The Office for Students annual review 2022

A statistical overview of higher education in England

• Introduction
• Higher education providers
• Students in higher education
• Student outcomes

Introduction

At a time of global political, social and economic change, and with the implications for higher education of the pandemic still playing out, the need for well evidenced analysis to inform policy and practice is more important than ever. This section offers a statistical overview of key trends and developments in English higher education, using the latest available data. It draws together key findings from a range of OfS reports and data dashboards. It is not a comprehensive overview – the endnotes include information where fuller statistical information is available on the OfS website.

This section focuses on some key statistics relating to higher education in England:

• Higher education providers: The number of providers, diversity of provision and financial sustainability.
• Students in higher education: Entrants to higher education and their experiences of their courses.
• Student outcomes: Continuation, completion and progression rates.

We have included, where this data is available, information on underrepresented groups of students. The OfS considers these to include, among others: students from deprived areas, areas of lower higher education participation, or both; some black, Asian and minority ethnic students; mature students; and disabled students (whether or not they receive a Disabled Students Allowance).⁵¹

Higher education providers

Registration

There were 2.4 million students studying in the UK at higher education providers registered with the OfS in 2020-21.⁵² On 5 December 2022, there were 409 registered providers, 67 of them in the ‘Approved’ category and 342 in the ‘Approved (fee cap)’ category, which allows them to access certain funding and charge fees up to the higher statutory fee limit.⁵³ They include a variety of organisations, and in 2022 we developed a new methodology for grouping higher education providers to help our presentation of sector data.⁵⁴

The OfS Register includes details such as whether a higher education provider has the power to award degrees and at what level, its charitable status and whether it has the right to use ‘university’ in its title.⁵⁵ On 5 December 2022, there were 160 providers with degree awarding powers (just under 40 per cent of all registered providers). 105 providers (about a quarter) can award research degrees. 124 providers are universities (just under a third of all). 70 are registered as a charity and 268 are exempt charities (which means that they are not registered with the Charity Commission and the OfS is their principal regulator).⁵⁶

Financial sustainability

We analysed financial data returned by registered higher education providers in England (excluding further education colleges).⁵⁷ The analysis (published in June 2022) concluded that the overall aggregate financial position of universities, colleges and other registered higher education providers remains sound. However, there is significant variation between providers in terms of financial performance and strength. Overall, they reported a moderate increase in total income of 3.2 per cent in 2020-21, compared with 2019-20. On average, sector income is forecast to be 21.7 per cent higher in 2024-25 than in 2019-20 (see Table 1). Table 2 shows the actual and expected sources of income for providers.

The current and continuing sound financial position reported by the higher education sector is significantly underpinned by providers’ assumptions about fee income from overseas students. Overseas (non-EU) student numbers are forecast by providers to increase by 40.2 per cent from 2020-21 to 2021-22. EU student numbers are expected by providers to decline by 37.3 per cent in the same time period (see Figure 1). This is most likely a consequence of increases in their tuition fees and inability to access student finance since the UK’s exit from the EU. However, the increased tuition fees that EU students will pay will partly mitigate any negative financial impact for providers stemming from these decreased numbers.

Table 1: Peer group analysis of changes in income, 2020-21 to 2024-25

Source: OfS, ‘Financial sustainability of higher education providers in England 2022 update’ (OfS 2022.32), June 2022, page 8.⁵⁸

Note: The ‘Non-specialist: unclassified’ group consists of 30 financially small providers, where relatively low year-to-year changes can appear as large percentage movements. 2020-21 numbers are actual; numbers from 2021-22 onwards are forecast.

Table 2: Sources of income, 2019-20 to 2024-25

Source: OfS, ‘Financial sustainability of higher education providers in England 2022 update’ (OfS 2022.32), June 2022, page 9.⁵⁹

Figure 1: Student numbers and annual growth for total entrants by domicile

Source: OfS, ‘Financial sustainability of higher education providers in England 2022 update’ (OfS 2022.32), June 2022, page 11.⁶⁰

Note: ‘FTE’ = ‘full-time equivalent’. 2019-20 and 2020-21 numbers are actual; numbers from 2021-22 onwards are forecast.

