A Utility Equation is a mathematical construct, a formula doubtless known to Rishi Sunak and all who followed the discipline to Level 3 at 18.
The construct is grounded in microeconomics, an abstract value you gain from a preference, the satisfaction you gain from a selection. But the author can find limited evidence of the measure being used to help us understand decision-making in higher education. Perhaps it should be.
An A-level student heading to university is giving the experience three years of their lives. A university’s priority must be the quality of the academic experience provided; increasingly the regulatory requirements that surround this have also moved towards the top of the pile. But university should also be a life experience, not simply a learning experience, and where there is dissatisfaction with an experience, both factors typically come into play. Holistically, what makes university worthwhile?
