Analysis is presented for English domiciled learners to reflect funding eligibility more closely and allow for consistent comparisons across both HESA and ILR sources.
Most of the data included in this release refers to academic year 2023/24. Time series data for the previous nine academic years from 2015/16 to 2023/24 have also been included at summary level.
Throughout the publication, all numbers are rounded to the nearest 5 to preserve confidentiality. Percentages are calculated on pre-rounded data but are not published if they are fractions of a small group of people (fewer than 22.5).
Due to rounding, it is possible that the sum of the category percentages may not always total to 100%.
Data files
All data files associated with this releases are listed below with guidance on their content. To download any of these files, please visit our data catalogue.
Age
Filename
higher_level_learners_by_age.csv
Geographic levels
National
Time period
2015/16 to 2023/24
Content
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by age group, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
age
Age
broad_type_of_higher_education
Broad type of higher learning
level
Level of study
number_of_enrolments
Total number of enrolments
number_of_entrants
Number of entrants
number_of_qualifiers
Number of qualifiers
percentage_of_all_enrolments_by_characteristic
Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
percentage_of_entrants_by_characteristic
Percentage of entrants by characteristic
percentage_of_qualifiers_by_characteristic
Percentage of qualifiers by characteristic
type_of_higher_education
Type of higher learning
Footnotes
See the publication Methodology for explanation of differences from other official statistics on apprenticeships and higher education.
From 2022/23, HESA's definition of a first year or entrant differs from that used previously with a small impact on overall student numbers. Prior to 2022/23, first year students at HEPs were those with a start date between 1 August and 31 July. For 2022/23 and onwards, entrants are defined as those students with a start date between 18 July and 17 July, the following calendar year. When used in conjunction with the Standard Registration Population, this has a small impact on overall student numbers, but the revision brings it in line with the concept used in the derivation of the Standard Registration Population.
From 2022/23, students in HEPs who are writing-up at the end of the year are now able to be included in HESA's figures if certain conditions are met. In previous years, students in HEPs who are writing-up were excluded entirely.
The “Other higher level” category is lower bound estimate, combining “Other higher level - Unfunded” and "Other higher level - ESFA / Adv. Learner Loan". There is likely to be some unfunded-learning in FE providers that is not recorded as it is only mandatory for providers to record information in the ILR for their ESFA-funded learners. There may also be higher level learning in the private sector that is not recorded in administrative data held by government.
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by self-reported disability status, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
broad_type_of_higher_education
Broad type of higher learning
disability_status
Disability status
level
Level of study
number_of_enrolments
Total number of enrolments
number_of_entrants
Number of entrants
number_of_qualifiers
Number of qualifiers
percentage_of_all_enrolments_by_characteristic
Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
percentage_of_entrants_by_characteristic
Percentage of entrants by characteristic
percentage_of_qualifiers_by_characteristic
Percentage of qualifiers by characteristic
type_of_higher_education
Type of higher learning
Footnotes
See the publication Methodology for explanation of differences from other official statistics on apprenticeships and higher education.
From 2022/23, HESA's definition of a first year or entrant differs from that used previously with a small impact on overall student numbers. Prior to 2022/23, first year students at HEPs were those with a start date between 1 August and 31 July. For 2022/23 and onwards, entrants are defined as those students with a start date between 18 July and 17 July, the following calendar year. When used in conjunction with the Standard Registration Population, this has a small impact on overall student numbers, but the revision brings it in line with the concept used in the derivation of the Standard Registration Population.
From 2022/23, students in HEPs who are writing-up at the end of the year are now able to be included in HESA's figures if certain conditions are met. In previous years, students in HEPs who are writing-up were excluded entirely.
The “Other higher level” category is lower bound estimate, combining “Other higher level - Unfunded” and "Other higher level - ESFA / Adv. Learner Loan". There is likely to be some unfunded-learning in FE providers that is not recorded as it is only mandatory for providers to record information in the ILR for their ESFA-funded learners. There may also be higher level learning in the private sector that is not recorded in administrative data held by government.