Reportable events and notifications

Registered higher education providers are required to report to the OfS certain events or matters that could negatively impact their ability to meet ongoing registration requirements. These are called ‘reportable events’ and are defined in the OfS’s regulatory framework.⁶¹ The OfS received reports of 197 such events in the first and second quarters of 2022, and resolved 172 reportable events in this period.⁶²

Higher education providers registered with the OfS must meet the ongoing conditions of registration. If students, staff or members of the public believe that a registered provider is not meeting these requirements, they can send us a notification.⁶³ 123 notifications were received and 120 were resolved in the third and fourth quarters of 2021. 103 notifications were received in the first and second quarters of 2022 and 85 were resolved in the same period.⁶⁴

Students in higher education

Profile of students entering higher education

552,860 full-time students, 89,780 part-time students and 21,290 apprentices entered undergraduate education in 2020-21.⁶⁵ Table 3 shows how the number of entrants has changed since 2017-18; for instance, full-time numbers have increased each year. There were noticeable increases in both full-time and part-time student numbers between 2019-20 and 2020-21. For the latter, this increase reversed a decline in numbers in recent years.

Postgraduate student entrant numbers have followed a similar pattern, with increases for full-time students since 2017-18. 287,300 full-time students, 92,560 part-time students and 7,900 apprenticeship students entered postgraduate education in 2020-21. Part-time student numbers declined between 2017-18 and 2019-20. As with undergraduate students, there were notable increases for both full- and part-time postgraduate entrants between 2019-2020 and 2020-21. Students domiciled outside of the UK comprised 18.4 per cent of full-time undergraduate entrants and 55.3 per cent of full-time postgraduate entrants in 2020-21 (see Tables 3 and 4).

The OfS’s Key performance measure 5 shows that, in 2020-21, approximately 282,400 young, full-time students domiciled in England entered undergraduate higher education here, the highest total in the past four years. This included around 51,200 students categorised as ‘significantly disadvantaged’, the highest number in the past four years.⁶⁶

Female students made up the majority of full-time undergraduate and postgraduate entrants in 2020-21 (56.0 and 56.7 per cent respectively; see Table 5). However, these aggregate figures obscure stark differences in the proportions of male and female students in certain course subjects. For example, in 2020-21, 82.9 per cent of undergraduate entrants and 71.5 per cent of postgraduate entrants for engineering, technology and computing were male. Female students made up 86.2 per cent of undergraduate entrants and 71.3 per cent of postgraduate entrants for education and teaching in the same year.⁶⁷

Table 3: Number of undergraduate entrants by domicile from 2017-18 to 2020-21

Source: OfS, ‘Size and shape of provision data dashboard’. Data from all OfS registered providers.⁶⁸

Note: For each category, student numbers have been rounded to the nearest ten, and totals were calculated using unrounded numbers and then rounded. This means that totals may not match the sum of the categories.

Table 4: Number of postgraduate entrants by domicile from 2017-18 to 2020-21

Source: OfS, ‘Size and shape of provision data dashboard’. Data from all OfS registered providers.⁶⁹

Note: For each category, student numbers have been rounded to the nearest ten and totals were calculated using unrounded numbers and then rounded. This means that totals may not match the sum of the categories.

Table 5: Sex of full-time entrants to higher education

Source: OfS, ‘Size and shape of provision data dashboard’. Data from all OfS registered providers.⁷⁰

National Student Survey findings

The NSS is a survey of final-year undergraduates and provides important information on UK higher education students’ opinions on their courses. The response rate in England in 2022 was 68.2 per cent, with 276,344 students taking part in the survey.

In the year when face-to-face teaching resumed for most courses after pandemic-related restrictions were lifted, the 2022 survey results for England show an increase in students reporting positively about access to learning resources. 81 per cent gave positive responses about this in 2022, compared with 73 per cent in 2021. (This data is used for the OfS’s Key performance measure 4, ‘Students’ views on aspects of quality’.⁷⁵ However, the proportion of positive responses about the quality of their teaching was unchanged from 2021, and a decrease from 84 per cent in 2020. More findings from the survey are included in the box below.

