Findings from the data

We have summarised the key gaps in access, continuation and attainment at a sector level for different student characteristics.

These measures are all reported using data available from the access and participation dataset (as at March 2022).

You can read the full report below, or see a summary of the key findings.

2022 summary findings report

PDF, 2750Kb

This document summarises key findings in access, continuation and attainment at a sector level.

2022 supplementary tables

XLSX, 62Kb

This spreadsheet shows the data that was used to create the tables in our summary findings report

Summary of the key findings

Access to higher education

These measures show the make-up of students entering higher education.

In 2020-21, the proportion of 18-year-olds entering full-time higher education in England from areas where young people are the least represented in higher education (POLAR4 quintile 1) was 5.8 percentage points lower than the proportion of 18-year-olds living in these areas in the UK.

This gap has closed slightly over the last five years, from 6.9 percentage points in 2016-17.

Sector-level time series of gaps in the proportion of least represented 18-year-olds entering full-time higher education compared with the population

This graph has two lines, one for POLAR4 quintile 1 in the population and one for POLAR4 quintile 1 in higher education. It shows the proportion of 18-year-olds in each of these groups for each year. The bottom line is for POLAR4 quintile 1 in higher education, which starts at around 11.3 per cent in 2016-17 and increases slightly to 12 per cent in 2020-21. The other line is for POLAR4 quintile 1 in the population and the proportions of 18-year-olds are higher in every year. They change very little over the time period: from 18.2 per cent in 2016-17 to 17.9 per cent in 2020-21. The gaps that exist between these two lines are also shown and they are reducing in size very slightly each year. They change from 6.9 percentage points in 2016-17 to 5.8 percentage points in 2020-21.

See further detail on access to higher education

Characteristic	Category	Proportion of 18-year-olds in UK population (%)	Proportion of 18-year-olds in English higher education sector (%)	Gap between population and higher education sector (pp)
Ethnicity	Asian	8.3	17.2	-9.0
	Black	3.6	7.5	-3.9
	Mixed	3.2	5.4	-2.3
	Other	1.1	2.2	-1.1
	White	83.9	67.7	16.2
IMD	Quintile 1	22.1	17.6	4.5
	Quintile 5	19.9	25.4	-5.5
POLAR4	Quintile 1	17.9	12.0	5.8
	Quintile 5	23.8	30.7	-6.9
Sex	Female	48.5	56.0	-7.6
	Male	51.5	44.0	7.6

Continuation

These measures show whether or not students continue their studies.

There was a 6.5 percentage point gap between the proportion of full-time students from the most and least deprived areas (IMD quintile 5 and quintile 1) continuing into their second year in 2020-21. This gap had been increasing in recent years, but the increase in continuation for students from IMD quintile 1 helped to narrow the gap.

Sector-level time series of gaps in full-time continuation rates between students from the most and least deprived areas by academic year of entry

This graph has two lines, one for students from IMD quintile 1 (the most disadvantaged) and one for students from IMD quintile 5 (the least disadvantaged). It shows the continuation rate for the full-time undergraduate students in each of these groups for each year. The bottom line is for students from IMD quintile 1 areas and the rate declines very slightly over the first four years, followed by a noticeable increase in year 5. For those who entered in 2019-20 the rate is 88.1 per cent.

The other line is for students from IMD quintile 5 areas and is virtually flat for the first 4 years, followed by a small increase in year 5. For those students who entered in 2019-20 the rate is 94.6 per cent.

The gaps that exist between these two lines gradually increase. For entrants in 2015-16 the gap is 7.6 percentage points and for entrants in 2019-20 the gap is 6.5 percentage points.

