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Attainment in Higher Education and Destinations of Leavers 2007-08
08/12/2009
Statistics on qualifiers from higher education courses at Scottish higher education institutions (HEIs) and Scottish colleges for 2007-08 have been published today by Scotland's Chief Statistician, along with survey information on the first destinations of full-time, EU domiciled qualifiers in the same year.
Summary of Key Findings:
Qualifiers
- The number of higher education qualifiers from Scottish Institutions has continued to rise, in the most recent year by 0.5 per cent (415 qualifiers) to a record high of 83,335 in 2007-08. This was mostly due to a rise of 1,415 in the number of taught postgraduate qualifications obtained.
- Scottish colleges saw a decrease in qualifiers of 3.7 per cent, down to 21,205, mostly due to a decrease in the combined numbers of HNC/HNDs awarded (down by 1,100 or 7.4 per cent).
- The number of qualifications obtained by Scottish students fell by 2.1 per cent from 62,710 in 2006-07 to 61,420 in 2007-08.
- The number of qualifications obtained by international students increased by 10.5 per cent from 13,600 in 2006-07 to 15,025 in 2007-08, with the majority of the those studying at postgraduate level (63.1 per cent)
- Scots domiciles accounted for nearly three quarter of qualifiers from Scottish institutions (73.7 per cent) in 2007-08. This is down from 75.6 per cent in 2006-07.
First Destinations
- 66.8 per cent of qualifiers from higher education courses at Scottish higher education institutions (HEIs) were in permanent or temporary UK employment six months after completing their course. A further 18.9 per cent were engaged in further study or training. 78.5 per cent of those in permanent UK employment were employed in graduate level occupations.
- Of qualifiers in permanent employment (in the UK or overseas) the proportion employed in Scotland has decreased by 0.3 percentage points from 81.0 per cent in 2006-07 to 80.7 per cent in 2007-08. 92.0 per cent of Scots qualifiers in permanent employment were employed within Scotland.
- 64.9 per cent of full-time first degree qualifiers from the most deprived areas of Scotland were in employment six months after qualifying, compared to 66.2 per cent of those from other areas.
- 68.7 per cent of Scots postgraduate and first degree qualifiers from Scottish Higher Education institutions were employed in graduate level occupations within Scotland or engaged in further study or training six months after completing their higher education course. This figure is used as a proxy indicator in 'Scotland Performs'. This figure has fallen by 1.6 percentage points from 70.3 per cent during the previous year.
- More than half (51.1 per cent) of qualifiers in permanent UK employment at the time of the survey were employed in the public administration, education and health sectors.
The publication reports on all higher education qualifications, including those at HNC/HND level and students that upgraded their previous higher education qualification. This updates the publication issued on October 28, 2008. Scottish domiciled qualifiers from the Open University in Scotland are included.
Following consultation in 2007 the method of identifying students has changed to provide consistency with the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). The figures in this publication that relate to higher education institutions are defined by HESA's qualifications obtained population 2007-08.
Information provided here on destinations of qualifiers is collected in the survey of Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education. This is co-ordinated by HESA and administered by each HEI. The survey is handed out to all qualifiers in full-time and part-time higher education courses at HEIs. The response rate for the survey was 73.5 per cent.
Higher education courses are defined as non school qualifications at Level 7 or above of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). All higher education qualifiers from Scottish HEIs and colleges (full-time and part-time, from within the EU and from outside the EU) are included in Tables 1-11.
First destination information is collected by the colleges and universities through a voluntary survey to students of all nationalities within the EU who have successfully completed their course. Details are requested about the graduate's destination on January 12 or April 14, for autumn and summer qualifiers respectively, (HESA) or December 31 (SFC) following the end of the academic session in which they qualified.
The tables on first destinations (Tables 12 to 23) report on the activities of full-time and part-time students from Scottish HEIs, the rest of the UK and the rest of the EU. First destinations data from colleges has been excluded from the main results due to high levels of non-response from both individual institutions and overall. Table 25 shows the response rates achieved from all colleges.