A recent survey reported by The Guardian has highlighted just how much attitudes towards higher education have changed over the past two decades.
The latest British Social Attitudes survey found that the proportion of people who believe a university degree is not worth the time and money involved has risen from 14% in 2005 to 34% in 2025.
At the same time, belief in the financial benefits of higher education has weakened considerably. Twenty years ago, 50% believed that those who went to university would end up significantly better off financially than those who did not. Today, that figure has fallen to just 36%.
For universities, these findings suggest that prospective students and their families may be approaching higher education with a different mindset than they did in previous generations. Concerns around tuition fees, student debt, graduate employment prospects, and alternative career pathways are becoming a bigger part of the decision-making process.
As a result, student recruitment is becoming less about promoting a university in general and more about understanding the different motivations, concerns, and priorities that exist within your audience.
Not all prospective students think about university in the same way
Student recruitment campaigns often focus on a similar set of themes: academic reputation, campus facilities, student experience, and graduate outcomes.
All of these remain important, but they do not carry the same weight for every prospective student. Some students are focused primarily on career prospects and employability. Others are more concerned about the financial return on investment. Some are looking for a particular lifestyle or experience, while others are weighing university against apprenticeships or direct entry into the workplace.
The reality is that ‘prospective students’ are not a single audience; they are a collection of different groups, each with their own motivations, barriers and decision-making processes.
Why segmentation can help
This is where segmentation can be particularly valuable. Rather than treating all prospective students as one broad audience, segmentation helps universities identify groups of students who share similar attitudes, needs and priorities.
Understanding these differences allows institutions to develop more relevant messaging, stronger propositions, and more targeted recruitment activity.
For example, students who are concerned about future earning potential may need very different information from those who are primarily interested in personal development or student life.
Likewise, students comparing university against alternative routes into employment may require different evidence and reassurance from those who have already decided higher education is the right path.
Without this understanding, recruitment activity can easily become too broad, attempting to speak to everyone and ultimately resonating strongly with nobody.
The growing importance of audience understanding
The higher education market has always been competitive, but opinions around university and its value are starting to play a more significant role in student decision-making.
Prospective students are asking different questions, parents are weighing up different considerations, and alternative pathways are receiving greater attention than they once did.
In this environment, universities need more than demographic data and application figures to build an effective recruitment strategy.
Instead, they need to understand how different groups of students think, what influences their decisions and what ultimately drives enrolment. Segmentation provides a framework for doing exactly that.
As attitudes towards higher education continue to evolve, the institutions that understand these changes will be better placed to adapt their messaging, strengthen their proposition and connect with the students who are the best fit for what they offer.
Interested in learning more?
Our guide to student segmentation explores how universities can identify distinct groups of prospective students, uncover what matters most to each audience, and develop recruitment strategies that resonate more effectively.
Read more: How to Increase Student Enrolment with Segmentation