A third of the public in England say a degree isn't worth it. They still value universities. That gap is the sector's biggest opportunity.

In June, NatCen published the latest British Social Attitudes findings on higher education, and the headline numbers were stark. In England, 34% now agree that a university education isn’t worth the time and money it usually takes. In 2005 it was 14%. Over the same period, the share who think graduates end up “a lot better off financially” has fallen from 50% to 36%.

Asked separately, 77% said a degree isn’t good value for money at current prices, up from 51% when the question was last asked in 2014.

Yet the same research points to something more hopeful. As Wonkhe put it, the public seems to like its universities but not its degrees. Goodwill towards universities as institutions has held up far better than confidence in the degree as a personal investment.

Why this has become a reputation issue for the whole sector

For a decade, most of our public argument has rested on graduate earnings: go to university and you’ll be better off. That case was always narrower than what universities actually do, and it’s now the part of the story the public believes least, at the very moment the graduate jobs market is tightening.

Meanwhile, the case people do accept is barely made. Universities train the nurses, teachers and engineers a region depends on. They run research that changes treatment in local hospitals. They anchor city economies and regenerate whole neighbourhoods. When universities talk to the public, they mostly talk about the product, while the public seems to value the institution.

We keep defending the price of the product. The public is telling us it values the institution.

What I’d ask every university leader to do

Lead with public value. In national and regional messaging, start with what universities do for everyone, not only what a degree does for the individual. It’s the argument people are ready to hear.

Make research personal and local. A named treatment in a local hospital, a business saved by a partnership, a school transformed by better-trained teachers. Impact case studies written for funders rarely land with the public, but specific stories do.

Work with your competitors. No single university can shift national opinion. Mission groups, regional consortia and sector bodies need a shared, sustained story, told consistently by institutions that usually compete for the same students. (I chaired the Russell Group’s marketing forum long enough to know how hard this is, and how much it’s worth when it works.)

Answer the value question honestly. Where a course genuinely leads to strong outcomes, show the evidence. Where the picture is mixed, say what you’re doing about it. Defensiveness only deepens the doubt.

Measure public trust, not just applicant demand. Recruitment can stay healthy while public confidence erodes. Track what local and national audiences think of you, because politicians and funders certainly do.

The opportunity

Public goodwill towards universities is still there, but it won’t last indefinitely without a better argument. The institutions, and the sector, that start making the case for public value now will be in a far stronger position when the next funding settlement or policy fight arrives.

It’s a debate I want to have with university leaders on Season 2 of the podcast, because the sector’s next story should start with what universities give back.

Jonathan Sabarre FCIM MBA is Principal Consultant at QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a keynote speaker and host of Marketing Greats in Higher Education. Get the weekly email or invite him to speak.