Findings from the data

We have summarised the key gaps in access, continuation, completion, degree outcomes (attainment) and progression 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 2023).

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

2023 summary findings report

PDF, 3116Kb

This document summarises key findings in access, continuation, completion, degree outcomes (attainment) and progression at a sector level.

2023 supplementary tables

XLSX, 74Kb

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.

There has been a significant difference between the proportion of entrants from ABCS access quintile 1 and quintile 5 across the last six years. The difference in proportion increased over time, from 24.0 percentage points for 2016-17 entrants to 27.8 percentage points for 2021-22 entrants. This is due to an increase in the proportion of students from ABCS quintile 5 across the time-series, as well as a decrease in the proportion from quintile 1.

Sector level time series showing the difference between the proportion of entrants from ABCS access quintile 5 and quintile 1

This graph has two lines, one for ABCS access quintile 1 entrants and one for ABCS access quintile 5. It shows the proportion of entrants from each quintile group across the last six years and the gap between them. The upper line is for ABCS access quintile 5 entrants, which starts at 31.9 per cent in 2016-17 and rises to 34.9 per cent in 2021-22. The lower line is for ABCS access quintile 1, which starts at 7.9 per cent in 2016-17 and falls slightly to 7.1 per cent in 2021-22. The gap gradually widens across the years, starting at 24.0 percentage points in 2016-17 and increasing to 27.8 percentage points in 2021-22.

See further detail on access to higher education

Characteristic	Category	Proportion of students entering full-time study 2021-22 (%)	Proportion of students entering part-time study 2021-22 (%)	Proportion of entrants studying as part of an apprenticeship 2021-22 (%)
ABCS Access	Quintile 5*	34.9	16.3	25.3
	Quintile 1	7.1	14.2	6.7
Age	Young	71.0	12.1	27.1
	Mature	29	87.9	72.9
Disability	No disability reported	82.6	80.3	87.2
	Disability reported	17.4	19.7	12.8
Disability type	No disability reported	82.6	80.4	87.3
	Cognitive or learning difficulties	5.7	4.6	6.2
	Mental health condition	5.0	5.3	1.8
	Multiple or other impairments	3.2	5.9	1.9
	Sensory, medical or physical impairments	2.3	2.8	2.3
	Social or communication impairment	1.2	0.9	0.6
Ethnicity	White	65.2	85.3	83.1
	Asian	15.7	5.4	7.5
	Black	10.5	4.8	5.2
	Mixed	5.6	3.3	3.2
	Other	3.0	1.1	1.1
FSM	Not eligible for free school meals	81.6	80.2	90.5
	Eligible for free school meals	18.4	19.8	9.5
IMD	Quintile 5 *	19.6	17.7	21.0
	Quintile 1	22.8	20.5	17.1
POLAR4	Quintile 5 *	30.3	19.4	26.0
	Quintile 1	12.5	19.1	12.0
Sex	Male	43.2	37.8	43.1
	Female	56.8	62.2	56.9
TUNDRA	Quintile 5*	30.2	16.8	24.0
	Quintile 1	12.3	20.3	12.6

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Continuation

These measures show whether or not students continue their studies.

There was a significant gap in full time continuation indicators between young (under 21) and mature (21 and over) students over the last six years. For entrants in 2020-21, the gap was 9.8 percentage points, up from 7.0 percentage points for 2015-16 entrants. Both groups had a reduction in continuation indicators in the most recent year, but this decrease was larger for mature entrants.

Sector-level time series of gaps in full-time continuation rates between young and mature students

This graph has two lines, one for young entrants (under 21 years of age) and one for mature entrants (21 years of age or over). It shows the continuation indicators for the full-time undergraduate entrants in each of these two groups for each year. The bottom line is for mature entrants. It starts at 85.1 per cent in 2015-16, dips to 83.9 per cent in 2017-18, increases again until 2019-20 then falls significantly to 82.0 per cent in 2020-21. The top line is for young entrants. It starts at 92.1 per cent in 2015-16, increases to 93.4 per cent in 2019-20 then falls to 91.9 per cent in 2020-21. The gaps that exist between these two lines gradually increase. For entrants in 2015-16 the gap is 7.0 percentage points and for entrants in 2020-21 the gap is 9.8 percentage points.