Student outcomes

Continuation

Continuation rates have remained fairly constant for full-time undergraduate students in higher education over the last five years, while rising slightly for their part-time counterparts. Continuation rates are calculated by looking at the proportion of students who continue to study for a higher education qualification (or who have gained one), one year and 15 days after they started their course for full-time students and two years and 15 days for part-time students.

The continuation rate for undergraduate students entering full-time first degrees in 2019-20 is 91.1 per cent. Female full-time undergraduate first degree students have a slightly higher continuation rate than their male equivalents (92.5 per cent and 89.4 per cent respectively).⁷⁷ For postgraduate students studying a full-time taught masters’, the rate is 93.8 per cent. These rates have remained roughly the same for the past four years.

Students studying part-time have lower continuation rates. For part-time undergraduate students entering first degrees in 2019-20 it is 61.8 per cent, an increase of 3.7 percentage points since 2016-17. Postgraduate students studying a part-time taught masters’ (having started in 2019-20) have a continuation rate of 74.8 per cent – the same as the previous year but a very slight decrease from 2017-18 (see Figure 2).⁷⁸

The OfS’s Key performance measure 1 looks at the extent of poor student outcomes. The proportion of students at providers where the relevant continuation indicator is below our numerical threshold is 5.2 per cent for the most recent year. This decreased from 7.9 per cent over the previous three years.⁷⁹

Figure 2: Continuation rates in higher education

Source: OfS, ‘Student outcomes data dashboard’. Data from all OfS registered providers.⁸⁰

Completion

Completion rates measure the proportion of students who have gained a higher education qualification (or were continuing in the study of a qualification) four years and 15 days after they started their course (six years and 15 days for part-time students).

Similarly to the pattern seen in continuation rates, completion rates are higher for full-time students (compared with the rates for part-time students). The completion rate for undergraduate students entering full-time first degrees in 2016-17 (first degree, full-time) is 89.2 per cent (roughly the same as for the previous four years). For their part-time counterparts it is 47.6 per cent (an increase of two percentage points from the previous year). Female full-time undergraduate first degree students have a higher completion rate than their male equivalents (91.5 per cent and 86.6 per cent respectively).⁸⁵

For postgraduate students starting a full-time taught masters’ (full-time) in 2016-17, the completion rate is 94.6 per cent. For part-time students in the same mode of study, it is 77.5 per cent. These rates have remained roughly the same for the previous four years (see Figure 3).⁸⁶

The proportion of students at providers where the relevant completion indicator is below our numerical threshold is 6.7 per cent for the most recent year. This decreased from 9.4 per cent over the previous three years.⁸⁷

Figure 3: Completion rates in higher education

Source: OfS, ‘Student outcomes data dashboard’. Data from all OfS registered providers.⁸⁸

Progression

Progression rates after higher education use data from the Graduate Outcomes survey that measures the proportion of graduates who progress to managerial or professional employment, or further study or other positive outcomes, 15 months after they have left higher education.⁹³

The progression rate for full-time undergraduate students gaining a qualification in higher education in 2019-20 (first degree) is 71.9 per cent (a 1.9 percentage point rise from the previous year). For their part-time counterparts it is higher, at 86.3 per cent (a 3.9 percentage point increase from the previous year). Female full-time undergraduate first degree students have a slightly lower progression rate than male students (71.1 per cent and 72.2 per cent respectively). It should be noted that these students gained qualifications at a time of related restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic.⁹⁴

For postgraduate students studying a full-time taught masters and gaining a qualification in 2019-20, the progression rate is 80.3 per cent (a slight decrease from the previous two years’ figures). Part-time postgraduate students studying a taught masters have a higher rate of 91.4 per cent (also a slight decrease from the previous years’ rates) (see Figure 4).⁹⁵

The proportion of students at providers where the relevant progression indicator is below our numerical threshold was 1.6 per cent for the most recent year, a rise from 0.7 per cent two years previously.⁹⁶

Figure 4: Progression rates from higher education

Source: OfS, ‘Student outcomes data dashboard’. Data from all OfS registered providers.⁹⁷