Skip to main content

Summary - UK Performance Indicators 2008/09

This section summarises the sector-wide information for each of the indicators, and provides a comparison with the sector values from previous years, where appropriate. Indicators for institutions where the number of students with the requisite information is less than 500 tend to be rather variable, and in the following paragraphs are referred to as small institutions.

Percentage from schools and colleges in the state sector

This indicator, shown in table series T1, is produced for young full-time undergraduate entrants. The term ‘State schools or colleges’ is for all schools and colleges that are not classed as independent.

Table A gives figures for entrants to first degree courses at institutions in each country and shows comparative values over the past five years. These figures do not take into account any changes in population, or in the pattern of school attendance, over this time.

Table A - Percentage of young entrants to full-time first degree courses from state schools

  2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09
UK 86.7 87.4 87.8 88.0 88.5
England 85.9 86.9 87.2 87.4 88.0
Wales 91.2 91.8 93.1 93.4 93.2
Scotland 86.3 85.7 86.6 86.8 86.7
Northern Ireland 99.7 99.8 99.6 99.7 99.5

Sourced from Table T1a of the Performance Indicators.

Nationally, over 90% of 17 year-olds in full-time education attend schools or colleges in the state sector (Source: Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills (BIS)). 88.5% of young entrants to full-time first degree courses in 2008/09 had attended such schools, Chart 1 shows the pattern.

Percentage of young entrants to full-time first degree courses from state schools 2008/09

Sourced from Table T1a of the Performance Indicators.

Percentage from NS-SEC Classes 4, 5, 6 and 7

This indicator is produced for young full-time undergraduate entrants to higher education. This indicator uses categories 4 to 7 of the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC) in the 'low SEC' group, with categories 1 to 3 as 'not low SEC'.

UCAS changed the question that informs NS-SEC for the majority of applicants for the 2008-09 academic year(#4). The 2008/09 data is not comparable with NS-SEC data published previously and has therefore been excluded from the time series data given below. The 2008/09 NS-SEC data has been published separately in tables T1ai, T1bi and T1ci and labelled as age-adjusted NS-SEC.

Figures based on the Labour Force Survey and quoted in Regional Trends 39 (Source: Office for National Statistics) show that 47% of the population of working age with known classification (excluding NS-SEC class 8, long-term unemployed or never worked) are classified in groups 4 to 7, where classification is based on current or most recent occupation. Nationally, 29.5% of young entrants to full-time first degree courses come from this section of the population.

Table B - Percentage of young entrants to full-time first degree courses from NS-SEC Classes 4, 5, 6 or 7

  NS-SEC classes 4-7
  2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09(#4)
UK 28.6 28.2 29.3 29.8 29.5 N/A
England 28.2 27.9 29.1 29.8 29.4 N/A
Wales 29.5 28.4 29.0 30.1 30.4 N/A
Scotland 26.9 26.7 27.3 25.9 26.3 N/A
Northern Ireland 42.4 41.2 41.0 41.7 40.6 N/A

Sourced from Table T1a of the Performance Indicators.

The percentage from age-adjusted NS-SEC Classes 4, 5, 6 and 7 varies widely between institutions. The spread of values for this indicator is shown in Chart 2.

Percentage of young entrants to full-time first degree courses from NS-SEC classes 4, 5, 6 or 7 2008/09

Sourced from Table T1a of the Performance Indicators.

Percentage from low participation neighbourhoods (based on the new POLAR2 method)

The percentage of entrants from low participation neighbourhoods is provided separately for young and mature undergraduate entrants, both full-time and part-time. The method for defining low participation neighbourhoods changed in 2006/07 and indicators are now based on the new POLAR2 method. This new method is not comparable with the low participation data produced previously and hence no comparison has been made between the two methods in this summary.

The POLAR2 low participation measure used in Tables T1, T2 and T3 is based on a UK wide classification of areas into participation bands. The relatively high (in UK terms) participation rate in Scotland coupled with the very high proportion of HE that occurs in FE colleges means that the figures for Scottish institutions could, when viewed in isolation, misrepresent their contribution to widening participation. Therefore, low participation data has not been produced for institutions in Scotland.

More information on the POLAR2 low participation can be found in the widening participation definitions .

The indicators given in Table T1a-T1c are for young full-time entrants, Table T2a and T2c for mature full-time entrants and Table T2b for part-time entrants.

