Most students in England believe their universities and colleges are places of free speech, the results of annual research show.
Almost 86% of those who completed the National Student Survey (NSS) gave a positive response when asked if they feel free to express their ideas, opinions and beliefs on campus.
In total 38% said they feel very free to speak their mind during their studies and 48% said they feel free to do so, despite a series of rows about free speech on campuses in recent months.
Just 11% of respondents reported feeling not very free to express their ideas, while 3% said they are not free at all.
Earlier this year, the Government appointed Cambridge lecturer Professor Arif Ahmed as the Office for Students’ (OfS) freedom of speech director to promote open debate.
His appointment followed the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act and protests surrounding feminist Professor Kathleen Stock’s talk to the Oxford Union over her views on gender identity.
The survey, which received more than 339,000 responses from across the UK, did not put the question to students in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
It found that 75% of students think information about mental wellbeing support services is well communicated.
