People starting at higher education providers with high, medium and low entry tariffs
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- 1. Navigate toMain facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toThings you need to know section
- 3. Navigate to Entrants to high, medium and low tariff institutions, by ethnicity section
- 4. Navigate to Ethnic groups of entrants, by tariff level of provider section
- 5. Navigate toData sources section
- 6. Navigate toDownload the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- 863,755 people started undergraduate or postgraduate study at a UK higher education provider in the 2020 to 2021 academic year (plus another 18,685 whose ethnicity was not known)
- 74.2% were white, 11.6% were Asian, 7.9% were black, 4.3% were from a mixed ethnic background, and 2.0% were from the ‘other’ ethnic group
- 77.4% of students at high tariff providers were white and 4.4% were black, where ethnicity was known
- 71.1% of students at low tariff providers were white and 11.5% were black, where ethnicity was known
- 33.6% of students from the mixed ethnic group went to high tariff providers – the highest percentage of all ethnic groups, followed by 32.9% of all white students
- 17.8% of black students went to high tariff providers – the lowest percentage out of all ethnic groups
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data includes students starting the first year of an undergraduate or postgraduate course, by ethnicity.
Undergraduate degrees are usually bachelor's degrees, such as Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Science (BSc).
Postgraduate courses include doctorates (for example, PhD/DPhil), and Master’s degrees, such as Master of Engineering (MEng) and Master of Law (LLM).
Higher education institutions have been divided into 3 roughly equal groups according to the average number of UCAS points achieved by students. The groups are referred to as ‘high’, ‘medium’ or ‘low’ tariff providers.
Providers who did not fall into these groups are recorded in the ‘Other’ category. This includes some specialist higher education providers, The Open University, and further education colleges in Wales.
The groupings are adjusted for each academic year based on the tariff points for that year.
UCAS score data is based on the average (mean) UCAS points scores of undergraduate students aged 20 and under.
The data only includes students whose normal residence before starting their higher education qualification was in the UK, Guernsey and Jersey (including their smaller islands) and the Isle of Man.
Student numbers are rounded to the nearest 5 students. Percentages are calculated using rounded numbers, and are rounded to 1 decimal place.
The ethnic categories used in this data
Data is shown for 5 aggregated ethnic groups:
- Asian
- black
- mixed
- white
- other
This means figures are shown for these groups as a whole.
Students record their own ethnicity, either when they apply for a degree course or when they register with a higher education institution.
The percentages are based only on students whose ethnicity was known. Data for students whose ethnicity was not known is in the tables.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document for the data on this page.
3. Entrants to high, medium and low tariff institutions, by ethnicity
| High | Low | Medium | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | High % | High Number of entrants | Low % | Low Number of entrants | Medium % | Medium Number of entrants | Other % | Other Number of entrants | Total % | Total Number of entrants |
| Asian | 11.8 | 32,125 | 10.7 | 33,640 | 12.4 | 33,985 | 13.8 | 375 | 11.6 | 100,125 |
| Black | 4.4 | 12,065 | 11.5 | 36,250 | 7.1 | 19,345 | 6.3 | 170 | 7.9 | 67,835 |
| Mixed | 4.6 | 12,535 | 4.4 | 13,705 | 4.0 | 10,930 | 5.5 | 150 | 4.3 | 37,325 |
| White | 77.4 | 211,170 | 71.1 | 224,020 | 74.7 | 204,005 | 72.3 | 1,960 | 74.2 | 641,160 |
| Other | 1.8 | 5,020 | 2.3 | 7,385 | 1.8 | 4,850 | 2.0 | 55 | 2.0 | 17,310 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 6,100 | N/A* | 7,875 | N/A* | 4,645 | N/A* | 60 | N/A* | 18,685 |
Download table data for ‘Entrants to high, medium and low tariff institutions, by ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Entrants to high, medium and low tariff institutions, by ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of People starting at higher education providers with high, medium and low entry tariffs Entrants to high, medium and low tariff institutions, by ethnicity Summary
The data shows that, out of students whose ethnicity was known:
- 74.2% of students starting higher education courses in the UK were white – 11.6% were from Asian backgrounds, 7.9% were black, 4.3% were from mixed ethnic backgrounds, and 2.0% were from the ‘other’ ethnic group
- white students made up 77.4% of all entrants to high tariff providers, and 71.1% of entrants to low tariff providers
- black students made up 4.4% of all entrants to high tariff providers, and 11.5% of entrants to low tariff providers
4. Ethnic groups of entrants, by tariff level of provider
| Low | Medium | High | Other | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Low % | Low Number of entrants | Medium % | Medium Number of entrants | High % | High Number of entrants | Other % | Other Number of entrants |
| Asian | 33.6 | 33,640 | 33.9 | 33,985 | 32.1 | 32,125 | 0.4 | 375 |
| Black | 53.4 | 36,250 | 28.5 | 19,345 | 17.8 | 12,065 | 0.3 | 170 |
| Mixed | 36.7 | 13,705 | 29.3 | 10,930 | 33.6 | 12,535 | 0.4 | 150 |
| White | 34.9 | 224,020 | 31.8 | 204,005 | 32.9 | 211,170 | 0.3 | 1,960 |
| Other | 42.7 | 7,385 | 28.0 | 4,850 | 29.0 | 5,020 | 0.3 | 55 |
| Unknown | 42.1 | 7,875 | 24.9 | 4,645 | 32.6 | 6,100 | 0.3 | 60 |
Download table data for ‘Ethnic groups of entrants, by tariff level of provider’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Ethnic groups of entrants, by tariff level of provider’ (CSV)
Summary of People starting at higher education providers with high, medium and low entry tariffs Ethnic groups of entrants, by tariff level of provider Summary
The data shows that:
- 53.4% of all black students went to low tariff providers, compared with 34.9% of all white students
- 33.6% of students from mixed ethnic backgrounds went to high tariff providers – the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups, followed by 32.9% of all white students
- 17.8% of all black students went to high tariff providers – the lowest percentage out of all ethnic groups
- 33.9% of students from Asian backgrounds went to medium tariff providers – the highest percentage of all ethnic groups, followed by 31.8% of white students
5. Data sources
Source
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Higher Education Statistics Agency
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
Student information collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency is used for:
- funding
- performance indicators
- publications (including UNISTATS)
- league tables
The student record includes:
- their entry profile and personal characteristics
- module and course-level data
- funding information
- their qualifications
6. Download the data
Measure, Ethnicity, Academic Year, Tariff Marker, Number, Value, Value_Note