Skip to main content

Higher education student enrolments and qualifications obtained at higher education providers in the United Kingdom 2014/15

Statistical First Release SFR224

Introduction

This Statistical First Release (SFR) has been produced by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in collaboration with statisticians from the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Welsh Government (WG), the Scottish Government (SG) and the Department for Employment and Learning Northern Ireland (DEL(NI)). It has been released according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority. It provides details of student enrolments and qualifications obtained by higher education (HE) students at HE providers in the United Kingdom (UK) for the academic year 2014/15. From 2012/13 the HESA constituency includes all UK publicly funded higher education institutions (HEIs) and a number of alternative providers (APs), collectively referred to as higher education providers (HEPs). This SFR, as in previous years, contains information regarding only the HEI element of this constituency and the University of Buckingham (also an AP), and therefore uses the term ‘higher education providers (HEPs)’.

This SFR also includes summary statistics about study at higher education level in further education colleges, and it therefore presents figures illustrating the totality of higher education provision in publicly-funded providers in the UK.

This SFR also includes information from the HESA Aggregate offshore record. This record captures students studying wholly outside the UK who are either registered with the reporting HE provider or who are studying for an award of the reporting HE provider.

Readers should be aware that data definitions sometimes change over time and this can affect the validity of time series comparisons. Any significant changes have been explained in the definitions.

Please note, key points have been derived from the Excel tables (these can be found below). Comparisons with previous year's data have only been included where they can be derived from these tables.

A notable change in this release is the use of revised data returns for the time series figures. The 'fixed' data return facility provides HEPs with the opportunity to make post-collection amendments to their HESA return. The fixed database remains open for between 6 and 15 months following the closure of the corresponding live data collection and usually becomes available at least 18 months after the original dataset is delivered. In the past fixed data has not been used in SFRs. For 2014/15 onwards, any time series within the SFR tables will make use of the most up to date fixed datasets available. Please refer to the versioning information below for detail as to which versions have been used to produce this release and the impact of these changes.

As in the 2013/14 SFR, enrolments and qualifications registered at one of The Open University's (OU) national centres in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will contribute to the totals of those countries where statistics are shown by country of HE provider. Please note that all non-UK domicile OU students, those who study at postgraduate research level, and students returned in the Aggregate offshore record, are registered to the OU administrative centre in England. 

A statistical reference volume Students in Higher Education 2014/15 providing more detailed information about students in higher education in the UK will be published by HESA in February 2016.

Key points - enrolments (all UK HEPs)

The total number of HE enrolments at UK HEPs stood at 2,266,075 in 2014/15, a decrease of 1%, 33,280 in overall numbers, from 2013/14. This overall decrease is mainly due to a decline in undergraduate enrolments which fell by 2% and part-time enrolments which decreased by 6% between 2013/14 and 2014/15. Postgraduate enrolments showed no percentage change between 2013/14 and 2014/15, full-time enrolments also showed no change over the same period (see Table 1 and Chart 1). There were a further 189,635 HE enrolments at further education colleges in 2014/15 compared to 189,480 in 2013/14. These data are presented in Table 1b disaggregated by mode and level of study. All further figures presented in this SFR exclude HE enrolments at further education colleges. 

HE student enrolments by level of study and mode of study 2010/11 to 2014/15

Over the time series shown in this SFR the overall number enrolled on HE courses was at its highest at 2,503,010 enrolments in 2010/11 and has decreased every year since (Ref. Table 1). Between 2013/14 and 2014/15 there was a decrease of 1%; this was not as sharp as the 6% decrease in enrolments observed between 2011/12 and 2012/13 which coincided with changes in tuition fee arrangements. 2012/13 was also the academic year which had the lowest total number of first year enrolments during the 5 year period shown, at 971,410 (Ref. Table 2).