Full-time entrants

10.1% of young entrants to full-time first degree courses and 11.6% of mature entrants to full-time first degree courses (who also had no previous higher education qualification) came from low participation neighbourhoods. Tables C and D show the percentages for young and mature students for all the countries in the United Kingdom.

As the method has changed comparisons between this years data and earlier years are not appropriate however, percentages have been calculated for Table C using the new POLAR2 method from 2005/06 onwards to provide more of a comparison.

Table C - Percentage of young entrants to full-time first degree courses from low participation neighbourhoods

  Young
  2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09
UK 8.6 9.0 9.7 10.1
England 9.2 9.6 9.9 10.2
Wales 8.9 10.2 9.4 10.2
Scotland(#5) N/A N/A N/A N/A
Northern Ireland 6.5 6.7 6.7 6.7

Sourced from Table T1a of the Performance Indicators.

Table D - Percentage of mature entrants to full-time first degree courses (who also had no previous higher education qualification) from low participation neighbourhoods

  Mature
  2006/07 2007/08 2008/09
UK 10.6 11.6 11.6
England 11.4 11.6 11.8
Wales 12.5 12.5 12.0
Scotland(#5) N/A N/A N/A
Northern Ireland 8.7 9.2 6.0

Sourced from Table T2a of the Performance Indicators.

Part-time entrants

There is a difference between young and mature part-time entrants as regards this indicator. 13.3% of young entrants and 6.8% of mature entrants to part-time undergraduate courses come from low participation neighbourhoods.

Tables E shows the pattern for part-time entrants for the countries of the United Kingdom, and Charts 3 to 6 show the spread across institutions for the indicators between young and mature, and full-time and part-time entrants.

Table E - Percentage of young and mature entrants to part-time undergraduate courses (who also had no previous higher education qualification) from low participation neighbourhoods

  2006/07 2007/08  2008/09
  Young Mature Young Mature Young Mature
UK 12.2 6.4 12.4 6.7 13.3 6.8
England 13.0 6.7 13.0 6.8 13.4 6.8
Wales 12.2 7.2 9.4 6.4 12.4 6.8
Scotland (#5) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Northern Ireland 10.9 1.3 4.6 2.3 6.4 3.5

Sourced from Table T2b of the Performance Indicators.

Percentage of young entrants to full-time first degree courses from low participation neighbourhoods (using POLAR2) 2008/09

Sourced from Table T1a of the Performance Indicators.

Percentage of mature entrants (who also have no previous HE qualification) to full-time first degree courses from low participation neighbourhoods (using POLAR2) 2008/09

Sourced from Table T2a of the Performance Indicators.

Percentage of young entrants to part-time undergraduate courses (who also have no previous HE qualification) to full-time first degree courses from low participation neighbourhoods (using POLAR2) 2008/09

Sourced from Table T2b of the Performance Indicators.

Percentage of mature entrants to part-time undergraduate courses (who also have no previous HE qualification) to full-time first degree courses from low participation neighbourhoods (using POLAR2) 2008/09

Sourced from Table T2b of the Performance Indicators.

Percentage of disabled students

The indicator, in Table T7, is provided separately for full-time and part-time undergraduates. Unlike the other widening participation indicators, it is based on all undergraduates, not just entrants, because of the small numbers involved. The indicator used is the proportion of students who are in receipt of disabled students' allowance (DSA), as this is more robust than the proportions reporting that they are disabled.

The proportion of students in receipt of DSA is relatively small. The percentage of such students on full-time undergraduate courses in 2008/09 was 4.7% (4.5% in 2007/08), with institutional values ranging from 0.0% to 23.4%.

For part-time undergraduate students, excluding those at the Open University (OU), 2.6% (2.4% in 2007/08) were in receipt of DSA.

Table F shows the equivalent figures for the countries of the UK over a five-year period and Chart 7 shows the spread of values for full-time first degree students.

Table F - Percentage of students in receipt of DSA, for full-time first degree and part-time undergraduate students

  Full-time first degree   Part-time undergraduate
  2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09   2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09
UK (excl. OU) 3.6 4.1 4.4 4.5 4.7   1.6 1.9 2.3 2.4 2.6
England (excl. OU) 3.7 4.1 4.4 4.6 4.8   1.6 1.9 2.3 2.5 2.7
Wales 4.7 5.2 5.4 5.8 5.8   1.7 1.9 1.8 1.4 1.8
Scotland 3.1 3.4 3.6 3.7 3.6   1.3 1.5 2.4 1.7 1.6
Northern Ireland 2.7 3.4 3.3 3.5 3.7   2.0 2.1 2.3 2.1 2.4
The Open University(#9) .. .. .. .. ..   2.4 2.5 2.7 .. ..

