Students entering higher education courses in Scottish colleges now make up more than a third of all HE undergraduate entrants, new figures reveal.
A report published by the Scottish Funding Council today shows that in 2016-17, HE entrants at colleges accounted for 27.5 per cent of all HE entrants in Scotland. For the undergraduate population, the proportion of HE entrants to colleges increased to 36.9 per cent of the total HE undergraduate cohort.
Crucially, almost a quarter of HE entrants to colleges came from the most deprived 20 per cent of Scottish neighbourhoods - more than three times the proportion at Scotland’s four ancient universities and significantly above the 14.6 per cent of entrants from these backgrounds at the post-92 universities. This means colleges remain the most common route for those from deprived backgrounds entering HE.
Overall, 16.1 per cent of Scottish domiciled entrants to all levels of HE study in the UK were from the most deprived 20 per cent of Scottish neighbourhoods. “This is the same level as the proportion in 2015-16,” according to the SFC report.
Most accessible path
While women made up 57 per cent of the total number of HE students last year, they made up only 50.4 per cent of students at HE level in colleges.
Shona Struthers chief executive of Colleges Scotland, said: “We welcome this report and are pleased with the confirmation that colleges continue to offer the most accessible path to learning for Scottish-domiciled students with an increase to 23.2 per cent of all higher education students from the 20 per cent most deprived areas in Scotland studying at colleges.
“A substantial proportion of students continue to start higher education courses in colleges, with entrants to colleges comprising 27.5 per cent of all higher education students. Colleges have a crucial role in identifying, helping, and facilitating alternative pathways for people, and providing students with work-ready skills, upskilling, and retraining as well as qualifications.”
Minister for FE, HE and science Shirley-Anne Somerville said the Scottish government was “determined to make higher education as accessible as possible to everyone in Scotland”. “What these figures show is that the higher education sector in this country is continuing to go from strength to strength, with colleges playing a vital role in the delivery of many higher education courses across Scotland.”
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