Social value of the University
To calculate the social value of the University, the report investigates our education and skills wage premium, volunteering and cultural engagement.
The social value of the activities undertaken by students at the University has been assessed using Green Book and other government department guidance, such as the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) evidence base. The calculations are provided as per annum figures, based on University of Liverpool’s contribution in 2022/23.
Education and skills – wage premium
The University delivers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in a wide range of subjects, and undertakes sector specific Continuous Professional Development (CPD) courses with local employers. The University also attracts high calibre students from across the UK and globally, while also fulfilling the skills required within local sectors.
There is a wealth of existing evidence showing the generally positive impact of training and qualifications on employment and earnings. Utilising publications from the then Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, it is evident that studying at the University will lead to wage premium benefits for its graduates.
Table 4.1 demonstrates the substantial marginal earnings return (above typical Level 3 qualifications) for the attainment of undergraduate, master’s and PhD qualifications in 2024 prices.
Table 4.1: Expected wage premium from delivery of University courses | |||
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Average wage (2024 prices) | Marginal premium above Level 3 qualification | Marginal premium above preceding level | |
Provider based Level 3 | £36,150 | - | - |
Undergraduate degree (RFQ6) | £45,911 | £9,761 | £9,761 |
Master’s degree (RFQ7) | £49,164 | £13,014 | £3,254 |
Doctorate degree (RFQ8) | £51,695 | £15,545 | £4,157 |
Source: Department for Business Innovation, Skills and Business (2011); AMION Analysis 2024
These marginal premium effects have been applied to the student numbers at the University. Reflecting that not all individuals who register for a degree-level course obtain their qualification, course completion rates have been applied at 96.0% for undergraduate courses and 91.7% for post-graduate.
The University delivered 16,689 days of CPD courses over 2022/23. BIS research indicates that the education wage premium associated with provision of ongoing CPD over a year is £831 per individual. It has been assumed that 12 days of CPD is required to receive this benefit.
Based on the application of these marginal premium effects, the University is expected to lead to wage uplift benefits of £230.8 million per annum (2024/25 prices) from the 2022/23 uptake. This equates to an average wage premium per graduate/postgraduate of £8,424 per annum.
Table 4.2: Expected wage premium from university 2022/23 learning activities (once complete) | ||||
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2022/23 students | Expected number of completions | Marginal annual premium | Wage premium per annum (£m) | |
Undergraduate degree (RFQ6) | 22,265 | 21,374 | £9,761 | £208.6m |
Master’s degree(RFQ7) | 4,155 | 3,810 | £3,254 | £12.4m |
Doctorate degree (RFQ8) | 2,260 | 2,072 | £4,157 | £8.6m |
University of Liverpool – student wage premium impacts | - | - | - | £229.6m |
CPD | 16,689 | 1,391 | £831 | £1.1m |
University of Liverpool – total wage premium impacts | - | - | - | £230.8m |
Note: Numbers may not add due to rounding
Volunteering
The Green Book Wellbeing Guidance shows that life satisfaction improves based on undertaking volunteering activities with local charities and communities, with an annual value of £1,093 (2024/25 prices) for an individual undertaking regular volunteering. Guidance suggests that regular volunteering relates to 2 hours per week over the year. Once this has been applied, there is a volunteering wellbeing value of £10.50 per hour.
This monetary value has been applied to the amount of volunteering undertaken by University of Liverpool students in 2022/23. Based on this, the volunteering activities by the University’s students deliver a social benefit of £9.7 million per annum (2024/25 prices).
Table 4.3: Expected wage premium from University 2022/23 volunteering activities | ||||
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Number of volunteers | Total hours over the year | Social wellbeing benefit per hour (£) | Social wellbeing benefit per annum (£m) | |
Student Volunteering | 3,978 | 925,549 | £10.5 | £9.7m |
Cultural engagement
The Green Book Supplementary Guidance for Wellbeing shows that engagement with culture and heritage has wellbeing benefits for both users and non-users. To be prudent, only the benefits arising from the users have been considered as part of this assessment.
DCMS guidance, such as their Rapid Evidence Assessment: Culture and Heritage Valuation Studies and its supporting Culture and Heritage Capital Evidence Bank22, has been utilised to capture the social value arising from the engagement with culture in Liverpool by the University students. A benefit transfer approach has been used, applying the most appropriate values from the range of studies in this Evidence Bank as follows:
- Public conferences and lectures: a value of £4.70 per attendee (2024/25 prices) has been applied based on a study into historic libraries as part of Historic England’s ‘Heritage and the value of place’ report in 2021
- Performance arts: a value of £6.30 per attendee (2024/25 prices) has been applied based on research into art galleries within the Arts Council’s ‘Regional Galleries and Theatres Benefit Transfer Report’ in 2021
- Exhibitions and museum education: a value of £6.30 per attendee (2024/25 prices) has been applied based on research into regional museums within the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Measuring Economic Value in Cultural Institutions in 2015
- Ness Botanical Gardens: a value of £9.60 per attendee (2024/25 prices) has been applied based on research into gardens within a ‘Measuring the economic, environmental and ecosystem services value of heathland and woodland’ report in the UK in 2011
- Other events: a value of £3.50 per attendee (2024/25 prices) has been applied based on a study into historic town halls as part of Historic England’s ‘Heritage and the value of place’ report in 2021.
Based on these values and the attendances at university-based cultural events, it is estimated that the University delivers an additional social value of £1.3 million per annum through attendees at its cultural activities.
Table 4.4: Social value from university 2022/23 cultural activities | |||
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Number of attendees |
Cultural value per visits (£) |
Cultural benefit per annum (£) | |
Public conferences and lectures | 27,059 | 4.7 | £126,450 |
Performance arts | 4,576 | 6.3 | £28,686 |
Exhibitions | 56,474 | 8.2 | £464,861 |
Museum education | 1,451 | 8.2 | £11,944 |
Ness Botanical Gardens | 70,800 | 9.6 | £679,325 |
Other | 3,042 | 3.5 | £10,575 |
Total cultural benefit | £1,321,840 |