Prime Highlight:
Many people wrongly believed Greggs and Manchester United earned more than Oxford University, but Oxford generated £2.9 billion in 2022-23, far above Greggs’ £1.8 billion.
Despite common misconceptions, 68% of the public hold positive views of universities, and 67% believe UK universities rank among the best in the world.
Key Highlights:
The UK higher education sector generated £24 billion in export revenues in 2022-23, surpassing aircraft manufacturing, legal services, and telecoms.
Universities employed 550,000 people in 2022-23, more than Tesco and Sainsbury’s combined.
Key Background:
Britain’s leading universities are far wealthier and more influential than many people realize, but public perception often places brands such as Greggs or football clubs like Manchester United above them, according to new research from King’s College London’s Policy Institute.
A survey of 2,000 people revealed major misconceptions about higher education, from university revenues to graduate earnings. Many people ranked Greggs, the popular bakery chain, and Manchester United, one of the world’s most famous football clubs, above the University of Oxford, but Oxford earned £2.9 billion in 2022-23, far more than Greggs’ £1.8 billion, even though the bakery sells 140 million sausage rolls a year.
When asked to identify the top revenue earners from a list, football clubs dominated public opinion. Manchester United and Manchester City were most frequently chosen, followed by Greggs and the owners of the Daily Mail. A mere 6% of respondents recognized Oxford as the leading earner.
The study also revealed that the public underestimates the global importance of higher education. The sector earned £24 billion in export revenues in 2022-23, placing it ahead of aircraft manufacturing (£12bn), legal services (£9.5bn), and telecoms (£8.8bn). The higher education institutions were also able to further employ 550,000 individuals, as compared to the combined power of Tesco and Sainsbury.
Misconceptions extended to graduates’ career outcomes. A quarter of the respondents thought that the graduates earned the same amount or even less payments compared to the non-graduates, yet statistics speak of innumerable amounts of hundreds of thousands of pounds in terms of lifetime payments. Similarly, while the public guessed that 40% of graduates regretted attending university, only 8% actually expressed regret.
Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute, said negative rhetoric and selective stories have shaped public attitudes. “These results show how easily vivid, negative anecdotes about student debt or regret can dominate public perception, even when the evidence tells a different story,” he said.
Despite the misconceptions, the survey revealed that there is strong support for higher education, with 68 percent of the community having good views about universities, and about 67% agreed that UK universities rank among the best globally.
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