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by equivalent or lower qualification (ELQ) status, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24. OfS recognised HE only.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
broad_type_of_higher_education
Broad type of higher learning
equivalent_or_lower_qualification
Equivalent or lower qualification already held
level
Level of study
number_of_enrolments
Total number of enrolments
number_of_entrants
Number of entrants
number_of_qualifiers
Number of qualifiers
percentage_of_all_enrolments_by_characteristic
Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
percentage_of_entrants_by_characteristic
Percentage of entrants by characteristic
percentage_of_qualifiers_by_characteristic
Percentage of qualifiers by characteristic
type_of_higher_education
Type of higher learning
Footnotes
From 2022/23, HESA's definition of a first year or entrant differs from that used previously with a small impact on overall student numbers. Prior to 2022/23, first year students at HEPs were those with a start date between 1 August and 31 July. For 2022/23 and onwards, entrants are defined as those students with a start date between 18 July and 17 July, the following calendar year. When used in conjunction with the Standard Registration Population, this has a small impact on overall student numbers, but the revision brings it in line with the concept used in the derivation of the Standard Registration Population.
From 2022/23, students in HEPs who are writing-up at the end of the year are now able to be included in HESA's figures if certain conditions are met. In previous years, students in HEPs who are writing-up were excluded entirely.
Caution should be applied when interpreting these statistics due to the high level of unknowns. To allow for comparisons across learning types, the following percentages are based on learners where ELQ status is known.
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) quintile of domicile, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
broad_type_of_higher_education
Broad type of higher learning
imd_quintile
IMD quintile
level
Level of study
number_of_enrolments
Total number of enrolments
number_of_entrants
Number of entrants
number_of_qualifiers
Number of qualifiers
percentage_of_all_enrolments_by_characteristic
Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
percentage_of_entrants_by_characteristic
Percentage of entrants by characteristic
percentage_of_qualifiers_by_characteristic
Percentage of qualifiers by characteristic
type_of_higher_education
Type of higher learning
Footnotes
See the publication Methodology for explanation of differences from other official statistics on apprenticeships and higher education.
From 2022/23, HESA's definition of a first year or entrant differs from that used previously with a small impact on overall student numbers. Prior to 2022/23, first year students at HEPs were those with a start date between 1 August and 31 July. For 2022/23 and onwards, entrants are defined as those students with a start date between 18 July and 17 July, the following calendar year. When used in conjunction with the Standard Registration Population, this has a small impact on overall student numbers, but the revision brings it in line with the concept used in the derivation of the Standard Registration Population.
From 2022/23, students in HEPs who are writing-up at the end of the year are now able to be included in HESA's figures if certain conditions are met. In previous years, students in HEPs who are writing-up were excluded entirely.
The “Other higher level” category is lower bound estimate, combining “Other higher level - Unfunded” and "Other higher level - ESFA / Adv. Learner Loan". There is likely to be some unfunded-learning in FE providers that is not recorded as it is only mandatory for providers to record information in the ILR for their ESFA-funded learners. There may also be higher level learning in the private sector that is not recorded in administrative data held by government.
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by level of study, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
broad_type_of_higher_education
Broad type of higher learning
level_of_study
Level of study
number_of_enrolments
Total number of enrolments
number_of_entrants
Number of entrants
number_of_qualifiers
Number of qualifiers
percentage_of_all_enrolments_by_characteristic
Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
percentage_of_entrants_by_characteristic
Percentage of entrants by characteristic
percentage_of_qualifiers_by_characteristic
Percentage of qualifiers by characteristic
type_of_higher_education
Type of higher learning
Footnotes
See the publication Methodology for explanation of differences from other official statistics on apprenticeships and higher education.
From 2022/23, HESA's definition of a first year or entrant differs from that used previously with a small impact on overall student numbers. Prior to 2022/23, first year students at HEPs were those with a start date between 1 August and 31 July. For 2022/23 and onwards, entrants are defined as those students with a start date between 18 July and 17 July, the following calendar year. When used in conjunction with the Standard Registration Population, this has a small impact on overall student numbers, but the revision brings it in line with the concept used in the derivation of the Standard Registration Population.
From 2022/23, students in HEPs who are writing-up at the end of the year are now able to be included in HESA's figures if certain conditions are met. In previous years, students in HEPs who are writing-up were excluded entirely.
The “Other higher level” category is lower bound estimate, combining “Other higher level - Unfunded” and "Other higher level - ESFA / Adv. Learner Loan". There is likely to be some unfunded-learning in FE providers that is not recorded as it is only mandatory for providers to record information in the ILR for their ESFA-funded learners. There may also be higher level learning in the private sector that is not recorded in administrative data held by government.
