Students starting at higher education providers with high, medium and low entry tariffs
Published
- 1. Navigate toMain facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toThings you need to know section
- 3. Navigate to By ethnicity (students starting at low, medium and high tariff institutions) section
- 4. Navigate to By ethnicity (percentage of each ethnic group at low, medium and high tariff providers) section
- 5. Navigate toData sources section
- 6. Navigate toDownload the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- in the 2021 to 2022 academic year, 36.1% of people with mixed ethnicity starting a degree went to ‘high tariff’ providers – the highest percentage of all ethnic groups
- 18.5% of black people starting a degree went to ‘high tariff’ providers, the lowest percentage out of all ethnic groups
- 76.6% of people starting a degree at ‘high tariff’ providers were white (out of those whose ethnicity was known) and 4.4% were black
- 66.6% of people starting a degree at ‘low tariff’ providers were white, 12.8% were black, and 12.8% were Asian
Further research:
Research from the Institute of Labor Economics (PDF opens in a new window or tab) found that people from ethnic minorities were more likely to be the first in their family to go to university. ‘First in family’ students were less likely to go to universities considered to be prestigious, and more likely to drop out (even when considering the effects of previous attainment, personal characteristics, and socio-economic status).
This research is supported by Office for Students 2020/21 participation data (PDF opens in a new window or tab), which shows that students from ethnic minority groups were more likely to ‘drop out’ of university compared to white students. After white students (90.1%), Asian students had the highest continuation rate (88.7%), and black students had the lowest (84.3%).
The Russell Group Pathways for Potential report (PDF opens in a new window or tab) identified the barriers for disadvantaged students – including those from ethnic minorities – in university as: gaps in previous academic achievement, lack of knowledge and support, financial concerns, and geographical barriers. The lack of knowledge and support was particularly a barrier for ‘first in family’ students. These barriers are likely to make it more difficult for ethnic minority students to make decisions about higher education, and subsequently impact their university experience.
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data shows the number and percentage of students who start the first year of an undergraduate or postgraduate course in the UK at ‘high’, ‘medium’ and ‘low’ tariff higher education providers.
Higher education providers are divided into these 3 groups – roughly equal in size – according to the average number of UCAS points achieved by students joining them.
The groups are adjusted every year according to 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.
Providers who do not fall into these groups are recorded in the ‘other’ category. This includes some specialist providers, The Open University, and further education colleges in Wales.
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 groups 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. You can see data for students whose ethnicity was not known in the tables.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document for the data on this page.
‘Specialist’ higher education providers were defined as those that offer 60% or more of their courses in one or two subjects (based on full-time equivalence and academic cost centres).
In the data file
Download the data to see values over time from 2014 to 2022.
3. By ethnicity (students starting at low, medium and high tariff institutions)
| 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 | 12.2 | 34,330 | 12.8 | 32,920 | 13.4 | 34,240 | 4.4 | 2,310 | 12.3 | 103,800 |
| Black | 4.4 | 12,260 | 12.8 | 32,915 | 7.6 | 19,250 | 3.6 | 1,870 | 7.8 | 66,295 |
| Mixed | 4.9 | 13,810 | 4.7 | 11,980 | 4.2 | 10,755 | 3.3 | 1,700 | 4.5 | 38,240 |
| White | 76.6 | 215,320 | 66.6 | 171,240 | 72.8 | 185,350 | 87.8 | 45,905 | 73.1 | 617,815 |
| Other | 1.9 | 5,410 | 3.1 | 8,035 | 2.0 | 5,090 | 0.9 | 475 | 2.2 | 19,010 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 5,705 | N/A* | 6,865 | N/A* | 4,375 | N/A* | 2,190 | N/A* | 19,135 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (students starting at low, medium and high tariff institutions)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (students starting at low, medium and high tariff institutions)’ (CSV)
Summary of Students starting at higher education providers with high, medium and low entry tariffs By ethnicity (students starting at low, medium and high tariff institutions) Summary
The data shows that, out of students whose ethnicity was known:
- 73.1% of students starting a degree in the UK were white, 12.3% were Asian, 7.8% were black, 4.5% were from mixed ethnic backgrounds, and 2.2% were from the ‘other’ ethnic group
- white people made up 76.6% of students starting a degree at high tariff providers, and 66.6% at low tariff providers
- black people made up 4.4% of students starting a degree at high tariff providers, and 12.8% at low tariff providers
4. By ethnicity (percentage of each ethnic group at low, medium and high tariff providers)
| 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 | 31.7 | 32,920 | 33.0 | 34,240 | 33.1 | 34,330 | 2.2 | 2,310 |
| Black | 49.6 | 32,915 | 29.0 | 19,250 | 18.5 | 12,260 | 2.8 | 1,870 |
| Mixed | 31.3 | 11,980 | 28.1 | 10,755 | 36.1 | 13,810 | 4.4 | 1,700 |
| White | 27.7 | 171,240 | 30.0 | 185,350 | 34.9 | 215,320 | 7.4 | 45,905 |
| Other | 42.3 | 8,035 | 26.8 | 5,090 | 28.5 | 5,410 | 2.5 | 475 |
| Unknown | 35.9 | 6,865 | 22.9 | 4,375 | 29.8 | 5,705 | 11.4 | 2,190 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (percentage of each ethnic group at low, medium and high tariff providers)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (percentage of each ethnic group at low, medium and high tariff providers)’ (CSV)
Summary of Students starting at higher education providers with high, medium and low entry tariffs By ethnicity (percentage of each ethnic group at low, medium and high tariff providers) Summary
The data shows that:
- among students starting a degree, 49.6% of black people and 27.7% of white people went to low tariff providers
- 36.1% of students with mixed ethnicity started a degree at high tariff providers – the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups at this tariff level
- 18.5% of black people starting a degree went to high tariff providers, the lowest percentage
- 33.0% of Asian people starting a degree went to medium tariff providers – the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups at this tariff level
5. Data sources
Source
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
Official statistics
Publisher
Higher Education Statistics Agency
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
Student information collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is used for:
- funding
- performance indicators
- publications (including UNISTATS)
- league tables
The student record collects individual data about students including:
- student’s entry profile and personal characteristics
- module and course-level data
- funding information
- qualifications achieved
6. Download the data
This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, time, time_type, tariff_marker, geography, numerator, value, rounded_value, value_type, denominator and value_note
This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, time, time_type, tariff_marker, geography, numerator, value, rounded_value, value_type, denominator and value_note