Rise in university truancy as more than half of students admit to missing lectures

By ELEANOR HARDING, EDUCATION EDITOR Published: 00:01, 14 May 2026 | Updated: 00:01, 14 May 2026 Truancy in universities is rising, with more than half of students failing to attend every lecture last year, a study has revealed. Some 52 per cent of undergraduates missed at least one class in 2025 – up from just 37 per cent in 2006 – analysis from the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) found. The think-tank said the 'worrying' trend was likely due to more students having to work during term time, harming the 'traditional student experience'. It may also be explained by an increase in universities making lectures available online for students to watch later, the report said. The research, based on a survey of 10,000 students, found those truanting last year missed on average five hours a week, or a third of their timetabled hours. In contrast, truants in 2006 missed just three hours a week on average – about one fifth of their hours. The Student Academic Experience Survey began 20 years ago, with the most recent year's results collected by Savanta on behalf of Hepi. In 2025, 66 per cent of undergraduate students had paid employment during term-time – compared with just 39 per cent in 2019 – the report said. Truancy in universities is rising, with more than half of students failing to attend every lecture last year, a study has revealed (file picture) The rise may be explained by soaring living costs as well as a larger proportion of students entering university from less well-off backgrounds. In 2025, those working missed on average 2.6 hours a week compared to 2.2 hours missed by non-working students. 'Students are working increasingly long hours in paid employment,' it noted. 'For students working over 20 hours a week, maintaining attendance, engagement and a sense of belonging can be challenging.' Living far away from campus had the 'potential' to affect attendance, and noted the proportion of those commuting from home had risen in the last five years. In 2019, only 25 per cent were 'commuter students' – but by 2015 this had risen to 37 per cent. Nick Hillman, Hepi director, said: 'This shows a gradual hacking away at the traditional university experience. 'Students have to do more paid employment during term time, are less able to attend in-person lectures and have worse mental health than in the past.' The wide-ranging survey also found 21 per cent of student respondents were 'not satisfied' with the number of teaching hours they had last year. Of that sub-set of students, 89 per cent felt their course was not good for money. In addition, 23 per cent felt they did not have enough interaction with staff outside of teaching hours, while 18 per cent felt they did not have enough access to learning spaces. The report concluded: 'The sector's core questions are becoming sharper... 'What does high-quality teaching look like in an era of flexibility, financial pressure and technological disruption?' Universities UK, which represents vice chancellors, has been contacted for comment. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.