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by level on entry, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24. OfS recognised HE only.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
broad_type_of_higher_education
Broad type of higher learning
level
Level of study
level_on_entry
Qualification level held on entry
number_of_enrolments
Total number of enrolments
number_of_entrants
Number of entrants
number_of_qualifiers
Number of qualifiers
percentage_of_all_enrolments_by_characteristic
Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
percentage_of_entrants_by_characteristic
Percentage of entrants by characteristic
percentage_of_qualifiers_by_characteristic
Percentage of qualifiers by characteristic
type_of_higher_education
Type of higher learning
Footnotes
See the publication Methodology for explanation of differences from other official statistics on apprenticeships and higher education.
From 2022/23, HESA's definition of a first year or entrant differs from that used previously with a small impact on overall student numbers. Prior to 2022/23, first year students at HEPs were those with a start date between 1 August and 31 July. For 2022/23 and onwards, entrants are defined as those students with a start date between 18 July and 17 July, the following calendar year. When used in conjunction with the Standard Registration Population, this has a small impact on overall student numbers, but the revision brings it in line with the concept used in the derivation of the Standard Registration Population.
From 2022/23, students in HEPs who are writing-up at the end of the year are now able to be included in HESA's figures if certain conditions are met. In previous years, students in HEPs who are writing-up were excluded entirely.
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by mode of study, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
broad_type_of_higher_education
Broad type of higher learning
level
Level of study
mode_of_study
Mode of study
number_of_enrolments
Total number of enrolments
number_of_entrants
Number of entrants
number_of_qualifiers
Number of qualifiers
percentage_of_all_enrolments_by_characteristic
Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
percentage_of_entrants_by_characteristic
Percentage of entrants by characteristic
percentage_of_qualifiers_by_characteristic
Percentage of qualifiers by characteristic
type_of_higher_education
Type of higher learning
Footnotes
See the publication Methodology for explanation of differences from other official statistics on apprenticeships and higher education.
From 2022/23, HESA's definition of a first year or entrant differs from that used previously with a small impact on overall student numbers. Prior to 2022/23, first year students at HEPs were those with a start date between 1 August and 31 July. For 2022/23 and onwards, entrants are defined as those students with a start date between 18 July and 17 July, the following calendar year. When used in conjunction with the Standard Registration Population, this has a small impact on overall student numbers, but the revision brings it in line with the concept used in the derivation of the Standard Registration Population.
From 2022/23, students in HEPs who are writing-up at the end of the year are now able to be included in HESA's figures if certain conditions are met. In previous years, students in HEPs who are writing-up were excluded entirely.
The “Other higher level” category is lower bound estimate, combining “Other higher level - Unfunded” and "Other higher level - ESFA / Adv. Learner Loan". There is likely to be some unfunded-learning in FE providers that is not recorded as it is only mandatory for providers to record information in the ILR for their ESFA-funded learners. There may also be higher level learning in the private sector that is not recorded in administrative data held by government.
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by primary funding source of tuition fees, academic years 2015/16 to 2022/23. OfS recognised HE only.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
broad_type_of_higher_education
Broad type of higher learning
level
Level of study
number_of_enrolments
Total number of enrolments
number_of_entrants
Number of entrants
number_of_qualifiers
Number of qualifiers
percentage_of_all_enrolments_by_characteristic
Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
percentage_of_entrants_by_characteristic
Percentage of entrants by characteristic
percentage_of_qualifiers_by_characteristic
Percentage of qualifiers by characteristic
primary_funding_source
Broad primary funding source
type_of_higher_education
Type of higher learning
Footnotes
From 2022/23, HESA's definition of a first year or entrant differs from that used previously with a small impact on overall student numbers. Prior to 2022/23, first year students at HEPs were those with a start date between 1 August and 31 July. For 2022/23 and onwards, entrants are defined as those students with a start date between 18 July and 17 July, the following calendar year. When used in conjunction with the Standard Registration Population, this has a small impact on overall student numbers, but the revision brings it in line with the concept used in the derivation of the Standard Registration Population.
From 2022/23, students in HEPs who are writing-up at the end of the year are now able to be included in HESA's figures if certain conditions are met. In previous years, students in HEPs who are writing-up were excluded entirely.
