Baseline Report for Academic Year 2014-152. Colleges have exceeded their SFC -funded activity targets in each of the last 10 academic years. They exceeded their target by 0.1% in 2014-15

Baseline Report for Academic Year 2014-15

Issue date: Reference: Summary: FAO:

14 January 2016 SFC/ST/02/2016 This publication provides an overview of college sector statistics from 2005-06 to 2014-15 Principals and directors of Scotland’s colleges and / or universities

Further information:

Contact: Stephen Riddell Job title: Senior Policy / Analysis Officer Department: Finance Tel: 0131 313 6658 Email: [email protected]

Scottish Funding Council Apex 2

97 Haymarket Terrace Edinburgh EH12 5HD

T 0131 313 6500 F 0131 313 6501

www.sfc.ac.uk

mailto:[email protected]

Contents

Contents .......................................................................................................................... 2

List of figures/tables ....................................................................................................... 3

Section 1: Executive Summary ....................................................................................... 5

Section 2: Measuring student numbers, volume of activity and changes in policy ...... 7

Section 3: Trends in student numbers and activity ...................................................... 12

Section 4: Full and part-time enrolments and learning hours ..................................... 19

Section 5: SFC funded hours of learning ...................................................................... 24

Section 6: Enrolments and hours of learning by gender .............................................. 27

Section 7: Full-time students aged 16 to 24 funded by SFC......................................... 29

Section 8: Students with a disability or additional learning needs .............................. 32

Section 9: Students from a black and minority ethnic (BME) background .................. 35

Section 10: Recognised qualifications and additional support needs ......................... 38

Section 11: Further information ................................................................................... 41

Annex A: College Outcome Agreements ...................................................................... 42

List of figures/tables

Page

Table A Students to Enrolments 2014-15 6 Table B 2005-06 to 2014-15 trends in student numbers and volume of activity in

Scotland's colleges 8

Table C 2005-06 to 2014-15 timetable of significant changes in external factors affecting the Scottish College Sector

9

Table D Percentage of students enrolled on multiple courses 2012-13 to 2014-15

12

Table E WSUMs delivered vs target, 2005-06 to 2014-15 15 Table F Full-time SFC-funded students in 2014-15 split by age cohort 28 Figure 1 Number of students and enrolments 2005-06 to 2014-15 11 Figure 2 WSUMS delivered against target 2005-06 to 2014-15 13 Figure 3 FTEs delivered over the period 2005-06 to 2014-15 16 Figure 4a Further and Higher Education enrolments 2005-06 to 2014-15 18 Figure 4b Further and Higher Education enrolments (excluding part-time FE)

2005-06 to 2014-15 19

Figure 5 Number and proportion of enrolments by mode and level of study 2005-06 to 2014-15

20

Figure 6 Full-time FE and HE students 2005-06 to 2014-15 21 Figure 7 Enrolments lasting for under 10 hours and non-recognised qualifications

2005-06 to 2014-15 22

Figure 8 Hours of learning by age group 2005-06 to 2014-15 23 Figure 9 Average hours of learning per student 2005-06 to 2014-15 25 Figure 10 Student enrolments by gender 2005-06 to 2014-15 26 Figure 11 Gender split by subject group for working age enrolments 2014-15 27 Figure 12 Full-time, SFC-funded students aged 16-17, 18-19, 20-24 from 2005-06

to 2014-15 29

Figure 13 Full-time, SFC-funded students aged 16 to 24 by gender 2005-06 to 2014-15

30

Figure 14 Learning hours for students with a disability or requiring additional support needs 2005-06 to 2014-15

32

Figure 15 Enrolments for students from a minority ethnic background 2014-15 34 Figure 16 Hours of learning for students from a minority ethnic background 2014-

15 35

Figure 17 BME student learning hours as percentage of total learning hours 2005-06 to 2014-15

36

Figure 18 Recognised qualifications and special programmes by enrolments 2005-06 to 2014-15

38

Figure 19 Recognised qualifications and special programmes by hours of learning 2005-06 to 2014-15

39

Annex A Selected national performance measures 2012-13 to 2014-15 41

Microsoft Excel tables containing the background data behind all of the charts presented in this report can be found on the SFC website1.

