Two-thirds of students in England ‘feel degree cost is not good value’

Two-thirds of students in England do not feel their degree represents good value for money, with overall satisfaction levels particularly low among students from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds, a survey has found.

The 2016 student academic experience survey, published on Thursday, shows satisfaction levels among undergraduates in terms of value for money have fallen sharply in the past four years since the introduction of £9,000 tuition fees.

Just 33% of students in England who took part in this year’s survey felt they were getting “good” or “very good” value for money, compared with more than half of students (52%) surveyed in 2012.

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Sir Peter Lampl, the chairman of the Sutton Trust education charity that promotes social mobility, said: “It’s no surprise that students’ perceptions of their degree being ‘good value for money’ are falling.

“Our research has shown that English university graduates face extremely high debts on graduation, more than double their American counterparts. Increasing fees even more will only leave students in more debt and feeling even more short-changed.”

Read her report here