Research degree qualification rates: Full-time students starting in 2000-01, 2001-02 or 2002-03; Part-time and mode-switch students starting in 1999-2000

To:

Heads of HEFCE-funded higher education institutions

Of interest to those responsible for:

Research management; Supervising and managing research degree programmes; Quality assurance

This is the second in a series of publications showing qualification rates of students on research degree programmes in individual higher education institutions in England. For the first time we include data on part-time and mode-switch students. No action is required in response.

Executive summary

Purpose

1. This document is the second in a series of publications showing qualification^{see note 1} rates of students on research degree programmes at individual higher education institutions (HEIs) in England. For the first time we include data on part-time and mode-switch^{see note 2} students. For this purpose research degree programmes are considered to be the study towards doctorate degrees obtained primarily through advanced supervised research.

Key points

2. We expect that this information will be of interest to HEIs and others interested in the quality of research degree programmes and qualification rates of research degree students.

3. We first published qualification rates of students on research degree programmes in 2007 for full-time students who had enrolled on research degrees in 1999-2000 ('', HEFCE 2007/29). The rates presented in this document are for:

• full-time students who started research degree programmes in 2000-01, 2001-02 or 2002-03 (shown in tables marked P1 for home and EC students and P2 for overseas students)
• part-time and mode-switch students who started research degree programmes in 1999-2000 (shown in table P3 for home and EC students and P4 for overseas students).

4. We have calculated the rates in this report from data submitted by HEIs to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). For each HEI in England, we have separately calculated:

1. Qualification rates of full-time students who started their research degree in 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2002-03 – that is, the proportion of starters in each of these years who had qualified within seven years.
2. The proportion of part-time and mode-switch students who started their research degree in 1999-2000 and had qualified within 10 years.

Each HEI's rate is presented alongside a benchmark (which is a sector-adjusted average) and, where appropriate, an indicator which highlights significant variation from the benchmark. Also, data have been aggregated across three years where possible to show the qualification rates of institutions with fewer than 23 students in each cohort which would otherwise be omitted from publication.

Action required

5. This document is for information only.

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Notes

1. A student is defined as qualifiying when they have been awarded a higher degree by research and the 'qualification obtained' has been returned through the individualised HESA student record. This will typically be up to a year after the student submitted their thesis for assessment.
2. Mode-switch students are those that change mode of study from full-time to part-time or vice-versa.

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