A Year of the Access to Higher Education Diploma Key Statistics 2015-16 a Published 2017
Introduction The Access to Higher Education (Access to HE) Diploma is a widely recognised qualification that provides a second chance for adults who left school without the qualifications needed to enter higher education. It is regulated by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA). We also license the Access Validating Agencies (AVAs) that award the Diploma. Every year we collect data about the Access to HE Diploma and students who complete the qualification. This report summarises that information for the academic year 2015-16 and highlights the latest trends. It provides an overview of the characteristics of Access to HE students, and their progression into higher education and beyond. This report shows that the Access to HE Diploma promotes social mobility, by encouraging people from disadvantaged backgrounds into higher education. This report also demonstrates the importance of the Access to HE Diploma as a pathway to enhance UK productivity, by helping to prepare individuals for the workplace, especially in sectors with skills shortages. Since all the information is for 2015-16, it inevitably relates to more than one cohort of students (some completing their Diploma that year and others already at different stages in their higher education). For more in-depth analysis, see the following reports: Access to Higher Education: Diploma Courses and Students; Access to Higher Education: Applying to University; and Access to Higher Education: Students in Higher Education. Real-life case studies to complement the data are available at: www.accesstohe.ac.uk/access/reallife. The statistics at a glance The Access to HE Diploma contributes to widening participation in higher education 23,660 students entered higher education in England and Wales 87% over 21 years old 23% from low participation areas 31% from ethnic minority backgrounds 17% had a disability or learning difficulty compared with 20% of students with other qualifications compared with 13% of students with other qualifications compared with 26% of students with other qualifications compared with 11% of students with other qualifications 1
The Access to HE Diploma contributes to the UK economy and society 74% of Access to HE students are accepted by higher education providers in their local area 92.7% of higher education leavers with an Access to HE Diploma were in employment or further study six months after they completed the course Subjects allied to medicine (including nursing) Social studies (including social work) Top five subjects studied in higher education by students with an Access to HE Diploma Business and administrative studies Education Biological sciences Nursing 14% of all entrants were Access to HE students 99% of leavers from higher education with an Access to HE Diploma were in employment or further study six months after they completed the course Social work 13% of all entrants were Access to HE students 89% of leavers from higher education with an Access to HE Diploma were in employment or further study six months after they completed the course 2
Facts and figures on Access to HE Diploma courses and students In 2015-16, there were 1,323 Access to HE Diploma courses running at 334 providers in England and Wales. 81% of providers of Access to HE Diploma courses were further education colleges. Access to HE Diplomas are offered in a wide range of subjects, including many that support progression into sectors with skills shortages. In 2015-16, 31% of all Access to HE Diploma courses running were in health, public services and care, including nursing, and subjects and vocations allied to medicine. Other subjects Arts, media and publishing 6% 15% 31% Health, public services and care Education and training 8% 10% Business, administration and law 14% 16% Social sciences Science and mathematics A fully searchable list of available and running Access to HE Diploma courses can be found online at: www.accesstohe.ac.uk. 3
42,405 students registered on an Access to HE Diploma course in 2015-16 88% of students intended to complete their Access to HE Diploma course within the year 47 courses running in Wales 12 providers in Wales 1,870 registered students in Wales 40,535 registered students in England 12% of students studied part-time 1,218 courses running in England 322 providers in England Completion and award of the Diploma 67% 92% of all students registered to complete their Access to HE Diploma by August 2016 of students who completed the course were awarded the Access to HE Diploma 4
Characteristics of Access to HE Diploma students Gender 74% 26% Age 14% 19 and under 33% 20-24 19% 25-29 12% 30-34 8% 35-39 5% 40-44 3% 45-49 2% 50+ Ethnicity 64% White 14% Black 7% Asian 4% Mixed/multiple ethnic groups 1% Other 8% Not known/ not provided 49% of Access to HE students were over 25 years old 25% of Access to HE students were from minority ethnic groups Disability 12% Disability 72% No disability 17% Unknown Disadvantage 36% From a deprived area 64% Not from a deprived area 12% of Access to HE students had a disability and/or learning difficulty 36% of Access to HE students came from a deprived area in England or Wales Our publication Access to Higher Education: Diploma Courses and Students contains a wider range of data and more in-depth analysis. See: www.accesstohe.ac.uk/howcourses/statistics. 5
