This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Students in Higher Education
13/06/2002
Statistics on
Students in Higher Education in Scotland:
2000-01 are published today by the Scottish Executive.
These figures expand on the Students in Higher Education
Institutions in Scotland 2000-01, published on March 14, 2002,
which has been updated to include information on HE provision
in Further Education Colleges.
The main points are as follows:
- There were over a quarter of a million (262,913)
students in higher education in Scotland in 2000-01, a rise
of 3,525 (1.4 per cent) on the previous year. This growth
is accounted for mainly by an increase in the numbers of
full-time students, to 165,616, a rise of 2.3 per cent on
the previous year. Twenty eight per cent of HE students
attended courses at Further Education Colleges.
- In the last ten years, the percentage of females in
higher education has continued to increase. In 1989-90, 44
per cent of higher education students were female. This has
increased to 55 per cent in 2000-01.
- There were 133,678 entrants to higher education in
Scotland in 2000-01, an increase of 617 (0.5 per cent) on
1999-00. While there was a fall in the number of
postgraduate students, there were increases in the number
of undergraduate entrants at first degree and sub degree
level.
- Participation in HE among young Scots increased from
47.2 per cent to 50.4 per cent. This is due to an increase
in both female and male entrants to HE, coupled with a
decline in the population in Scotland aged 17.
- The numbers of entrants to primary teacher training
courses has risen by 134 (13.5 per cent) in 2000-01. The
number of entrants to secondary teacher training courses
has also risen, by 54 (3.9 per cent) in 2000-01.
- The age distribution of students in higher education in
Scotland has shifted slightly in recent years. Students
aged under 25 still form the majority, but the proportion
of students aged 30 and over has gradually increased (from
28 per cent in 1995-96, to 33 per cent in 2000-01).
- Business Administration is still the most popular area
of study, with 22.3 per cent of the student population.
2000-01 saw a rise of 8.5 per cent in students on Creative
Arts courses and a 7.0 per cent rise in Biological
Sciences. Subjects showing decreases in student numbers
were Education & Leisure (5.2 per cent) and Physical
Sciences (3.3 per cent).
The following tables are available on the Scottish
Executive website:
www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/educ.htm
- Students in higher education in Scotland by mode of
attendance (numbers, FTE, and percentage changes)
- Students in higher education in Scotland by year, mode
of attendance and sector
- Students in higher education in Scotland by year,
gender and mode of attendance
- Students in higher education in Scotland by year, mode
of attendance and level of study
- Entrants to higher education in Scotland by year, mode
of attendance and level of study
- Young Scots undergraduate first entrants to full-time
higher education in the UK, Age Participation Index
- Students in higher education in HEIs in Scotland by
disability status, by year
- Students in Scotland studying at the Open University by
year and level of study
- Staff in Higher Education Institutions in Scotland by
department, mode, and employment Function
- Initial primary and secondary teacher education,
intakes, numbers on courses and output by year
- Undergraduate entrants to higher education in Scotland
by year, gender, mode of attendance and sector
- Postgraduate entrants to higher education in Scotland
by year, gender, mode of attendance and sector
- Undergraduate entrants to full-time higher education in
Scotland by year, level and age
- Students in higher education in Scotland by year, level
of study and age
- Students in higher education in Scotland by level of
study, age, mode of attendance and gender
- Students in higher education in Scotland by subject of
study, sector and mode of attendance
- Students in higher education in Scotland by year, level
of study, mode and domicile
- Students in higher education in Scotland by year, level
of study and subject group
- Students in higher education in Scotland by
institution, mode of attendance and level of study
- Students in higher education in HEIs in Scotland by
year, institution and level of study
These statistics are collected by the Higher Education
Statistics Agency (HESA) from Higher Education Institutions
(HEIs) and, for data prior to 1998-99, by the (former) Scottish
Office Education and Industry Department (SOEID) from Further
Education Colleges (FECs). The Scottish Further Education
Funding Council (SFEFC) has the responsibility to collect data
from FECs - from the academic year 1998-99 onwards.
This news release contains information on students from both
FECs and HEIs who are attending Higher Education courses in
Scotland. Higher Education courses are defined as those at
HND/HNC level and above.
There is a discontinuity of data collection from 1994-95
with HESA assuming responsibility for the collection of
information on students and staff in HEIs.
This release gives data for a number of years to allow
trends to be identified more easily. In doing this, some data
has been re-classified, and so may no longer agree with
previously published data. Where this is the case, this news
release should be assumed to supersede any previous
publications.
Table 17 provides information on the
domicile of students in higher education. Due to an
inconsistency in information provided for the domicile of
part-time postgraduate students in 1999-00, data has been
re-classified, based on known information. The
inconsistency is currently under investigation.
This is a National Statistics publication. National
Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out
in the National Statistics Code of Practice. They undergo
regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet
customer needs. They are produced free from any political
interference.