Sourced from Table T7 of the Performance Indicators with the Open University excluded from the totals.

Percentage of full-time first degree students in receipt of DSA 2008/09

Sourced from Table T7 of the Performance Indicators.

Non-continuation rates after first year at institution

Table series T3 gives this indicator, which shows what proportion of entrants do not continue in higher education beyond the first year. Table T3a provides this indicator separately for young and mature full-time first degree entrants to higher education.

In general, a higher proportion of mature entrants than young entrants do not continue in higher education after their first year. For full-time first degree entrants in 2007/08, the UK non-continuation rate is 14.0% (14.8% in 2006/07) for mature entrants compared with 7.2% (7.4% in 2006/07) for young entrants. The non-continuation rate for young entrants is 10% or less at around 75% of institutions. For mature entrants it is between 2% and 20% at the majority of institutions. However, it is above 20% at around 5% of institutions.

Tables G and H shows the non-continuation rates for the countries of the UK for the last 5 years, for young and mature full-time first degree entrants respectively. Charts 8 and 9 illustrate the spread of values between institutions, again for young and mature full-time first degree entrants respectively.

Table G - Percentage of young full-time first degree entrants not continuing in HE after their first year

  Young entrants
  2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08
UK 7.7 7.2 7.1 7.4 7.2
England 7.2 6.8 6.7 7.1 6.9
Wales 8.5 8.2 7.8 8.9 7.4
Scotland 10.0 9.0 8.7 9.0 8.3
Northern Ireland 11.2 10.1 11.0 8.8 9.9

Sourced from Table T3a of the Performance Indicators.

Table H - Percentage of mature full-time first degree entrants not continuing in HE after their first year

  Mature entrants
  2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08
UK 15.6 14.4 14.3 14.8 14.0
England 15.4 14.0 14.2 14.5 13.9
Wales 17.2 16.7 15.2 17.1 14.9
Scotland 16.9 17.0 15.1 16.0 15.0
Northern Ireland 12.1 11.3 12.3 11.3 11.7

Sourced from Table T3a of the Performance Indicators.

Percentage of young full-time first degree entrants not continuing in HE after their first year 2007/08

Sourced from Table T3a of the Performance Indicators.

Percentage of mature full-time first degree entrants not continuing in HE after their first year 2007/08

Sourced from Table T3a of the Performance Indicators.

Table T3d shows the proportion of full-time other undergraduate entrants to an institution that do not continue in higher education beyond the first year. These proportions are provided separately for young and mature full-time other undergraduate entrants to higher education.

In general, a lower proportion of mature than young full-time other undergraduate entrants do not continue in higher education after their first year. For entrants in 2007/08, the UK non-continuation rate is 14.6% (16.9% in 2006/07) for mature entrants compared with 18.3% (18.6% in 2006/07) for young entrants.

Table I shows the non-continuation rates for the countries of the UK, for young and mature full-time other undergraduate entrants. Charts 10 and 11 illustrate the spread of values between institutions, again for young and mature full-time other undergraduate entrants.

Table I - Percentage of full-time other undergraduate entrants not continuing in HE after their first year

  Young   Mature
  2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08   2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08
UK 17.9 18.2 18.6 18.3   15.6 17.3 16.9 14.6
England 16.6 17.0 17.1 17.3   14.8 16.7 16.2 13.9
Wales 19.3 21.5 21.2 20.1   28.7 31.3 27.1 28.6
Scotland 25.8 25.3 27.2 24.4   18.6 17.8 18.3 16.7
Northern Ireland 27.2 21.7 23.4 26.0   14.9 16.6 32.9 21.2

Sourced from Table T3d of the Performance Indicators.

Percentage of young full-time other undergraduate entrants not continuing in HE after their first year 2007/08

Sourced from Table T3d of the Performance Indicators.

Percentage of mature full-time other undergraduate entrants not continuing in HE after their first year 2007/08

 

Sourced from Table T3d of the Performance Indicators.

Table T3e shows the proportion of part-time first degree entrants to an institution that do not continue in higher education beyond their second year. These proportions are provided separately for entrants to higher education who were aged 30 and under and those aged over 30.

In general, a higher proportion of entrants aged 30 and under than those aged over 30 do not continue in higher education after their second year.

