Access
to HE courses are designed for people who would like to study at university but
who left school without the usual qualifications, such as A levels.
Key Statistics 2005
...Access headlines...Access headlines...
This year's data on student registrations is provided by ELWa and the LSC and is not directly comparable to previous years' data when it was provided to QAA by authorised validating agencies. There have been increases in numbers 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:
2003-04: 1,407
2002-03: 1,568
2001-02: 1,281
Access to HE registrations
Students registered on QAA-recognised Access to HE programmes, and expected to complete in same year:
2003-04: 30,378 + (1,000 in HEIs)*
2002-03: 33,042 (data collected by QAA)
*data provided by ELWa and the LSC and therefore not comparable with the previous year.
Access to HE certificates awarded
Students awarded Access certificates:
2003-04: 19,605
2002-03: 18,393
2001-02: 17,085
Applications and acceptances to HE
Access students applying through UCAS and NMAS:
| Applicants | Acceptances | |
|---|---|---|
| 2004: | 22,240 | 15,365 |
| 2003: | 21,283 | 15,102 |
| 2002: | 20,382 | 14,254 |
(These have previously been represented separately)
HE entrants from Access programmes
Access students registering on HE courses:
2003: 11,830* (other 'access' entrants: 3,960)
2002: 11,295* (other 'access' entrants: 3,535)
2001: 13,670
*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 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 Access to HE programmes during 2003-04. Data on numbers of and characteristics of Access students is derived from data provided to the LSC and ELWa by providers in England and Wales. Approximately 1,000 students who undertake Access to HE programmes in HEIs are not included in the LSC and ELWa data.This year's data is not directly comparable to previous years', which was provided to QAA by authorised validating agencies in England and Wales.
Further details.
How many Access to HE students were there in 2003-04?
30,378 + (1,000 in HEIs) students were registered on Access to HE programmes in 2003-04 and were expected to finish by August 2004. Of these 28,784 were registered in England; 1,594 were registered in Wales.
39,970 + (1,000 in HEIs) students were registered on Access to HE programmes, with 9,592 of these expected to finish after August 2004.
What were the characteristics of Access to HE students?
(all learner registrations)
Gender
- 75% (29,975) were women
- 25% (9,995) were men
Ethnicity
- 73% (27,980) White
- 15% (5,861) Black or Black British
- 5% (1,795) Asian or Asian British
- 1% (412) Chinese
- 5% (2,072) Mixed and Any other
- (1,850) Not known/not provided
NB: Percentages are based on totals excluding 'not known/not provided' figures.
Disability
- 5.5% (1,891) stated that they had a disability
- 94.5% (32,452) stated that they had
no disability
NB: no information was provided about 5,627 of students.
What did Access students achieve at the end of their programmes?
Learner completions are based on data provided to QAA by the authorised validating agencies in England and Wales and is not directly comparable to the LSC and ELWa data provided for learner registrations.
Achievement
The number of Access to HE certificates awarded in 2003-04 was 19,605. The number of students receiving partial accreditation during the same period was 10,166.
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 are given overleaf.
UCAS data in this report is based on the 2004 entry cycle and is restricted to applicants who were known to have an access qualification and who were domiciled from England and Wales. UCAS data includes applicants to full-time degree, DipHE or HND/C courses through the UCAS scheme.
HESA statistics presented here include students registered on HE programmes at HE institutions in England and Wales in 2003-04 who entered their programme with a QAA-recognised Access certificate. HESA data did not distinguish between QAA-recognised Access programmes and other programmes called 'access', for students registered prior to 2002-03.
How many Access to HE students progressed to higher education?
| Applicants: (UCAS/NMAS - 2004-05 entry) |
19,570 applied to HE through UCAS (5.4% of all applicants) 2,670 applied to HE through NMAS |
| Acceptances: (UCAS/NMAS - 2004-05 entry) |
13,541 were accepted through UCAS (4.6% of all acceptances) 1,824 were accepted through NMAS |
| Registrations: (HESA - 2003-04 entry) |
11,830 entered undergraduate programmes with a QAA-recognised Access qualification (2% of all entrants) There were also 3,960 other access entrants |
What were the characteristics of former Access to HE students?
Ethnicity
(HESA - 2003-04 entry)
Of undergraduate entrants with a QAA-recognised Access certificate, 27% were from ethnic minority groups. Of all other entrants, 17% were from ethnic minority groups.
NB: White entrants have not been included in the graph. Percentages are based on totals excluding 'not known'.
Socio-demographic indicators
(UCAS - 2004 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 roll, housing and financial data to classify households.
Section 3: Former Access students in HE
This information is derived from data provided by HESA. It includes former Access students in HEIs, but does not include those studying HE in FE institutions. Further details are given overleaf.
What were the main areas of study in HE for former Access students?
(HESA - 2003-04 entry)
The subject areas in which students with an Access qualification were registered in greatest numbers were:
| FT | PT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects allied to medicine | 4,350 | 280 | 4,630 |
| Social studies | 1,180 | 130 | 980 |
| Education | 785 | 195 | 980 |
| Biological sciences | 765 | 60 | 825 |
| Business & administrative studies | 535 | 90 | 625 |
What happened to former Access students in HE?
(HESA - 2001-02 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. Note that A-level includes Scottish Highers. The table refers to entrants to higher education institutions in 2001-02, and whether or not they continued in HE in 2002-03.
| Entry qualifications | No of entrants | Non-continuation rates (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Access | 8,690 | 14.5 |
| Foundation course | 1,970 | 11.9 |
| BTEC | 3,050 | 15.7 |
| A-levels or Highers, up to 11 points |
6,670 | 13.4 |
| A-levels or Highers, 12 to 22 points |
6,395 | 12.5 |
| A-levels or Highers, 23 to 30 points |
2,280 | 9.3 |
| First degree | 3,470 | 9.7 |
| Other previous HE | 15,225 | 14.6 |
| Other including unknown | 17,825 | 18.6 |
| All entry qualifications | 65,575 | 14.9 |
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) 2005, produced jointly by the agencies contributing to this overview and available on the QAA web site: www.qaa.ac.uk/access
Making sense of the figures
Please bear the following in mind when reading Key Statistics 2005.
ELWa and the LSC collect statistics about students on Access courses in Wales and England, respectively. ELWa and the LSC do not collect data about students on Access courses in HEIs.
For further information:
Learning & Skills Council
Cheylesmore House, Quinton Road,
Coventry, CV1 2WT
Tel: 0845 019 4170
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
QAA: figures relate to QAA-recognised Access courses and the students on them during 2003-04. 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 25 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
Web: www.qaa.ac.uk/access
UCAS: figures relate to applicants and accepted applicants to HE in the 2004 entry cycle. Accepted applicant figures include some applicants who were accepted on to a course in the 2004 entry cycle, but chose to defer their entry until the subsequent academic year. UCAS data does not include applicants to part-time HE courses, but does include some applicants to HE courses at FE institutions. UCAS data does not distinguish between QAA-recognised Access Courses and other 'access' courses.
For further information:
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service
Rosehill, New Barn Lane, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL52 3LZ
Tel: 01242 222444
Web: www.ucas.com
HESA: figures for 2003-04 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 2003-04 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 5.
In 2004 HESA took over the calculation and publication of the performance indicators (PI) for higher education institutions (HEI). These PIs - published in previous years by HEFCE - include information about the progress of students at individual HEIs and their employment outcomes. The full PI publication can be found at www.hesa.ac.uk/pi.
For further information:
Higher Education Statistics Agency
95 Pomenade, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 1HZ
Tel: 01242 255 577
Web: www.hesa.ac.uk