Voters hold British universities in high regard, but low priority for election

British universities are highly regarded by the public but don’t rank among their priorities ahead of the general election, a survey has found.

A survey by King’s College London (KCL) found that seven in 10 people are concerned at the possibility of widespread closures of academic institutions.

Despite this, universities are seen as a low priority for voters in the upcoming general election. Universities rank ahead of only three other policy areas – further education and colleges, apprenticeships, and Scottish independence and devolution – in influencing voters’ intentions at the election next month.

The research, conducted by KCL’s Policy Institute, comes amid financial concerns for the higher education sector. A recent report has suggested that 40% of universities in England are running deficits, as universities struggle to cover financial shortfalls faced by declining numbers of international students.

The public don’t seem to be paying much attention

Prof. Bobby Duffy, King’s College London

Professor Bobby Duffy, Director of the Policy Institute at KCL, commented that the findings of the survey reflect the public’s lack of awareness of the financial issues faced by universities: “The public don’t seem to be paying much attention [to problems faced by universities]. If anything, their views are much more positive than we might expect.

“The lack of public focus on universities will also likely be related to the very low awareness of financial threat to the sector.”

Results from the survey affirm Duffy’s view, with universities placed last by the public in a list of key institutions perceived to be under threat from funding pressures and risk of closure.

The financial problems faced by the sector have also not caused a decline in public support, with UK universities ranking below only the NHS, the armed forces, and the Royal Family for their perceived status on the world stage.

Regard for UK universities is also consistent across the political spectrum. 32% of Labour voters at the 2019 general election said that they believed UK universities are among the best in the world, while 30% of Conservative voters shared the same opinion.

Net satisfaction with the performance of universities has also increased over the past three decades, rising by 13 percentage points since 1991.

However, this opinion is more divided along partisan lines, with only 15% of Conservative voters expressing their satisfaction at university performance compared to nearly a third of Labour voters.

Only 13% of voters surveyed in the study said that universities would be a key factor to determining their vote

This could be seen to reflect wider Tory opinion on universities, with the Prime Minister recently condemning so-called ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees, and some MPs criticising the ‘exploitation’ of the graduate visa scheme.

The general popularity and regard of universities among the British public does not correlate with voters’ beliefs as the general election nears, however.

Only 13% of voters surveyed in the study said that universities would be a key factor to determining their vote, while areas like healthcare (65%) and the cost-of-living (60%) were seen as more important by voters.

This apathy among voters towards universities could reflect some disagreement among the public at the extent to which they view universities positively, as shown by the research.

While the public’s general satisfaction with universities may be increasing, 53% of those surveyed believed that university vice-chancellors are paid too much.

Over four in 10 also believe that universities are more interested in making money than delivering high-quality education or research.