First year HE student enrolments by level of study and mode of study 2010/11 to 2014/15

In 2014/15, the total number of postgraduate enrolments stood at 538,180 showing no percentage change from 2013/14; 317,760 were first years also showing no percentage change from the previous year. Total undergraduate enrolments reached a high in 2011/12 before decreasing each subsequent year. First year undergraduate enrolments decreased by 1% between 2013/14 and 2014/15 (after increasing by 2% in the previous academic year), although overall numbers remain lower than the peak in 2010/11 (Ref. Table 1, Table 2, Chart 1 and Chart 2).

1,697,150 of all enrolments were full-time, showing no percentage change since 2013/14 while full-time first year enrolments increased by 1% over the same period. 568,930 enrolments were part-time showing a decrease of 6% since 2013/14, this continues the decreasing trend in part-time numbers over the time series shown. This decrease was made up of a 9% decrease in part-time undergraduates and a 1% decrease in part-time postgraduates. A similar pattern was observed for part-time first year enrolments over the same time series, decreasing by 6% between 2013/14 and 2014/15. The continuing decline in part-time enrolments compared to full-time enrolments further reduced the proportions studying part-time. In 2013/14, 26% of all enrolments were part-time compared to 25% in 2014/15. This trend was mirrored in part-time first year enrolments where 28% of first year enrolments were part-time in 2013/14, compared to 27% in 2014/15 (Ref. Table 1, Table 2, Chart 1 and Chart 2).

HE student enrolments by level of study, mode of study and domicile 2014/15

In 2014/15, UK domiciled students accounted for 81% of all enrolments at UK HEPs (the same as in 2013/14), 5% were other European Union (EU) domiciled (the same as in 2013/14) and the remaining 14% came from countries outside the EU (13% in 2013/14). The overall number of student enrolments from outside the EU increased by 1% from 2013/14 (from 310,195 to 312,010). The number of other EU domiciled students decreased by 1% between 2013/14 and 2014/15 (from 125,300 to 124,575). Over the same period, the number of UK domiciled students decreased by 2% (from 1,863,860 to 1,829,195). (Ref. Table 1). It should be noted that from 2013/14, European Union domiciled students includes Croatia which joined the European Union on 1 July 2013. For academic years prior to 2014/15, students domiciled from Croatia are included in the Non-European Union totals, refer to the domicile definitions for further detail. It should also be noted that for 2014/15 onwards it is possible for students to be grouped into Unknown domicile following a change to the derivation, refer to the domicile definitions for further detail.

Proportions of students from outside the UK varied by both level and mode of study in 2014/15. UK domiciled students made up the majority of enrolments for all modes and levels of study with the exception of full-time postgraduates, where 46% were non-EU domiciled (46% in 2013/14) (Ref. Chart 3).

HE student enrolments by location of HE provider and domicile 2014/15

Proportions of students from outside the UK also varied across the four administrations. HE providers in England and Wales had the greatest proportion of non-EU domiciled students at 14%, while providers in Scotland had the greatest proportion of other EU domiciled students at 9%. At HEPs in England, there was a 1% increase in the number of non-EU enrolments coinciding with the number of UK and other EU enrolments reducing by 2% from 2013/14 to 2014/15. Wales had a decrease of 6% in the overall number of non-EU domiciled enrolments and Northern Ireland experienced a decrease in non-EU numbers of 13% from 2013/14. Scotland had an overall increase in the number of other EU domiciled enrolments, increasing by 5% from 2013/14 (Ref. Chart 4 and Ref. Table 1a). 

Percentage change in first year student enrolments by subject area and level of study between 2013/14 and 2014/15

There was an overall increase of 1% amongst full-time first year enrolments in 2014/15 and a 3% increase in science subjects. The proportion studying science subjects in 2014/15 was 42% for first year full-time enrolments compared to 41% in 2013/14. For part-time first year enrolments the overall number decreased by 6% while the number studying science subjects increased by 1%. Therefore, the proportion of part-time first years studying science subjects increased from 44% in 2013/14 to 47% in 2014/15 (Ref. Table 4 and Table 4a).

