The public would blame government for university closures

People really do like universities.

Three in ten would describe UK universities as “among the best in the world”, with only the royal family, the armed forces, and the NHS polling better among a national representative panel (n=2,683, fieldwork between 1 and 9 May).

Breaking that down a bit – 47 per cent of the sample were broadly positive (7 to 10 on a 10 point scale) about universities in 2024, down from 54 per cent in 2018. Active negativity has risen from 10 to 14 per cent.

And – crucially – seven in ten people (68 per cent) would be concerned by mass university closures, with 61 per cent blaming the UK government, though this slants towards Labour voters.

These findings are a part of wider research conducted by the King’s College London Policy Institute into the public perception of universities. This is valuable information at the best of times, but of particular interest to politicians and the sector during the general election and the likely formation of a new government.

Many of the data points form a part of a time series – we learn, for instance, that more people are satisfied with the role universities play in society now than in 1991, and that it is a difference of more than 10 percentage points. What’s fascinating here is that Labour 2019 voters are far more positive in 2024 than their Conservative counterpart – a facet of the cultural/Brexit alignment that cut through political affiliations at the back end of the last decade?

There is a general sense that universities’ star is fading a little – three percentage points more (15 per cent to 18 per cent) feel that “most research carried out by university staff is a waste of time” now than in 1994, although currently three quarters feel that the research conducted at universities is “essential for medical, technological, and social innovations.”

Whereas the sector over all may still win plaudits, the public do not appear to be blind to its failings – more than half (53 per cent) feel that vice chancellors are paid too much, and two fifths (40 per cent) feel that universities are more interested in making money than delivering high quality research.

What’s new is a shift in salience. Back in 1997, and the height of the debate on “top-up” fees, 58 per cent of the population said higher education would be very or fairly important in deciding their voting preference. In 2024, this has shrunk to just 36 per cent.

Given everything else going on, universities are just not a priority – just 21 per cent see the sector as being under serious funding pressure. Substantially fewer people (26 per cent from 41 per cent) see the government in having a role in raising funding to maintain the quality of university teaching now than in 2009 (though the consensus is that the government should pay around half of the cost of tuition).

Like all the best reports, the culmination of these findings is something that sector observers already know – the public is not engaged with the problems currently facing the sector, but would be very engaged should the widely predicted negative outcomes come to pass. With Labour already flagging the issue as one it is concerned about, hopefully we will see systemic rather than reactive action.