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Fewer?graduates regret going to university than is widely assumed and the public have a more favourable view of universities than people imagine, according to new research.?

While discussions about the value of a degree are widespread, the concept of ¡°graduate regret¡± is largely overblown, researchers from the Policy Institute at King¡¯s College London and Higher Education Policy Institute have found as part of?.

In a survey of over 2,000 people, respondents guessed that 40 per cent of graduates wouldn¡¯t go to university if they could choose again, but the actual proportion who say this is only 8 per cent.

Graduates are also less concerned about debt than is widely imagined. Asked to?estimate?what percentage of students say debt has negatively impacted their lives, respondents put the figure at about half (49 per cent). This is around triple the actual proportion of 16 per cent, the report says.

However, it continues, the percentage who say this among graduates who started university after 2012, when fees were tripled to ?9,000, is slightly higher, at 22 per cent.?

The research also highlighted misperceptions about the graduate premium ¨C the amount those who have attended university earn in comparison?with their peers who haven¡¯t.?

Earlier this year, the Department for Education?announced that the latest release?of graduate labour market data would be the last amid?criticisms that the data was misleading.?

But, while people who graduate from university are expected to earn on average around ?200,000 to ?400,000 more than non-graduates over their lifetimes, a quarter of the public wrongly believe that graduates earn the same or even less than non-graduates over their lifetime.

The results also highlight both students¡¯ and the public¡¯s limited understanding of the student loan system. While most people know that English students take on a lot of debt, they underestimate just how much (?53,000 on average) by ?10,000.?

¡°Even more concerningly, it is young graduates, rather than non-graduates, who are most likely to be wrong on key facts about student loan repayment,¡± the report continues, with the majority (58 per cent) of young graduates aged 18-34 incorrectly believing you have to start paying back your student loan as soon as you get any paid job.?

More widely, researchers found the public are generally far more positive about universities than is imagined. While most people do think university education is worth the time and money it usually takes, the public guess that five in 10 people think university isn¡¯t worth the investment.?

The study follows what is widely seen as a?period of attacks on universities?by the former Conservative government and some right-wing media and commentators, with?so-called Mickey Mouse degrees?and?international students?facing increased scrutiny in recent years.

Among other findings:?

• Most people guess tuition fees have risen faster than inflation since 2012, when the opposite is true
• The US was rated as the country that has the graduates with the highest average tuition debt when the right answer is England
• People underestimate the proportion of immigrants who enter the UK on study visas
• Asked what happens to international students three years after study, the most popular option was they had remained in the UK to work when in fact most had left
• The median guess is that three or four universities will go bankrupt in the next two to three years.

¡°People are not paying nearly as much attention as we are obviously in the sector,¡± Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute told Times Higher Education.?

¡°What they really pick up is impressions from what they hear in the media and what they hear from politicians and what they hear generally in their lives, but they¡¯re not focusing on it very much.¡±

However the impression that people feel negatively about universities ¨C even if incorrect ¨C will ¡°drive priorities and responses¡± from politicians keen to gain votes, Duffy added.?

¡°You need to be realistic about how much time and mental space people have to engage with universities at all.?

¡°There is an underlying point here about the sector also having some confidence in itself that, actually, as much as trying to convince the public, it¡¯s convincing ourselves that not everyone is against us.¡±

He said the findings should help inform ¡°an overall vision for the sector and what it contributes¡± and that universities need to keep ¡°banging on about¡± this.?

¡°[This] will not turn around public perceptions, but it will help.¡±

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com