1 Baseline Report background data: http://www.sfc.ac.uk/communications/Statisticalpublications/2016/SFCST022016.aspx

http://www.sfc.ac.uk/communications/Statisticalpublications/2016/SFCST022016.aspxhttp://www.sfc.ac.uk/communications/Statisticalpublications/2016/SFCST022016.aspx

5

Section 1: Executive Summary

1. In 2014-15, Scotland’s colleges exceeded their target of 116,269 full-time equivalent (FTE) places. They delivered 119,0782 funded FTEs through a combination of 118,407 SFC-funded places and an additional 671 Employability Fund places funded by Skills Development Scotland. An additional 2,286 FTEs, jointly funded by SFC and the European Social Fund (ESF), were also delivered. In total, colleges delivered 121,364 FTEs in 2014-15. Overall this represents an increase of 1.2% when compared with 2013-14.

2. Colleges have exceeded their SFC-funded activity targets in each of the last 10 academic years. They exceeded their target by 0.1% in 2014-15 and by an average of 2.4% between 2005-06 and 2014-15.

3. In 2014-15, there was a headcount of 226,919 students at Scotland’s colleges, whereas in 2013-14 there was a headcount of 238,399. This represents a decrease of 4.8%.

4. There were 66,667 full-time students in 2005-06, and 79,565 in 2014-15. Although the 2014-15 total does represent a slight fall from the high of 81,373 in 2011-12, full-time numbers have shown an overall increase of 19% from 2005-06 to 2014-15.

5. SFC expected to see a decrease in headcount from 2008-09 as colleges were asked to prioritise more substantive courses designed to improve students’ employment prospects and reduce the number of students enrolled on leisure programmes and very short (less than 10 hours) programmes of study. This policy is the main reason for the continued reduction in headcount from 379,233 in 2007-08 to 226,919 in 2014-15. To illustrate the impact on headcount, based on 2014-15 figures, a single full-time Further Education (FE) student is approximately equivalent to 140 students on these short programmes.

6. This prioritisation led to an increase in the average hours of learning per student from 249 hours in 2005-06 to 401 hours in 2014-15. That is an increase of 61% across that period.

2 Due to a change in data collection methodology, 598 FTE places delivered at HE level by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) are not included in our FTEs delivered figures from 2013-14 onwards, but are still included in the 116,269 target. FTE delivery figures presented here may differ from figures contained within the College Performance Indicators 2014-15 publication, as those figures include these additional 598 FTE places. College Performance Indicators 2014-15:

http://www.sfc.ac.uk/communications/Statisticalpublications/2016/SFCST012016.asp

6

7. In academic year 2005-06, 9% of learning hours were delivered on courses that

did not lead to a recognised qualification. By 2014-15, this had decreased to 3%.

8. Whilst 58% of student enrolments were by females in 2005-06, the proportion fell to 51% in 2014-15. Female enrolments outnumbered male enrolments in every academic year from 2005-06 to 2014-15 although the gap has steadily narrowed.

9. The proportion of all SFC-funded learning hours delivered to those aged 16 to 24 increased from 61% in 2005-06 to 70% in 2014-15. This reflects the priority colleges have been asked to place on provision for young people.

7

Section 2: Measuring student numbers, volume of activity and changes in policy

10. Student activity can be measured in different ways and in this publication we make use of several metrics. The next section describes each of these measures and explains why they are useful, depending on what we are trying to describe.

2.1 Student Numbers

11. Headcount (students) – this is a count of individual students. The headcount figure enables a comparison with known Scotland population totals, where applicable, to give an idea of the level of participation amongst different cohorts of the population. Using headcount and enrolments together give a better indication of the level of student/college engagement. Using enrolments is also relevant when looking at some aspects of provision such as Performance Indicators.