The greatest percentage increase in first year postgraduate student enrolments between 2013/14 and 2014/15 was observed in Agriculture & related subjects (29%), while the greatest decrease in first year postgraduate numbers was observed in Veterinary science (9%). For first year undergraduate enrolments the greatest percentage increases were observed in Agriculture & related subjects and Creative arts & design (both 4%), while undergraduate first year enrolments in Education decreased by 7% over the same time period. This drop in first years studying Education was due to a 15% decrease in part-time enrolments in Education (Ref. Table 4, Table 4a and Chart 5).

Table 6a and Table 6b include data on the sex, age, disability status and ethnicity of full-time and part-time enrolments by level of study and subject area. 56% of all enrolments were female compared to 44% male. The gender split differed by mode of study; 55% of full-time enrolments were female compared to 60% for part-time enrolments. 51% of all full-time student enrolments were aged 20 and under compared to 5% for part-time enrolments. For full-time enrolments the age profile differed by level of study, 63% of full-time undergraduates were aged 20 and under compared to 1% for full-time postgraduates and 50% of full-time postgraduates were aged 21 to 24. The majority of part-time enrolments were aged 30 and over (62%), for undergraduates this was 57% and for postgraduates 70%.  The disability status was similar amongst full-time and part-time enrolments with 11% full-time and 10% of part-time known to have a disability. Of the UK domiciled full-time enrolments with known ethnicity, 77% were white compared to 83% of UK domiciled part-time enrolments (Ref. Table 6a and Table 6b).

UK domiciled first year enrolments by domicile and location of HE provider 2014/15

Chart 6 shows the cross border flows of UK domiciled first year enrolments by the country of domicile and country of provider (excluding those studying at The Open University). Across all regions the majority of students stay in their home country, although those domiciled from Wales and Northern Ireland were more likely to cross borders than those from England and Scotland. 26% of first year students from Wales were enrolled at HEPs in England. 5% of first year students from Northern Ireland were enrolled at HEPs in Scotland. 

Tables 8, 8a, 9 and 9a show the top 10 countries of domicile for other EU and non-EU domiciled student enrolments and first year enrolments. Across all UK HEPs, for first year student enrolments, there was a 3% decrease in the number of students from non-EU countries, the largest number were from China which showed no percentage change from 2013/14, while the largest percentage increase amongst the top 10 countries was observed from Hong Kong which increased by 3%. Around a third, 34%, of non-EU first year enrolments were from China in 2014/15 which increased from 26% in 2010/11. The next largest countries were United States and India, both with 6% of non-EU first year enrolments in 2014/15, however, while numbers from United States have remained stable over these 5 years the share from India has decreased from 14% in 2010/11. This was also the trend across all enrolments from non-EU countries, the largest number, representing 29%, were domiciled from China (a 2% increase from 2013/14), India was second largest in the list of non-EU countries, representing 6%, although they observed a 7% reduction in numbers from 2013/14. Among other EU countries, the largest number came from Germany and then France; although there was a 3% decrease in numbers from Germany since 2013/14, while numbers from France increased by 4%. For first year student enrolments, there was a 1% increase in the number of students from other EU countries. The largest number of first year students came from Germany which showed no percentage change since 2013/14. There was an increase in the numbers coming from Italy (8%) and Romania (6%) (Ref. Table 8, Table 8a, Table 9 and Table 9a).

Key points - qualifications obtained (all UK HEPs)

In 2014/15, there were 745,005 HE qualifications obtained in the UK compared to 777,555 in 2013/14, a decrease of 4%. Of these, 395,580 were at first degree level, compared to 421,635, in 2013/14, a decrease of 6% (Ref. Table 10).

Chart 7 shows the time series trend in qualifications obtained between 2010/11 and 2014/15 by level of qualification obtained.

