From the respondents 92% of institutions surveyed said they would be investing at least £100 million in their campus, with 45% planning to spend between £100 million to £300 million and one university planned to invest over £900 million.
The CUBO ‘Campus Experience Survey’ revealed higher education institutions believed the campus is the most important attraction to new students. The second most important factor was student security and safety, recognised by 65% of universities.
Scores were taken from four key areas including accommodation, catering, retail and sport. There was an overall agreement that the quality of catering on offer was high and that most catering services responded well to the changing dietary needs of students.
The ‘Campus Experience Survey’ gave an insight into the perception of the campus experience. 59 institutions took part, including 17 of the 24 Russell Group Universities.
Universities are waiting for the Government’s response to the Philip Augur Review, which could impact on funding. Investment is seen as an important attraction for new students.
Jan Capper, CUBO chief executive, said: “Our new survey shows how highly universities regard the role the campus plays in recruiting their student base.
"In terms of where future investment is going, the majority of institutions are looking to improve infrastructure, with new academic and research buildings planned, in addition to improvement of current buildings. This is closely followed by services such as catering, retail, security and conferencing and the student and staff experience.
“We plan to repeat survey in coming years to understand how perceptions are changing as universities enter a period of uncertainty around student demographics and future needs”.