A survey of undergraduates has found that two thirds felt their university was not upfront about their course's job prospects, with 34 per cent saying they were never told at all what proportion of graduates in their subject land graduate-level jobs. This matters because it feeds into wider anxiety about the value of a degree, with 61 per cent of students worried their qualification will not lead to a job that justifies its cost, at a time when nearly a million young people are not in education, employment or training.

The poll of 1,054 undergraduates, carried out by Research Without Barriers for the education technology group Bett, found 44 per cent had never been told the average graduate salary for their subject, while worry about job prospects rose to 78 per cent among social science students and 69 per cent among arts students. Some 17 per cent said their degree felt "more like a visa" granting entry to job applications rather than a guaranteed route to work, echoing comments from King's College London vice-chancellor Professor Shitij Kapur. Tuition fees now stand at £9,790 a year, with loan interest at 4.1 per cent, and Universities UK responded by pointing to the government's Discover Uni website and pledges on work-based learning and careers advice.