Those receiving a Master's Loan (https://www.gov.uk/masters-loan (opens in new tab)) are not reported as having a student loan as their primary source of tuition fee funding in this data. Unlike for undergraduate loans, money is paid directly to individual learners themselves and providers do not receive the student loans funding directly.
In 2022/23, Jisc's Data Futures collection model did not allow providers to flag instances where no fees were charged for a learner's course and providers were asked to return 'Other’ for these instances. The categories 'No fees' and ‘Other’ have therefore been combined to create the category ‘Unspecified other funding source or no fees required for course’. This applies to all academic years and both the HESA and ILR data.
Due to data quality concerns around the field used to record a student’s majority source of tuition fee funding in the HESA Student Record (opens in new tab), 2023/24 data has not been published in this section. A large number of students were incorrectly listed as studying on a course with no required fees. The DfE will continue working with Jisc to improve the quality of funding source data from HE providers and will look to publish breakdowns by funding source in future iterations of the release should data quality improve.
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by provider type, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
broad_type_of_higher_education
Broad type of higher learning
level
Level of study
number_of_enrolments
Total number of enrolments
number_of_entrants
Number of entrants
number_of_qualifiers
Number of qualifiers
percentage_of_all_enrolments_by_characteristic
Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
percentage_of_entrants_by_characteristic
Percentage of entrants by characteristic
percentage_of_qualifiers_by_characteristic
Percentage of qualifiers by characteristic
provider_category
Provider category
type_of_higher_education
Type of higher learning
Footnotes
See the publication Methodology for explanation of differences from other official statistics on apprenticeships and higher education.
From 2022/23, HESA's definition of a first year or entrant differs from that used previously with a small impact on overall student numbers. Prior to 2022/23, first year students at HEPs were those with a start date between 1 August and 31 July. For 2022/23 and onwards, entrants are defined as those students with a start date between 18 July and 17 July, the following calendar year. When used in conjunction with the Standard Registration Population, this has a small impact on overall student numbers, but the revision brings it in line with the concept used in the derivation of the Standard Registration Population.
From 2022/23, students in HEPs who are writing-up at the end of the year are now able to be included in HESA's figures if certain conditions are met. In previous years, students in HEPs who are writing-up were excluded entirely.
The “Other higher level” category is lower bound estimate, combining “Other higher level - Unfunded” and "Other higher level - ESFA / Adv. Learner Loan". There is likely to be some unfunded-learning in FE providers that is not recorded as it is only mandatory for providers to record information in the ILR for their ESFA-funded learners. There may also be higher level learning in the private sector that is not recorded in administrative data held by government.
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by qualification aim, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
broad_type_of_higher_education
Broad type of higher learning
level
Level of study
number_of_enrolments
Total number of enrolments
number_of_entrants
Number of entrants
number_of_qualifiers
Number of qualifiers
percentage_of_all_enrolments_by_characteristic
Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
percentage_of_entrants_by_characteristic
Percentage of entrants by characteristic
percentage_of_qualifiers_by_characteristic
Percentage of qualifiers by characteristic
qualification_aim
Qualification aim
type_of_higher_education
Type of higher learning
Footnotes
See the publication Methodology for explanation of differences from other official statistics on apprenticeships and higher education.
From 2022/23, HESA's definition of a first year or entrant differs from that used previously with a small impact on overall student numbers. Prior to 2022/23, first year students at HEPs were those with a start date between 1 August and 31 July. For 2022/23 and onwards, entrants are defined as those students with a start date between 18 July and 17 July, the following calendar year. When used in conjunction with the Standard Registration Population, this has a small impact on overall student numbers, but the revision brings it in line with the concept used in the derivation of the Standard Registration Population.
From 2022/23, students in HEPs who are writing-up at the end of the year are now able to be included in HESA's figures if certain conditions are met. In previous years, students in HEPs who are writing-up were excluded entirely.
The “Other higher level” category is lower bound estimate, combining “Other higher level - Unfunded” and "Other higher level - ESFA / Adv. Learner Loan". There is likely to be some unfunded-learning in FE providers that is not recorded as it is only mandatory for providers to record information in the ILR for their ESFA-funded learners. There may also be higher level learning in the private sector that is not recorded in administrative data held by government.
