19 July 2007
Better higher education performance indicators
The ninth set of UK higher education performance indicators (PIs), published today (note 1), show improvements in widening participation this year (2005-06) over last year (2004-05) and lower drop-out rates.
A comparison of key indicators shows:
- The proportion of students from state schools (Table T1a) entering higher education (HE) has risen from 86.7 per cent in 2004-05 to 87.4 per cent for 2005-06. The proportion of students from low socio-economic backgrounds (NS-SEC groups 4-7) (Table T1a) has increased from 28.2 per cent to 29.3 per cent.
- The proportion of young (aged 20 or under) students from low participation neighbourhoods (Table T1a) has increased from 13.7 per cent to 14.0 per cent. The proportion of mature students from these neighbourhoods has increased from 14.9 per cent to 15.6 per cent.
- The proportion of students who are no longer in HE the year after entry (the 'non-continuation' indicator) has also improved this year, with the mature student rate falling from 15.6 per cent (2003-04) to 14.4 per cent (2004-05) and young entrants from 7.7 per cent to 7.2 per cent (Table T3a).
- The proportion of students in receipt of Disabled Students' Allowance was 4.1 per cent for full-time first degree students, compared with 3.6 per cent last year. This indicator has shown a consistent rise since 2002-03 (Table T7).
How widening participation indicators have improved in recent years:
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of young entrants to full-time first degree courses from state schools [Table T1a] | 87.2 | 86.8 | 86.7 | 87.4 |
| Percentage of young entrants to full-time first degree courses from NS-SEC Classes 4,5,6, or 7 [Table 1a] | 28.4 | 28.6 | 28.2 | 29.3 |
| Percentage of young entrants to full-time first degree courses from low participation neighbourhoods [Table 1a] | 13.3 | 13.9 | 13.7 | 14 |
| Percentage of mature (i.e. 21 or over) students from low participation neighbourhoods [Table 2a] | 13.8 | 14.5 | 14.9 | 15.6 |
Since 1999, the four UK funding bodies have jointly published annual performance indicators to provide robust and useful management information for higher education institutions. The performance indicators are available on the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) web-site.
Commenting on the PIs, HEFCE Chief Executive David Eastwood said:
'Higher education is crucial in a knowledge-driven economy and it is vital to ensure that that all who can benefit from it have the opportunity to do so. Given the competition for places, this is a considerable challenge for schools, colleges and universities. I am therefore pleased to see that this year's performance indicators demonstrate a small but significant increase in students from non-traditional backgrounds entering higher education, alongside improved success rates. Though the figures have fluctuated over the last few years, the underlying trend since 1999 when the indicators were first published continues to be positive.'
Professor Robin Sibson, Chief Executive of HESA, said:
'Following the phased hand-over from HEFCE to HESA of the calculation and publication of the performance indicators, we have been able to integrate them into our data collection and quality assurance processes. This has made it possible for them to be published five months earlier than in the past. We are very pleased to have been able to enhance their value for policy-making at both national and institutional level.'
The indicators
The performance indicators cover the following areas:
- access to higher education - how successful institutions are in recruiting students from under-represented areas and backgrounds
- the proportion of students who do not continue beyond the first year at an institution
- projected completion rates based on current movement of students between years of study
- the proportion of graduates who are employed or undertaking further study six months after graduation
- research output.
Full definitions of all these are included in the PI report.
Other results
Other indicators show:
- The percentage of 2004-05 entrants to full-time first degree courses who were still in HE in the year after entry was 91.2 per cent, compared with 90.5 per cent of 2003-04 entrants (Table T3a).
- Of students who started on full-time first degree courses in 2004-05, 77.6 per cent (77.1 per cent for 2003-04 starters) are projected to obtain a degree at their original institution. 14.2 per cent (14.9 per cent for 2003-04 starters) are projected to leave with no award (Table T5).
- The percentage of students who were available for work six months after graduating and were either working or studying was 93.2 per cent compared with 93.0 per cent last year (Table E1).
Benchmarks
Because there are such differences between institutions, the average values for the whole of the higher education sector are not necessarily helpful when comparing higher education institutions. Adjusted sector averages are therefore calculated for each institution that take into account some of the factors which contribute to differences between them. The factors are: subject of study, qualifications on entry, age on entry (young or mature). The average that has been adjusted for these factors is called the adjusted sector benchmark.
The benchmark can be used by higher education institutions and others in two ways:
- to see how well an institution is performing compared to the HE sector as a whole
- to decide whether it is meaningful to compare two institutions.
The benchmarks are not targets and have no financial penalties associated with them.
Notes
1. The performance indicators are published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) on behalf of the four UK higher education funding bodies (Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW), Scottish Funding Council (SFC), and in Northern Ireland the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL).
2. The full text and tables of performance indicators in higher education in the UK 2004-05 will be available on the HESA web-site at www.hesa.ac.uk/pi on Thursday 19 July. The data given in this press release relate to the UK. Separate totals for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are given in the PIs report.
3. While the improvements to the PIs are encouraging, when looking at year-on-year changes, caution should be used because the differences are generally small and may reflect changes to student demography or other factors, for example it should be noted that 2005-06 was the last year before the introduction of variable fees.
4. The Performance Indicators Steering Group, which oversees the development and publication of the performance indicators on behalf of the funding bodies and the HE sector, has recently published the outcome of its review of PIs. This is available as HEFCE 2007/14 on the HEFCE web-site.