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Staff in UK higher education

HESA publication 'Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12' released today

Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12 shows that there were 181,385 academic staff employed at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) on 1 December 2011. 65.0% of academic staff were employed full-time, and 63.8% were employed on permanent or open-ended contracts.

The graphic below shows the proportions of academic staff employed on different types of contract:

Academic staff by gender, terms and mode of employment 2011-12

55.5% of academic staff were men, and 44.5% women. 28.5% of male academic staff were employed part-time compared to 43.2% of women. A higher proportion of women were also employed on fixed-term contracts. Just under a half (48.5%) of academic staff were employed on full-time permanent or open-ended contracts.

The table below shows the number of academic staff by gender, mode of employment and terms of employment.

Academic staff at UK Higher Education Institutions by gender, mode and terms of employment 2011/12
Mode and terms of employment Female Male Total
Full-time 45905 71940 117845
   Open-ended/Permanent 32925 55075 88000
   Fixed-term contract 12985 16860 29845
Part-time 34870 28670 63540
   Open-ended/Permanent 16030 11645 27675
   Fixed-term contract 18840 17025 35860
Total 80775 100610 181385
Source: HESA Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12
See Annex below for EnglandWalesScotland and Northern Ireland figures

Publication

Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12 is a downloadable publication which includes comprehensive data on HE staff broken down by demographic and contract characteristics. Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12 is available to purchase now.

The introduction to the publication is published online and includes further graphs and data tables.

A schedule of HESA releases for 2013 can be found here.

Notes for editors

  1. Press enquiries should be directed to:
    • Simon Kemp
    • HESA Press Officer
    • 01242 211120
    • [email protected] 
    • 95 Promenade, Cheltenham, GL50 1HZ.
  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. Staff of indeterminate gender, plus those whose gender is not known, are included in the total figures of each table but not shown separately. These staff are excluded from the graphic.
  6. 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 2010/11 data covers 164 HEIs (131 in England, 11 in Wales, 18 in Scotland and 4 in Northern Ireland).
  7. HESA cannot accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived from the data by third parties.
  8. Equivalent tables for EnglandWalesScotland and Northern Ireland can be found in the Annex below.
  9. Definitions of the terms used in this press release can be found on-line here.

Annex - equivalent tables for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

England

Academic staff at HE Institutions in England by gender, mode and terms of employment 2011/12
Mode and terms of employment Female Male Total
Full-time 37995 58765 96765
   Open-ended/Permanent 26945 44645 71590
   Fixed-term contract 11055 14120 25175
Part-time 30440 25425 55865
   Open-ended/Permanent 13505 10045 23550
   Fixed-term contract 16935 15380 32315
Total 68435 84190 152630
Source: HESA Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12

Wales

Academic staff at HE Institutions in Wales by gender, mode and terms of employment 2011/12
Mode and terms of employment Female Male Total
Full-time 2180 3585 5765
   Open-ended/Permanent 1575 2740 4320
   Fixed-term contract 605 840 1445
Part-time 1730 1430 3160
   Open-ended/Permanent 680 450 1130
   Fixed-term contract 1050 980 2030
Total 3915 5015 8925
Source: HESA Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12

Scotland

Academic staff at HE Institutions in Scotland by gender, mode and terms of employment 2011/12
Mode and terms of employment Female Male Total
Full-time 4740 8040 12775
   Open-ended/Permanent 3685 6455 10140
   Fixed-term contract 1050 1585 2635
Part-time 2370 1585 3955
   Open-ended/Permanent 1715 1090 2805
   Fixed-term contract 655 495 1150
Total 7110 9625 16735
Source: HESA Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12

Northern Ireland

Academic staff at HE Institutions in Northern Ireland by gender, mode and terms of employment 2011/12
Mode and terms of employment Female Male Total
Full-time 990 1550 2540
   Open-ended/Permanent 715 1235 1950
   Fixed-term contract 270 315 590
Part-time 330 230 555
   Open-ended/Permanent 135 60 190
   Fixed-term contract 195 170 365
Total 1320 1780 3095
Source: HESA Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12
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