Qualifications obtained by level of qualification 2011/12 to 2014/15

Over the time series shown in this SFR, the total number of qualifications gained has shown an overall increase in numbers between 2010/11 and 2012/13 before decreasing slightly (1%) in 2013/14 and by a further 4% in 2014/15.  Postgraduate qualifications were the only level of study which showed an increase in awards in 2014/15, 8% for postgraduate research and 1% for postgraduate taught, although it should be noted within that group PGCE awards decreased by 5% from the previous year. First degree qualifications observed the first decrease over this time period, with a 6% reduction in awards in 2014/15. This is likely to be attributed to the reduction in first year first degree enrolments in 2012/13, many of whom will have completed their qualifications in 2014/15 (Ref. Table 2Table 10 and Chart 7).

Chart 8 illustrates the distribution of qualifications obtained in 2014/15.

Qualifications obtained by level of qualification 2014/15

First degree qualifications accounted for 53% of all HE qualifications obtained in 2014/15 and other undergraduate qualifications (including foundation degrees and excluding undergraduate PGCE) accounted for 11%. (Ref. Table 10 and Chart 8).

Postgraduate qualifications (excluding postgraduate PGCE) accounted for 32% and PGCE qualifications (at postgraduate and undergraduate level) accounted for the remaining 3% in 2014/15 (Ref. Table 10 and Chart 8).

Of those gaining a classified first degree, the proportion who obtained a first or upper second has shown a steady increase from 64% in 2010/11 to 72% in 2014/15. In 2014/15, 22% gained a first class degree compared to 15% in 2010/11 (Ref. Table 11).

Chart 9 shows the percentage distribution of first degree classifications by mode and sex in 2014/15.

Percentage of first degree qualifiers obtaining each classification by sex and mode of study 2014/15

73% of first degrees undertaken through full-time study in 2014/15 achieved first or upper second classifications compared to 54% of those undertaken through part-time study (Ref Table 11 and Chart 9).

73% of first degree qualifications achieved by females in 2014/15 were at first or upper second level compared to 69% of those achieved by males. There was no difference in the proportions obtaining first class honours degrees with 22% of males and females obtaining a first in 2014/15 (Ref Table 11 and Chart 9).

In 2014/15, 41% of qualifications obtained were in science subjects, compared to 40% in 2013/14. In 2014/15, 36% of qualifications achieved by women were in science subjects compared to 46% for men, these have showed little change over the 5 year time series shown (Ref. Table 12).

Key points - students studying wholly overseas (all UK HEPs)

In 2014/15, there were 663,915 students studying wholly overseas compared to 636,675 in 2013/14, an increase of 4% (Ref. Table 13).  It should also be noted that students registered at Oxford Brookes University accounted for 43% of the total population of the 2014/15 Aggregate offshore record (43% in 2013/14, 44% in 2012/13, 44% in 2011/12 and 48% in 2010/11). The majority of these students were registered with an overseas partner on Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) programmes.

Of those students studying wholly overseas in 2014/15, 11% were studying within the EU and 89% were studying outside the EU, compared to 12% and 88% in 2013/14. (Ref. Table 13 and Chart 10). It should be noted that from 2013/14, European Union includes Croatia which joined the European Union on 1 July 2013. For academic years prior to 2014/15, students studying in Croatia are included in the Non-European Union totals.

Chart 10 shows the number of students who were studying wholly overseas between 2010/11 to 2014/15 by level of provision and location of study.

Students studying wholly overseas by location of study and level of provision 2010/11 to 2014/15

Key points - enrolments (England only)

The total number of HE enrolments at HEPs in England stood at 1,844,095 in 2014/15, showing a decrease of 2% from 2013/14. Postgraduate enrolments showed no percentage change and undergraduate enrolments decreased by 2% between 2013/14 and 2014/15 (Ref. Table 1a).

