Two thirds of British students now think the cost of university does not warrant the benefits of a degree, a new survey has found.
Tuition fees rose this September to £9,535 a year in England and Wales, and the government has refused to rule out another rise in line inflation in coming years.
Now, according to a new YouGov poll of almost 1,000 UK home undergraduates, 66 per cent think that the standard of education and the wages graduates earn are not enough to warrant the cost.
According to a previous poll which surveyed students in the academic year of 2012/13, when the fees stood at £9,000 a year, only 37 per cent said their degree was “fairly bad” value for money and 16% said “very bad” value.
Hoda Hassan, 25, a chemical engineering graduate, said she didn’t think university was worth the cost and felt she got less out of her education than a normal student because she studied during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I didn’t have access to the university building and couldn’t do labs in person, yet I still paid the full tuition fees,” she said.
She graduated in 2022 and explained that: “Even after graduating I struggled to find a job in my field because I didn’t have any industry experience, something that universities don’t help you with. For the amount that you’re paying you’d expect more support in these areas.”
Harry Godfrey, the co-founder of the Degree Gap, an educational consultancy told the Independent that university used to be seen as a “golden bullet to get a good job” and how the “badge of a degree would open doors” but admits that these days this is “fundamentally changing”.
He said that in a world changing due to AI, new graduate job openings are falling and incoming students need to “think strategically” about gaining “recognisable skills”.
He added: “I worry that the structure of the university course is too rigid and will not adapt quick enough to equip their students with the right skills.”
Mr Godfrey said that alternative options such as degree apprenticeships are becoming more enticing and competitive because they guarantee employable skills whilst avoiding debt.
Due to changes introduced in 2023, students will have to repay their loans for up to 40 years, before the remaining balance is discarded.
It is estimated that more than one in three students (37 per cent) will never fully pay off their student loan.
Despite many students seeing university as poor value for money, the vast majority are satisfied with their degree courses, with eight in ten students (80 per cent) satisfied with the quality of their education in their chosen subject.
A spokesperson for Universities UK, the collective voice of 141 universities, has said: “We understand that going to university is a significant financial investment. But generally that investment pays off – graduates earn more, have better mental health, and are more resilient to economic ups and downs because they have the skills to keep learning throughout their lives.”
In terms of future job prospects, most students are optimistic with 78 per cent believing that a degree will aid them in getting a good job and 66 per cent think that they will be financially better off after going to university.
One in six (18 per cent) think that their degree won’t make much difference to their lifetime finances.
