After two demanding years for everybody in higher education, and particularly for students, it is encouraging to see that in most parts of the UK, undergraduates are beginning to see better value-for-money, and fewer students are reporting poor or very poor value from their academic experience. With much more frequent 'face-to-face' teaching, which students welcome, their feedback now reflects increasing scrutiny of in-person teaching quality, assessment and feedback, and of programme and course administration. The evidence in the Student Academic Experience Survey (SAES) 2022 points to the need for even more focus on enhancing and improving teaching. SAES 2022 follows SAES 2021 in highlighting the significant challenge of student mental health. Complementing the question on mental health is an area of the report which is extremely timely: on belonging and a new question on freedom of speech on campus. A significant majority of students feel comfortable expressing their points of view and even more that they hear a variety of opinions expressed on campus. Similarly, most students were positive about their sense of belonging. However, the report shows that this isn't the experience for Black students: both in these two measures and in their perceptions of value; in their experience of their expectations being met; and in whether they would choose the same university. Everyone should have an equal opportunity to flourish in higher education, and it's up to everyone to drive the change that's needed. [Forewords written by Alison Johns and Nick Hillman. For the 2021 report, see ED614703.]