Summary - UK Performance Indicators 2014/15

Summary of UK Performance Indicators 2014/15

This section summarises the sector-wide information for each of the indicators, and provides a comparison with the sector values from previous years, where appropriate.

The summary includes some time series data and highlights any changes in the indicator over time, although changes within the underlying populations have not been taken into account. For example, the proportion of students attending a state school or college may have changed over time, even though the indicator showing the proportion of students from state schools or college has not changed. Therefore, time series data should be analysed with care.

All data within the summary relates to UK domiciled undergraduate students studying at HE providers (HEPs) in the UK, which are students who were living in the UK prior to entering a HEP in the UK.

A notable change from the 2014/15 UK Performance Indicators is the allocation of The Open University (OU) students to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Previously all OU enrolments and qualifications were counted within England, where the OU has its administrative centre. From this release onwards enrolments and qualifications are counted within the country of national centres (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), hence The Open University will count as four separate HE providers in the frequency charts.

For information on HE provider mergers and changes, see HE provider changes and for notes specific to the UK Performance Indicators, see PIs data intelligence 2014/15.

Percentage from schools and colleges in the state sector

This indicator, shown in table series T1, is produced for young full-time undergraduate entrants. The term ‘State schools or colleges’ is for all schools and colleges that are not classed as independent, this includes further education colleges and publicly funded HE providers. From 2014/15, for new entrants, the last provider attended field (PREVINST) must contain a valid UKPRN or a valid generic code (see the HESA coding manual for details), rather than the historic UCAS, department and HESA school codes. These have been mapped to school type and grouped up to form the state school marker where appropriate. Where an unknown or invalid PREVINST code has been supplied, these students have been excluded from the calculations of the state school indicator. Due to the changes in the coding frame there is likely to an impact on the quality of the school type data.

Table A [xlsx 22 KB] provides a time series from 1998/99 of the percentage of young full-time first degree entrants who attended a state school or college by country of HEP attended. Chart 1 illustrates this time series for the UK as a whole, sourced from table T1a of the Performance Indicators. These figures do not take into account any changes in population, or in the pattern of school attendance, over this time.

Nationally, 91.9% of 17 year-olds in full-time education attend schools or colleges in the state sector (Source: Department for Business Innovation & Skills (BIS) - Table 2). 89.8% of young entrants to full-time first degree courses in 2014/15 had attended such schools (source: table T1a). Chart 2 illustrates the spread of values for this indicator across the sector.

Percentage from NS-SEC Classes 4, 5, 6 and 7

For the 2001 census, a new classification, National Statistics - Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC), was developed to replace Social Class. It took into account new work patterns in the UK and the changes in education levels required for and the status of, large numbers of occupations. This new classification was used for the social class indicator from 2002/03 onwards and is not comparable with data published prior to 2002/03.

Please note that the NS-SEC indicators will not be published in 2017 and subsequent releases of the UK Performance Indicators. For more details, please refer to the section on widening participation of under-represented groups.

This indicator is produced for young full-time undergraduate entrants to higher education. It uses categories 4 to 7 of the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC) in the 'low SEC' group, with categories 1 to 3 as 'not low SEC'.

Nationally, 33.0% of young entrants to full-time first degree courses with known classification (excluding NS-SEC class 8, long-term unemployed or never worked) are classified in groups 4 to 7. (source: table T1a).

Table B [xlsx 23 KB] provides a time series from 2002/03 of the percentage of young full-time first degree entrants from NS-SEC classes 4-7 by country of HEP attended. Chart 3 illustrates this time series for the UK as a whole. The data has been sourced from table T1a of the Performance Indicators.

For reference, the social class IIIM,IV,V indicators have been included in table B and chart 3 for 1998/99 - 2001/02 but are not comparable with the NS-SEC indicators, details of the differences can be found within the changes between 2001/02 to 2002/03 document. Prior to 2002/03, the social class IIIM,IV,V indicators were published by HEFCE in table series T1.

For the 2008/09 academic year, UCAS changed the question that informs NS-SEC for the majority of applicants, see data intelligence for details. Due to this change in the question, the 2008/09 data is not comparable with NS-SEC data published prior to and post 2008/09 and has therefore been excluded from the time series data given in table B and chart 3.

 

Chart 4 provides the spread of values for the NS-SEC indicator across the sector, sourced from table T1a.

Percentage from low participation neighbourhoods (based on the POLAR3 method)

The percentage of entrants from low participation neighbourhoods is provided separately for young and mature undergraduate entrants, both full-time and part-time. The method for defining low participation neighbourhoods changed in 2006/07 and again in 2011/12, the indicators are now based on the POLAR3 method. The POLAR3 method is not comparable with the POLAR2 method used prior to 2011/12 or the Super Profiles method used prior to 2006/07. More information on the POLAR3 and POLAR2 low participation method can be found in the widening participation definitions, differences between the Super Profile and POLAR2 low participation method can be found in the changes to the PIs document.

Please note that the POLAR3 data was updated in July 2015 and this updated version was used in the creation of the Performance Indicators from 2014/15. The updated version includes new postcodes which have been added in the UK in recent times.

