Key Statistics 2004
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This year's data shows increases in numbers of Access programmes; of certificates awarded; and in applicants and acceptances by Access students to HE. Data collected by HESA suggests that there has also been an increase in the number of Access students progressing to a course in HE.
Access to HE programmes
QAA-recognised Access to HE programmes available:
| 2002-03: | 1,568 |
| 2001-02: | 1,281 |
| 2000-01: | 1,182 |
Access to HE registrations
Students registered on QAA-recognised Access to HE programmes:
| 2002-03: | 40,218 |
| 2001-02: | 40,484 |
| 2000-01: | 38,684 |
Access to HE certificates awarded
Students awarded Access certificates:
| 2002-03: | 18,393 |
| 2001-02: | 17,085 |
| 2000-01: | 16,404 |
Applications and acceptances to HE
Access students applying through UCAS and NMAS*:
| Applicants | Acceptances | |
| 2003: | 21,283 | 15,102 |
| 2002: | 20,382 | 14,254 |
| 2001: | 18,247 | 13,018 |
*These have previously been represented separately.
HE entrants from Access programmes
Access students registering on HE courses:
| 2002: | 11,295 | *(other 'access' entrants: 3,535) |
| 2001: | 13,670 | |
| 2000: | 13,420 |
*Students with a QAA-recognised Access certificate.
2002-03 introduced a distinction between these and other 'access' students.
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) is responsible for the framework for the recognition of Access to HE. This brief overview is based on work undertaken by QAA, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), the Nursing and Midwifery Admissions Service (NMAS), the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and Education and Learning Wales (ELWa).
Section 1: Access to HE students and programmes
This
information relates to students on QAA-recognised Access to HE programmes
during 2002-03. It is derived from data provided to QAA by the authorised
validating
agencies, which operate in England and Wales. Further
details.
How many Access to HE students were there in 2002-03?
40,218 students were registered on QAA-recognised Access to HE programmes.
- 38,043 were registered in England
- 2,175 were registered in Wales
Total no |
% |
|
| New learners: expected end date before 1/8/03 | 29,859 |
74% |
| New learners: expected end date on or after 1/8/03 | 6,530 |
16% |
| Re-registered: expected end date before 1/8/03 | 3,183 |
8% |
| Re-registered: expected end date after 1/8/03 | 184 |
1% |
| Not known | 462 |
1% |
| Total | 40,218 |
What were the characteristics of Access to HE students?
Gender
- 29,279 were women (73%); 10,939 were men (26%)
Age
Ethnicity
| White | 26,788 | 67% |
| Black or Black British | 4,775 | 12% |
| Asian or Asian British | 1,805 | 4% |
| Chinese | 347 | 1% |
| Mixed and any other | 1,407 | 3% |
| Not Known not given | 5,096 | 13% |
NB: direct comparisons with last year cannot be made as ethnicity and age categories differ from those used previously.
Disability
- 1.8% (727) stated that they had a disability.
- 1.8% (717) stated that they had a learning difficulty.
- 1.0% (405) stated that they had a disability and learning difficulty.
- 45.4% (18,297) stated that they had no disability or learning difficulty.
NB: no information was provided about 50% of students.
What did Access students achieve at the end of their programmes?
Learner completions (24,996 learners)
Of learners completing the programme:
- 73% were awarded the full certificate
- 19% received partial accreditation
- 7% did not receive any award
Of learners who withdrew from the programme
- 17% received partial accreditation
- 17% did not receive any award
- 86% of programmes running were delivered in FE colleges; 4% in
HE institutions; 3% in adult or community centres; 2% in
sixth form colleges; and 5% in other centres.
Achievement of total registrations (40,218)
Section
2: Access students' progression to higher education 
This
information is derived from data provided by UCAS, and by
HESA. The different data sets are not directly comparable. Further
details.
UCAS data includes applicants and accepted applicants to full-time
degree, DipHE or HND/C courses through the UCAS scheme.
The data is filtered to applicants from England and Wales for the
2003 entry cycle. UCAS data includes applicants to FEIs and applicants
from 'access' courses which are not QAA-recognised.
HESA statistics presented here include students registered on HE programmes at HE institutions in England and Wales in 2002/03 who entered their programme with a QAA-recognised Access certificate. In previous years, HESA data has not distinguished between QAA-recognised Access programmes and other programmes called 'access'.
How many Access to HE students progressed to higher education?
| Applicants | 18,215 applied to HE through UCAS |
| (UCAS/NMAS - 2003-04 entry) | (5.1% of all applicants) |
| 3,068 applied to HE through NMAS | |
| Acceptances |
12,856 were accepted through UCAS |
| (UCAS/NMAS - 2003-04 entry) | (4.4% of all acceptances) |
| 2,246 were accepted through NMAS | |
| Registrations | 11,295 entered undergraduate programmes |
| (HESA - entrants in 2002-03) | with a QAA-recognised Access qualification (2% of all entrants) |
| There were also 3,535 other 'access' entrants |
What were the characteristics of former Access to HE students?
