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 2008
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) has prepared this overview of Access to Higher Education (HE) statistics in collaboration with:
- the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
- UCAS
- the Learning and Skills Council (LSC)
- Welsh Assembly Government Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DCELLS).
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 overleaf. 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.
Access to HE students and programmes
This information relates to students on QAA-recognised Access to HE programmes during 2006-07. Information about numbers and characteristics of Access to HE students is derived from data provided to the LSC and DCELLS by providers in England and Wales.
How many Access to HE students were there in 2006-07?
(LSC/DCELLS - 2006-07)
A total of 37,840 students were registered on QAA-recognised Access to HE programmes, of which 4,047 students were expected to finish after August 2007.
33,165 students were registered on QAA-recognised Access to HE programmes in 2006-07 and were expected to finish by August 2007. Of these 31,710 were registered in England by the LSC; 1,455 were registered in Wales by DCELLS. In addition, 630 students undertook Access to HE programmes in higher education institutions (HEIs) (not included in the LSC and DCELLS data).
What were the characteristics of Access to HE students?
(LSC/DCELLS - 2006-07)
This information relates to the LSC and DCELLS learner registrations, excluding the 630 learners in HEIs. Percentages are based on totals excluding 'not known/not provided' figures. 
Gender
- 75% women
- 25% men
Ethnicity
- 71% White
- 17% Black or Black British
- 5% Asian or Asian British
- 0.5% Chinese
- 6% Mixed and Any other
[925 Not known/not provided]
Disability
- 6% stated that they had a disability
- 94% stated that they had no disability
[2,680 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 - 2006-07)
Learner completions and achievement are based on data provided to QAA by the Access validating agencies in England and Wales. This data is not directly comparable to the LSC and DCELLS data provided for learner registrations owing to differences in the data sets.
The number of Access to HE certificates awarded in 2006-07 was 19,925. The number of students receiving partial accreditation during the same period was 2,955.
The success rate, calculated as the number of learners awarded an Access to HE certificate (19,925) divided by the number of learner registrations who did not transfer out and were expected to complete in 2006-07 (32,265), was 62 per cent.
Access to HE students' progression to HE
UCAS data in this report is based on the 2007 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 degree, Foundation Degree, DipHE or HND/HNC courses through the UCAS scheme.
How many Access to HE students applied to HE?
(UCAS/Nursing and Midwifery Admissions Service (NMAS) - 2007 entry)
| Applicants: | 21,150 applied to HE through UCAS | Accepted applicants: | 14,590 were accepted through UCAS |
| (5.5% of all applicants) | (4.5% of all acceptances) | ||
| 1,150 applied to HE through NMAS | 660 were accepted through NMAS |
What were the characteristics of Access to HE students applying to HE?
Socio-demographic indicators
(UCAS - 2007 entry)
The following charts provide the breakdown of accepted access applicants by Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). These have been appended to UCAS data using home postcodes to identify Lower Layer Super Output Areas (National Statistics Postcode Directory: November 2007). IMD rankings for England were allocated using the 2007 IMD (Source: Department of Communities and Local Government) and IMD rankings for Wales were allocated using the Welsh IMD 2005 (Source: Local Government Data Unit~Wales). IMD decile 1 denotes those living in the most deprived areas. Further information can be found at www.communities.gov.uk/communities/neighbourhoodrenewal/deprivation/deprivation07/
How many former Access to HE students registered in HEIs?
(HESA - 2006-07 entry)
HESA statistics presented here include students registered on HE programmes at HEIs in England and Wales in 2006-07 who entered their programme with a QAA-recognised Access to HE certificate. HESA data includes full and part-time students.
Registrations: 12,275 (11,060 full-time, 1,215 part-time) entered undergraduate programmes in HEIs with a QAA-recognised Access to HE certificate (2% of all entrants).
(The number of former Access to HE students studying in further education colleges is unknown).
What were the characteristics of former Access to HE students in HEIs? 
Ethnicity
(HESA - 2006-07 entry)
Of undergraduate entrants with a QAA-recognised Access to HE certificate, 32% 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 - 2006-07 entry)
The subject areas in which students with an Access to HE qualification were registered in greatest numbers were:
| FT | PT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects allied to medicine | 4,415 | 285 | 4,700 |
| Social studies | 1,610 | 130 | 1,740 |
| Biological sciences | 975 | 50 | 1,025 |
| Education | 755 | 255 | 1,010 |
| Business & administrative studies | 625 | 80 | 705 |
What happened to former Access to HE students in HE?
(HESA - 2004-05 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 2004-05, and whether or not they continued in HE in 2005-06
| Entry qualifications | No of entrants | Non-continuation rates (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Access to HE (QAA-recognised) | 5,740 | 13.3 |
| Other access courses and foundation courses | 6,445 | 13.5 |
| BTEC or VCE or GNVQ | 3,745 | 14.7 |
|
A-levels or Highers: | ||
|
6,585 | 17.8 |
|
5,425 | 11.5 |
|
1,600 | 13.7 |
|
910 | 10.7 |
|
2,100 | 10.7 |
|
3,340 | 9.9 |
| Higher education qualification | 22,840 | 13.0 |
| Other including unknown | 11,695 | 20.0 |
| All entry qualifications | 70,430 | 14.4 |
Access to HE trends
Access to HE programmes
QAA-recognised Access to HE programmes running:
2004-05: 1,210
2005-06: 1,079
2006-07: 1,057
Access to HE registrations
Students registered on QAA-recognised Access to HE programmes, and expected to complete in same year:
2004-05: 32,055
2005-06: 35,400
2006-07: 33,165
Access to HE certificates awarded
Students awarded Access to HE certificates:
2004-05: 20,690
2005-06: 20,920
2006-07: 19,925
Applications and acceptances to HE
Access students applying through UCAS and NMAS:
| Applicants | Acceptances | |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 entry | 22,555 | 15,060 |
| 2006 entry | 21,410 | 14,205 |
| 2007 entry | 22,305 | 15,250 |
Figures include QAA-recognised and other access
Entrants to HEIs from QAA-recognised Access to HE programmes
QAA-recognised Access to HE students registering on HE courses:
2004-05: 10,725
2005-06: 12,630
2006-07: 12,275
The number of former Access to HE students studying in further education colleges is unknown.
Entrants to HEIs from other 'access' programmes
Other 'access' students registering on HE courses:
2004-05: 3,845
2005-06: 3,805
2006-07: 3,935
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 Access website (www.accesstohe.ac.uk)
Making sense of the figures
When reading Key Statistics 2008, 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.
Data published here is not intended to be used by institutions to set targets for individual Access to HE courses.
QAA: figures relate to students on recognised Access to HE courses during 2006-07. 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 DCELLS, information relating to some other courses may also be included here.
Data presented by QAA has been gathered from the 15 Access validating agencies in England and Wales.
QAA: Tel: 01452 557 000 Web: www.accesstohe.ac.uk
The LSC and DCELLS (Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and skills) collect statistics about students on Access to HE courses in England and Wales, respectively. The LSC and DCELLS do not collect data about students on Access to HE courses in HEIs.
LSC: Tel: 0845 019 4170 Web: www.lsc.gov.uk
DCELLS Tel: 02920 926 026 Web: http://accac.org.uk/
UCAS: figures relate to applicants and accepted applicants to HE in the 2007 entry cycle. Accepted applicant figures include some applicants who were accepted on to a course in the 2007 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 further education 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 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 2006-07 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 further education institutions. 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 (PI) for HEIs. These PIs - published in previous years by the Higher Education Funding Council for England - 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