12. Enrolments – each time an individual engages on a new programme of study, they are counted as an enrolment. There are various reasons why a student may enrol on more than one programme of study such as progression from an introductory course to a higher level of study, or to widen their skillset in order to help improve their employment prospects. For this reason, the number of enrolments is usually greater than the headcount. Table A, below, illustrates the relationship between the number of students, the number of courses taken and enrolments for the 2014-15 session.

Table A: Students to Enrolments 2014-15

Number of students (headcount)

Number of

courses taken

Enrolments

174,903 1 174,903 39,599 2 79,198

8,812 3 26,435 2,320 4 9,278

1,285 5 or

more 7,196 226,919 297,011

8

2.2 Volume of activity

13. Hours of learning – this quantifies the total hours of learning undertaken.

14. Student Units of Measurement (SUMs) – 1 SUM is equal to 40 hours of learning.

15. Weighted SUMS (WSUMs) – WSUMs are derived by multiplying the SUM figure by the ‘weight’ – that is, the relative cost to a college of delivering different subjects.

16. Full-time equivalent (FTE) – All full-time students count as one FTE. For part-time students, FTE is based on the number of SUMs delivered to them. For further information on deriving college WSUMS and FTEs, please refer to page 30 to 32 of the 2012-13 Baseline Publication3.

17. College participation is complex, meaning the number and profile of students attending college can fluctuate substantially depending on a range of external factors (see Section 2.3: Impact of External Changes for further information) such as changes in economic conditions, demographics and Scottish Government policy. However these external factors have little impact on the overall volume of activity delivered by colleges. For this reason, volume measures are the best way of comparing funded activity over time.

18. Table B below shows the trend from 2005-06 to 2014-15 for each of the metrics used in this report.

19. Table B below shows differing trends for each metric and these will be explored in further detail in the rest of this report. Part of the explanation for the changes in the trends can be explained by external factors which impact on the sector, for instance government policy and economic conditions. These trends should be read in the context of such changes. The following section briefly describes the main external changes and their effect.

3 Baseline Report 2012-13

http://www.sfc.ac.uk/web/FILES/Statistical_publications_SFCST022014_BaselineReportforAcademicYear201213/Baseline_Report_2012-13.pdf

9

Table B: 2005-06 to 2014-15 trend in student numbers and volume of activity in Scotland's colleges

Student Numbers Volume of Activity

Academic Year Headcount Enrolments SUMS

WSUMS delivered incl ESF

Hours of Learning FTE

2005-06 350,410 446,619 1,949,942 2,217,361 78,002,240 116,298 2006-07 363,597 468,155 2,025,821 2,322,005 81,032,840 120,808 2007-08 379,233 489,610 2,054,446 2,379,802 82,177,840 122,641 2008-09 374,986 483,472 2,056,991 2,407,804 82,279,640 123,031 2009-10 347,336 438,522 2,085,760 2,442,899 83,432,840 124,670 2010-11 305,969 383,005 2,069,796 2,448,309 82,794,180 124,650* 2011-12 257,913 320,646 1,957,886 2,326,885 84,048,520 122,068* 2012-13 238,805 297,586 1,844,145 2,196,674 79,403,362 119,161** 2013-14 238,399 299,828 1,912,161 2,279,422 76,486,439 119,957** 2014-15 226,919 297,011 1,908,089 2,315,213 76,323,551 121,364** *includes ESF FTEs

** includes SDS and ESF FTEs

10

2.3 Impact of external changes

Table C: 2005-06 to 2014-15: Timetable of significant changes in external factors affecting the Scottish College Sector

Date Change Impact on the trends presented in this report

2008-09

Colleges asked to prioritise more substantial courses designed to improve employment prospects

Reduction in number of students enrolled on very short programmes of study unlikely to lead to employment or higher level of study. Corresponding increase in the number of full-time students and those on courses leading to recognised qualifications.

