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Figure 15 - HE qualifications obtained by level of qualification 2017/18 to 2021/22

HE Student Data

Figure 15 - HE qualifications obtained by level of qualification

Academic years 2017/18 to 2021/22

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Please note that 'Other undergraduate' includes any qualification not listed above (see definitions for a full list of qualifications). 'Total other undergraduate' includes all undergraduate qualifications excluding first degrees.

Postgraduate Certificate in Education also includes Professional Graduate Diploma in Education.

To avoid an overlap and a duplication of figures, the Department for the Economy Northern Ireland (DfENI) advised Queen's University Belfast and Stranmillis University College to change their recording practices during 2019/20. They no longer report on foundation degrees that are offered as part of a validated collaborative arrangement with Further Education Colleges. This change in reporting practices accounts for the decrease to 0 enrolments in foundation degree courses and qualifications awarded at these providers in 2019/20.

Type of data

Administrative data

Data source

HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) is part of Jisc. We are the experts in UK higher education data and analysis. We have been collecting higher education information since the 1994/95 academic year.

Student data is taken from both the HESA Student record and the HESA Student Alternative record. Universities, colleges and other higher education providers return data to HESA via one or other of these records on an annual basis. The records collect a wide range of information, including data about students' personal characteristics, courses and modules of study, and qualifications achieved. The Student alternative record first began in the 2014/15 academic year, with data published from the record from 2015/16 onwards. Data on students pursuing teacher training qualifications is taken from the Initial Teacher Training record, while data on students studying wholly overseas is taken from the Aggregate offshore record.

We provide data and analysis on students to a wide variety of customers, including:

  • Governments
  • Universities (via the Heidi Plus analytics tool)
  • Academic and commercial researchers
  • Students and potential students
  • Policy makers.

Our data is used to regulate the sector, inform policy making, advance understanding of social and economic trends, support student decision making, and enhance public understanding of - and confidence in - the higher education sector.

Rounding and suppression strategy

We implement a rounding and suppression strategy in published and released tabulations designed to prevent the disclosure of personal information about any individual. This strategy involves rounding all numbers to the nearest multiple of 5 and suppressing percentages and averages based on small populations.

Related releases

We publish annual statistical bulletins about students in higher education.

Our HE Student Data pages collect together all of the tables we publish on students in higher education.

Further information

open-data   Open data licence: CC-BY-4.0