See further detail on continuation rates and gaps

Characteristic	Category	Full-time UG rate (%)	Full-time UG gap (pp)	Part-time UG rate (%)	Part-time UG gap (pp)
Age	Young *	93.6		71.8
	Mature	86.1	7.5	67.4	4.5
Disability	No disability reported *	91.6		69.0
	Disability reported	90.4	1.2	62.5	6.6
Disability type	No disability reported *	91.6		69.0
	Cognitive or learning difficulties	92.1	-0.6	68.9	0.2
	Mental health condition	88.7	2.9	56.8	12.2
	Multiple or other impairments	90.4	1.2	61.4	7.7
	Sensory, medical or physical impairments	90.1	1.5	65.1	3.9
	Social or communication impairment	89.2	2.4	64.0	5.0
Ethnicity	White *	92.0		68.3
	Asian	92.3	-0.2	67.6	0.7
	Black	87.4	4.7	63.9	4.5
	Mixed	90.6	1.5	65.5	2.9
	Other	89.2	2.8	69.0	-1.0
IMD	Quintile 5 *	94.6		73.7
	Quintile 1	88.1	6.5	63.4	10.3
POLAR4	Quintile 5 *	95.2		76.0
	Quintile 1	91.4	3.8	65.1	10.8
Sex	Male *	89.9		68.2
	Female	92.5	-2.6	67.7	0.5

Notes: Attributes with a * indicate those against which other attributes are compared when deriving gaps. Because of rounding, the gaps shown in the table might not be the same as the difference between two rates.

Attainment

These measures examine the proportions of students who achieve a 1st or 2:1.

The attainment rate for full-time black students is consistently much lower than for full-time white students across the five-year time series. Although the gap has closed by around six percentage points in the last five years, it remains very large, at 17.4 percentage points in 2020-21.

Sector-level time series of gaps in full-time attainment rates between white and black students

This graph has two lines, one for white students and one for black students. It shows the attainment rate for the full-time undergraduate students in each of these groups for each year.

The bottom line is for black students and the attainment rate increases very slightly over the first three years (from 57.3 per cent in 2016-17 to 60.1 per cent in 2018-19). There is a notably increase between 2018-19 and 2019-20, after which it increases again, but more slowly. In 2019-20 the rate is 69.3 per cent.

The upper line is for white students and the pattern over the five years is the same. The attainment rate increases very slightly over the first three years (from 81.1 per cent in 2016-17 to 82.2 per cent in 2018-19). There is a notably increase between 2018-19 and 2019-20, after which it increases again, but more slowly. In 2019-20 the rate is 86.8 per cent.

The gaps that exist between these two lines are also shown. In 2016-17 the gap is 23.8 percentage points, this decreases over the 5 year period to 17.4 percentage points in 2020-21.

See further detail on attainment rates and gaps

Characteristic	Category	Full-time UG rate (%)	Full-time UG gap (pp)	Part-time UG rate (%)	Part-time UG gap (pp)
Age	Young *	85.8		56.5
	Mature	76.3	9.5	68.2	-11.7
Disability	No disability reported *	84.1		66.4
	Disability reported	83.1	1.1	63.5	2.9
Disability type	No disability reported *	84.1		66.4
	Cognitive or learning difficulties	81.8	2.3	57.0	9.5
	Mental health condition	84.3	-0.2	65.2	1.2
	Multiple or other impairments	83.7	0.4	65.2	1.3
	Sensory, medical or physical impairments	83.4	0.7	66.0	1.0
	Social or communication impairment	80.8	3.3	70.0	-4.0
Ethnicity	White *	86.8		70.5
	Asian	81.0	5.8	50.8	19.7
	Black	69.3	17.4	39.3	31.2
	Mixed	84.2	2.5	60.0	10.0
	Other	78.6	8.2	50.0	21.0
IMD	Quintile 5 *	89.7		73.6
	Quintile 1	74.9	14.8	54.2	19.4
POLAR4	Quintile 5 *	89.4		61.5
	Quintile 1	80.8	8.6	52.0	9.0
Sex	Male *	82.4		66.8
	Female	85.0	-2.5	65.3	1.5

Note: Attainment rate reflects students obtaining a 1st or 2:1 degree. Attributes with a * indicate the one against which other attributes are compared against when deriving gaps. Because of rounding, the gaps shown in the table might not be the same as the difference between two rates.

Graduate outcomes: progression to highly skilled employment

The progression data currently shown in the dashboard uses data from the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey, and remains the same as the data that we published last year. Please see the 2020 sector summary report for an analysis of progression data in this release.

Archive reports

For key findings from previous years, download reports from our archives.

2021 summary findings report

PDF, 6138Kb

Download the 2021 report

2020 summary findings report

PDF, 1714Kb

Download the 2020 report

Published 07 May 2020
Last updated 24 March 2022 + show all updates

24 March 2022: Updated with annual release of data
11 March 2021: Updated with annual release of data

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