2011-12

Decision to focus school/college courses towards the senior phase of high school

Reduction in college activity targets of 5%, but students continue to have a full-time place at school.

2012-13

Introduction of College Outcome Agreements

Transfer of funded learning hours from SFC to Skills Development Scotland (SDS)

Reduction in SFC funded learning hours delivered to those aged 16 to 24, with this activity being commissioned by SDS.

11

2.3 Regional Outcome Agreements

20. Regional Outcome Agreements were introduced in Academic year 2012-13. They are intended to enable SFC and colleges to demonstrate the impact of the sector and its contribution in meeting Scottish Government priorities.

21. A National Performance Framework (see Annex A) has been created as part of the Outcome Agreement process to help assess the impact of the sector. The framework consists of a set of measures which have been selected to monitor performance across a range of priorities. Annex A also reports on the 2012-13 to 2014-15 figures for some of the measures, where data is available.

22. Further details on Outcome Agreements are available on the SFC website4:

23. From Academic Year 2015-16, SFC is implementing a simplified approach to college funding, where WSUMs targets will be replaced with Credit targets. Further information on this can be found in the Simplified Approach to College Funding update newsletter5, on the SFC website.

4 College Outcome Agreement Guidance 2016-17 5 A Simplified Approach to College Funding December 2014 update newsletter

http://www.sfc.ac.uk/guidance/outcomeagreements/CollegeOAGuidance.aspxhttp://www.sfc.ac.uk/web/FILES/Funding/A_simplified_approach_to_college_funding_December_2014.pdf

12

Section 3: Trends in student numbers and activity

24. In this section we take a high level look at the sector in terms of headcount and enrolments, and then the level of activity, examining the trends in both.

3.1 Student numbers and enrolments

25. Figure 1 shows that, in 2014-15, there was a fall in student numbers from

238,399 in 2013-14 to 226,919 in 2014-15, a fall of 11,480 (4.8%). Enrolments remained broadly stable, reducing from 299,828 in 2013-14 to 297,011 in 2014-15 – a decrease of 2,817 enrolments (0.9%).

26. The 2014-15 headcount figures represent a decrease of 152,314 students from the 2007-08 peak. As has been made clear, this trend is primarily explained by the shift from very short courses of limited economic value to more substantive programmes leading to recognised qualifications.

350,410 363,597 379,233 374,986

347,336

305,969 257,913

238,805 238,399 226,919

446,619 468,155

489,610 483,472

438,522

383,005

320,646 297,586 299,828 297,011

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

05-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11 11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15

Figure 1: Number of students and enrolments 2005-06 to 2014-15

students enrolments

13

27. Funding for Colleges increased by over 8% between 2007-08 and 2010-11. In that same time period, student headcount fell by 73,264. That represents 48% of the total reduction from the 2007-08 peak.

28. We have already illustrated in Table A in section 2 that students can enrol on more than one course. That table provides an overview of the number of courses taken by college students. Over the academic year 2014-15, 52,015 students were enrolled on multiple courses. Table D, below, shows how the percentage of students on multiple courses between 2012-13 and 2014-15 has been increasing steadily.

Table D: Percentage of students enrolled on multiple courses: 2012-13 to 2014-15 Number of Courses Taken

Percentage of Students in 2012-13

Percentage of Students in 2013-14

Percentage of students in 2014-15

1 82.4% 81.7% 77.1% 2 13.0% 13.5% 17.5% 3 3.1% 3.2% 3.9% 4 1.0% 1.0% 1.0%

5 or more 0.5% 0.6% 0.6% 29. Before exploring the student and enrolment figures in more detail, the next

section will look at the changes in the volume of activity across the sector.

3.2 Volume of activity

30. SFC funds colleges to deliver a specified number of learning hours per academic year. This section looks at how the volume of college activity has changed between 2005-06 and 2014-15.

