Higher education

List of universities and colleges

A list of higher education institutions in the UK is provided by the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

Students and staff in higher education

The total number of students in higher education is available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). This data is broken down into type of student (undergraduate and postgraduate), domicile and institution. The same series provides details on what students are studying and how long for.

Data on the number of staff (academic and non-academic) at each university and college is published in a separate HESA release.

HESA also collects information on what students do once they’ve completed higher education. The data separates students’ ‘destination’ by main subject area and the main level of qualification (whether undergraduate or postgraduate level).

Key performance indicators from HESA provide overviews of participation rates by module, as well as the participation rates of different socio-economic groups.

Applications and acceptances for university

Figures for the number of applications and acceptances for university places are compiled by UCAS. It releases an annual end of cycle report as well as monthly applicant figures during the year.

There’s data on where applicants live, as well as information on how many have claimed free school meals or are considered to come from a deprived background.

The Independent Commission on Fees now publishes an analysis of UCAS applications. It examines trends in university applications by geographical measures of advantage. It also looks at the number of applications to specific universities. The first such report applies to the 2012/13 academic year.

Detailed figures for ‘widening participation’ in higher education (in terms of those claiming free school meals) is provided by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. This data is broken down by local area.

What qualifications students get

The different types of classification people can get in higher education, along with results of how many graduands receive each level of degree, are published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Where students go afterwards

Figures for where graduates go once they finish HE, including graduate employment and employment rates, are published as destinations statistics by HESA. The same indicators show information on completion rates (by module) at universities and colleges. There are also figures looking at the participation of different socio-economic groups.

Student finance and tuition fees

The Student Loans Company (SLC) publishes statistics on the take up of student support for fees and maintenance costs, as well as on student loans debt and repayment. This data is produced on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The SLC’s annual release covers the previous financial year, and figures for Wales and Northern Ireland are published separately.

Summary information on tuition fees, their history and how policy has affected them is published by the House of Commons Library.

International comparisons of student finance systems have been produced separately by the House of Commons Library.

University finance

Details of the finances of UK higher education institutions are published by HESA in a dedicated annual release. There is detailed data on the source of an institution’s funding – more specifically, how much comes from funding grants, tuition fees (both from home and abroad) and special research grants.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) also produces an annual report on the financial health of the higher education sector.

International students and visas

Figures for the number of overseas students at UK universities are available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

Students who are EU nationals or who come from Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland don’t need visas. Most other people need to apply for a student visa in order to travel, or for a student visitor visa if they’ll be in the UK for less than six months. However, visa figures don’t tell us how many people actually end up travelling to the UK.

The Home Office publishes general statistics on the number of students issued visas to study in the UK, along with where they come from and whether they get extended. The data is produced every three months as part of its immigration statistics series.

The same series also contains information on student visitors (who normally come for a maximum of six months) who aren’t counted as long-term migrants and can’t extend their stay.