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The authors begin by noting that government policies towards higher education in the UK and in most other developed countries have in recent years emphasised above all else the economic function of higher education. However, research suggests that for a majority of university students, the first degree represents only the beginning of the education and training needed to be economically active and successful in the knowledge society. For UK students in particular, much of the education and training which is of most value to working life occurs after graduation from the first degree. Also, from the perspectives of the students and graduates themselves, the employment benefits of higher education are not the only advantages and not even the most important ones. Surveys of graduates have consistently rated 'personal development' benefits more highly than work-related benefits from higher education. The authors conclude that the public value of adult and higher education cannot be reduced either to the economic or to the personal benefits of those who have acquired its credentials. Nor, in the case of higher education, can it be reduced to the experiences gained on a first degree. Lifelong learning produces lifelong benefits across a whole range of economic, social and personal dimensions, and not only for those who participate in it directly.