31. Normally expressed as WSUMS, this hours of learning target for 2014-15 equates to 2,267,905.

14

32. Figure 2 shows the number of WSUMs delivered by the college sector over the

2005-06 to 2014-15 period. The sector exceeded its WSUMs target in each academic year. As noted in 2.3: Impact of external changes, there were two main changes in Government policy which impacted on this trend, which are considered below.

33. College WSUMs targets fell between 2010-11 and 2011-12 as a result of the decision to focus school / college courses towards senior phase school pupils. Where in 2010-11, colleges were asked to deliver 8.3% of their WSUMs to pupils attending college programmes as part of their studies, in 2011-12 this was reduced to 3% of the total WSUMs target. Prior to 2011-12, school / college provision had been delivered to learners in all school years including primary school. It should be noted that although college activity targets were

2,172,311

2,274,409

2,301,703 2,304,154 2,319,128

2,322,713

2,233,140

2,111,769

2,252,791

2,267,905

2,448,309

2,326,885

2,196,674

2,279,422

2,315,213

2,217,361

2,322,005

2,379,802

2,407,804

2,442,899

2,380,322

2,276,834

2,143,921

2,273,290 2,270,024

2,000,000

2,050,000

2,100,000

2,150,000

2,200,000

2,250,000

2,300,000

2,350,000

2,400,000

2,450,000

2,500,000

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Figure 2: WSUMs delivered against target 2005-06 to 2014-15

WSUMs target WSUMs delivered inc. ESF WSUMs delivered exc ESF

15

reduced by 5%, this did not lead to 5% fewer students in education. The pupils affected had not yet reached the senior phase and therefore would have continued their education on a full-time basis at school6.

34. The Schools for Higher Education programme (SHEP) funded by SFC, contributes to this by providing information, advice and guidance in schools which have traditionally low progression rates to Higher Education (HE). It aspires to assist in improving school staying-on rates at these schools along with progression to HE in College or University. Further information on the SHEP programme can be found on the SFC website7.

35. In 2012-13 the Scottish Government asked colleges to deliver the New College Learning Programme (NCLP), a programme of learning managed by SDS, focused on targeting gaps in learner and employer needs. SFC’s WSUMs target was reduced by 4% in order to transfer funding to SDS to deliver the NCLP.

36. The Employability Fund was introduced in 2013-14 to improve learner progression along the skills and employability pipeline. A portion of the Employability Fund is ring fenced for college activity co-commissioned by SDS and Local Employability Partners. This activity is captured in the total headcount, enrolment and FTE numbers for 2013-14 and 2014-15.

37. Table E below provides a tabular view of the figures presented in Figure 2. It also shows the number of WSUMS delivered above target each year along with the number of WSUMs above target as a percentage of the WSUMs target for that year.

6 Table L1.1 of the Scottish Government’s Attainment and Leaver Destinations publication provides further information on school staying on rates 7 Schools for Higher Education Programme

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/leavedestla/follleavedestat/attainmentandleavers1314http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/leavedestla/follleavedestat/attainmentandleavers1314http://www.sfc.ac.uk/funding/FundingOutcomes/Access/SchoolsforHigherEducationProgramme/SchoolsforHigherEducationProgramme.aspx

16

Table E: WSUMS delivered vs target, 2005-06 to 2014-15

WSUMS target

WSUMS delivered

excluding ESF Percentage

above target 2005-06 2,172,311 2,217,361 2.1% 2006-07 2,274,409 2,322,005 2.1% 2007-08 2,301,703 2,379,802 3.4% 2008-09 2,304,154 2,407,804 4.5% 2009-10 2,319,128 2,442,899 5.3% 2010-11 2,322,713 2,380,322 2.5% 2011-12 2,233,140 2,276,834 2.0% 2012-13 2,111,769 2,143,921 1.5% 2013-14 2,252,791 2,273,290 0.9% 2014-15 2,267,905 2,270,024 0.1%

38. Figure 3, below, provides an overview of college delivery in terms of FTE places.

It shows that Scotland’s colleges delivered 118,407 SFC-funded FTE places in 2014-15.

