Attendance rates of UK university students have plummeted in the past two decades, according to a new longitudinal analysis of student satisfaction surveys, despite in-person interactions being consistently named a marker of a good academic experience.

Policy analysts looked at 20 years’ worth of data collected for the annual Student Academic Experience Survey, currently run by the Higher Education Policy Institute and Advance HE, to establish key trends in a tumultuous period for higher education.

The report, What Matters Most? 20 years of the student experience, notes that “the context for higher education has shifted significantly”, with the results spanning eight different prime ministers, a major expansion in student enrolments, and the rise in tuition fees from £3,000 per year to more than £9,000.

The key findings were said to be “surprisingly simple”: “a good student academic experience ultimately comes down to quality teaching, access to in person interaction with teachers and a strong sense of belonging”.

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But a key trend over the period concerned students’ attendance on campus, with 63 per cent of undergraduates attending all their scheduled classes in 2006, compared with just under 48 per cent by 2025.

The average time missed by all students has more than doubled, from about one hour per week in 2006 to 2.4 hours in 2025. However, when the figures in 2025 were isolated to just those who admitted to not attending all their classes, the average time missed was five hours – equal to one-third of their average total timetabled teaching time of 15 hours per week.

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The report outlines that student demographics tend to “be less important in shaping students’ higher education experiences”, and instead students who felt they belonged on campus, felt comfortable expressing their views and those who had a positive sense of well-being were “significantly more” likely to say their course had provided value for money.

In general, views on whether courses were “value for money” have fluctuated over the years, with more than 60 per cent agreeing in 2006, dropping to 37 per cent in the most recent iteration.

Dips in satisfaction were linked to increases in tuition fees, with perceived value for money falling between 2006 and 2007, following the tripling of fees in 2006, and further drops happening in 2012 following the introduction of £9,000 tuition fees and in 2021 amid the Covid pandemic. 

The report says: “While the context of higher education will continue to evolve, the foundations of a strong student experience remain remarkably consistent. High-quality teaching, in-person interactions and a strong sense of belonging are not only enduring principles – they are the anchors that will enable the sector to navigate the challenges ahead.”

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The report notes that the rise in students doing paid work alongside their studies is another of the major shifts seen in the survey’s history, with the 2025 survey finding 68 per cent of all students were in term-time employment, up from 35 per cent in 2015. While attendance gaps have grown for all students, “it was largest for those in employment”.

However, the report says there may be more nuance to the figures since the pandemic, when many universities began uploading lectures online, meaning students can now “catch up on lectures online and there is less pressure to attend in person”.

It concludes that the survey results from the past two decades show that “while higher education may change rapidly, what students need to succeed changes more slowly”. 

Rose Stephenson, director of policy and strategy at Hepi and co-author of the report, said that amid sector “disruption and uncertainty”, it must “protect what matters most: high-quality teaching, meaningful in-person connection and a strong sense of community. 

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“The challenge for the years ahead is not to reinvent the student experience, but to strengthen these core elements in a more complex and demanding environment,” she said.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com