Scottish Government

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

1. Students in higher education in Scotland by mode of attendance (numbers, FTE, and percentage changes)
2. Students in higher education in Scotland by year, mode of attendance and sector
3. Students in higher education in Scotland by year, gender and mode of attendance
4. Students in higher education in Scotland by year, mode of attendance and level of study
5. Entrants to higher education in Scotland by year, mode of attendance and level of study
6. Young Scots undergraduate first entrants to full-time higher education in the UK, Age Participation Index
7. Students in higher education in HEIs in Scotland by disability status, by year
8. Students in Scotland studying at the Open University by year and level of study
9. Staff in Higher Education Institutions in Scotland by department, mode, and employment Function
10. Initial primary and secondary teacher education, intakes, numbers on courses and output by year
11. Undergraduate entrants to higher education in Scotland by year, gender, mode of attendance and sector
12. Postgraduate entrants to higher education in Scotland by year, gender, mode of attendance and sector
13. Undergraduate entrants to full-time higher education in Scotland by year, level and age
14. Students in higher education in Scotland by year, level of study and age
15. Students in higher education in Scotland by level of study, age, mode of attendance and gender
16. Students in higher education in Scotland by subject of study, sector and mode of attendance
17. Students in higher education in Scotland by year, level of study, mode and domicile
18. Students in higher education in Scotland by year, level of study and subject group
19. Students in higher education in Scotland by institution, mode of attendance and level of study
20. 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.