Ethnicity

Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2010/11 shows that there were 381,790 staff employed at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) on 1 December 2010. Academic staff made up 47.5% of all staff.

The new electronic publication, Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2009/10 is published today by HESA. This new publication replaces the former 'Resources of HE Institutions' printed product which addressed both staff and financial data.

Staff in Higher Education Institutions 2009/10 shows that there were 181,595 academic staff employed at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) on 1 December 2009. Of these, 44% were female, up from 41.9% four years previously. 12.0% of academic staff were from an ethnic minority compared to 10.7% in 2005/06. Nearly a quarter (24.0%) of academic staff in 2009/10 were of non-UK nationality.

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%.

HESA’s Resources of Higher Education Institutions 2005/06 shows that academic staff numbers increased by 2.6% in 2005/06, with a total of 164,875 academic staff employed, up from 160,655 in 2004/05. The latest HESA data shows 111,410 staff were employed full-time, accounting for 67.6% of staff in 2005/06. In the previous year, 109,625 academic staff were employed full-time, 68.2% of total staff numbers.

There were 190,540 non-academic staff in 2005/06 compared to 185,650 the year before. This is a rise of 2.6%, reversing a fall of 1.2% in 2004/05. 66.4% (126,510) of non-academic staff were employed full-time compared to 67.2% (124,820) in 2004/05.

Data from the newly released HESA Students in Higher Education Institutions 2005/06 publication shows that the proportion of university students declaring a disability at all levels of study continues to rise.

In total, 137,945 students declared themselves as having a disability in 2005/06, an increase from 128,185 students in 2004/05 and 115,595 in 2003/04. By this definition, the total number of disabled students has risen by just over two thirds, or 67.7pc, from 82,280 since 2000/01. In contrast the total number of UK domiciled students over this period saw a 14.0pc rise from 1,759,755 students to 2,006,035.

Data from the newly released HESA Students in Higher Education Institutions 2005/06 shows India is now second only to China in the number of overseas students it provides to the UK. The climb in Indian student numbers shows no sign of slowing down after a 15.1% increase in intake, greater than the previous year’s increase of 14.1%. The total number of Indian domiciled students was over 19,000; 5.8% of non-UK domiciled students. India leapfrogged Greece into second place in the table as the UK saw a 10.2% fall in the number of HE students from its EU partner.

However, India is some way off rivalling the number of students from China. Despite a fall of 3.7% in the number of Chinese domiciled students, the world’s most populous country continues to provide over 50,000 students to the UK. This accounts for more than 15% of non-UK domiciled students.

This press release looks at data from the HESA Staff Record. There are three types of staff collected within this record: academic staff, non-academic staff and atypical staff. The HESA Staff Record in its new form was introduced in 2003/04 and the compulsory collection of data on atypical staff from 2004/05. Unless otherwise stated the text of this release refers to non-atypical staff.

In 2004/05 there were 346,305 staff at institutions in the UK HE sector. 160,655 staff, or 46.4 per cent, were recorded as academic staff.

In 2003/04 there were 338,105 staff at publicly funded institutions in the UK HE sector. With the introduction of the new Staff Record HESA has, for the first time, been able to determine the occupation types of staff – both academic and non-academic. 150,230 staff, or 44.4 per cent, were recorded as academic professionals.

A rise in the proportion of students from ethnic minority backgrounds has been recorded at all levels of higher education. The data is revealed in the Higher Education Statistics Agency’s latest publication Students in Higher Education Institutions released today. Figures show that the percentage of first year first degree students¹ from non-white backgrounds has increased in the 2002/03 academic year to 17.2 per cent from 16.9 per cent in 2001/02.

The number of female academic staff in UK higher education institutions has increased again this year by 5% compared to just a 1% increase in the number of men according to statistics released today by the Higher Education Statistics Agency. Women make up only 38% of all academic staff, although looking at those just employed on a part-time basis shows they account for 55% of the workforce says the report Resources of Higher Education Institutions 2001/02 published by HESA.