News and insight

Following the recommendations of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education, the Government asked the four UK higher education funding bodies (HEFCE, HEFCW, SFC and DELNI) to develop suitable indicators and benchmarks of performance in the higher education sector. The Performance Indicators Steering Group (PISG) was established, with membership drawn from government departments, the funding councils and representative bodies. PISG defines the specification and develops the Performance Indicators. They are calculated and published on their behalf by the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

Data from the newly released HESA Resources of Higher Education Institutions 2006/07 publication shows that the number of academic staff employed at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) increased by 5120 (3.1%) between the 2005/06 and 2006/07 academic years.

The number of non-academic staff also increased by 3630 (1.9%) over the same period. The total number of staff employed at UK HEIs rose by 8750 (2.5%).

Data from the newly released HESA HE Finance Plus 2006/07 publication shows that the total income of UK higher education institutions exceeded £21.2 billion for the first time. Income for the sector rose 9.0% from the 2005/06 total of £19.5 billion. Total expenditure in the sector saw a similar level of increase, rising 8.8% from £19.4 billion to £21.0 billion.

Funding council grants remained the largest single source of income, exceeding £8.0 billion for the first time. Among other sources of income, tuition fees & education grants & contracts saw the largest percentage increase, rising 16.0% from £4.7 billion in 2005/06 to £5.4 billion in 2006/07. Most of this increase is due to the introduction of new fee arrangements in 2006/07. Over a quarter (25.4%) of the HE sector’s income now comes from tuition fees & education grants & contracts.

Data from the newly released HESA Students in Higher Education Institutions 2006/07 publication shows that the number of university students from the new EU member states continues to rise.

The number of HE students domiciled from Poland increased by 56% from 4,325 in 2005/06 to 6,770 in 2006/07, overtaking Spain and Italy for numbers of students studying in the UK. The number of students domiciled from Lithuania and Latvia also increased dramatically - by 53% and 64% respectively.

A report published today, commissioned by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), concluded that older female graduates are less likely to be in graduate level employment than younger female graduates.

The report compared the results of two surveys of graduate employment. The Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) Longitudinal survey, conducted by HESA in 2007, was compared with the Labour Force Survey (LFS) conducted quarterly by the Office for National Statistics. The DLHE Longitudinal survey asked leavers what they were doing 3½ years after they had left university. The LFS is a survey which samples all households in the UK.

The first analysis of the HESA Staff Record for 2006/07 shows that 17.5% of Professors in Higher Education Institutions are female, up from 16.7% in 2005/06.

The proportion of female academic staff in all grades has increased over the same period, from 41.9% in 2005/06 to 42.3% in 2006/07.

This Statistical First Release (SFR) has been produced by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in collaboration with statisticians from the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, the Welsh Assembly Government, the Scottish Executive (Scottish Government) and the Department for Employment and Learning Northern Ireland. It provides details of student enrolments and qualifications obtained by higher education (HE) students at HE institutions (HEIs) in the United Kingdom (UK) for the academic year 2006/07.

Analysis of data from the first ever HESA follow-up (Longitudinal) survey of leavers from higher education institutions reveals that, three years after they were first surveyed, the percentage of graduates in full-time paid employment had reached 74% (up from 57% when first surveyed). 6% of graduates were in part-time paid work only (7% when first surveyed).

The level of unemployment during the same period had dropped from 5% to 2%.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency’s latest publication, 'HE Statistics for the United Kingdom 2005/06' is released today. It is prepared in conjunction with the Government Statistical Service and provides an official overview of the UK’s higher education sector using HESA data. It also contains information from a wide-range of other bodies such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Student Loans Company, the Office for National Statistics and UCAS.

HESA's Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education 2005/06, published this week, reveals that levels of unemployment vary by degree classification. Graduates obtaining the lowest degree classifications are around two and a half times more likely to be unemployed six months after graduating than those obtaining firsts.

The publication, produced from the annual Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) Survey, reveals that 4.4% and 5.7% of students obtaining, through full-time study, first and upper second class honours respectively are "assumed to be unemployed"; that is those not in full-time study who reported themselves as unemployed and looking for employment, further study or training, or those due to start a job in the next month. In comparison, 8.1% of students were assumed to be unemployed when qualifying with a lower second, this rose to 11.3% for a third - a little over two and a half times the rate of those with a first and nearly twice the overall rate of 6.4%.