Between 2013/14 and 2014/15, the number of enrolments of UK domiciled students decreased by 2% from 1,519,440 to 1,487,025. The number of all other European Union (EU) domiciled students decreased by 2% from 97,155 to 95,620. Over the same period, the number of non-EU domiciled students increased by 1% (from 258,430 to 261,200) (Ref. Table 1a).

The number of full-time first year enrolments increased by 2% between 2013/14 and 2014/15 and part-time first year enrolments decreased by 5% over the same period. The number of postgraduate first year enrolments increased by 1% while undergraduate first year enrolments decreased by 1% (Ref. Table 2a and Chart 11).

First year HE student enrolments at HE providers in England by level of study and mode of study 2013/14 to 2014/15

In 2014/15, 96% of English domiciled first year undergraduates studied at HEPs in England (excluding The Open University), the same as in 2013/14. 96% of English domiciled first year postgraduates studied at HEPs in England (excluding The Open University), the same as in the previous year (Ref. Table 7a and Chart 6).

Among students from outside the UK studying at HEPs in England, the largest numbers of first years from non-EU countries came from China, which showed no percentage change, followed by India which decreased by 8%. For other EU countries the largest number of first years came from Germany in 2014/15, increasing by 3% from 2013/14 (Ref. Table 8a and Table 9a).

Key points - qualifications obtained (England only)

In 2014/15, there were 328,285 first degree qualifiers compared to 352,610 in 2013/14, a decrease of 7%. (Ref. Table 10a). 42% of first degrees awarded at HEPs in England were in science subjects, for the UK as a whole this figure was 43%. (Ref. Table 12a). 71% of first degree qualifiers gained a first or upper second class degree (Ref. Table 11a).

First degrees accounted for 53% of qualifications obtained in 2014/15 (Ref. Table 10a and Chart 12).

Chart 12 illustrates the distribution of qualifications obtained at HEPs in England in 2014/15.

HE qualifications obtained at HE providers in England 2014/15

194,030 HE qualifications obtained in 2014/15 were at postgraduate taught level, an increase of 1% from 2013/14 (Ref. Table 10a).

Key points - enrolments (Wales only)

The total number of HE enrolments at HEPs in Wales stood at 132,965 in 2014/15, a 3% decrease from 2013/14. Postgraduate enrolments and undergraduate enrolments both decreased by 3% between 2013/14 and 2014/15 (Ref. Table 1a).

Between 2013/14 and 2014/15, the number of enrolments of UK domiciled students decreased by 3% (from 111,530 to 108,710). Over the same time period, the number of all other European Union (EU) domiciled students decreased by 4% (from 5,645 to 5,425) and the overall number of non-EU domiciled students decreased by 6% (from 19,960 to 18,805) (Ref. Table 1a).

The number of full-time first year enrolments decreased by 6% between 2013/14 and 2014/15. Part-time first year enrolments also decreased by 6% over the same period. The number of postgraduate first year enrolments decreased by 11% while undergraduate first year enrolments fell by 4% from 2013/14 (Ref. Table 2a and Chart 13).

First year HE student enrolments at HE providers in Wales by level of study and mode of study 2013/14 to 2014/15

In 2014/15, 75% of Welsh domiciled first year undergraduates studied at HEPs in Wales (excluding The Open University), a reduction from 77% in 2013/14. In 2014/15, 69% of Welsh domiciled first year postgraduates studied at HEPs in Wales (excluding The Open University), compared to 71% in 2013/14 (Ref. Table 7a and Chart 6).

Among students from outside the UK studying at HEPs in Wales the largest numbers from other EU countries came from Germany and for non-EU countries China in 2014/15 (Ref. Table 8 and Table 9).

Key points - qualifications obtained (Wales only)

In 2014/15, there were 21,800 first degree qualifiers compared to 23,720 in 2013/14, a decrease of 8%. (Ref. Table 10a). Over two-thirds (67%) of first degree qualifiers gained a first or upper second class degree (Ref. Table 11a).