39. An analysis of SDS’s Corporate Training System records indicates that the Employability Fund starts spend on average 9.8 weeks in college and work experience, based on 2013-14 figures. Relative to the typical (median) length of a full-time FE enrolment (36 weeks), these starts amount to an estimated 671 FTEs in 2014-15.

40. The European Social Fund (ESF)8 project also provided 2,286 FTEs which are part-funded by SFC.

41. Overall, 121,364 FTEs were delivered in 2014-15 by Scotland’s colleges, which represents an increase of 1.2% on the 2013-14 total of 119,957.

42. FTEs are useful for comparison and funding purposes. By measuring in FTEs, we get a better representation of the actual volume of activity delivered by colleges.

8 Further information on the European Social Fund project

http://www.sfc.ac.uk/funding/colleges/ESF/european_social_fund.aspx

17

116,298 120,808 122,641 123,031 124,670 121,189 119,448

112,916 119,022 118,407

3,483 3,461 2,620

2,762 2,286

05,000

10,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,00065,00070,00075,00080,00085,00090,00095,000

100,000105,000110,000115,000120,000125,000130,000

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Figure 3: FTEs delivered over the period 2005-06 to 2014-15

SDS FTEs Additional ESF FTEs SFC FTEs Delivered

124,650 122,068 119,957 119,161 121,364

614

321

321

671

18

43. Each academic year, Scotland’s colleges are targeted with delivering 116,269 FTE places. SFC-funded activity and SDS Employability fund activity are both counted towards this target. ESF activity, which SFC funds in conjunction with the European Social Fund, does not however count towards this target. It should be noted that, due to a change in data collection methodology, 598 FTE places delivered at HE level by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) are not included in our FTEs delivered figures from 2013-14 onwards, but are still included in the 116,269 target.

44. Although the FTE values in Figure 3 do show a reduction in FTEs delivered between 2009-10 and 2014-15, this is mainly explained by colleges delivering more activity over their WSUMS targets in 2009-10 than in later years, and by the reduction in school/college provision from 2011-12 onwards as alluded to earlier in this report. Targets were reduced again in 2012-13 but increased in 2013-14 and FTEs delivered also increased from the academic year 2013-14. Just over 8% of college activity was targeted towards school college provision prior to 2011-12 but was reduced to 3% from 2011-12. At the same time, school-college provision was focussed on the senior phase. This reduced the number of college places for those in lower school years (including primary school) but these students would have continued to receive full-time schooling.

45. So far, this Baseline Report has shown high level trends in terms of student headcounts and enrolments. It has also shown performance against WSUMs targets (based on hours of learning) and the number of FTEs delivered over the period. The rest of the publication takes a more detailed look at important sub-groups and provides more detail on activity delivered in academic year 2014-15. For this more detailed look, we have used the enrolment and learning hour measures.

19

Section 4: Full and part-time enrolments and learning hours

46. Figure 4a provides a detailed breakdown of full and part-time enrolments for Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) courses delivered in Scotland’s colleges over the 2005-06 to 2014-15 period.

47. Figure 4a shows a slight reduction in total enrolment numbers of 2,817

between 2013-14 and 2014-15. This is attributable to slight reductions in enrolments to full-time FE, and part-time FE and HE courses. By 2014-15, part-time FE enrolment numbers had fallen from their peak in 2007-08 by 197,493.

