Data intelligence

In 2020/21, the numbers of First year students (7,740) at Arden University is greater than the number in Other years (4,020). This is in due to opening of a new study centre, located in Leeds, and the continued growth of full and part-time provision.

In 2020/21, the number of First year students (545) at University Centre Peterborough is greater than the number in Other years (155). This is due to a merger between Stamford College and Peterborough College, which resulted in University Centre Peterborough inheriting all the HE provisions from these colleges meaning that the providers first year student population consists of Nationals from Peterborough College and the HE provisions from Stamford College in addition to the providers own expected students.

Please note following the introduction of The British School of Osteopathy in 2016/17 all of their students have been returned as first years even though this provider was previously part of the University of Bedfordshire.

A number of higher education providers have noted that due to the relaxation of student number controls their first year first degree numbers have increased above the sector average.

Exeter University incorrectly reported 375 students in 2010/11 as foundation degrees; they should be coded as other undergraduates. The data has therefore been reported correctly in 2011/12 and explains the drop in foundation degrees and increase in other undergraduates.

The University of Exeter incorrectly reported 375 qualifiers in 2010/11 as Foundation degrees; they should be coded as Other Undergraduates (specifically I80 - Other qualification at level I). This was corrected for 2011/12.

To avoid an overlap and a duplication of figures, the Department for the Economy Northern Ireland (DfENI) advised Queen's University Belfast and Stranmillis University College to change their recording practices during 2019/20. They no longer report on foundation degrees that are offered as part of a validated collaborative arrangement with Further Education Colleges. This change in reporting practices accounts for the decrease to 0 enrolments in foundation degree courses and qualifications awarded at these providers in 2019/20.

Both providers have therefore been excluded from Table T3d of the Non-continuation UK Performance Indicators as the change in reporting incorrectly inflates the rate of entrants no longer in HE in 2019/20.

The University of Glamorgan has identified an error in the FTE for some of their further education students. These students are all studying at the Merthyr Tydfil FE college which is part of the University of Glamorgan group. There are 781 full time students and 2,778 part time students, with a corresponding FTE submitted to HESA of 3,890.84 for FT and 604.99 for PT.

On reflection it is clear that the full time FTE is incorrect, and this has been re-calculated. The actual FTE for full time at Merthyr Tydfil should be 782.66, this is a difference of 3108.18 (3890.84 – 782.66). All of these students were studying in cost centre 41 and therefore the cost centre 41 FTE needs to be reduced by 3108.18 to reflect the accurate position.

In 2008/09, the London School of Economics and Political Science over-reported around 300 postgraduate research students as having an FTE of 1.0. These should have been reported with an FTE between 0.1 and 0.2.

The University of Glasgow mis-reported the FTE of some postgraduate research students for 2011/12. 720 students (646.6 FTEs) were incorrectly reported with an FTE of 1.0 where they should have been returned as 0.1.

The University of St Andrews mis-reported 240.0 FTEs relating to postgraduate research writing-up students. These students were each returned with an FTE of 1.0 instead of 0.1. The correct figure for FTE of postgraduate students at St Andrews is 1932.4 instead of 2147.5.

St George's Hospital Medical School implemented a new full-time foundation degree in Healthcare practice in January 2012 which explains the proportional increase in other undergraduate instances for this provider between 2010/11 and 2011/12.

here has also been a considerable increase in part-time, other undergraduate instances returned. This is due to a large increase of CPD (continuing professional development) students registering for low credit-bearing module study.

The University of Brighton has a significant reduction in first year full-time foundation degree students (505). This is largely due to a number of the programmes delivered by their partner colleges now being directly funded.

In 2021/22, The University of Glasgow reported an increase in the number of full-time postgraduate qualifications compared with the previous year. There were 12,195 such qualifications reported in 2021/22 compared with 5,685 in 2020/21. This was due to the fact that the completion of around 4,000 awards from the 2020/21 academic year were delayed until the following year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The University of Sunderland has had a significant increase in full-time postgraduate taught (560) and full-time first degree (620) students. This relates to a new campus (in London) being introduced in 2011/12. In 2011/12 there was only an April intake, in 2012/13 there was an August, October, January and April intake.

In 2013/14, The University of Edinburgh had a significant decrease (18%) in the number of full-time first degree qualifiers.  The university planned for and recruited a much smaller cohort of home and EU students in 2010/11 leading to the smaller number of graduates in 2013/14.  This decision impacted on the recruitment in one academic year, but was made to enable a more consistent number of places to be available to new applicants in the years since.

In 2013/14, The University of Brighton had a significant decrease in the qualifications awarded for full-time foundation degree qualifiers (405 qualifiers representing a 75% decrease from 2012/13). This is due to the transfer of previously franchised provision to their partner providers.  Although they still validate the awards, the students now belong to their partner provider.

From 2010/11 to 2016/17 the University of Plymouth has had a significant reduction (a drop of 94%, approx. 8400 students) in their franchised student numbers following a change in guidance from HEFCE regarding the reporting of partnership arrangements.

The University of Glamorgan changed its reporting practices for a number of their full-time postgraduate taught students that were active over two reporting years. These students were previously returned as active in their first year but dormant in their second year. For 2009/10 these students are now returned as active in both academic years.

In 2013/14, Cardiff Metropolitan University had a significant increase in their full-time postgraduate taught student numbers from 2,245 in 2012/13 to 3,275 in 2013/14. This was largely due to a significant increase in recruitment to their franchise partners.

In 2013/14, The City University recorded a significant increase in its full-time postgraduate taught students numbers, from 3,705 in 2012/13 to 5,585 in 2013/14. This was mainly due to improving the recording practice for full-time Master's students on 13+ month courses, which were previously coded to part-time after the first 12 months of their course. This also affected their full-time postgraduate taught qualifications awarded, which increased from 1,175 in 2012/13 to 3,100 in 2013/14.  A corresponding decrease in part-time postgraduate taught qualifications awarded can also be seen.