First degrees accounted for 53% of qualifications obtained in 2014/15 (Ref. Table 10a and Chart 14).

Chart 14 illustrates the distribution of qualifications obtained at HEPs in Wales in 2014/15.

HE qualifications obtained at HE providers in Wales 2014/15

12,505 HE qualifications obtained in 2014/15 were at postgraduate taught level, an increase of 1% from 2013/14 (Ref. Table 10a).

Key points - enrolments (Scotland only)

The use of the term Higher Education providers (HEPs) in this year’s SFR does not represent any change to the coverage at Scotland level. The information in the SFR, as in previous years, covers HEIs in Scotland (including the Open University), except for Table 1b which includes HE delivered in further education colleges (FECs). The total number of HE enrolments in Scotland (including those at FECs) stood at 281,285 in 2014/15, a 1% increase from 2013/14. There is a relatively high proportion of HE provision that occurs in FECs in Scotland compared to other UK administrations,  48,715 HE student enrolments were at FE colleges in Scotland in 2014/15 (Ref. Table 1b). Excluding these student enrolments, the total number of HE enrolments at HEPs in Scotland stood at 232,570 in 2014/15, an increase of 1% from 2013/14.  Postgraduate enrolments at HEPs (excluding the FECs) increased by 4%, while undergraduate enrolments at HEPs showed no percentage change between 2013/14 and 2014/15 (Ref. Table 1a).

Between 2013/14 and 2014/15, the number of enrolments of UK domiciled students showed no percentage change. The number of all other European Union (EU) domiciled students increased by 5% (from 19,750 to 20,805). Over the same period, the number of non-EU domiciled students rose by 2% (from 28,610 to 29,210) (Ref. Table 1a).

The number of full-time first year enrolments increased by 2% between 2013/14 and 2014/15 while part-time first year enrolments decreased by 9% over the same period. The number of postgraduate first year enrolments increased by 2%. Although the total number of undergraduate first year enrolments fell by 3%, the number of first degree first year enrolments increased by 1% (Ref. Table 2a and Chart 15).

First year HE student enrolments at HE providers in Scotland by level of study and mode of study 2013/14 to 2014/15

In 2014/15, 94% of Scottish domiciled first year undergraduates studied at HEPs in Scotland (excluding The Open University), the same as in 2013/14. Similarly, 87% of Scottish domiciled first year postgraduates studied at HEPs in Scotland (excluding The Open University), compared to 86% in 2013/14 (Ref. Table 7a and Chart 7).

Among students from outside the UK studying at HEPs in Scotland the largest numbers from other EU countries came from Germany and for non-EU countries China (Ref. Table 8 and Table 9).

Key points - qualifications obtained (Scotland only)

In 2014/15, there were 36,210 first degree qualifiers compared to 36,385 in 2013/14, showing no percentage change (Ref. Table 10a). Over three-quarters (76%) of all first degree qualifiers gained a first or upper second class degree (Ref. Table 11a).

First degrees accounted for 51% of qualifications obtained in 2014/15 (Ref. Table 10a and Chart 16).

Chart 16 illustrates the distribution of qualifications obtained at HEPs in Scotland in 2014/15.

HE qualifications obtained at HE providers in Scotland 2014/15

24,135 of the HE qualifications obtained in 2014/15 were at postgraduate taught level, showing no percentage change from 2013/14 (Ref. Table 10a).

Key points - enrolments (Northern Ireland only)

The total number of HE enrolments at HEPs in Northern Ireland stood at 56,445 in 2014/15, showing no percentage change from 2013/14. Postgraduate enrolments decreased by 4% and undergraduate enrolments increased by 1% between 2013/14 and 2014/15 (Ref. Table 1a).

