Student enrolments on higher education courses at publicly funded higher education institutions in the United Kingdom for the academic year 1999/2000

Introduction

This Statistical First Release (SFR) has been jointly produced by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) statisticians. It provides provisional estimates of the numbers of student enrolments on higher education (HE) courses at higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United Kingdom (UK), for the academic year 1999/2000. For the first time the SFR includes estimates of numbers of HE enrolments in Further Education Colleges (FECs) in the UK, for the latest year available.

Key Points

• The total number of HE enrolments at UK HEIs stands at 1,757,200 in 1999/2000, an increase of 1% between 1998/99 and 1999/2000. Between 1995/96 and 1999/2000, UK HE enrolments at UK HEIs have increased by 8%. The latest comparable data available for HE enrolments in FECs in the UK is for 1997/98. This data shows that there were a further 168,500 HE enrolments in FECs in the UK that year, of which 16% were full-time and 99% at undergraduate level.
• Postgraduate enrolments increased by 3%, first degree enrolments remained constant and other undergraduate enrolments increased by 1% between 1998/99 and 1999/2000.
• 1,180,700 (or 67%) of all enrolments are full-time, an increase in numbers of 1% since 1998/99. The number of part-time enrolments grew by 2% over the same period.
• The number of first year enrolments increased by 1% between 1998/99 and 1999/2000, and grew by 7% between 1995/96 and 1999/2000.
• Between 1998/99 and 1999/2000, the number of enrolments of UK domiciled students increased by 1%. The numbers of all other European Union (EU) domiciled students increased by 1%. Over the same period, the number of other overseas domiciled students increased by 4%.
• 55% of students in 1999/2000 are female compared with 54% in 1998/99, and 51% in 1995/96.
• 658,900 (or 37%) of all enrolments are in science, an increase of 3% between 1998/99 and 1999/2000, and an increase of 15% between 1995/96 and 1999/2000.

Prepared in collaboration with the Government Statistical Service.

Tables

Table 1 shows the number of first year/all year enrolments by Level, Mode and Domicile for the academic years 1995/96 to 1999/2000.

Table 2 contains information on enrolments in the years 1995/96 to 1999/2000 by Level, Mode, Domicile and Gender.

Table 3 shows the subject areas of study for full-time and part-time enrolments by Level for the years 1995/96 to 1999/2000.

Table 4 gives the age profile of first year UK domiciled full-time and part-time enrolments by Level for the years 1995/96 to 1999/2000.

Table 5 shows HE enrolment data for both HEIs and FECs by Level, Mode and Gender for 1997/98.

Download all tables

Notes to Editors

1. The statistics in the majority of this SFR are derived from data collected from publicly funded HEIs in the UK by HESA. Enrolments at the University of Buckingham and at private and independent HE colleges are not included in the figures. One table (Table 5) includes comparable data for FECs in the UK for an earlier year.

   There are transfers from the FE to the HE sector taking place from year to year. Hence figures for the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and Norwich School of Art and Design are included from 1995/96 and figures for Cumbria College of Art and Design, Carlisle, are included from 1997/98, but not in the previous years. It should also be noted that a number of nursing colleges merged with higher education institutions in 1996.

2. The 1996/97 figures presented are as reported to HESA in the 1996 December student record, apart from for one institution, where July 1997 data was used in place of December 1996 data.
3. Differences in reporting practices between 1995/96 and 1996/97 by some institutions may affect growth rates, particularly those for part-time students. Calculation of part-time growth rates excluding the institution(s) concerned produced the following figures; part-time undergraduate growth rate +6.1%, part-time postgraduate growth rate +4.1%.
4. Because of changes in the reporting practices of a large part-time provider, the numbers of part-time students cannot be directly compared between 1996/97, 1997/98 and 1998/99. Growth rates between 1996/97 and 1997/98, which adjust for the changes during that period, were published in the equivalent SFR in April 1998 - PR22.
5. A volume ‘Students in Higher Education Institutions, 1998/99’ setting out more information about students in higher education in the UK, will be available from April 2000. Another volume ‘Higher Education Statistics for the United Kingdom, 1998/99’, containing broader information about higher education and prepared in conjunction with the Government Statistical Service, will be published by HESA in September 2000.
6. In order to provide consistent comparisons between years, the student enrolment census count figures for 1995/96 to 1999/2000 are derived from the December student record. The December student record provides interim figures in advance of the following July whole session student record. As a consequence, the census figures from the December student record may not necessarily match those from the corresponding July whole session student record.

Definitions

1. Higher education students are those students on courses that are of a standard that is higher than the Advanced Level of the General Certificate of Education, the Higher Grade of the Scottish Certificate of Education, GNVQ/NVQ level 3 or the BTEC or SCOTVEC National Certificate/Diploma.
2. The figures reported in this SFR are counts of student enrolments as at 1 December in each year. For ease of reading the terms student and enrolment are used interchangeably.

