Scottish Government

14 ^th September 2005
A Scottish Executive National Statistics Publication
ISBN 0 7559 2732 X (Web only publication)
This document is also available in pdf format (244k)

The Age Participation Index for Scotland 2003-04 is released today. This updates the previous publication of the API in September 2004. The Age Participation Index is used to measure the proportion of young Scots entering Higher Education anywhere in the UK for the first time in a given year.

The main points are as follows:

• In 2003-04, the Age Participation Index for Scotland was 48.9 per cent. This was unchanged from 2002-03. The index has been just around the 50% mark for the past 7 years, reaching 51.5 between 2000 and 2002.
• Over the same time period participation by women has been around 10 percentage points higher than by men; in 2003-04 the API for females was 54.2 per cent while the figure for males was 43.8 per cent. The gap between the genders narrowed slightly to 10.4 percentage points in 2003-04 compared with 12.4 percentage points in 2002-03.
• Components of the index have been calculated by level of study and type of institution attended. Initial participation at degree level has risen by 1.8 percentage points since 1999-2000, standing at 29.7% in 2003-04. The sub-degree component of the API remained at the same level as the previous year, at 19.2%. This is a decline by 1.8 percentage points since 1999/2000.
• The largest contribution to the Scottish API is made by students entering Scottish Higher Education Institutions ( HEIs). The Scottish HEIAPI stood at 31.0 per cent in 2003-04. This compared to an API of 15.7 per cent for HE entrants to Scottish Further Education Colleges and an API of 2.2 per cent for entrants to HEIs in the rest of the UK.

NOTES TO NEWS EDITORS

1. The Scottish Age Participation Index ( API) for a given year is defined as the number of young Scots aged under 21 who enter a full-time HE course for the first time in that year taken as a percentage of the population of 17 year olds at 31 December in the same year. In simple terms it is an estimate of the share of 17 year olds in the population who can be expected to enter HE for the first time before their 21 ^st birthday , if current trends continue.
2. The data used to calculate the Age Participation Index ( API) for Scotland are collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency ( HESA) from Higher Education Institutions ( HEIs) and by the Scottish Further Education Funding Council ( SFEFC) from Further Education Colleges ( FECs).
3. There is a break in data for both HEIs and FECs in 1994-95, due to a significant revision to the surveys underpinning both sets of estimates. Comparison of data spanning 1994-95 should be considered indicative.
4. A one percent change in the overall API would correspond to a change of around 650 in the number of young student entrants (based on current estimates for the population of 17 year olds in Scotland).
5. This is a National Statistics publication. National Statistics are produced to high professional standards as 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.
6. These tables are published on the Scottish Executive web-site www.scotland.gov.uk.

Issued by

Analytical Services Division

Telephone

Press Office:
Press ETLLD
0131-244-2682

Statistician:
Karren Friel
0141-242-0270

List of Tables
Table 1: Age Participation Index for Scotland: 1983-84 to 2003-04
Table 2: Age Participation Index for Scotland level of study components, 1995-96 to 2003-04
Table 3: Age Participation Index for Scotland by type of institution components, 1995-96 to 2003-04

List of Charts
Chart 1: Age Participation Index 1983-84 to 2003-04
Chart 2: Age Participation Index 1995-96 to 2003-04: Gender
Chart 3: Age Participation Index 1995-96 to 2003-04: Level of Study Components
Chart 4: Age Participation Index 1995-96 to 2003-04: Type of Institution Components