Two-thirds of the public in England support the reintroduction of
maintenance grants for the poorest students, but only one-in-ten
of the public (10%) think students should be prioritised for help
with the cost of living:
- Nearly two-thirds (64%) support the reintroduction of
maintenance grants for the poorest students – but support for
prioritising students for additional financial support is low.
- 71% believe the cost-of-living crisis will deter people from
going to university over the next two years – but only 26% think
that fewer people should be going to university.
New polling from the UPP Foundation (www.upp-foundation.org) and
the Higher Education Policy Institute (www.hepi.ac.uk) finds strong
support for maintenance grants, with two-thirds of respondents
agreeing that maintenance grants should be reintroduced for
poorer students.
In a poll of around 2,000 people, conducted through Public First,
71% of respondents said they believed the cost of living and
economic crisis will deter people from going to university in the
next few years, and 57% agree the Government should provide
additional support to students to help them with the cost of
living.
But despite this, only 10% of respondents put students among the
top three groups they would prioritise for support with the cost
of living – compared to 57% for those on minimum wage, 47% for
pensioners and 42% for families with young children. In contrast,
63% believe that ‘students should expect to work part time to
cover their living costs while at university.’
These findings are part of a new report – Public Attitudes to
Higher Education 2022[attached] – published by the UPP
Foundation and Higher Education Policy Institute, which looks at
public attitudes towards universities and the value of university
education, the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and views on
freedom of speech. This is the second in a series of annual
polls, following the inaugural findings last year.
The 2022 survey shows 77% of respondents agree that universities
are important to research and innovation and 57% agree they are
important to the UK economy as a whole. Support for public
investment is also high – half of people (50%) agree that
university research should receive funding from the taxpayer.
However, over one-fifth of respondents (22%) agree with the
statement ‘a university degree is a waste of time’, which rises
to nearly one-third (32%) among 18-to-24 year olds, and 58% agree
‘a university degree does not prepare students for the real
world’. Only 18% of respondents had visited a university in the
existing academic year, and over half of those from the lowest
social grades (DE) had never visited a university at all.
On questions of freedom of speech, over half (57%) of respondents
said freedom of speech is currently under at least some threat,
compared to just 16% who said it is under no threat.
Richard Brabner, Director of the UPP Foundation,
said:
‘It is pleasing to see generally high levels of public support
for UK higher education institutions in this second annual wave
of polling.
‘However, challenging findings around cost of living – and the
lack of support from the public to make students a priority group
for financial aid – means it is incumbent on all of us working in
the higher education sector to continue to make the case for
student access and success.
‘The best way to help hard-pressed students is to link the
existing maintenance support package to a more accurate measure
of inflation so that it maintains its value.’
, Director of HEPI,
said:
‘A sustained advocacy job needs to be done either side of the
next general election if more people are to understand the true
value of higher education.
‘One of the most dispiriting findings is how many people have
only very rarely, or never, knowingly visited – or even
apparently engaged passively with – a university.
‘It is clear universities need to do more to welcome people onto
campus and to make their activities more visible.’
Once it is published, the report will be available at
https://upp-foundation.org/upp-foundation-and-hepi-public-attitudes-to-higher-education-2022/
as well as on the HEPI website.
Notes for Editors
- UPP Foundation and HEPI commissioned Public First to run the
polling and analysis for this report. The previous iteration from
2021 can be found here.
- Public First polled 1,994 adults over the age of 18 in
England between from 26 to 31 August 2022. The polling sample and
questions related to England due to the devolved nature of higher
education in the UK. Research was carried out online, and results
weighted to be representative by interlocked age and gender,
region and social grade. Quota and weighting targets were matched
to those used in the 2021 report to enable comparisons.
- The UPP Foundation was created in 2016 by UPP the leading
provider of on-campus student accommodation infrastructure and
support services in the UK. The UPP Foundation is a registered
charity that offers grants to universities, charities and other
higher education bodies.