Applications for entry to higher education This section looks at students holding an Access to HE Diploma who applied to university in the 2016 UCAS cycle (applicants for the 2016-17 academic year). 24,355 applicants with an Access to HE Diploma were accepted by 210 higher education providers in the UK, including universities, further education colleges and alternative (private) providers, as shown in the chart below. 4% 34% University 62% Further education college Alternative provider The chart above shows that 72 higher education providers that accepted Access to HE applicants were further education colleges. However, the number of Access to HE applicants accepted by each further education college was comparatively small, as the recorded number of Access to HE students accepted to study at further education colleges was 915 (compared with 21,870 Access to HE applicants accepted by universities). There are likely to be more Access to HE students who apply directly (that is, not through UCAS) to higher education courses offered by further education colleges, so these students are not recorded in this data. Age 88% of accepted applicants with an Access to HE Diploma were mature students (aged 21 and over), compared with 19% of accepted applicants with other qualifications. Applicants with an Access to HE Diploma made up 20% of all UCAS acceptances of UK-domiciled mature students. The acceptance rate for mature applicants with an Access to HE Diploma was 68%, compared with 63% for mature applicants with other qualifications. Ethnicity and disadvantage 32% of accepted applicants with an Access to HE Diploma were from ethnic minority groups, compared with 24% of accepted applicants with other qualifications. 23% of accepted applicants with an Access to HE Diploma came from areas with the lowest participation in higher education (most disadvantaged), compared with 12% of accepted applicants with other qualifications. 74% of accepted applicants with an Access to HE Diploma were accepted by a higher education provider in their region of domicile. This shows that the majority of students with an Access to HE Diploma choose to remain in their local area to study in higher education. 6
This map shows that in most regions of England and Wales the majority of students with an Access to HE Diploma choose to remain in their local area to study in higher education. 74% of applicants with an Access to HE Diploma were accepted by a higher education provider in their region of domicile Scotland 52% Northern Ireland 86% North West 84% North East 90% Yorkshire & the Humber 72% Wales 79% East Midlands 67% West Midlands 81% East 55% London 74% South West 76% South East 68% 7
47% of Access to HE accepted applicants were accepted onto courses in medicine, dentistry and subjects allied to medicine. Other popular subject areas among Access to HE students are shown in the chart below. Other subjects 18% Mathematics, engineering and technologies Education 5% 4% 47% Medicine, dentistry and subjects allied to medicine Business, admin studies and law 5% 9% Biological sciences 12% Social studies Applicants with an Access to HE Diploma made up 5% of all accepted applicants in 2016. For some subject areas, notably subjects allied to medicine, this proportion was considerably higher, as illustrated by the chart below. Subjects allied to medicine 22% Social studies 7% Biological sciences 5% Education 5% Business and administrative studies 2% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Accepted applicants with an Access to HE Diploma Accepted applicants with other qualifications Our publication Access to Higher Education: Applying to University has further data about Diploma students in the 2016 admissions cycle. See: www.accesstohe.ac.uk/howcourses/statistics. 8
Higher education and beyond In 2015-16, 23,660 students with an Access to HE Diploma entered 124 higher education institutions (universities) in England and Wales. These students would have typically completed their Diplomas in 2014-15 and so are not the same group of students discussed elsewhere in this report. This chart shows the numbers of students with an Access to HE Diploma that have entered universities in England and Wales since 2010. 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 First degree Other undergraduate Students with an Access to HE Diploma made up 4.6% of all full-time undergraduates studying for a first degree. 48 higher education providers (including five Russell Group institutions) each recruited between 200 and 800 students with an Access to HE Diploma. A list of higher education providers that recruited Access to HE students can be found in our more detailed data report, Access to Higher Education: Students in Higher Education, available at: www.accesstohe.ac.uk/howcourses/statistics. 9
Most popular higher education subject areas The table below shows the higher education disciplines most studied by students with an Access to HE Diploma. Law Education Business and administrative studies Biological sciences Social studies (including social work) Subjects allied to medicine (including nursing 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 Nursing and social work were the subjects most commonly studied by students with an Access to HE Diploma 14% of all entrants on nursing courses in 2015-16 had an Access to HE Diploma 13% of all entrants on courses in social work in 2015-16 had an Access to HE Diploma Access to HE students in higher education 88% of students with an Access to HE Diploma were aged over 21, compared with 34% of students with other qualifications. Mature students are more likely to have characteristics that place them within a framework of social mobility than learners under the age of 21. 23% of Access to HE students came from low participation neighbourhoods, compared with 13% of students with other qualifications. 31% of Access to HE students were from ethnic minority backgrounds, compared with 26% of students with other qualifications. 17% of Access to HE students had a disability or learning difficulty, compared with 11% of students with other qualifications. 10
