‘Case can be made’ for differential fees, poll indicates

The UK public could be persuaded to back universities charging higher tuition fees for more expensive courses, according to new polling.

A survey of 1,345 adults by the Policy Institute at King’s College London found that 40 per cent think all full-time undergraduate courses at UK universities should charge the same tuition fees, 34 per cent say they should not and 26 per cent did not know.

However, when a second group were provided with some background information, such as how much more some courses cost to deliver, or have higher earnings expectations, public opinion appeared to shift.

Among this group, 37 per cent support the current pricing structure, 45 per cent back differential fees, and 18 per cent are uncertain.

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This partly reflects the relatively low knowledge and awareness of how higher education and universities work among the public as a whole, Bobby Duffy, professor of public policy and director of the Policy Institute at King’s, told Times Higher Education.

Although there was not a majority support for change, the results imply that these views are “fairly lightly held” by the public and that only a little bit more information can cause a large swing in opinion, he said.

“It does suggest that there’s a bigger conversation and discussion to be had there to take the public through,” said Professor Duffy.

The survey found that the cost of a course was the most popular basis for differential fees, with around six in 10 respondents saying that if different fees for different courses were ever introduced, courses that are more expensive to teach should cost more.

Just under half say that higher costs should be determined by the quality of teaching and research, or by future earnings potential.

The new Labour government has said it has “no plans” to increase tuition fees, despite repeated pleas by the sector, but Professor Duffy said the results show that there is scope for the government to explore different fee structures further.

He said the government could also pursue more funding for higher education via businesses, because the survey suggested the public see a greater role for employers.

Among those in favour of increasing student numbers, 58 per cent say the general public should pay through tax or the government, but a considerable proportion (42 per cent) think employers should contribute.

And despite concerns around the value of higher education and attacks from certain parts of the media and government, public support for the model appears to have changed little.

The survey, the latest in a series on higher education by the institute, found that 87 per cent of graduates would choose to do an undergraduate degree again – up slightly from 84 per cent in 2020.

Despite universities becoming embroiled in the culture war, Professor Duffy said there had been “little cut-through” among the public.

Instead, public opinion of universities still appears to be driven more by the “big picture” impacts, such as international reputation and benefits to the community.

“The things that don’t have much of an impact are the more culture war-type framings of universities becoming less tolerant of diverse views, or international students not making a positive contribution to the UK,” he said.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com