In an era when public finances are stretched and taxpayers want reassurance of value for public money, higher education institutions must justify the public subsidy that they enjoy with demonstrable contribution to the common good. The political sands are shifting: funding is increasingly tied to visible outcomes, social returns, and civic impact. Universities, long seen as engines of social mobility for the individual and the bleeding edge of national competitiveness, must now adopt a more collective rationale that prioritises social cohesion, regional development, health, sustainability, and civic resilience. Universities are highly autonomous institutions; their licence to be so depends on making their missions accountable to their communities.

Failure to anchor higher education to the public interest risks fuelling narratives of elitism, irrelevance, or self-interest. A sector perceived as detached from the social contract is open to attacks that undermine its legitimacy, as well as the rhetorical and financial body-blows currently in evidence on the other side of the Atlantic. Conversely, when universities collaborate with local authorities, co-create solutions with citizens, and amplify marginalised voices, they reinforce their role as civic institutions rather than sequestered enclaves. Public money should support public value, and reflect public values. The Post-18 Project will explore how higher education institutions fit into this configuration as it goes forward.

The student experience is increasingly misaligned with the evolving expectations of a student body that thinks like consumers and has grown up in the shadow of the pandemic. Today’s students are discerning, debt-laden stakeholders who expect meaningful return on investment, high-quality teaching, responsive support, and a blend of online and in-person engagement, all while retaining much of the classic ‘uni experience’ that decades of sector rhetoric have talked up. Much of the sector continues to operate on a pre-pandemic model of delivery, with patchy digital infrastructure, inconsistent academic support, and a narrow conception of “experience” that privileges campus life over employability, wellbeing, and flexibility. The post-18 recruitment marketplace has seldom been more competitive, with alternatives to the classic linear model of the home undergraduate degree increasingly appealing. Universities must adapt to keep pace with student wants and needs.

The pool of people entering higher education is more diverse than ever before, and paying more than ever before for the privilege; they expect a more nuanced experience than universities have offered up till now. A modernised student experience should speak to a student life cycle that could start at 18 or 80 in almost any town in the country, recognising that learners are juggling jobs, caring responsibilities, and hybrid lives. Institutions that fail to make this shift risk not only reputational damage but regulatory consequences, as quality metrics become more attuned to student outcomes and satisfaction. In order to meet modern expectations of experience, we must first articulate what these expectations might be.

The modern era of global geopolitical instability has been characterised by the weaponisation of knowledge. Misinformation, disinformation, censorship, abuse of technology (notably AI) and discrimination on a global scale have all given the sector pause to consider how higher education’s role will change over the coming years. When knowledge is under threat, universities are not neutral bystanders. They are hubs of soft power, intellectual freedom, and international collaboration. In the case of the UK, their strength discharging these functions has made them a major export for the UK economy. But this is a double-edged sword: a global reputation for excellence means global exposure. At a time when trust in institutions is faltering and global alliances are shifting, the sector’s ability to project stability, openness, and critical inquiry is an asset of strategic national importance.

In order to preserve their position amid this instability, universities must grapple with complex questions around academic freedom, research security, and ethical international links. There is a balance to be struck between pursuing global engagement and safeguarding institutional integrity. This will require institutions to take proactive steps to assert their values, pursue transparency, and act as poles of intellectual diplomacy. This will require coordination between individual institutions, the sector as a whole, and government. Daunting though it may be, the sector cannot emerge unscathed from the current geopolitical era without attempting to formulate long-term principles and strategy. The Post-18 Project will set out what steps could be taken in this direction.