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Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2009/10

The new electronic publication, Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2009/10 is published today by HESA. This new publication replaces the former 'Resources of HE Institutions' printed product which addressed both staff and financial data.

Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2009/10 shows that there were 181,595 academic staff employed at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) on 1 December 2009. Of these, 44% were female, up from 41.9% four years previously. 12.0% of academic staff were from an ethnic minority compared to 10.7% in 2005/06. Nearly a quarter (24.0%) of academic staff in 2009/10 were of non-UK nationality.

The table below shows the numbers of academic staff by ethnicity, gender and nationality in 2005/06 and 2009/10.

Academic Staff at UK HEIs
  2005/06 2009/10
Ethnicity        
   White 130365 89.3% 145120 88.0%
   Black 2055 1.4% 2550 1.5%
   Asian 9855 6.8% 12595 7.6%
   Other (including mixed) 3635 2.5% 4675 2.8%
   Unknown 18960   16655  
Gender        
   Female 69125 41.9% 79900 44.0%
   Male 95750 58.1% 101690 56.0%
   Unknown 5   5  
Nationality        
   UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man 121870 79.5% 132095 76.0%
   Non-UK 31445 20.5% 41765 24.0%
   Unknown 11565   7735  
All academic staff 164875   181595  
Source: Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2009/10, Resources of Higher Education Institutions 2005/06
See Annex below for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland figures

As well as academic staff there were a further 205,835 non-academic staff employed at HEIs in 2009/10. The majority (62.4%) of these staff were female. Fewer than one in ten non-academic staff (9.3%) were of non-UK nationality, up from 7.9% in 2005/06.

The table below shows the numbers of non-academic staff by ethnicity, gender and nationality in 2005/06 and 2009/10.

Non-academic Staff at UK HEIs
  2005/06 2009/10
Ethnicity        
   White 157850 91.3% 173075 90.2%
   Black 4350 2.5% 5410 2.8%
   Asian 7895 4.6% 9930 5.2%
   Other (including mixed) 2725 1.6% 3545 1.8%
   Unknown 17715   13880  
Gender        
   Female 119145 62.5% 128490 62.4%
   Male 71390 37.5% 77345 37.6%
   Unknown 5   0  
Nationality        
   UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man 161965 92.1% 178715 90.7%
   Non-UK 13805 7.9% 18340 9.3%
   Unknown 14765   8780  
All non-academic staff 190535   205835  
Source: Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2009/10, Resources of Higher Education Institutions 2005/06
See Annex below for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland figures

Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2009/10 includes the demographic and contract characteristics of academic and non-academic staff in UK higher education. The new publication is released two months earlier in the year than the former Resources product and includes 28 tables of data giving comprehensive coverage of the HESA staff data record. Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2009/10 is available to purchase and instantly download from our website.

The financial data component of the former 'Resources of HE Institutions' printed volume will be published as a new electronic product in May 2011. A full schedule of all HESA releases for 2011 can be found here.

Notes for editors

  1. Press enquiries should be directed to:
  2. In the above data and annex tables 0, 1, 2 are rounded to 0. All other numbers are rounded up or down to the nearest multiple of 5.
  3. Percentage calculations exclude unknown values.
  4. Atypical staff are not included in the data tables.
  5. HESA staff data is collected from all publicly funded Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the UK, plus the University of Buckingham, which is a non-publicly-funded institution. The 2009/10 data covers 166 HEIs (131 in England, 12 in Wales, 19 in Scotland and 4 in Northern Ireland).
  6. HESA cannot accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived from the data by third parties.
  7. Equivalent tables for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland can be found in the Annex below.
  8. Definitions of the terms used in this press release follow.

    Definitions

    HESA staff data

    Coverage

    The HESA staff record contract population is an indicator of those contracts that were active on 1 December within the reporting period. Atypical staff contracts are not counted in this population. Other staff with a default (or unknown) contract start date, a default (or unknown) contract end date and a contract full-time equivalent (FTE) of zero are also not counted in this population.

    The HESA staff contract population is used in analyses of staff contract attributes by full-person equivalents (FPE).

    Full-person equivalent (FPE)

    Individuals can hold more than one contract with an institution and each contract may involve more than one different activity. In published analyses staff counts have been divided amongst their activities in proportion to the declared FTE for each activity. This results in counts of full person equivalents (FPE). Staff FPE counts are calculated on the basis of contract activities that were active on 1 December of the reporting period (using the HESA staff contract population).

    Occupational coding

    Academic staff are defined as academic professionals who are responsible for planning, directing and undertaking academic teaching and research within HE institutions. They also include vice-chancellors, medical practitioners, dentists, veterinarians and other health care professionals who undertake lecturing or research activities. All academic staff fall into group 2A of the SOC classification, regardless of their discipline (e.g. science, engineering, social sciences, humanities, languages).

    Non-academic staff are defined as members of staff who fall into one of the remaining 12 occupational categories such as managers, non-academic professionals, student welfare workers, secretaries, caretakers and cleaners.

    Ethnicity

    It is HESA's intention to adopt national classifications where they exist and are appropriate. However, in the case of the Census 2001 ethnicity coding, there is no coding structure applicable throughout the UK, as variations exist in Scotland and Northern Ireland. To accommodate requirements for institutions to report locally to their devolved administrations, the coding frame has been revised.

    Staff may choose not to reveal their ethnicity and therefore HESA advises that the figures reported in analyses are derived from a subset which may not be representative of the total staff population.

    The ethnic category groupings are:

    White includes White - British, White - Irish, White - Scottish, Irish Traveller, Other White background.

    Black includes Black or Black British - Caribbean, Black or Black British - African, and other Black background.

    Asian includes Asian or Asian British - Indian, Asian or Asian British - Pakistani, Asian or Asian British - Bangladeshi, Chinese, and other Asian background.

