places at the HEPI Annual Conference if you wish to attend please email Hugo at h.daleharris@hepi.ac.uk