National Statistics - Socio-Economic Classification
For the 2001 census, a new classification, National Statistics - Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC), was developed to replace Social Class. It took into account new work patterns in the UK and the changes in education levels required for, and the status of, large numbers of occupations. This new classification was used for the social class Performance Indicator from 2002/03 and called the SEC indicator. More details on the differences between SEC and social class can be found in changes between 2001/02 and 2002/03.
For the 2008/09 academic year, UCAS changed the question that informs NS-SEC for the majority of applicants. The question reverted back to the original wording for 2009/10 applicants.
For applicants up to and including the 2007/08 academic year and for the 2009/10 academic year, UCAS asked:
"If you are under 21, please give the occupation of your parent, step-parent or guardian who earns the most. If he or she is retired or unemployed, give their most recent occupation. If you are 21 or over, please give your own occupation."
For applicants for 2008/09 entry, the question changed to:
"If you are in full-time education, please state the occupation of the highest-earning family member of the household in which you live. If he or she is retired or unemployed, give their most recent occupation. If you are not in full-time education, please state just your own occupation."
The change in question between 2007/08 and 2008/09 had an impact on the NS-SEC indicators, causing the proportion of students classified as ‘unknown' and those classified as falling into NS-SEC groups 4 to 7 to rise. Given these differences and the lack of any significant external changes to the system, it is safe to conclude that the change in question means that the NS-SEC data for 2008/09 is not comparable with that published previously and as a result, the 2008/09 NS-SEC data was published separately in tables T1ai, T1bi and T1ci and labelled as age-adjusted NS-SEC.
Although the question reverted back in 2009/10, there may still be a slight impact on the NS-SEC indicators resulting from applicants who applied using the 2008/09 form, but deferred entry until 2009/10. However, the 2009/10 data will be more comparable with that published up until 2007/08 than with the 2008/09 data. Therefore, NS-SEC time series data published within the summary excludes data for 2008/09.
The NS-SEC indicators will not be published in 2017 and subsequent publications of the UK Performance Indicators. For more details, please refer to the section on widening participation of under-represented groups.