Scottish Government

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Students in Higher Education

16/05/2007

Statistics on Students in Higher Education at Scottish Institutions 2005-06 are published today.

The main points are:

• In 2005-06 there were, in total, 285,180 HE students at Scottish HEIs and FECs, an increase of three per cent since 2004-05; study at HEIs increased whereas fewer students were enrolled on HE courses at colleges. 82 per cent of students studied at HEIs, 18 per cent at FECs in 2005-06. Student numbers have increased by ten per cent since 1999-00
• The proportion studying at postgraduate level was 23 per cent (64,965), an increase of four percentage points since 1999-00. The corresponding change was a three percentage point increase for students studying first degrees while the number studying below degree level has fallen by seven percentage points - this decrease is attributed to FECs
• 18 per cent (51,140) of students at Scottish institutions were overseas students, an increase of 2,995 since 2004-05. 71 per cent of these were from non-European countries. Of overseas countries China uses Scottish education the most and numbers have increased by 300 since 2004-05 to 5,170 students studying through Scottish HEIs in 2005-06 - accounting for ten per cent of all overseas students. An increasing number of students from India are choosing to study through Scottish institutions, 3,820 - an increase of 45 per cent since 2004-05*. 64 per cent of non-European entrants at Scottish HEIs were studying at postgraduate level
• 54 per cent of students were aged under 25. 79 per cent of first degree students fell into this category, while the majority (53 per cent) of post graduate students were aged 25-39. The proportion of students studying below degree level was greatest amongst those aged 21 and under
• There were more female students (160,765) in Scottish HE than males (124,415). The gender gap has widened since 1999-00, but has stabilised in the last year
• 18,590 students studied for the whole of their programme to date outside of the UK (table 1). 87 per cent of all students studying outside of the UK were studying business administration courses
• The number of students studying business administration courses has increased by ten per cent (5,490) since 2004-05* to 58,485 - this is largely due to Heriot-Watt University which saw an increase of 5,246 business administration students. 65 per cent of the 8,475 increase in student numbers is attributed to students of business administration courses
• With respect to specific subject science courses have seen a one per cent decrease in student numbers since 2004-05 as a result of a 12 per cent decrease in sub-degree level study (postgraduate and first degree level study of science subjects as a whole were up seven per cent and three per cent respectively since 2004-05). In percentage terms the drop was noticeable in mathematics where there was a 12 per cent (405) drop. Other changes include: a nine per cent increase in law students; an 11 per cent increase in language students; and a nine per cent decrease in mass communication
• The number of students entering HE courses showed similar trends as the overall number of students at HE courses. Entrants have increased by three per cent to 142,190 since 2004-05, a rise of seven per cent since 1999-00. 46 per cent of entrants are in programmes of study below degree level, a decrease of four percentage points since 2004-05
• Gender preferences for courses have remained stable† with courses allied to Medicine attracting the greatest proportion of female entrants (85 per cent) and engineering and technology courses attracting the greatest proportion of male entrants (87 per cent)
• The number of students declaring a disability has risen by 900 since 2004-05 but the proportion has remained at six per cent. 41 per cent of these reported suffering from dyslexia
• Entrants to HE from deprived areas of Scotland are over-represented in colleges by two percentage points and under-represented at all classes of universities. This is most noticeable in specialised and ancient universities
• 235,965 Scottish domiciled students currently follow an HE course at an institution anywhere in the UK, 222,400 at Scottish institutions (including 13,955 at The Open University), 12,550 in England and 230 in Northern Ireland and 790 in Wales, including HE students at colleges
• There are 21,145 English, 5,195 Northern Irish, 650 Welsh students currently studying at Scottish HEIs, representing increases in English and Welsh students of five per cent and four per cent respectively since 2004-05 and a decrease in Northern Irish students of three per cent over the same period