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 2007
QAA 179 06/07
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) has prepared this overview of Access to HE statistics in collaboration with:
the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)
the Learning and Skills Council (LSC)
Welsh Assembly Government Department for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DELLS).
QAA is grateful to these agencies for their involvement and willing contributions to this project. Information about significant differences in the data sets is provided below.
Access to HE trends
Access to HE programmes
QAA-recognised Access to HE programmes running:
2003-04: 1,125
2004-05: 1,210
2005-06: 1,079
Access to HE registrations
Students registered on QAA-recognised Access to HE programmes, and expected to complete in same year:
2003-04: 31,335
2004-05: 32,055
2005-06: 35,400
Access to HE certificates awarded
Students awarded Access to HE certificates:
2003-04: 19,605
2004-05: 20,690
2005-06: 20,920
Applications and acceptances to HE
Access students applying through UCAS and NMAS:
| Applicants | Acceptances | |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 entry | 22,240 | 15,365 |
| 2005 entry | 22,555 | 15,060 |
| 2006 entry | 21,410 | 14,205 |
Figures include QAA-recognised and other access courses.
Entrants to HEIs from QAA-recognised Access to HE programmes QAA-recognised Access to HE students registering on HE courses:
2003-04: 11,830
2004-05: 10,725
2005-06 12,630
The number of former Access to HE students studying in FECs is unknown.
Entrants to HEIs from other 'access' programmes
Other 'access' students registering on HE courses:
2003-04: 3,960
2004-05: 3,845
2005-06: 3,805
Where can I find out more?
More detailed statistics on Access to HE provision and students' progression in HE is provided in the Joint Agency Report (Access to HE) 2007, available on the QAA website.
Making sense of the figures
When reading Key statistics 2007, please bear in mind that the data sets provided by the different agencies are not directly comparable for the reasons given below.
In line with QAA's rounding policy, all numbers relating to students shown in this paper are rounded to the nearest five.
QAA: figures relate to students on recognised Access to HE courses during 2005-06. Figures include full and part-time students on QAA-recognised courses in England and Wales. While most of these courses are funded by the LSC or DELLS, information relating to some other courses may also be included here. Data presented by QAA has been gathered from the 22 authorised validating agencies in England and Wales.
QAA: Tel: 01452 557 000 Web: www.qaa.ac.uk/access
The LSC and DELLS (a former Assembly Sponsored Public Body whose functions are now part of the Department of Education and Lifelong Learning) collect statistics about students on Access to HE courses in England and Wales, respectively. The LSC and DELLS do not collect data about students on Access to HE courses in HEIs.
LSC: Tel: 0845 019 4170 Web: www.lsc.gov.uk
Welsh Assembly Government Department for Education Lifelong Learning and Skills: Tel: 02920 926 026
UCAS: figures relate to applicants and accepted applicants to HE in the 2006 entry cycle. Accepted applicant figures include some applicants who were accepted on to a course in the 2006 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 qualifications data provided directly by the applicant give a broad indication of the type of qualifications that an applicant may have held or be sitting. Access to HE qualifications are not verified
or confirmed by UCAS; we do not know if an applicant declaring
an Access qualification in his or her HE application subsequently achieved this. UCAS data does not distinguish between
QAA-recognised Access to HE courses and other 'access' courses.
UCAS: Tel: 01242 222 444 Web: www.ucas.com
HESA: figures for 2005-06 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 to HE 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 2005-06 year, HESA data distinguishes between students entering with QAA-recognised Access to HE certificates and other 'access' certificates. The figures presented here relate only to holders of QAA-recognised Access to HE certificates.
In 2004, HESA took over the calculation and publication of the performance indicators (PIs) for HEIs. These PIs - published in previous years by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (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
HESA: Tel: 01242 255 577 Web: www.hesa.ac.uk
Access to HE students and programmes
This information relates to students on QAA-recognised Access to HE programmes during 2005-06. Information about numbers and characteristics of Access to HE students is derived from data provided to the LSC and DELLS by providers in England and Wales.
How many Access to HE students were there in 2005-06?
(LSC/DELLS - 2005-06)
A total of 40,935 students were registered on QAA-recognised Access to HE programmes, with 4,890 of these students expected to finish after August 2005.
36,045 students registered on QAA-recognised Access to HE programmes in 2005-06 were expected to finish by August 2006. Of these, 33,930 were registered in England by the LSC; 1,470 were registered in Wales by DELLS. In addition, 645 students undertook Access to HE programmes in higher education institutions (HEIs) (not included in the LSC and DELLS data).
