May 2006/16 This report describes the attributes, Issues paper progression to higher education, achievement within higher education and outcomes after graduation of students who This report is for information have undertaken access courses. These courses, first established in the late 1970s, remain an important route into higher education for mature entrants: one in four first-time mature entrants to full-time degree programmes still enter via an access course. Pathways to higher education Access courses © HEFCE 2006 Contents Page Summary 3 Introduction 5 Sources and definitions 6 Trends in student numbers 9 Attributes 10 Progression from access courses to higher education 15 Achievement in higher education 31 After graduation: employment outcomes 33 Discussion and conclusions 35 References 40 Annex A: Cohort definitions 41 Annex B: Outline of overall linking process 42 Annex C: Paths of progression 44 Annex D: Universities and colleges with a QAA-recognised access course in 1998-99 45 Annex E: Extended tables 48 Annex F: Employment categories 51 List of abbreviations 52 1 Acknowledgements We are grateful to Professor Gareth Parry of the University of Sheffield, and Kath Dentith of the Quality Assurance Agency for their comments and suggestions. 2 Pathways to higher education: Access courses To Heads of publicly-funded higher education institutions in the UK Heads of publicly-funded further education colleges in the UK Of interest to those Student data, Widening participation, Learning and teaching responsible for Reference 2006/16 Publication date May 2006 Enquiries to Mark Gittoes tel 0117 9317052 e-mail [email protected] Summary Purpose 1. To describe the attributes, progression to higher education, achievement within higher education, and outcomes after graduating of students who have undertaken access courses. Key points 2. ‘Access to Higher Education’ courses, first established in the late 1970s, remain an important route into higher education for mature entrants. Though growth in student numbers has been modest in recent years, one in four first-time mature entrants to full-time degree programmes still enter via an access course. 3. We have taken the cohort of students who took access courses in 1998-99 and followed them through further study. This was the most recent cohort for whom, we were able to describe patterns of progression into and through higher education. 4. It was found that, of those starting an access course, more than half continue with some formal study, with 39 per cent on degree or other undergraduate programmes. Typically, the progression from access course to higher education involves a move from a further education college to a higher education institution (HEI). Though the access course students tend to choose an HEI near to their home, this does not mean that students on the same access course programme go to the same HEI. The average one-year access course group will have students going to about 12 different institutions to study at higher education level. 5. Of those who go on to higher education from access courses, most go onto full-time degree courses. They study a wide range of subjects, with ‘subjects allied to medicine’ being the most popular. 6. Two-thirds of these students from access courses on three or four year full-time degree programmes graduate within five years. This proportion compares favourably with other ‘non 3 A-level’ entrants. Further, six months after graduating, of those employed, 78 per cent were in ‘graduate’ jobs. 7. Given these achievements, we need to consider what potential exists to develop the ‘access course’ route? Policies are now in place to secure the funding, address the issue of fees and ensure wider recognition of access course qualifications. Together these have the potential to enable access course provision to make an even greater contribution to increasing and widening participation. Action required 8. No action is required in response to this document. 4 Introduction 9. This is the first of a series of reports providing information on pathways into higher education (HE). The series will describe the alternatives to what historically has been the ‘standard’ pathway of progression from school or college at aged 18 or 19, having gained A- levels or equivalent qualifications, to the first year of an undergraduate programme of study. There are various alternatives, involving different qualifications and modes of study, and diverse groups of students with differing experiences. In this report we consider just one such alternative: ‘Access to Higher Education’ courses, which will be simply referred to as ‘access courses’. 10. Access courses are investigated in this first report on alternative routes into HE partly for pragmatic reasons; they are relatively easy to identify. They are also important. For example, 25 percent of all the first time mature entrants to full-time degree programmes entered via an access course1. 11. Access courses were first established in the late 1970s. They provided an alternative to taking A-levels, often through part-time evening study, or taking a university-specific direct entry examination, for adults intending to enter higher education. At first the initiatives tended to be local, and the recognition of individual access qualifications was typically restricted to a small number of higher education institutions and departments. In 1989 a national framework, developed by the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (CVCP, the forerunner of Universities UK) and the Council for National Academic Awards, was launched. Responsibility for this scheme passed to the Higher Education Quality Council in 1992 and, in 1997, to the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA 2004a). 12. Though this scheme is now in its second decade, some courses still take place outside the national framework. We estimate that in 2003-04 about 10 per cent of access course provision was on schemes outside the QAA recognition process2. This is somewhat surprising because, at least in theory if not in practice, gaining recognition should have led to a more favourable funding status. The Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA 2003) found a variety of reasons why courses did not have recognition. They could be new innovative programmes which had not been through the recognition procedure, programmes for students under 21, ‘fast track’ programmes with lower levels of contact time, and so on. In some cases the courses had a narrow focus, for example for particular students, like, say, classroom assistants, preparing for particular programmes in higher education. 13. The QAA has published information about access courses from a variety of sources (QAA 2002, 2003, 2004a, 2005). This includes information about the characteristics of access courses and the students on them, their progression through the UCAS application system, and the courses and students within higher education whose highest qualification on entry 1 Based on all full-time first-degree entrants to HEIs in 2003-04 aged 21 or over on 30 September 2003. 2 Based on access courses in 2002-03 running within institutions that did not have a QAA- recognised access course in 2002-03. 5 was completion of an access course. What has been missing from these publications is any detailed information on what students do after the access course: whether they progress to higher education and, if they do, where and what they study. There are some summaries of students’ intentions while on the access course but, unsurprisingly, these contain a large proportion of ‘unknowns’. In this report, as well as providing more information on students on and from access courses, we fill the information gap by providing details of progression from access courses to higher education. This has been made possible by, for the first time, linking the individualised learner records3 (ILRs) and the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student records. By creating a single longitudinal record we are able to trace the transition from further to higher education. 14. There are six sections to this report: a. Sources and definitions. b. Trends in student numbers. c. Attributes: course; provider; and student. d. Progression from access courses to higher education programmes. e. Achievement in higher education. f. After graduation: employment outcomes. Sources and definitions Data sources 15. Data are drawn from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) individualised learner records (ILRs) from 1998-99 through to 2003- 04. 16. Individual students were tracked within and through each annual student dataset using a number of personal characteristics. For exact data definitions and further explanation of how students are tracked, see Annex B. 17. The list of universities and colleges with QAA-recognised courses in 1998-99 was provided by the QAA and is at Annex D. 3 From 1998-99 to 2001-02, the main LSC datasets were the individualised student records (ISRs). For this report, we will refer to both the ISR and ILR as the ILR. 6 Access courses 18. An access course is designed to prepare mature students who have few or no higher education entry-level qualifications for higher education. The access course itself is a further education (FE) level qualification, which means that both the student support available and funding of the provision is at FE level. Until 2003-04 the majority of access courses only accepted students aged 21 and above; the lower age limit has since been reduced to 19. Most courses take a year to complete, but both shorter and longer courses are reported. Some access courses are designed to allow progress to particular higher education courses, such as Access to Law, others provide more general preparation for higher education. 19. The final qualification of an access course is an Access to Higher Education certificate. These certificates can be awarded through a QAA Authorised Validating Agency (AVA) or through another awarding body.