3. First year students

   First year students are those in their first year of study on a programme. In some cases the student’s first year of study may be the second or subsequent year of a programme. From 1998/99, the basis for identifying first year students has changed. The numbers of first years in 1998/99 cannot therefore be directly compared with those for earlier years.

4. Level of study

   Postgraduate courses are those leading to higher degrees, and diplomas and certificates (including postgraduate certificates of education and professional qualifications) which usually require a first degree as entry qualification.

   First degrees include first degrees, first degrees with qualified teacher status, enhanced first degrees, first degrees obtained concurrently with a diploma, and intercalated first degrees.

   Other undergraduate includes all higher education courses not included above.

5. Mode of study

   Post 1998/99:

   Full-time students include all students studying full-time (for more than or equal to 24 weeks in the academic year), students on thick or thin sandwich courses, and those on a study-related year out of their institution.

   Part-time students include those studying part-time, on block release, during the evenings only, or full-time for less than 24 weeks.

   Students writing-up theses, on sabbatical, or dormant are not included in the figures.

   Pre 1998/99:

   Full-time students include all students studying full-time (for more than 18 weeks in the academic year), students on thick or thin sandwich courses, and those on a study-related year out of their institution.

   Part-time students include those studying part-time, on block release, during the evenings only, or full-time for less than or equal to 18 weeks.

   Students writing up theses, on sabbatical, or dormant are not included in the figures.

6. UK domiciled students are those normally resident in the United Kingdom, including those living in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. EU students are those normally resident in countries which were European Union members as at 1 December in the relevant academic year and in the designated territories thereof, for example, Gibraltar, French Guiana etc. On 1 January 1995 Austria, Finland and Sweden joined the EU and hence students from these countries are included in the EU figures for 1995/96 and subsequent years.
7. Age is as at 31 August within the relevant academic year
8. The figures in Table 5 were obtained by mapping Individualised Student Record (ISR) and Further Education Student Record (FES/R) data into HESA format. An adjustment has been made to the contributing figures from England to account for a definitional difference concerning short full-time records, which otherwise would have affected the mode split. The totals published in this SFR reflect the total number of valid records processed through the mapping procedure and therefore might appear to undercount enrolments compared with figures published elsewhere.

9. In the tables, '1995' refers to the academic year 1995/96, '1996' refers to the academic year 1996/97, '1997' refers to the academic year 1997/98 and '1998' refers to the academic year 1998/99, ‘1999’ refers to the academic year 1999/2000.

   The definitions of the symbols used are:

   '0.0' zero.

   '-' non-zero, less than the least significant figure shown.

   '.' not applicable.

10. Press enquiries should be directed to the Data Provision team at the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), 95 Promenade, Cheltenham, GL50 1HZ; Tel: 01242 255 577. General enquiries about HESA data contained within this SFR should be addressed to Denise Bamford, Data Analyst, at the same address.

ENDS

• (1) Please refer to Definitions 11.
• (2) Please refer to Definitions 9.
• (3) Please refer to Notes to Editors 3.
• (4) Please refer to Notes to Editors 2.
• (5) Please refer to Notes to Editors 4.
• (6) The 1999/2000 figures in this SFR are provisional.
• (7) Excludes "Other" modes of study, ie students writing up theses or on sabbatical.

Table 2 - Student Enrolments on Higher Education Courses by Domicile, Level, Gender and Mode(1), 1995/96 to 1999/2000

• (1) Please refer to Definitions 11.
• (2) Please refer to Notes to Editors 3.
• (3) Please refer to Notes to Editors 2.
• (4) Please refer to Notes to Editors 4.
• (5) The 1999/2000 figures in this SFR are provisional.

Table 3 - Student Enrolments on Higher Education Courses by Mode(1), Level and Subject Area, 1995/96 to 1999/2000

• (1) Please refer to Definitions 11.
• (2) Please refer to Notes to Editors 3.
• (3) Please refer to Notes to Editors 2.
• (4) Please refer to Notes to Editors 4.
• (5) The 1999/2000 figures in this SFR are provisional.

Table 4 - First Year(1) UK Domiciled Student Enrolments on Higher Education Courses by Mode(2), Age and Level, 1995/96 to 1999/2000

• (1) See Definitions 9.
• (2) See Definitions 11.
• (3) See Notes to Editors 3.
• (4) See Notes to Editors 2.
• (5) See Notes to Editors 4.
• (6) The 1999/2000 figures in this SFR are provisional.
• (7) Includes unknown ages.

Table 5- Total Higher Education Level students in the UK by Level, Mode(1) and Gender, 1997/98

(1) Please refer to Definitions 14.