What were the characteristics of Access to HE students?
(LSC/DELLS - 2005-06)
This information relates to the LSC and DELLS learner registrations, excluding the 645 learners in HEIs. Percentages are based on totals excluding 'not known/not provided' figures.
Gender
76% women
24% men
Ethnicity
72% white
17% black or black British
5% Asian or Asian British
1% Chinese
6% mixed and any other
[941 not known/not provided]
Disability
6% stated that they had a disability
94% stated that they had no disability
[3,372 not known/not provided]
What are the main areas of study for students on Access to HE programmes?
What did Access to HE students achieve at the end of their programmes?
(QAA - 2005-06)
Learner completions and achievement 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 DELLS data provided for learner registrations because of differences in the data sets.
The number of Access to HE certificates awarded in 2005-06 was 20,920. The number of students receiving partial accreditation during the same period was 4,945.
The success rate - calculated as the number of learners awarded an Access to HE certificate (20,920) divided by the number of learner registrations who did not transfer out and were expected to complete in 2005-06 (34,900) - was 60 per cent.
Access to HE students' progression to higher education
UCAS data in this report is based on the 2006 entry cycle and is restricted to applicants who were known to have an access qualification and who were domiciled in England or Wales. UCAS data includes applicants to full-time degrees, Foundation, DipHE or HND/HNC courses through the UCAS scheme.
How many Access to HE students applied to higher education?
(UCAS/NMAS - 2006 entry)
| Applicants: | 19,775 applied to HE through UCAS |
| (3.9% of all applicants) | |
| 1,640 applied to HE through Nursing and Midwifery Admissions Service (NMAS) | |
| Accepted applicants: | 13,410 were accepted through UCAS |
| (3.4% of all acceptances) | |
| 840 were accepted through NMAS |
What were the characteristics of Access to HE students applying to HE?
Socio-demographic indicators
(UCAS - 2006 entry)
The chart below provides the breakdown of accepted Access to HE 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. Further information can be found at http://www.business-strategies.co.uk/Home.aspx
How many former Access to HE students registered in HEIs?
(HESA - 2005-06 entry)
HESA statistics presented here include students registered on HE programmes at HEIs in England and Wales in 2005-06 who entered their programme with a QAA-recognised Access to HE certificate. HESA data includes full and part-time students.
Registrations: 12,630 (11,350 full-time, 1,280 part-time) entered undergraduate programmes in HEIs with a QAA-recognised Access to HE certificate (2.0% of all entrants)
(The number of former Access to HE students studying in further education colleges (FECs) is unknown.)
What were the characteristics of former Access to HE students in HEIs?
Ethnicity
(HESA - 2005-06 entry)
Of undergraduate entrants with a QAA-recognised Access to HE certificate, 30% were from ethnic minority groups. Of all other entrants, 18% were from ethnic minority groups.
What were the main areas of study in
HE for former Access to HE students?
(HESA - 2005-06 entry)
The subject areas in which students with an Access to HE qualification were registered in greatest numbers were:
| Full time | Part time | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects allied to medicine | 5,060 | 315 | 5,375 |
| Social studies | 1,605 | 165 | 1,770 |
| Biological sciences | 850 | 70 | 920 |
| Education | 570 | 235 | 805 |
| Business and administrative studies | 590 | 65 | 655 |
What happened to former Access to HE students in HE?
(HESA - 2003-04 entry)
The following table shows the percentage of mature full-time first degree students not continuing in HE after their first year in an institution. Note that A level includes Scottish Highers. The table refers to entrants to HEIs in 2003-04, and whether or not they continued in HE in 2004-05.
| Entry qualifications | Number of entrants | Non-continuation rates (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Access to HE (QAA recognised) | 6,825 | 14.2 |
| Foundation courses or other access courses | 4,930 | 15.0 |
| BTEC or VCE or GNVQ | 3,485 | 16.3 |
| A levels or Highers: | ||
|
8,745 | 18.6 |
|
5,160 | 11.9 |
|
1,525 | 11.8 |
|
895 | 11.0 |
|
2,040 | 10.8 |
|
3,025 | 9.2 |
| Higher education qualification | 21,880 | 14.2 |
| Other including unknown | 13,635 | 20.9 |
| All entry qualifications | 72,145 | 15.6 |
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