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by region of permanent address, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
broad_type_of_higher_education
Broad type of higher learning
level
Level of study
number_of_enrolments
Total number of enrolments
number_of_entrants
Number of entrants
number_of_qualifiers
Number of qualifiers
percentage_of_all_enrolments_by_characteristic
Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
percentage_of_entrants_by_characteristic
Percentage of entrants by characteristic
percentage_of_qualifiers_by_characteristic
Percentage of qualifiers by characteristic
type_of_higher_education
Type of higher learning
Footnotes
See the publication Methodology for explanation of differences from other official statistics on apprenticeships and higher education.
From 2022/23, HESA's definition of a first year or entrant differs from that used previously with a small impact on overall student numbers. Prior to 2022/23, first year students at HEPs were those with a start date between 1 August and 31 July. For 2022/23 and onwards, entrants are defined as those students with a start date between 18 July and 17 July, the following calendar year. When used in conjunction with the Standard Registration Population, this has a small impact on overall student numbers, but the revision brings it in line with the concept used in the derivation of the Standard Registration Population.
From 2022/23, students in HEPs who are writing-up at the end of the year are now able to be included in HESA's figures if certain conditions are met. In previous years, students in HEPs who are writing-up were excluded entirely.
The “Other higher level” category is lower bound estimate, combining “Other higher level - Unfunded” and "Other higher level - ESFA / Adv. Learner Loan". There is likely to be some unfunded-learning in FE providers that is not recorded as it is only mandatory for providers to record information in the ILR for their ESFA-funded learners. There may also be higher level learning in the private sector that is not recorded in administrative data held by government.
Over the last two academic years, HESA have reported a larger amount of missing permanent address information at a number of providers. Some of the missing data relates to continuing students for whom it was not possible to retrieve the information from the legacy submissions. Other missing data may be attributed to missing entry information.
Geographies are taken from the National Statistics Postcode Lookup based on boundaries as of February 2024.
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by sex, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
broad_type_of_higher_education
Broad type of higher learning
level
Level of study
number_of_enrolments
Total number of enrolments
number_of_entrants
Number of entrants
number_of_qualifiers
Number of qualifiers
percentage_of_all_enrolments_by_characteristic
Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
percentage_of_entrants_by_characteristic
Percentage of entrants by characteristic
percentage_of_qualifiers_by_characteristic
Percentage of qualifiers by characteristic
sex
Sex
type_of_higher_education
Type of higher learning
Footnotes
See the publication Methodology for explanation of differences from other official statistics on apprenticeships and higher education.
From 2022/23, HESA's definition of a first year or entrant differs from that used previously with a small impact on overall student numbers. Prior to 2022/23, first year students at HEPs were those with a start date between 1 August and 31 July. For 2022/23 and onwards, entrants are defined as those students with a start date between 18 July and 17 July, the following calendar year. When used in conjunction with the Standard Registration Population, this has a small impact on overall student numbers, but the revision brings it in line with the concept used in the derivation of the Standard Registration Population.
From 2022/23, students in HEPs who are writing-up at the end of the year are now able to be included in HESA's figures if certain conditions are met. In previous years, students in HEPs who are writing-up were excluded entirely.
The “Other higher level” category is lower bound estimate, combining “Other higher level - Unfunded” and "Other higher level - ESFA / Adv. Learner Loan". There is likely to be some unfunded-learning in FE providers that is not recorded as it is only mandatory for providers to record information in the ILR for their ESFA-funded learners. There may also be higher level learning in the private sector that is not recorded in administrative data held by government.
In 2022/23, some HE providers appeared to return one of the new codes ‘Information Refused’ and ‘Not Available’ for students previously returned as 'other' in their HESA student data. For this reason it has not been deemed appropriate to publish these categories separately and they have therefore been aggregated with 'Other' to create 'Other/unknown' for all academic years in this release. This combined category has been excluded from percentage calculations.
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by subject area of study (Common Aggregation Hierarchy level 1 and 2), academic years 2019/20 to 2023/24.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
broad_type_of_higher_education
Broad type of higher learning
level
Level of study
number_of_enrolments
Total number of enrolments
number_of_entrants
Number of entrants
number_of_qualifiers
Number of qualifiers
percentage_of_all_enrolments_by_characteristic
Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
percentage_of_entrants_by_characteristic
Percentage of entrants by characteristic
percentage_of_qualifiers_by_characteristic
Percentage of qualifiers by characteristic
subject_level_1
Subject level 1
subject_level_2
Subject level 2
type_of_higher_education
Type of higher learning
Footnotes
See the publication Methodology for explanation of differences from other official statistics on apprenticeships and higher education.
