Universities should spend money on teaching facilities,
student support and teaching staff, according to survey of over
10,000 students released today (Thursday).
The annual Student Academic Experience
Survey (SAES) from Advance HE and the Higher Education Policy
Institute (Hepi) also found that students thought teaching
quality, course content and resources provided the best value for
money of their university experience.
The findings come despite 22 strike days during the last
academic year. The report suggests that despite the industrial
action, students’ support for staff may be because the strikes
brought into focus the plight of university staff*. The
University and College Union (UCU) said the findings highlighted
how students saw their learning conditions linked to staff
working conditions.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘It is clear that
students value the teaching and support they receive and want to
see universities focus resources on staff. Sadly, universities
don’t seem to be getting the message and have
already started cutting jobs. The uncertainty brought about by
the pandemic risks having huge repercussions for universities,
students, staff and the local economies that depend on higher
education.
‘Universities need to listen to students who
say that staff should be the top priority for investment, and the
government needs to provide urgent funding guarantees to remove
the uncertainty that higher education currently faces.’
* “Comparing 2019 to 2020, there are some noteworthy
differences in priority. Although the overall ranking has changed
little, all the staff measures (teaching staff, research staff,
management staff) have increased significantly. The early part of
2020 has been a year when university staff have been in the
spotlight during a period of significant industrial action, and
we may speculate here that although students have felt the impact
in terms of contact hours lost, the action may also have made
students more aware of the role of staff across
institutions.”