For time series purposes, the POLAR3 and POLAR2 measure used in tables T1, T2 and T3 have been run using both methods for 2009/10 to 2013/14. These low participation measures are based on a UK wide classification of areas into participation bands. The relatively high (in UK terms) participation rate in Scotland coupled with the very high proportion of HE that occurs in FE colleges means that the figures for Scottish HE providers could, when viewed in isolation, misrepresent their contribution to widening participation. Therefore, low participation data has not been produced for HE providers in Scotland, see relevant footnote in data intelligence.

The indicators given in table T1a-T1c are for young full-time entrants, Table T2a and T2c for mature full-time entrants and table T2b for part-time entrants.

Full-time entrants (POLAR3)

11.4% of young entrants to full-time first degree courses and 12.8% of mature entrants (who also had no previous higher education qualification) to full-time first degree courses came from low participation neighbourhoods (sourced from table T1a and table T2a respectively). Table C [xlsx 23 KB] and Table D [xlsx 23 KB] provide a time series from 2009/10 of the percentages of entrants to full-time first degree courses from POLAR3 low participation neighbourhoods for young and mature students respectively. These tables also include data using the POLAR2 and Super Profiles (prior to 2006/07) methods. Charts 5 and 6 illustrate this time series for the UK as a whole. For reference, the charts include Super Profiles low participation data prior to 2006/07 and POLAR2 data for 2006/07 to 2008/09, but comparisons between these different types of indicators should not be made. Data has been sourced from tables T1a (young) and T2a (mature).

Charts 7 and 8 illustrate the spread of values for the POLAR3 low participation indicator across the sector, sourced from table T1a and table T2a respectively.

Part-time entrants (POLAR3)

For part-time entrants, there is a difference between young and mature with regards to this indicator. 15.6% of young entrants and 8.0% of mature entrants to part-time undergraduate courses come from low participation neighbourhoods and also had no previous higher education qualification (sourced from table T2b).

Table E [xlsx 24 KB] and Table F [xlsx 24 KB] provide a time series from 2009/10 of the percentages of young and mature entrants to part-time undergraduate courses respectively. Charts 9 and 10 illustrate this time series across the sector. As with the full-time low participation indicators, Super Profile (prior to 2006/07) and POLAR2 (2006/07 to 2008/09) data have been shown for reference purposes, but are not comparable with the POLAR3 data. Data has been sourced from table T2b.

Charts 11 and 12 illustrate the spread of values across the sector for the POLAR3 low participation indicator for young and mature part-time entrants respectively. Data has been sourced from table T2b of the Performance Indicators.

 

Percentage of students in receipt of Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)

The DSA indicator given in table T7 is provided separately for full-time and part-time undergraduates. Because of the small numbers involved and unlike the other widening participation indicators, it is based on all undergraduates, not just entrants. The indicator used is the proportion of students who are in receipt of disabled students' allowance (DSA), as this is more robust than the proportions reporting that they are disabled. Due to the high numbers of part-time students studying via The Open University, they are shown separately in Table H [xlsx 22 KB].

The proportion of students in receipt of DSA is relatively small. The percentage of such students on full-time first degree courses in 2014/15 was 7.0%, with HE provider values ranging from 1.1% to 31.4%. For part-time undergraduate students, 3.4% were in receipt of DSA.

Table G [xlsx 22 KB] and Table H [xlsx 22 KB] provide a time series from 2000/01 of the percentages of full-time first degree and part-time undergraduates, respectively, who were in receipt of DSA. Chart 13 illustrates the spread of values for this indicator across the sector for full-time first degree students. The data has been sourced from table T7 of the Performance Indicators.

Non-continuation rates of full-time entrants after first year at HE provider

Table series T3 provides an indicator showing the proportion of entrants who do not continue in higher education (that is at a HE provider in the UK) beyond their first year. Table T3a provides this indicator separately for young and mature full-time first degree entrants to higher education.

In general, a higher proportion of mature entrants than young entrants do not continue in higher education after their first year. For full-time first degree entrants in 2013/14, the UK non-continuation rate was 11.8% for mature entrants compared with 6.0% for young entrants (sourced from table T3a). The non-continuation rate for young entrants was less than 10% at approximately 86% of HE providers. For mature entrants it was between 2% and 20% at the majority of HE providers.

Table I [xlsx 23 KB] and Table J [xlsx 22 KB] provide a time series from 1997/98 of the non-continuation rates by country of HEP for young and mature full-time first degree entrants respectively. Charts 14 and 15 illustrate this time series across the sector. Data has been sourced from table T3a of the Performance Indicators.

Charts 16 and 17 illustrate the spread of values of the non-continuation indicator between HE providers, again for young and mature full-time first degree entrants respectively and has been sourced from table T3a.

 

Table T3d was introduced in the 2002/03 publication and shows the proportion of full-time other undergraduate entrants who do not continue in higher education beyond their first year. These proportions are provided separately for young and mature full-time other undergraduate entrants to higher education.

In general, a lower proportion of mature than young full-time other undergraduate entrants do not continue in higher education after their first year. For entrants in 2013/14, the UK non-continuation rate was 12.9% for mature entrants compared with 15.6% for young entrants (sourced from table T3d).