Table J shows the non-continuation rates for the countries of the UK, for part-time first degree entrants aged 30 and under and those aged over 30. Charts 12 and 13 illustrate the spread of values between institutions.

Table J - Percentage of part-time first degree entrants not continuing in HE after their second year

  Aged 30 and under   Aged over 30
  2006/07   2006/07
UK  36.9    33.9
England  37.7    34.6
Wales  29.9    30.1
Scotland  26.7    27.5
Northern Ireland  30.8    20.7

Sourced from Table T3e of the Performance Indicators.

Percentage of part-time first degree entrants aged 30 and under not continuing two years following year of entry 2006/07

Sourced from Table T3e of the Performance Indicators.

Percentage of part-time first degree entrants aged over 30 not continuing two years following year of entry 2006/07

Sourced from Table T3e of the Performance Indicators.

Return after a year out

Further information is provided in Table T4a about full-time first degree entrants who started at university or college in 2006/07, but were not in higher education in 2007/08. Nationally, 12.6% (11.6% in 2006/07) of young full-time first degree students and 11.9% (11.9% in 2006/07) of mature full-time first degree students in this category returned to their original institution in 2008/09, with a further 13.2% (12.2% in 2006/07) of young full-time first degree students and 6.2% (5.7% in 2006/07) of mature full-time first degree students transferring to another institution.

Similar figures are provided in Table T4b for full-time other undergraduate entrants who started at university or college in 2006/07, but were not in higher education in 2007/08. Nationally, 8.4% (6.7% in 2006/07) of young full-time other undergraduate students and 10.0% (10.8% in 2006/07) of mature full-time other undergraduate students in this category returned to their original institution in 2008/09, with a further 6.2% (6.3% in 2006/07) of young full-time other undergraduate students and 5.3% (4.0% in 2006/07) of mature full-time other undergraduate students transferring to another institution.

Projected outcomes

The projected outcomes in Table T5 summarise the pattern of movements of students at institutions between 2007/08 and 2008/09. They give the outcomes that would be expected from starters at the institution in 2007/08 if these progression patterns were to remain unchanged over the next few years.

The sector averages for the UK and its constituent countries are obtained by taking a (weighted) average of all the relevant institutional values. They show that 77.9% of full-time first degree students starting at an institution in 2007/08 are expected to qualify from that institution with a degree (77.3% in 2006/07) and 13.0% are expected to get no qualification (13.8% in 2006/07). A further 6.0% are expected to transfer to another institution (5.7% in 2006/07). The projected percentage of students who leave before gaining any award, and who neither return to study nor transfer to another institution, is less than 25% for the majority of institutions. Tables J and K give a summary across the countries of the United Kingdom.

Table K - Projected outcomes – percentage of full-time first degree starters expected to gain a degree (sector averages)

  Obtain degree
  2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08
UK 77.1 77.6 77.4 77.3 77.9
England 77.7 78.1 78.0 77.9 78.2
Wales 76.8 77.1 77.2 75.3 77.5
Scotland 73.3 73.8 72.7 73.0 75.7
Northern Ireland 75.9 77.9 77.7 78.6 77.1

Sourced from Table T5 of the Performance Indicators.

Table L - Projected outcomes – percentage of full-time first degree starters expected to neither obtain an award nor transfer (sector averages)

  No award nor transfer
  2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08
UK 14.9 14.2 14.1 13.8 13.0
England 14.4 13.8 13.9 13.4 12.7
Wales 15.4 16.5 15.9 17.4 14.5
Scotland 17.5 15.4 14.3 14.4 13.8
Northern Ireland 19.1 17.3 17.6 16.3 17.6

Sourced from Table T5 of the Performance Indicators.

Chart 14 shows the spread of values across institutions for the percentage of starters projected to neither obtain an award nor transfer to another institution.

Percentage of full-time first degree starters projected to obtain no award nor transfer 2007/08

Sourced from Table T5 of the Performance Indicators.

Module completion rates

Table T6 looks at module completion rates for part-time students. The provision of this information is dependent on how student data are returned to HESA. Only institutions in Wales are required to return a module record to HESA, therefore this table only includes data on these institutions. The table shows what percentage of modules, undertaken by part-time students, are successfully completed and some statistics to put this percentage into context. For 2008/09, 77.0% (73.8% in 2007/08) of the relevant modules had results provided, and in 80.3% (85.1% in 2007/08) of cases the module was passed. On average each part-time student undertook 2.5 modules (2.5 in 2007/08), and each module was worth an average 14.2% (14.1% in 2007/08) full-time equivalent.

