Nearly nine in 10 students in England feel free to express their opinions and beliefs, according to a government-backed survey that contrasts with claims of widespread “cancel culture” on campuses.
A new question added to the Office for Students (OfS) national student survey found that 86% said they were free or very free to express their “ideas, opinions, and beliefs” during their studies. Only 3% of the more than 300,000 final-year students who responded said they were “not free at all” to express their views.
The University of Oxford, Buckinghamshire New University, the University of West London and Imperial College London were the institutions where 90% or more of students said they felt free to express themselves.
The results run counter to the narrative promoted by some MPs and commentators that campuses have become hotbeds of censure, with academics and students afraid to voice dissenting opinions on issues such as race and gender.
Earlier this year the government passed the Higher Education Freedom of Speech Act, which requires universities and student unions to maintain freedom of expression. It also created a “free speech tsar” within the OfS, appointing the Cambridge academic Prof Arif Ahmed as the new director for freedom of speech and academic freedom.
Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said: “Some of the questions in this year’s survey were added to embarrass universities and bolster the government’s case. But this result on free speech is in line with earlier surveys and suggests that threats to free speech are less of an issue among students.
“It begs the question, for Arif Ahmed, of what problem he is being put in place to solve.”
Robert Halfon, the government’s higher education minister for England, said the overall survey results were “very encouraging”.
“Our universities are world-leading and are rightly preserved as institutions that encourage free speech and debate. I’m particularly pleased that 86% of students in this year’s survey felt able to express their ideas, opinions and beliefs freely,” Halfon said.
The latest survey discontinued a question about students’ overall satisfaction in England, although regulators in other nations continued to ask it, with those in Scotland and Wales slightly less satisfied than last year.
The remaining 27 question asked students to rate their academic experience, mental wellbeing, resources and support. Aggregating responses across the Russell Group of leading research universities showed Sheffield, Warwick and Imperial College London with the highest positive responses.
Prof Hugh Brady, Imperial’s president, said: “These results confirm Imperial College London is one of the best universities in the world to be a student.”
Prof Koen Lamberts, vice-chancellor of the University of Sheffield, said: “We are really pleased that our students have rated us so highly. This is a testament to the hard work of our staff and the positive work of Sheffield students’ union.
“We really value feedback from our students as it provides important insights into how we can improve.”
David Kernohan, deputy editor of the higher education debate platform Wonkhe, said the changes to the long-running survey, such as removing the option of giving a neutral response, have had a huge impact on its results.
“Historically a lot of the value in the [survey] has been the ability to build a time series to identify how student experiences were changing year on year. For this cohort of students – who have experienced issues related to the pandemic, industrial action and the cost of living during their studies – it is a pity we are not able to see this impact directly by comparing to previous years,” Kernohan said.
