Qualifications obtained by and examination results of higher education students at higher education institutions in the United Kingdom for the academic year 2001/02

Introduction

This Statistical First Release (SFR) has been produced by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in collaboration with Department for Education and Skills (DfES) 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 (UK) for the academic year 2001/02.

Key Points

The number of first degree graduates in 2001/02 was 267,100 compared to 265,300 in the previous year.

Of those gaining a first degree in 2001/02, 10% obtained a first class honours award, compared to 9% in 2000/01. 45% obtained an upper second class honours award, compared to 44% in 2000/01.

11% of first degree graduates gained their award through part-time and other modes of study in 2001/02, compared to 10% in 2000/01.

56% of first degree graduates in 2001/02 were women, compared to 55% in 2000/01.

In 2001/02, 39% of first degree graduates achieved their qualification in science. Of these, 46% were women.

136,200 students obtained HE qualifications at postgraduate level in 2001/02. Of these, 22,100 (16%) were awarded a Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE), 14,000 (10%) completed their studies mainly by research, and a further 100,100 (74%) obtained qualifications after following taught postgraduate courses other than PGCE.

The number awarded other undergraduate qualifications was 83,100 in 2001/02, an increase of 8% from 2000/01.

33,500 undergraduate and 39,000 postgraduate students obtaining HE qualifications in 2001/02 came from overseas. Overseas students accounted for 15% of all students awarded HE qualifications in 2001/02.

Tables

Table 1 shows the Qualifications Obtained by Students on HE courses at HEIs in the UK by Mode of Study, Domicile, Gender and Level of Course, 1997/98 to 2001/02.

Table 2 shows Examination Results of Students Obtaining First Degree Qualifications at HEIs in the UK by Gender and Mode of Study, 1997/98 to 2001/02.

Table 3 shows the Qualifications Obtained by Students on HE courses at HEIs in the UK by Level of Course, Gender and Subject Area, 1997/98 to 2001/02.

Notes to Editors

1. The statistics in this SFR are derived from data collected from publicly funded HEIs in the UK by HESA. The figures 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 First Destination return includes all those students whose study was primarily full-time (see Definition 15) who obtained relevant qualifications (see Definition 13) reported to HESA for the reporting period 1 August to 31 July.
3. The 2002 figures in this SFR are provisional.
4. For the 2001 and subsequent data collections, the figures exclude qualifications obtained by incoming visiting and exchange students. To enable comparison, there were approximately 500 first degree qualifications obtained by incoming visiting and exchange students not included in the figures presented for 2001.

5. The figures presented for 2000 have been adjusted to take account of under reporting of qualifiers by one institution. Similarly the data for 1998 have been adjusted to take account of over reporting by one institution. The figures presented here may therefore differ from those published elsewhere that do not contain these adjustments.

   A number of qualifications awarded have been adjusted in previous years to take account of differences in reporting practices, mis-coding or mis-reporting of qualifiers by some institutions. Details of these adjustments can be found in earlier versions of this SFR.

6. The figures presented in this SFR for the academic years 1997/98 and 1998/99 include all qualifications which were submitted to HESA prior to 15 January following the appropriate reporting period. The details of previous reporting schedules are given in earlier versions of this SFR. In 1999/2000, 2000/01 and 2001/02 the deadline for reporting qualifications was brought forward to 15 November, 9 November and 8 November respectively. Therefore the figures reported in this SFR for the academic years 1999/2000, 2000/01 and 2001/02 include all qualifications which were reported to HESA prior to these dates. It is not, however, thought that changes in reporting schedules over the years have affected the number of qualifications reported.
7. A statistical reference volume ‘Students in Higher Education Institutions, 2001/02’ setting out more information about students in higher education in the UK will be published by HESA in April 2003.

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 presented in this SFR are counts of student enrolments during the reporting period 1 August to 31 July that are associated with the award of an HE qualification.

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 degree with eligibility to register to practice (doctor/ dentist/veterinary surgeon), 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

   1998/99 onwards

   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, full-time for less than 24 weeks in the academic year or those employing ‘Other’ modes of study.

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

   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 18 weeks in the academic year or those employing ‘Other’ modes of study.

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

5. Domicile

   UK domiciled students are those normally resident in the United Kingdom, including those living in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

6. In this SFR, ‘1998’ refers to the academic year 1997/98, ‘1999’ refers to the academic year 1998/99, ‘2000’ refers to the academic year 1999/2000, ‘2001’ refers to the academic year 2000/01 and ‘2002’ refers to the academic year 2001/02. The definitions of the symbols used in the tables are:

   ‘0.0’ zero

   ‘-’ non-zero, less than the least significant figure shown

   ‘.’ not applicable.

7. Press enquiries should be directed to Press Officer at the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), 95 Promenade, Cheltenham, GL50 1HZ: Tel: 01242 211133. General enquiries about the data contained within this SFR should be addressed to Rachael Millichope, Data Quality Manager, HESA (at the same address): Tel: 01242 255577.

Ends

Table 1: Qualifications Obtained by Students on Higher Education Courses at HEIs in the UK by Mode of Study, Domicile, Gender and Level of Course, 1997/98 to 2001/02 (1)

Table 2: Examination Results of Students Obtaining First Degree Qualifications at HEIs in the UK by Gender and Mode of Study, 1997/98 to 2001/02 (1)

Table 3: Qualifications Obtained by Students on Higher Education Courses at HEIs in the UK by Level of Course, Gender and Subject Area 1997/98 to 2001/02 (1)