According to a study carried out by ComRes, which asked the first university students who had to pay the higher tuition fees, four out of ten students do not think that their university course is good value for money.
A total of 1,004 students, all in the final year of their course, were asked what they thought about the value for money from their £9,000 a year courses.
Only slightly more than half said that their course had been good value for money, whilst 8 per cent remained undecided, in a survey conducted for BBC Radio 5 live. When asked if they would do their course again, 46 per cent said that they would.
However, there was a noticeable pattern to the responses, in terms of the type of course studied. Two thirds of those studying subjects such as maths, science and technology felt that their courses had been good value. They would typically receive plenty of practical teaching and time with staff.
On the other hand, only 44 per cent of those who studied humanities and social science felt their course was good value, arguably because they typically had less staff time.
“The shift in England from public funding to increased fees means that student are understandably, and rightly, demanding more from their university courses,” said the chief executive of Universities UK, Nicola Dandridge.
“Universities are responding to this and are also improving the amount of information to students about courses to ensure that their experience matches their expectations.”
University fees trebled to £9,000 a year in 2012, and the number of university applications made each year has remained high, defying many predictions at the time that many would be deterred from university.