Ethnicity
(HESA - entrants in 2002-03)
Of undergraduate entrants with a QAA-recognised Access certificate, 27% were from ethnic minority groups. Of all other entrants, 20% were from ethnic minority groups.
Socio-demographic indicators
(UCAS - 2003 entry)
The chart below provides the breakdown of accepted Access applicants
by MOSAIC Lifestyle category. MOSAIC Lifestyle employs a method of
classifying postcode
areas into distinct social types, using a combination of census, electoral
role, housing and financial data to classify households.
Section 3: Former Access students in HE
This information is derived from data provided by HESA and HEFCE.
Further
details.
What were the main areas of study in HE for former Access students?
(HESA-2002-03 entrants)
The subject areas in which students with an Access qualification were registered in greatest numbers were:
| FT | PT | Total | |
| Subjects allied to medicine | 3,635 | 185 | 3,815 |
| Social studies | 1,230 | 165 | 1,395 |
| Education | 750 | 130 | 880 |
| Biological science | 795 | 65 | 860 |
| Computer science | 630 | 70 | 700 |
What happened to former Access students in HE?
(HEFCE - 2000-01 entry)
The
table below shows the percentage of mature full-time first degree students
not continuing in HE after their first year in an institution. The number in
each category is rounded to the nearest 10. The table is based on table B10 from
Annex B in the PI publication HEFCE 2003/59, published December 2003. It refers
to entrants to higher education institutions in 2000-2001, and whether or not
they continued in HE in 2001-02.
| Entry qualifications | No of entrants | Non-continuation |
| rates (%) | ||
| Access | 8,430 | 14 |
| Foundation course | 1,910 | 12 |
| BTEC | 2,650 | 16 |
| A-levels or Highers with no more than 12 points | 6,180 | 12 |
| A-levels or Highers with between 13 & 22 points | 4,240 | 11 |
| A-levels or Highers with over 22 points | 1,760 | 10 |
| HE | 14,950 | 13 |
| Others/not known | 19,990 | 18 |
| All entry qualifications | 60,120 | 14 |
Where can I find out more?
More detailed statistics on Access provision and students' progression in HE is provided in the Joint Agency Report (Access to HE) 2004.
Making sense of the figures
Please bear the following in mind when reading Key Statistics 2004.
QAA:
figures relate to recognised Access courses and the students on them
during 2002-03. Figures include part-time and full-time students on QAA-recognised
courses in England and Wales. While most of these courses are funded
by the LSC
or ELWa, information relating to some other courses may also be included here.
Data presented by QAA has been gathered from the 26 authorised validating agencies
in England and Wales.
For further information:
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
Southgate House
Southgate Street
Gloucester
GL1 1UB
Tel: 01452 557000
Fax: 01452 557070
Web: www.qaa.ac.uk
UCAS:
figures relate to applicants to HE from access courses only during 2002-03.
While these will mostly be students who were on access courses during
2002-03, they will also include some students who chose to delay their
applications. They do not include Access students who apply to part-time
HE courses or to those who apply directly to HE institutions, but they
do include some applicants to HE courses in FE (except where these are
made directly to the institution).
For further information:
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service Rosehill,
New Barn Lane,
Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire,
GL52 3LZ
Tel: 01242 222444
Fax: 01242 544960
Web: www.ucas.ac.uk
HESA:
figures for 2002-03 relate to students entering undergraduate programmes
during that year. This is therefore not the same cohort of students as reported
by QAA and UCAS for students on Access courses and applying to HE during that
year. HESA figures include all students (full and part-time) registered in the
first year of undergraduate courses, whatever their application route, but they
do not include students who progress to HE courses in FE institutions. For the
2002-03 year, HESA data distinguishes between students entering with QAA-recognised
Access certificates and other 'access' certificates. The figures presented here
relate only to holders of QAA-recognised Access certificates. All HESA figures
are rounded to the nearest five.
For further information:
Higher Education Statistics Agency
95 Promenade,
Cheltenham,
GL50 1HZ
Tel: 01242 255 577
Fax: 01242 211 122
Web: www.hesa.ac.uk
HEFCE:
figures are derived from the performance indicators (PI) tables, published
in December 2003 as HEFCE 2003/59. They relate to full-time mature entrants
to first degree programmes in 2000-01. As the data all come from HESA,
they do not distinguish between students from QAA-recognised Access courses
and those from
other courses described as 'access'.
Further information about the PIs can be obtained from the web site: www.hefce.ac.uk/pi.
ELWa and LSC: ELWa and the LSC collect statistics about students on
Access courses in Wales and England, respectively. Data from ELWa and
the LSC has not been included
in
this year's Key Statistics because work to upgrade the LSC's learner aim database
has only recently been completed. Both organisations have advised on, and contributed
to, the development of this document.
For further information:
Learning & Skills Council
Cheylesmore House,
Quinton Road,
Coventry,
CV1 2WT
Tel: 0845 019 4170
Fax: 024 76 49 3600
Web: www.lsc.gov.uk
Education & Learning Wales
Linden Court,
The Orchards,
Ilex Close,
Llanishen,
Cardiff,
CF14 5DZ
Tel: 0845 608 8066
Web: www.elwa.ac.uk