From 2022/23, HESA's definition of a first year or entrant differs from that used previously with a small impact on overall student numbers. Prior to 2022/23, first year students at HEPs were those with a start date between 1 August and 31 July. For 2022/23 and onwards, entrants are defined as those students with a start date between 18 July and 17 July, the following calendar year. When used in conjunction with the Standard Registration Population, this has a small impact on overall student numbers, but the revision brings it in line with the concept used in the derivation of the Standard Registration Population.
From 2022/23, students in HEPs who are writing-up at the end of the year are now able to be included in HESA's figures if certain conditions are met. In previous years, students in HEPs who are writing-up were excluded entirely.
The “Other higher level” category is lower bound estimate, combining “Other higher level - Unfunded” and "Other higher level - ESFA / Adv. Learner Loan". There is likely to be some unfunded-learning in FE providers that is not recorded as it is only mandatory for providers to record information in the ILR for their ESFA-funded learners. There may also be higher level learning in the private sector that is not recorded in administrative data held by government.
From 2023/24, the percentage taught across each Learn Direct Classification System (LDCS) subject that a higher education student studies at further education providers has stopped being collected as part of the Individualised Learner Record (ILR). A supplementary survey to collect this information from further education providers that are registered with the Office for Students (OfS) has been introduced for 2023/24. For this publication, students at further education providers with unavailable percentage taught information have had their time distributed evenly across each of their subjects. See the publication Methodology for more information.
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by technical route, academic years 2019/20 to 2023/24. Excludes apprenticeships and institutional credit.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
broad_type_of_higher_education
Broad type of higher learning
level
Level of study
number_of_enrolments
Total number of enrolments
number_of_entrants
Number of entrants
number_of_qualifiers
Number of qualifiers
percentage_of_all_enrolments_by_characteristic
Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
percentage_of_entrants_by_characteristic
Percentage of entrants by characteristic
percentage_of_qualifiers_by_characteristic
Percentage of qualifiers by characteristic
technical_route
Technical route
type_of_higher_education
Type of higher learning
Footnotes
From 2022/23, HESA's definition of a first year or entrant differs from that used previously with a small impact on overall student numbers. Prior to 2022/23, first year students at HEPs were those with a start date between 1 August and 31 July. For 2022/23 and onwards, entrants are defined as those students with a start date between 18 July and 17 July, the following calendar year. When used in conjunction with the Standard Registration Population, this has a small impact on overall student numbers, but the revision brings it in line with the concept used in the derivation of the Standard Registration Population.
From 2022/23, students in HEPs who are writing-up at the end of the year are now able to be included in HESA's figures if certain conditions are met. In previous years, students in HEPs who are writing-up were excluded entirely.
The “Other higher level” category is lower bound estimate, combining “Other higher level - Unfunded” and "Other higher level - ESFA / Adv. Learner Loan". There is likely to be some unfunded-learning in FE providers that is not recorded as it is only mandatory for providers to record information in the ILR for their ESFA-funded learners. There may also be higher level learning in the private sector that is not recorded in administrative data held by government.
From 2023/24, the percentage taught across each Learn Direct Classification System (LDCS) subject that a higher education student studies at further education providers has stopped being collected as part of the Individualised Learner Record (ILR). A supplementary survey to collect this information from further education providers that are registered with the Office for Students (OfS) has been introduced for 2023/24. For this publication, students at further education providers with unavailable percentage taught information have had their time distributed evenly across each of their subjects. See the publication Methodology for more information.
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by type of higher level learning, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
broad_type_of_higher_education
Broad type of higher learning
level
Level of study
number_of_enrolments
Total number of enrolments
number_of_entrants
Number of entrants
number_of_qualifiers
Number of qualifiers
percentage_of_all_enrolments_by_characteristic
Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
percentage_of_entrants_by_characteristic
Percentage of entrants by characteristic
percentage_of_qualifiers_by_characteristic
Percentage of qualifiers by characteristic
type_of_higher_education
Detailed type of higher learning
Footnotes
See the publication Methodology for explanation of differences from other official statistics on apprenticeships and higher education.