Research indicators

Research indicators, which are given in Table R1, are different in kind to other indicators, in that they do not wholly relate to the student population. They measure research output (as shown by the number of PhDs awarded and the amount of research grants or contracts for which expenditure has been incurred) against resource inputs (namely, academic staff costs and the funding councils’ allocations for research).

These indicators do not measure research quality as the Research Assessment Exercise does that.

Research indicators are all standardised to a value of 1 and take account of the differing ratios of output to input in different cost centres. A value of 1 for an indicator shows that the institution is producing the same as the rest of the sector, relative to its input. A value below 1 shows it is producing less than the sector, and a value greater than 1 shows that it is producing more than the sector, again relative to its input.

All four research indicators show similar patterns to those from last year, with the majority of institutions having values below 2. The indicators using academic staff costs as the input are less variable between the years than the indicators which use funding councils’ research allocation, in part because the amount of funding for some institutions is very small relative to that for the large research universities.

Employment indicator

The employment indicators are based on the responses to the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey, which replaced the First Destinations survey. In 2008/09, the response rate to the survey for those graduating from full-time courses with a first degree was 82.7% (79.9% in 2007/08). The response rates for those graduating from part-time first degree, full-time other undergraduate and part-time undergraduate courses were 75.9%, 76.8% and 76.2% respectively. Table M shows comparative results by academic year for full-time first degree qualifiers and Table N shows comparative results by level of qualification and mode of qualification for 2008/09.

Table M - Response rates of full-time first degree qualifiers

  2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09
Eligible population 230305 233520 245800 243345
Respondents 184585 186960 196380 201245
Response rate 80.1% 80.1% 79.9% 82.7%

Sourced from Table E1a of the Performance Indicators.

Table N - Response rates of qualifiers by level of qualification and mode of qualification 2008/09

  Full-time first degree Part-time first degree Full-time other undergraduate Part-time other undergraduate
Eligible population 243345 30005 39130 26730
Respondents 201245 22785 30070 20380
Response rate 82.7% 75.9% 76.8% 76.2%

Sourced from Table E1a-E1d of the Performance Indicators.

The table below shows the employment outcomes of full-time first degree graduates by academic year, based on all respondents to the survey. The proportion of graduates who were in employment (excluding those in employment and further study) six months after leaving was 58.9% (61.3% in 2007/08), a further 7.3% (7.4% in 2007/08) were in employment and further study and 16.5% (15.0% in 2007/08) were in further study only.

Table O - Employment outcomes of full-time first degree qualifiers

  2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09
Employment 62.9% 63.0% 61.3% 58.9%
Employment and further study 8.2% 8.4% 7.4% 7.3%
Further study only 14.8% 14.8% 15.0% 16.5%
Assumed to be unemployed 6.3% 5.7% 8.2% 9.3%
Not available for employment 4.6% 4.3% 4.1% 3.7%
Other 1.1% 1.1% 1.2% 1.1%
Question not answered 2.1% 2.6% 2.8% 3.0%

Table P below shows the employment outcomes by level of qualification and mode of qualification for 2008/09, based on all respondents to the survey.

Table P - Employment outcomes of qualifiers by level of qualification and mode of qualification 2008/09

  Full-time first degree Part-time first degree Full-time other undergraduate Part-time other undergraduate
Employment 58.9% 62.6% 50.8% 56.7%
Employment and further study 7.3% 13.6% 11.7% 23.3%
Further study only 16.5% 5.6% 26.0% 9.7%
Assumed to be unemployed 9.3% 5.5% 4.4% 2.2%
Not available for employment 3.7% 4.7% 1.7% 2.1%
Other 1.1% 1.8% 1.2% 0.8%
Question not answered 3.0% 6.1% 4.2% 5.2%

The percentages given in tables O and P differ from the employment indicator shown in tables E1a - E1d which is based on all respondents to the survey who are classed as working or studying or as unemployed and seeking work, see employment definitions for details. Chart 15 shows the spread of the employment indicator across institutions.

Percentage of full-time first degree leavers who are working or studying (or both) 2008/09

Sourced from Table E1a of the Performance Indicators.

Enquiries

  • Press: Call 01242 211120 or email [email protected].
  • General enquiries should be sent to [email protected].
  • Enquiries regarding the UK Performance Indicators Steering Group (UKPISG) should be directed to the HEFCE Press Office on 0117 931 7363

Creative Commons License