Between 2013/14 and 2014/15, the number of enrolments of UK domiciled students increased by 1% (from 50,455 to 50,920). The number of all other European Union (EU) domiciled students decreased by 1% (from 2,750 to 2,730). Over the same period, the number of non-EU domiciled students decreased by 13% (from 3,200 to 2,795) (Ref. Table 1a).

The number of full-time first year enrolments increased by 1% between 2013/14 and 2014/15; while part-time first year enrolments decreased by 4% over the same period. The number of postgraduate first year enrolments decreased by 9% and undergraduate first year enrolments increased by 1% (Ref. Table 2a and Chart 17).

First year HE student enrolments at HE providers in Northern Ireland by level of study and mode of study 2013/14 to 2014/15

In 2014/15, 76% of Northern Ireland domiciled first year undergraduates studied at HEPs in Northern Ireland (excluding The Open University) compared to 77% in 2013/14. Similarly, 75% of Northern Ireland domiciled first year postgraduates studied at HEPs in Northern Ireland (excluding The Open University), compared to 76% in 2013/14 (Ref. Table 7a and Chart 6).

Among students from outside the UK studying at HEPs in Northern Ireland, the largest numbers from other EU countries came from Ireland; although this number has decreased by 3% since 2013/14 for all enrolments and 4% for first years. For all enrolments from non-EU countries the largest number were from China which decreased by 26% over the same time frame (Ref. Table 8, Table 8a and Table 9).

Key points - qualifications obtained (Northern Ireland only)

In 2014/15, there were 9,285 first degree qualifiers compared to 8,915 in 2013/14, a 4% increase (Ref.Table 10a). 71% of students who obtained a first degree were awarded a first or upper second class degree (Ref. Table 11a).

First degrees accounted for 58% of qualifications obtained in 2014/15 (Ref. Table 10a and Chart 18).

Chart 18 illustrates the distribution of qualifications obtained at HEPs in Northern Ireland in 2014/15.

HE qualifications obtained at HE providers in Northern Ireland 2014/15

4,290 HE qualifications obtained in 2014/15 were at postgraduate taught level, a decrease of 2% from 2013/14 (Ref. Table 10a).

Tables

Table 1

HE student enrolments by mode of study, sex, level of study and domicile 2010/11 to 2014/15

Table 1a

HE student enrolments by location of HE provider, mode of study, domicile and level of study 2010/11 to 2014/15

Table 1b

HE student enrolments by type of provider, location of provider, mode of study and level of study 2011/12 to 2014/15

Table 2

First year HE student enrolments by mode of study, sex, level of study and domicile 2010/11 to 2014/15

Table 2a

First year HE student enrolments by location of HE provider, mode of study, domicile and level of study 2010/11 to 2014/15

Table 3

HE student enrolments by HE provider, level of study, mode of study and domicile 2014/15

Table 4

HE student enrolments by level of study, subject area, mode of study and sex 2010/11 to 2014/15

Table 4a

First year HE student enrolments by level of study, subject area, mode of study and sex 2010/11 to 2014/15

Table 5

HE student enrolments by level of study, subject area, mode of study and location of HE provider 2014/15

Table 6a

Full-time HE student enrolments by level of study, subject area, sex, age group, disability status and ethnicity 2014/15

Table 6b

Part-time HE student enrolments by level of study, subject area, sex, age group, disability status and ethnicity 2014/15

Table 7

UK domiciled HE student enrolments by level of study, mode of study, domicile and location of HE provider 2013/14 & 2014/15

Table 7a

UK domiciled first year HE student enrolments by level of study, mode of study, domicile and location of HE provider 2013/14 & 2014/15

Table 8

Top ten other European Union countries of domicile in 2014/15 for HE student enrolments by location of HE provider and country of domicile 2010/11 to 2014/15

Table 8a

Top ten other European Union countries of domicile in 2014/15 for first year HE student enrolments by location of HE provider and country of domicile 2010/11 to 2014/15