See further detail on continuation rates

Characteristic	Category	Full-time continuation indicator (pp)	Full-time continuation gap (pp)	Part-time continuation indicator (%)	Part-time continuation gap (pp)	Apprenticeship continuation indicator (%)	Apprenticeship continuation gap (pp)
ABCS Continuation	Quintile 5*	95.0	N/A	80.1	N/A	92.9	N/A
	Quintile 1	80.2	14.8	54.0	26.1	86.4	6.5
Age	Young *	91.9	N/A	69.5	N/A	92.6	N/A
	Mature	82.0	9.8	63.9	5.6	87.2	5.3
Disability	No disability reported *	89.0	N/A	65.8	N/A	88.6	N/A
	Disability reported	88.8	0.2	59.6	6.2	86.8	1.8
Disability type	No disability reported *	89.0	N/A	65.8	N/A	88.6	N/A
	Cognitive or learning difficulties	91.2	-2.2	64.6	1.2	88.0	0.7
	Mental health condition	87.0	2.0	55.9	9.9	81.7	7.0
	Multiple or other impairments	88.5	0.5	57.6	8.2	88.6	0.0
	Sensory, medical or physical impairments	88.2	0.7	63.2	2.6	87.9	0.8
	Social or communication impairment	86.9	2.1	60.5	5.3	77.1	11.5
Ethnicity	White *	90.1	N/A	65.2	N/A	88.7	N/A
	Asian	88.7	1.4	65.8	-0.6	86.5	2.2
	Black	84.3	5.8	56.4	8.8	89.1	-0.4
	Mixed	87.0	2.2	61.2	3.9	86.5	2.2
	Other	86.5	3.6	64.3	0.9	86.7	2.0
FSM	Not eligible for free school meals*	92.6	N/A	75.0	N/A	93.3	N/A
	Eligible for free school meals	87.3	5.2	55.0	20.0	88.1	5.2
IMD	Quintile 5 *	93.4	N/A	71.4	N/A	90.3	N/A
	Quintile 1	84.4	9.1	59.2	12.2	87.0	3.3
POLAR4	Quintile 5 *	94.1	N/A	73.2	N/A	93.7	N/A
	Quintile 1	89.0	5.1	63.5	9.7	90.6	3.1
Sex	Male *	86.9	N/A	65.4	N/A	89.0	N/A
	Female	90.5	-3.6	64.2	1.2	88.0	1.0
TUNDRA	Quintile 5*	93.0	N/A	75.2	N/A	93.9	N/A
	Quintile 1	89.3	3.7	64.5	10.7	90.9	3.0

Completion

These measures examine the proportions of students who complete their studies.

There was a significant difference in full-time completion indicators between ABCS completion quintile 5 and quintile 1 across the last six years. For entrants in 2017-18, the gap was 23.5 percentage points, up from 21.1 percentage points for entrants in 2012-13. Whilst the completion indicator for ABCS completion quintile 5 was relatively stable over the time series, the indicator for ABCS quintile 1 decreased steadily, causing a widening of the gap.

Gaps in full-time completion indicators between ABCS completion quintile 1 and quintile 5

See further detail on completion rates

Characteristic	Category	Full-time completion indicator (%)	Full-time completion gap (pp)	Part-time completion indicator (%)	Part-time completion gap (pp)	Apprenticeship completion indicator (%)	Apprenticeship completion gap (%)
ABCS completion	Quintile 5*	95.9	N/A	79.5	N/A	94.7	N/A
	Quintile 1	72.4	23.5	38.2	41.2	72.0	22.8
Age	Young *	89.7	N/A	70.3	N/A	88.4	N/A
	Mature	79.5	10.2	55.8	14.5	75.4	13.0
Disability	No disability reported *	87.6	N/A	58.8	N/A	79.2	N/A
	Disability reported	85.5	2.1	47.3	11.5	76.6	2.7
Disability type	No disability reported *	87.5	N/A	58.9	N/A	79.1	N/A
	Cognitive or learning difficulties	88.4	-0.9	57.7	1.2	80.8	-1.7
	Mental health condition	82.2	5.3	37.9	20.9	66.7	12.4
	Multiple or other impairments	85.2	2.4	36.7	22.1	79.8	-0.7
	Sensory, medical or physical impairments	85.0	2.6	53.4	5.4	76.3	2.8
	Social or communication impairment	83.3	4.2	50.5	8.4	78.6	0.5
Ethnicity	White *	88.5	N/A	58.5	N/A	79.0	N/A
	Asian	87.0	1.5	55.1	3.3	80.8	-1.7
	Black	80.7	7.8	50.3	8.1	73.7	5.4
	Mixed	85.6	2.9	51.6	6.9	81.1	-2.1
	Other	84.0	4.4	57.7	0.8	75.0	4.0
FSM	Not eligible for free school meals*	90.8	N/A	75.3	N/A	89.6	N/A
	Eligible for free school meals	82.5	8.2	56.9	18.4	78.8	10.8
IMD	Quintile 5 *	92.2	N/A	63.5	N/A	82.2	N/A
	Quintile 1	81.6	10.7	54.8	8.7	77.0	5.2
POLAR4	Quintile 5 *	92.6	N/A	72.3	N/A	91.6	N/A
	Quintile 1	85.9	6.7	67.6	4.8	86.5	5.1
Sex	Male *	84.1	N/A	59.1	N/A	79.4	N/A
	Female	89.7	-5.7	56.3	2.8	78.6	0.8
TUNDRA	Quintile 5*	91.3	N/A	72.8	N/A	90.7	N/A
	Quintile 1	86.5	4.9	69.2	3.6	85.5	5.3