From 2022/23, HESA's definition of a first year or entrant differs from that used previously with a small impact on overall student numbers. Prior to 2022/23, first year students at HEPs were those with a start date between 1 August and 31 July. For 2022/23 and onwards, entrants are defined as those students with a start date between 18 July and 17 July, the following calendar year. When used in conjunction with the Standard Registration Population, this has a small impact on overall student numbers, but the revision brings it in line with the concept used in the derivation of the Standard Registration Population.
From 2022/23, students in HEPs who are writing-up at the end of the year are now able to be included in HESA's figures if certain conditions are met. In previous years, students in HEPs who are writing-up were excluded entirely.
The “Other higher level” category is lower bound estimate, combining “Other higher level - Unfunded” and "Other higher level - ESFA / Adv. Learner Loan". There is likely to be some unfunded-learning in FE providers that is not recorded as it is only mandatory for providers to record information in the ILR for their ESFA-funded learners. There may also be higher level learning in the private sector that is not recorded in administrative data held by government.
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by ethnicity, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
broad_type_of_higher_education
Broad type of higher learning
ethnicity_major
Ethnicity
level
Level of study
number_of_enrolments
Total number of enrolments
number_of_entrants
Number of entrants
number_of_qualifiers
Number of qualifiers
percentage_of_all_enrolments_by_characteristic
Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
percentage_of_entrants_by_characteristic
Percentage of entrants by characteristic
percentage_of_qualifiers_by_characteristic
Percentage of qualifiers by characteristic
type_of_higher_education
Type of higher learning
Footnotes
See the publication Methodology for explanation of differences from other official statistics on apprenticeships and higher education.
From 2022/23, HESA's definition of a first year or entrant differs from that used previously with a small impact on overall student numbers. Prior to 2022/23, first year students at HEPs were those with a start date between 1 August and 31 July. For 2022/23 and onwards, entrants are defined as those students with a start date between 18 July and 17 July, the following calendar year. When used in conjunction with the Standard Registration Population, this has a small impact on overall student numbers, but the revision brings it in line with the concept used in the derivation of the Standard Registration Population.
From 2022/23, students in HEPs who are writing-up at the end of the year are now able to be included in HESA's figures if certain conditions are met. In previous years, students in HEPs who are writing-up were excluded entirely.
The “Other higher level” category is lower bound estimate, combining “Other higher level - Unfunded” and "Other higher level - ESFA / Adv. Learner Loan". There is likely to be some unfunded-learning in FE providers that is not recorded as it is only mandatory for providers to record information in the ILR for their ESFA-funded learners. There may also be higher level learning in the private sector that is not recorded in administrative data held by government.
Between 2021/22 and 2022/23, HESA reported a large increase in the amount of missing ethnicity data at English providers for students whose permanent address was in the UK. HESA used student level ethnicity data from the previous year to fill in ethnicity gaps for continuing students at providers in England and Wales. While the ethnicity reporting rate has been improved in the revised version of the 2022/23 HESA data used in this publication, the same imputation methodology has been applied to the data to ensure a more robust reporting rate. Caution is still advised when making comparisons across time. This has only been done where ethnicity information is missing or unknown for students within coverage, excluding where it has been returned as 'Prefer not to say', and where known information was submitted for the same enrolment in the previous year.
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by local authority of permanent address, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
broad_type_of_higher_education
Broad type of higher learning
level
Level of study
number_of_enrolments
Total number of enrolments
number_of_entrants
Number of entrants
number_of_qualifiers
Number of qualifiers
percentage_of_all_enrolments_by_characteristic
Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
percentage_of_entrants_by_characteristic
Percentage of entrants by characteristic
percentage_of_qualifiers_by_characteristic
Percentage of qualifiers by characteristic
type_of_higher_education
Type of higher learning
Footnotes
The “Other higher level” category is lower bound estimate, combining “Other higher level - Unfunded” and "Other higher level - ESFA / Adv. Learner Loan". There is likely to be some unfunded-learning in FE providers that is not recorded as it is only mandatory for providers to record information in the ILR for their ESFA-funded learners. There may also be higher level learning in the private sector that is not recorded in administrative data held by government.
Over the last two academic years, HESA have reported a larger amount of missing permanent address information at a number of providers. Some of the missing data relates to continuing students for whom it was not possible to retrieve the information from the legacy submissions. Other missing data may be attributed to missing entry information.
Geographies are taken from the National Statistics Postcode Lookup based on boundaries as of February 2024.