Table K [xlsx 23 KB] and Table L [xlsx 23 KB] provide a time series from 2001/02 of non-continuation rates by country of HEP for young and mature full-time other undergraduate entrants respectively. Charts 18 and 19 illustrate this time series across the sector. Data has been sourced from table T3d of the Performance Indicators.

Charts 20 and 21 illustrate the spread of values of the non-continuation indicator between HE providers for young and mature full-time other undergraduate entrants respectively and have been sourced from table T3d.

Non-continuation rates of part-time entrants after second year at HE provider

Table T3e was introduced in the 2008/09 publication and shows the proportion of part-time first degree entrants who do not continue in higher education beyond their second year. These proportions are provided separately for entrants to higher education who were aged 30 and under and those aged over 30.

Table M [xlsx 22 KB] provides a time series from 2006/07 of non-continuation rates by country of HEP for part-time first degree entrants with an age split. Charts 22 and 23 illustrate the spread of values between HE providers of this indicator for those aged 30 and under and those aged over 30 respectively. Data has been sourced from table T3e of the Performance Indicators.

Return after a year out

Further information is provided in table T4a about full-time first degree entrants who started at university or college in 2012/13, but were not at a HEP in the UK in 2013/14. Nationally, 11.4% of young full-time first degree students and 11.3% of mature full-time first degree students in this category returned to their original HE provider in 2014/15, with a further 13.0% of young full-time first degree students and 5.7% of mature full-time first degree students transferring to another UK HEP (sourced from table T4a).

Similar figures are provided in table T4b for full-time other undergraduate entrants who started at university or college in 2012/13, but were not at a HEP in the UK in 2013/14. Nationally, 7.3% of young full-time other undergraduate students and 12.3% of mature full-time other undergraduate students in this category returned to their original HE provider in 2014/15, with a further 6.2% of young full-time other undergraduate students and 2.8% of mature full-time other undergraduate students transferring to another UK HEP (sourced from table T4b).

Projected outcomes

The projected outcomes in table T5 summarise the pattern of movements of students at HE providers between 2013/14 and 2014/15. They give the outcomes that would be expected from starters at the HE providers in 2013/14 if these progression patterns were to remain unchanged over the next few years.

The sector averages for the UK and its constituent countries are obtained by taking a (weighted) average of all the relevant HE provider values. They show that 81.3% of full-time first degree students starting at a HE provider in 2013/14 are expected to qualify from that HE provider with a degree and 10.2% are expected to get no qualification. A further 4.7% are expected to transfer to another UK HEP (sourced from table T5). The projected percentage of students who leave before gaining any award, and who neither return to study nor transfer to another UK HEP, is less than 22% for the majority of HE providers. Table N [xlsx 23 KB] and Table O [xlsx 23 KB] provide a time series from 1997/98 of the projected percentages of full-time first degree starters expected to gain a degree or neither obtain an award nor transfer respectively by country of HEP. Chart 24 illustrates this time series for the UK as a whole. Data has been sourced from table T5 of the Performance Indicators.

Chart 25 illustrates the spread of values between HE providers, for those projected to obtain no award nor transfer to another HE provider.

Employment indicator

Data published: 09.30 hours, Thursday 7 July 2016.

The employment indicators are based on the responses to the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey.

In 2014/15, the response rate to the survey for those graduating from full-time courses with a first degree was 82.8%. The response rates for those graduating from part-time first degree, full-time other undergraduate and part-time other undergraduate courses were 77.2%, 73.6% and 74.7% respectively. Table P [xlsx 22 KB] shows a time series of response rates and the employment indicator for full-time first degree qualifiers and Table Q [xlsx 22 KB] shows response rates of qualifiers by level of qualification and mode of qualification for 2014/15.

Chart 26 provides a time series from 2002/03 of the percentage of full-time first degree leavers in employment and/or further study (the employment indicator).

Sourced from Table E1a of the Performance Indicators.

Table R [xlsx 23 KB] shows the employment outcomes of full-time first degree graduates by academic year, based on respondents to the survey. In 2014/15, the proportion of full-time first degree graduates who were in employment (excluding those in employment and further study) six months after leaving was 68.6%, a further 4.8% were in employment and further study and 13.3% were in further study only. Table S [xlsx 22 KB] shows the employment outcomes by level of qualification and mode of qualification for 2014/15, based on respondents to the survey. Note that where the response rate for a HE provider is less than 85% of the target response rate (68.0% for full-time first degree; 59.5% for all part-time undergraduates and full-time other undergraduates), data for these HE providers have been excluded from Tables R and S.

The percentages given in Table R and Table S differ from the employment indicator shown in tables E1a - E1d which is based on all respondents to the survey who are classed as working or studying or as unemployed and seeking work, see employment indicator definitions for details. Chart 27 shows the spread of the employment indicator across HE providers.

Sourced from Table E1a of the Performance Indicators.

Enquiries

• Press: Call 01242 211120 or email [email protected].
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• Enquiries regarding the UK Performance Indicators Steering Group (UKPISG) should be directed to the HEFCE Press Office on 0117 931 7363.