Degree outcomes (attainment)

These measures examine the proportion of level 6+ undergraduate qualifiers awarded 1st or 2:1 degrees.

The attainment indicators for full-time black students were consistently much lower than for full-time white students across the six-year time series. This gap increased to 20.0 percentage points in 2021-22. The attainment indicators dropped for both groups, but the larger decrease for black students had the effect of increasing the gap.

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 proportion of qualifiers in these groups that achieve a first or upper second class degree across the last six years and the gaps between them. The upper line is for white students and the lower line is for black students and they follow broadly the same pattern. They both increase gradually between 2016-17 and 2018-19. They then both increase significantly between 2018-19 and 2019-20, more so for black students. Then between the last 2 years they decrease, for the first time across the time series. In 2020-21 the indicator for white students is 86.3 per cent and it falls to 83.2 per cent in 2021-22. For black students it falls from 68.0 per cent in 2020-21 to 63.1 per cent in 2021-22. The gap gradually narrows across all years from 2016-17, where it is 24.3 percentage points, to 18.3 percentage points in 2020-21. In 2021-22 it widens again to 20.0 percentage points.

See further detail on attainment rates

Characteristic	Category	Full-time degree outcome indicator (%)	Full-time degree outcome gap (pp)	Part-time degree outcome indicator (%)	Part-time degree outcome gap (pp)	Apprenticeship degree outcome indicator (%)	Apprenticeship degree outcome gap (pp)
Age	Young *	80.9	N/A	71.6	N/A	91.9	N/A
	Mature	71.5	9.4	70.4	1.2	88.2	3.7
Disability	No disability reported *	78.9	N/A	71.3	N/A	89.9	N/A
	Disability reported	79.4	-0.5	67.3	4.0	85.2	4.6
Disability type	No disability reported *	78.9	N/A	71.3	N/A	89.9	N/A
	Cognitive or learning difficulties	78.6	0.3	65.2	6.1	82.5	7.4
	Mental health condition	81.0	-2.1	70.0	1.3	81.9	8.0
	Multiple or other impairments	79.1	-0.2	65.3	6.0	91.1	-1.2
	Sensory, medical or physical impairments	79.8	-0.9	70.5	0.8	89.5	0.4
	Social or communication impairment	74.5	4.4	71.6	-0.3	[low]	[low]
Ethnicity	White *	83.2	N/A	73.7	N/A	90.0	N/A
	Asian	74.8	8.4	58.1	15.5	88.6	1.4
	Black	63.1	20.0	46.2	27.5	73.0	17
	Mixed	79.7	3.4	67.2	6.5	88.5	1.5
	Other	72.6	10.6	59.4	14.3	[DP]	[DP]
FSM	Not eligible for free school meals *	82.1	N/A	75.7	N/A	92.2	N/A
	Eligible for free school meals	69.7	12.3	56.7	19.0	92.9	-0.6
IMD	Quintile 5 *	86.3	N/A	76.8	N/A	92.9	N/A
	Quintile 1	68.5	17.8	61.2	15.6	85.4	7.5
POLAR4	Quintile 5 *	85.3	N/A	73.3	N/A	91.4	N/A
	Quintile 1	75.0	10.3	64.1	9.2	89.9	1.4
Sex	Male *	76.9	N/A	73.4	N/A	90.9	N/A
	Female	80.5	-3.6	68.6	4.8	87.5	3.4
TUNDRA	Quintile 5*	82.7	N/A	76.3	N/A	90.8	N/A
	Quintile 1	76.3	6.4	67.5	8.8	89.5	1.3

Progression

These measure report the proportion of students that progressed to professional or managerial employment, further study, or other positive outcomes, 15 months after gaining their qualification.

