The Student Academic Experience Survey (SAES), produced by Advance HE and the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) using online fieldwork delivered by Savanta, takes the temperature of undergraduate life in the UK. Now in its third decade, it is one of the most comprehensive and widely referenced studies of the student experience.
Here are some of the findings that caught our attention.
The mood has shifted. But why?
Students are reporting a noticeably improved experience this year. Nearly half (45%) now rate their course as good or very good value for money, up from 37% in 2025 and the highest figure in more than a decade. Overall satisfaction is also up; 66% are happy with their choice of course and institution, and the proportion whose expectations have been exceeded is at its highest since 2013.
So what’s behind the change? A few factors appear to be converging. One is that students seem to be arriving better prepared for what university life actually involves, both financially and socially, helping to set more realistic expectations from the outset.
Our Higher Education Success Suite (HESS) research, which tracks the decision-making factors of first-year students, shows that course quality and good teaching have held the top two spots in the importance rankings for many years. Universities are delivering on those basics – and students are recognising it.
Whether this continues as financial pressures on institutions continue to intensify is an open question.
Working students: the new normal
65% of full-time undergraduates worked during term time in 2026, averaging nearly 14 hours a week alongside their studies. Savanta’s HESS shows this is increasingly shaping student priorities, with the importance of access to part-time work rising 18 percentage points since 2021 – from 34% to 52% of students rate it as very important.
Taken together, this means many students are effectively balancing workloads that exceed a standard full-time working week in the UK. Independent study hours have fallen to a historic low; this is less a sign of disengagement than of students having to make difficult trade-offs about their time.
Flexibility is now central to those choices. HESS data shows 43% of prospective students rate good online learning provision as very important in their decision-making, making it less a differentiator and more an expectation.
Here’s the good news: most institutions are responding to these needs. Over 80% of working students in the SAES report some form of support, from flexible deadlines to compressed timetables. Universities able to demonstrate practical support are increasingly aligned with what students now prioritise.
But some groups of students have been left behind
A new harassment question in the SAES found that 22% of students experienced harassment related to a protected characteristic in the past year. Rates were highest among trans students (23%), Jewish students (19%) and Black students (14%), figures that warrant close attention and ongoing monitoring.
Belonging remains an unfinished story. Just 20% of students strongly agree that they feel a sense of belonging at their institution. Rural students stand out as experiencing a notably different reality: lower wellbeing, a weaker sense of belonging, longer commutes, and a higher likelihood of studying entirely online. In fact, 24% of village-based students in the SAES are studying remotely – raising the question of how far this reflects genuine choice versus constraint.
This matters beyond student wellbeing. HESS data shows that sense of belonging is the single biggest driver of whether students would recommend their university. Institutions that build strong communities are therefore also strengthening their recruitment pipeline – get belonging right, and students become your best recruiters.
The bottom line
Students in 2026 are resilient, and many continue to find genuine value in their time at university. But the system is still asking a great deal of them.
For institutions, the fundamentals haven’t changed: deliver great teaching, foster a genuine sense of belonging, and ensure practical support is visible and effective. Get those right, and students notice – becoming your strongest advocates.
Speak to our team to find out more about how you can access unrivalled competitor insight and historical data with our Higher Education Success Suite.