Table 9

Top ten non-European Union countries of domicile in 2014/15 for HE student enrolments by location of HE provider and country of domicile 2010/11 to 2014/15

Table 9a

Top ten non-European Union countries of domicile in 2014/15 for first year HE student enrolments by location of HE provider and country of domicile 2010/11 to 2014/15

Table 10

HE qualifications obtained by sex, level of qualification obtained, mode of study and domicile 2010/11 to 2014/15

Table 10a

HE qualifications obtained by location of HE provider, sex, level of qualification obtained, mode of study and domicile 2010/11 to 2014/15

Table 11

First degree qualifiers by sex, mode of study and class of first degree 2010/11 to 2014/15

Table 11a

First degree qualifiers by location of HE provider, sex, mode of study and class of first degree 2014/15

Table 12

HE qualifications obtained by sex, subject area and level of qualification obtained 2010/11 to 2014/15

Table 12a

HE qualifications obtained by sex, subject area, location of HE provider and level of qualification obtained 2014/15

Table 13

HE students studying wholly overseas by location of HE provider, location of provision, type of provision and level of provision 2010/11 to 2014/15

Download all tables

None of the tables presented should be interpreted without reference to the Notes to Tables and Definitions provided below. 

Notes to tables

The United Kingdom Statistics Authority has designated these statistics as National Statistics, in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and signifying compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Designation can be broadly interpreted to mean that the statistics:

  • Meet identified user needs
  • Are well explained and readily accessible
  • Are produced according to sound methods
  • Are managed impartially and objectively in the public interest.

Once statistics have been designated as National Statistics it is a statutory requirement that the Code of Practice shall continue to be observed.

Definitions

The data presented in this SFR are based on the 2014/15 HESA Student and Aggregate offshore records. The statistics in this SFR are derived by HESA from data collected from all publicly funded HEPs in the UK (including The Open University) and The University of Buckingham, which is privately funded. The figures (in all tables except 1b) therefore exclude HE enrolments and qualifications obtained by students registered at UK further education colleges and at other private and independent UK HE colleges. This SFR also includes summary statistics about study at higher education level in further education colleges (shown in Table 1b). Data for HE students enrolled at FE sector colleges are taken from individual student data collected by The Skills Funding Agency (covering English FECs), the Scottish Funding Council, the Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (Wales) and the Department for Employment and Learning Northern Ireland.

Student enrolments and qualifications data was prepared December 2015 using the following versions of the datasets:

  • 2010/11 Fixed dataset, August 2013 version
  • 2011/12 Fixed dataset, September 2014 version
  • 2012/13 Original dataset December 2013 version
  • 2013/14 Original dataset, February 2015 version
  • 2014/15 Original dataset, November 2015 version.

The impact of using the fixed dataset in this release has been minimal. For 2010/11 the standard registration population increased by approximately 1700 and the number of first years decreased by approximately 500 and the qualifications obtained population increased by approximately 600. In 2011/12 the standard registration population increased by approximately 10 and the qualifications obtained population decreased by approximately 90.

Student enrolments and qualifications definitions:

For data intelligence, please see the following web page.

Aggregate offshore definitions:

For data intelligence, please see the following web page.

Press enquiries should be directed to the Press Office at the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), 95 Promenade, Cheltenham, GL50 1HZ: Tel: 01242 211120. General enquiries about the data contained within this SFR should be addressed to Jenny Bermingham, Senior Statistical Analyst, HESA (at the same address), telephone: 01242 211115.

Ends

National Statistic

Embargo

14 January 2016, 9:30

Coverage

UK

Themes

Children, education and skills

Issued by

HESA, 95 Promenade, Cheltenham, GL50 1HZ

Press enquiries

01242 211120

Public enquiries

01242 211133

Statistician

Jenny Bermingham

Email

[email protected]


Welsh Government logo


Scottish Government logo


Department for Employment and Learning logo


Department for Business, Innovation and Skills logo