Progression indicators were consistently lower for students from IMD quintile 1 than for students from IMD quintile 5. The full-time progression indicators for both IMD quintile 1 and quintile 5 qualifiers increased in 2019-20, but the larger increase for qualifiers from quintile 5 caused a widening of the gap.

Gaps in full-time progression indicators between students from IMD quintile 1 and IMD quintile 5

This graph has two lines, one for IMD quintile 1 qualifiers and one for IMD quintile 5. It shows the progression indicators for each group across the last three years and the gap between them. The upper line is for IMD quintile 5, which starts at 77.4 per cent in 2017-18, drops to 74.3 per cent in 2018-19 and then increases to 76.8 per cent in 2019-20. The lower line is for IMD quintile 1, which starts at 67.1 per cent in 2017-18, drops to 64.7 per cent in 2018-19 and then increases to 66.2 per cent in 2019-20. The gap is 10.2 percentage points in 2017-18, narrows slightly to 9.7 percentage points in 2018-19 and then widens in 2019-20 to 10.6 percentage points.

See further detail on progression rates

Characteristic	Category	Full-time progression indicator (%)	Full-time progression gap (pp)	Part-time progression indicator (%)	Part-time progression gap (pp)	Apprenticeship progression indicator (%)	Apprenticeship progression gap (pp)
ABCS Progression	Quintile 5*	82.7	N/A	85.6	N/A	89.0	N/A
	Quintile 1	60.9	21.9	77.7	7.9	85.5	3.5
Age	Young *	72.3	N/A	77.2	N/A	89.6	N/A
	Mature	72.3	0.0	82.8	-5.6	89.4	0.2
Disability	No disability reported *	72.6	N/A	82.4	N/A	89.5	N/A
	Disability reported	70.9	1.7	79.4	3.0	88.9	0.6
Disability type	No disability reported *	72.6	N/A	82.4	N/A	89.5	N/A
	Cognitive or learning difficulties	74.4	-1.8	81.7	0.7	88.3	1.2
	Mental health condition	68.4	4.2	73.9	8.5	88.0	1.5
	Multiple or other impairments	70.2	2.3	80.3	2.1	84.9	4.6
	Sensory, medical or physical impairments	71.3	1.3	79.5	2.9	91.4	-1.9
	Social or communication impairment	59.8	12.8	75.0	7.4	[low]	[low]
Ethnicity	White *	73.2	N/A	82.8	N/A	89.1	N/A
	Asian	69.4	3.8	77.5	5.3	87.4	1.7
	Black	68.7	4.5	75.9	6.9	93.3	-4.3
	Mixed	73.0	0.2	80.8	2.0	94.2	-5.2
	Other	69.3	3.9	79.3	3.5	[low]	[low]
FSM	Not eligible for free school meals*	71.9	N/A	77.9	N/A	89.8	N/A
	Eligible for free school meals	65.2	6.7	67.5	10.5	87.3	2.5
IMD	Quintile 5 *	76.8	N/A	84.7	N/A	89.0	N/A
	Quintile 1	66.2	10.6	77.2	7.5	90.0	-1.0
POLAR4	Quintile 5 *	76.1	N/A	80.0	N/A	95.1	N/A
	Quintile 1	67.3	8.8	70.6	9.4	81.5	13.6
Sex	Male *	72.8	N/A	82.4	N/A	87.4	N/A
	Female	71.9	1.0	81.7	0.7	91.0	-3.5
TUNDRA	Quintile 5*	74.6	N/A	78.3	N/A	93.9	N/A
	Quintile 1	67.5	7.1	74.2	4.0	85.5	8.5

Archive reports

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

2022 summary findings report

PDF, 2750Kb

Read the 2022 summary

2021 summary findings report

PDF, 6138Kb

Read the 2021 summary

2020 summary findings report

PDF, 1714Kb

Read the 2020 summary

Published 07 May 2020
Last updated 28 March 2023 + show all updates

28 March 2023: Published March 2023 sector summary.
31 August 2022: Minor corrections to a heading in Table 2 of the 2022 summary findings report, and headings in tab 6 'Continuation Time Series' of the 2022 supplementary tables spreadsheet
24 March 2022: Updated with annual release of data
11 March 2021: Updated with annual release of data

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