    Other (including mixed) includes mixed - White and Black Caribbean, mixed - White and Black African, mixed - White and Asian, other mixed background, and other ethnic background.

    Not known includes not known and information refused.

    Nationality

    Nationality defines the country of legal nationality. This is not necessarily the domicile.

    UK nationality staff are those whose country of legal nationality is the UK, and for the purposes of analysis include Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man. (Officially, the Crown Dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man are not part of the UK or the EU.)

    Non-UK nationality staff are those whose country of legal nationality is a country other than that defined as UK nationality.

Ends

Annex: Equivalent tables for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

England

Staff at HEIs in England
  2005/06 2009/10
Total academic staff 137785   152520  
Ethnicity        
   White 108375 88.7% 120495 87.4%
   Black 1890 1.5% 2315 1.7%
   Asian 8680 7.1% 10935 7.9%
   Other (including mixed) 3225 2.6% 4135 3.0%
   Unknown 15615   14645  
Gender        
   Female 58275 42.3% 67730 44.4%
   Male 79505 57.7% 84785 55.6%
   Unknown 5   5  
Nationality        
   UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man 101200 79.2% 110570 76.0%
   Non-UK 26610 20.8% 34950 24.0%
   Unknown 9975   7000  
         
Total non-academic staff 154870   167115  
Ethnicity        
   White 127180 90.0% 137910 88.7%
   Black 4245 3.0% 5220 3.4%
   Asian 7340 5.2% 9155 5.9%
   Other (including mixed) 2510 1.8% 3235 2.1%
   Unknown 13595   11595  
Gender        
   Female 96795 62.5% 104330 62.4%
   Male 58075 37.5% 62785 37.6%
   Unknown 5   0  
Nationality        
   UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man 131490 91.9% 144590 90.6%
   Non-UK 11575 8.1% 14975 9.4%
   Unknown 11810   7555  
Source: Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2009/10, Resources of Higher Education Institutions 2005/06

Wales

Staff at HEIs in Wales
  2005/06 2009/10
Total academic staff 8150   8860  
Ethnicity        
   White 7240 93.4% 7915 92.3%
   Black 50 0.6% 65 0.7%
   Asian 330 4.3% 455 5.3%
   Other (including mixed) 130 1.7% 140 1.6%
   Unknown 400   285  
Gender        
   Female 3280 40.2% 3760 42.5%
   Male 4875 59.8% 5095 57.5%
Nationality        
   UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man 6790 85.4% 7330 83.4%
   Non-UK 1160 14.6% 1460 16.6%
   Unknown 200   70  
         
Total non-academic staff 9555   11285  
Ethnicity        
   White 8940 96.8% 10690 96.4%
   Black 45 0.5% 60 0.5%
   Asian 175 1.9% 240 2.1%
   Other (including mixed) 75 0.8% 110 1.0%
   Unknown 315   190  
Gender        
   Female 5960 62.4% 6970 61.8%
   Male 3595 37.6% 4315 38.2%
Nationality        
   UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man 8940 95.9% 10670 95.0%
   Non-UK 385 4.1% 565 5.0%
   Unknown 225   45  
Source: Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2009/10, Resources of Higher Education Institutions 2005/06

Scotland

Staff at HEIs in Scotland
  2005/06 2009/10
Total academic staff 16020   16855  
Ethnicity        
   White 12120 92.1% 13695 90.0%
   Black 100 0.8% 155 1.0%
   Asian 695 5.3% 1000 6.6%
   Other (including mixed) 240 1.8% 360 2.4%
   Unknown 2860   1645  
Gender        
   Female 6445 40.2% 6970 41.3%
   Male 9570 59.8% 9885 58.7%
Nationality        
   UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man 12010 81.9% 12180 75.0%
   Non-UK 2660 18.1% 4065 25.0%
   Unknown 1345   605  
         
Total non-academic staff 21845   23235  
Ethnicity        
   White 17880 97.1% 20475 96.2%
   Black 55 0.3% 125 0.6%
   Asian 340 1.9% 490 2.3%
   Other (including mixed) 130 0.7% 185 0.9%
   Unknown 3440   1960  
Gender        
   Female 13780 63.1% 14600 62.8%
   Male 8065 36.9% 8630 37.2%
Nationality        
   UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man 18450 94.8% 20290 91.5%
   Non-UK 1010 5.2% 1880 8.5%
   Unknown 2390   1060  
Source: Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2009/10, Resources of Higher Education Institutions 2005/06

Northern Ireland

Staff at HEIs in Northern Ireland
  2005/06 2009/10
Total academic staff 2925   3360  
Ethnicity        
   White 2635 92.8% 3015 91.9%
   Black 15 0.5% 15 0.5%
   Asian 155 5.4% 205 6.2%
   Other (including mixed) 40 1.3% 45 1.4%
   Unknown 85   80  
Gender        
   Female 1125 38.4% 1440 42.8%
   Male 1800 61.6% 1925 57.2%
Nationality        
   UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man 1865 64.8% 2015 61.0%
   Non-UK 1015 35.2% 1290 39.0%
   Unknown 45   60  
         
Total non-academic staff 4265   4200  
Ethnicity        
   White 3845 98.6% 4000 98.4%
   Black 5 0.2% 5 0.1%
   Asian 40 1.0% 45 1.1%
   Other (including mixed) 10 0.3% 15 0.3%
   Unknown 365   135  
Gender        
   Female 2610 61.2% 2585 61.6%
   Male 1655 38.8% 1615 38.4%
Nationality        
   UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man 3085 78.6% 3165 77.5%
   Non-UK 840 21.4% 915 22.5%
   Unknown 345   120  
Source: Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2009/10, Resources of Higher Education Institutions 2005/06
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