Non-continuation The chart below shows the percentage of UK-domiciled full-time, first degree students (2014-15 entry) not continuing in higher education after their first year. 15 12 % 9 6 3 0 Young Mature Access to HE Diploma Other qualifications The non-continuation rate for mature students with an Access to HE Diploma is lower (10.3%) than for those aged over 21 with other qualifications (12.2%). Degree classification In 2015-16, there were 16,345 undergraduate qualifications awarded to students with an Access to HE Diploma at higher education institutions (universities) in England and Wales. 67% of Access to HE students were awarded a first class or upper second class degree. First class Upper second class Lower second class Third class/pass Research by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) finds that students from disadvantaged areas, those with disabilities and those from ethnic minority groups tend to do less well in higher education than those with the same prior educational attainment who do not have these characteristics. See Differences in Degree Outcomes: The Effect of Subject and Student Characteristics, available at: www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/year/2015/201521/. 11
Employment or further study Access to HE students are surveyed six months after they graduate, in a UK-wide survey of all former higher education students. The chart below shows the employment rate of higher education leavers over the past four years. 96 94 92 90 % 88 86 84 82 80 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 Access to HE diploma Other qualification 93% of leavers with an Access to HE Diploma in 2014-15 were in employment or further study six months after they completed the course (up from 90.5% on the employment rate for leavers in 2013-14). The employment rate for leavers with an Access to HE Diploma has also increased by a greater rate than for leavers with other qualifications. 99% of leavers with an Access to HE Diploma in 2014-15 who studied nursing were in employment or further study six months after they completed the course. 89% of leavers with an Access to HE Diploma in 2014-15 who studied social work were in employment or further study six months after they completed the course. 12
Making sense of the figures Each agency collects data for different purposes, so the categories used and groups of students the statistics refer to are not identical. The way in which this affects the data is described below. All numbers relating to students shown in this paper are rounded to the nearest five. QAA figures relate to all full and part-time students on QAA-recognised Access to HE Diplomas in England and Wales. Data is provided by the 11 AVAs that award the Diploma. Figures relate to the 2015-16 academic year. Tel: 01452 557 118 Web: www.accesstohe.ac.uk The Education and Skills Funding Agency and Agored Cymru figures relate to students on Access to HE Diploma in England and Wales respectively. Figures relate to the 2015-16 academic year. Tel: 0345 377 5000 Web: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/education-andskills-funding-agency UCAS figures relate to applicants and accepted applicants to full-time higher education courses in the 2015-16 entry cycle. It includes applicants to higher education courses provided by further education institutions but does not include applicants to part-time higher education courses. UCAS entry qualifications data provided directly by the applicant give a broad indication of the type of qualifications the applicant may hold or be studying for. Tel: 01242 222 444 Web: www.ucas.com Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) figures relate to students entering undergraduate programmes who took their Access to HE course before 2014-15 - a different cohort from that reported elsewhere. The data includes full and part-time students registered on the first year of undergraduate courses, but excludes those enrolled on directly funded higher education courses in further education institutions. Tel: 01242 255 577 Web: www.hesa.ac.uk The POLAR2 (HEFCE) classification ranks 2001 Census Area Statistics wards by their young participation rates for the combined 2000-04 cohorts. This gives five quintile groups of areas ordered from '1' (those wards with the lowest participation) to '5' (those wards with the highest participation), each representing 20% of the UK young cohort. Web: www.hefce.ac.uk/analysis/yp/polar/ The data provides an overview of Access to HE provision and is not intended to be used by organisations for setting internal targets or for benchmarking purposes. 13
Further information Three separate reports provide a more in-depth analysis of the statistics and data. These reports are all available on the Access to HE website: www.accesstohe.ac.uk. Access to Higher Education: Diploma Courses and Students This report by QAA summarises data about Access to HE courses and students who were registered on Access to HE Diploma courses in the academic year 2015-16. Access to Higher Education: Applying to Higher Education This report by QAA analyses data on applicants and accepted applicants to higher education holding an Access to HE Diploma in the 2016 UCAS cycle (applicants for the 2015-16 academic year). Access to Higher Education: Students in Higher Education This report by HESA analyses students at universities in England and Wales with an Access to HE Diploma for the academic year 2015-16. QAA2002 - November 17 The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education 2017 Southgate House, Southgate Street, Gloucester GL1 1UB Registered charity numbers 1062746 and SC037786 Tel: 01452 557 050 Website: www.accesstohe.ac.uk QAA manages the national framework for the recognition and regulation of Access to HE Diplomas. www.qaa.ac.uk 14