Qualifications obtained by and examination results of higher education students at higher education institutions in the United Kingdom for the academic year 1997/98

Introduction

This Press Notice has been produced by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in collaboration with Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) statisticians. It provides provisional details of qualifications obtained by and examination results of higher education (HE) students at HE institutions (HEIs) in the United Kingdom for the academic year 1997/98.

Key points

• The number of first degree graduates fell slightly from 259,100 in 1996/97 to 258,800 in 1997/98, and the number awarded other undergraduate qualifications was 63,800 in 1997/98, an increase of 3% over the same period.
• 10% of first degree graduates gained their award through part-time study in 1997/98.
• 53% of first degree graduates in 1997/98 were women.
• 115,000 students obtained HE qualifications at postgraduate level in 1997/98, an increase of 4% compared with 1996/97. Of these, 18,900 (17%) were on Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) courses, 13,700 (12%) completed their studies mainly by research, and a further 82,300 (72%) were on taught postgraduate courses other than PGCE.
• 32,600 undergraduate and 28,200 postgraduate students obtaining HE qualifications in 1997/98 came from overseas. Overseas students accounted for 14% of all students awarded HE qualifications in 1997/98.
• Of those gaining a first degree in 1997/98, 8% obtained a first class honours award and 42% obtained an upper second class honours award. This compares with 7% and 41% respectively in 1996/97.
• In 1997/98 38% of first degree graduates achieved their qualification in science, a similar proportion to 1996/97. Of these, 42% were women.

Tables

Table 1 shows the numbers of students obtaining HE qualifications at HEIs in the United Kingdom by Mode of Study, Domicile, Gender and Level of Course, 1994/95 to 1997/98.

Table 2 contains information on examination results of students obtaining first degree qualifications at HEIs in the United Kingdom by Gender and Mode of Study, 1994/95 to 1997/98.

Table 3 shows the subject areas of HE qualifications obtained at HEIs in the United Kingdom by Level of Course and Gender, 1994/95 to 1997/98.

Notes to Editors

1. The statistics in this Press Notice are derived from data collected from publicly funded higher education institutions in the UK by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). They include HE qualifications awarded by the Open University but exclude those obtained at further education colleges, the University of Buckingham and at private and independent HE colleges.
2. The 1997/98 figures in this Press Notice are provisional.
3. A statistical reference volume 'Students in Higher Education Institutions, 1997/98' setting out more information about students in higher education in the UK will be published by HESA in June 1999.
4. The 1994/95 and 1995/96 figures presented include some adjustment to take account of either miscoding or under-reporting of qualifiers. Details of these adjustments can be found in earlier versions of this Press Notice.
5. The number of qualifications awarded in 1996/97 has been adjusted to include under-reporting by four institutions.
6. Differences in reporting practices between 1996/97 and 1997/98 by some institutions have affected growth rates, particularly those for students obtaining qualifications in the Postgraduate Taught and Other Undergraduate categories. Correcting the growth rates to take account of this produces the following figures; full-time postgraduate taught growth rate +5% (instead of +16% in the tables), part-time postgraduate taught growth rate +4% (+1%), and part-time other undergraduate growth rate +4% (+8%). There is no change to the growth rate shown in the tables for the full-time other undergraduate category.
7. The 1997/98 figures presented include some adjustment to take account of either miscoding or under-reporting of qualifiers by two institutions.

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 Press Notice are counts of student enrolments associated with the award of an HE qualification during the period 1 August to 31 July.

   For ease of reading the terms student and enrolment are used interchangeably.

   It is acceptable for institutions to update leavers information by making a late return of results for those students who leave an HEI at the end of the period 1 August to 31 July, for whom the institution does not know the examination results by the HESA student record return date. The student record return dates for all the academic years presented were 15 September or the first Thursday after this date.

   The figures reported in this Press Notice for the academic years 1995/96 to 1997/98 include all qualifications which were reported to HESA prior to 15 January. In the first reporting year, 1994/95, for operational reasons, the qualifications obtained include those reported prior to 1 March (1996).

3. Level of course.

   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 an 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 HE includes all HE courses not listed above (e.g. Diploma of Higher Education, Higher National Diploma, etc).

4. Mode of study.

   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 18 weeks.

   Other modes of study include students writing up theses or on sabbatical.

5. UK domiciled students are those normally resident in the United Kingdom, including those living in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
6. From 1996/97, the figures exclude those students studying for their whole programme of study entirely outside of the UK.
7. In the tables, '1995' refers to the academic year 1994/95, '1996' refers to the academic year 1995/96, '1997' refers to the academic year 1996/97, '1998' refers to the academic year 1997/98. The definitions of the symbols used are:

   '0.0' zero.

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

   '.' not applicable.

8. Press enquiries should be directed to Data Provision Officer at the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), 95 Promenade, Cheltenham, GL50 1HZ; Tel: 01242 255577. General enquiries about HESA data within this Press Release should be addressed to Statistics Manager at the same address.

Table 1: Qualifications Obtained by Students on Higher Education Courses by Mode of Study, Domicile, Gender and Level of Course, 1994/95 to 1997/98 (1)

1. Please refer to Notes to Editors paragraph 2.
2. Please refer to Notes to Editors paragraph 4.
3. Please refer to Notes to Editors paragraph 5.
4. Please refer to Notes to Editors paragraph 7.
5. Please refer to Notes to Editors paragraph 6.

Table 2: Examination Results of Students Obtaining First Degree Qualifications by Gender and Mode of Study, 1994/95 to 1997/98 (1)

1. Please refer to Notes to Editors paragraphs 2, 4, 5 & 7.
2. As a percentage of those whose class of First Degree was known.

Table 3: Qualifications Obtained by Students on Higher Education Courses by Level of Course, Gender and Subject Area 1994/95 to 1997/98 (1)

1. Please refer to Notes to Editors paragraphs 2, 4, 5 & 7.