News and insight

The Higher Education Statistics Agency’s latest publication HE Statistics for the United Kingdom 2002/03 is released today. It provides an official overview of the UK’s higher education sector using HESA data and also information from a wide-range of bodies such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Student Loans Company and the Universities and Colleges Admission Service.

A 5.7 per cent increase in the number of female academics has continued to narrow the gender gap amongst staff at universities and higher education colleges. But women are still in the minority, making up 39 per cent of staff in the 2002/03 academic year. The figures show a consistent rise; in the 2001/02 academic year women made up 38 per cent of academic staff and 37 per cent in 2000/01.

A rise in the proportion of students from ethnic minority backgrounds has been recorded at all levels of higher education. The data is revealed in the Higher Education Statistics Agency’s latest publication Students in Higher Education Institutions released today. Figures show that the percentage of first year first degree students¹ from non-white backgrounds has increased in the 2002/03 academic year to 17.2 per cent from 16.9 per cent in 2001/02.

The 2002/03 financial statements of higher education institutions in the UK show a 24% rise in HE course fees from non-EU overseas students. In 2001/02 income from these students was £875 million, this has risen to just over £1 billion in 2002/03. The number of students¹ from non-EU countries has increased from 152,625 in 2001/02 to 184,685 in 2002/03, a rise of 21%.

Foundation degree courses have proved to be most popular amongst female mature students. The latest data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency shows that in 2002/03, 71 per cent of first year foundation degree students were aged 21 or over and that 72 per cent of these mature students were female. A further breakdown of age categories shows that foundation degrees are most popular with students aged twenty-one to twenty-nine (26 per cent), closely followed by those aged in their thirties (25 per cent)¹. The data relates to those studying foundation degrees at publicly funded higher education institutions.

The higher education sector had a total income of just over £15.5 billion in the 2002/03 academic year. This compares to almost £14.5 billion in 2001/02 and £13.5 billion in 2000/01. Today's figures are released as part of the first analysis of 2002/03 finance data by the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) reported an expenditure of just under £15.4 billion in 2002/03. In 2001/02 expenditure was £14.4 billion and £13.5 billion in 2000/01.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency released its first analysis of student data from the 2002/03 academic year today. The data shows that there were 2,175,115 enrolments on higher education courses at UK HE institutions compared to 2,086,075 in 2001/02. This equates to a rise of 4.3%. In 2002/03 there were 977,010 first year students compared with 938,350 in 2001/02.

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 2002/03.

Professor David Melville CBE, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kent, officially takes over the role of Chairman of the board of the Higher Education Statistics Agency today. Professor Melville was previously Chief Executive of the former Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) and was a member of the Research Advisory Group for the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

Staff at the Higher Education Statistics Agency in Cheltenham raised £120 yesterday for the charity Guide Dogs for the Blind by taking part in their national campaign of Cheese and Wine Evenings. The number crunchers took bottles of various wines and cheeses to work (all in the name of charity obviously) and raised money through donations and a raffle. The top prize was wine, of course, generously donated by Goffs Restaurant and Bar.