48. Part-time HE numbers also fell between 2005-06 and 2014-15, although numbers in this category make up a far smaller share of overall activity. There was a small reduction in enrolments to part-time HE courses in 2014-15, with this number having risen in 2013-14. Enrolments to full-time HE courses rose to

25,705 25,671 25,056 25,938 28,600 31,132 32,012 31,313 31,827 32,384

40,962 43,213 43,234 45,381 48,856 49,116 49,361 47,657 48,327 47,181

25,255 23,789 22,714 22,417 21,201 20,222 16,608 16,481 16,864 16,333

354,697 375,482

398,606 389,736

339,865

282,535

222,665 202,135

202,810 201,113

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

450,000

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Figure 4a: Further & Higher Education enrolments 2005-06 to 2014-15

Full-Time HE Full-Time FE Part-Time HE Part-Time FE

20

32,384 in 2014-15. This full-time HE enrolment total was the highest it has been over this ten year period. Figure 4b, below, allows a closer analysis of trends amongst these cohorts.

49. Figure 5, below, shows the proportion of enrolments, examined by mode of study, full-time (FT) and part-time (PT) and by level of study (FE and HE) from 2005-06 to 2014-15.

25,705 25,671 25,056 25,938

28,600 31,132 32,012 31,313 31,827

32,384

40,962 43,213 43,234

45,381 48,856 49,116 49,361 47,657 48,327 47,181

25,255 23,789 22,714 22,417

21,201 20,222

16,608 16,481 16,864 16,333

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Figure 4b: Further & Higher Education enrolments (excluding part-time FE) 2005-06 to 2014-15

Full-Time HE Full-Time FE Part-Time HE

21

50. The graph shows the shift in activity over this period towards more full-time activity, particularly at HE level.

51. Figure 6, below, shows that full-time student enrolments have risen from 66,667 in 2005-06 to 79,565 in 2014-15, which is an increase of 19%. The balance between FE and HE full-time numbers has been broadly consistent over the most recent four years at around 60:40.

25,705 25,671 25,056 25,938 28,600 31,132 32,012 31,313 31,827 32,384 40,962 43,213 43,234 45,381

48,856 49,116 49,361 47,657 48,327

47,181 25,255 23,789 22,714 22,417 21,201

20,222 16,608 16,481 16,864 16,333

354,697 375,482 398,606 389,736 339,865 282,535 222,665 202,135 202,810 201,113

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Figure 5: Number and Proportion of Enrolments by Mode and Level of Study

Full-Time HE Full-Time FE Part-Time HE Part-Time FE

22

52. Historically, part-time FE enrolments have included nearly all the programmes

that do not lead to recognised qualifications, or that lasted under 10 hours. The decrease in these very short programmes/non-recognised qualifications accounted for around 147,533 (77%) of the total reduction of 192,599 enrolments between 2007-08 and 2014-15, as shown in Figure 7 (below).

53. In 2014-15, there were 69,193 enrolments on these very short programmes/non-recognised qualifications. This represents 23% of all enrolments and account for 2,290,042 learning hours, 3% of SFC funded activity.

25,705

25,671

25,056

25,938

28,600

31,132

32,012

31,313

31,827

32,384

40,962

43,213

43,234

45,381

48,856

49,116

49,361

47,657

48,327

47,181

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Figure 6: Full time FE & HE students 2005-06 to 2014-15

Full-Time FE

Full-Time HE

23

54. Based on these 2014-15 figures, and assuming that a full-time FE student takes

640 hours to complete the course, one full-time FE student is equivalent to around 140 students on these short course programmes, as it takes an average of 4.6 hours per student to complete these courses.

119,436 139,566 137,248 132,577

114,372 92,010

75,977 65,916 57,609

47,235

61,202

67,028 79,478 79,588

62,644

42,652

23,825 21,918

22,045 21,958

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

180,000

200,000

220,000

240,000

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Figure 7: Enrolments lasting for under 10 hours and non-recognised qualifications 2005-06 to 2014-15

Enrolments under 10 hours in duration

Non-Recognised Qualifications

24

Section 5: SFC funded hours of learning

55. In this section, we will focus on SFC-funded hours of learning, in order to assess the impact of the Scottish Government policy of prioritising vocational courses for young people over very short or leisure programmes. Figure 8 provides a breakdown of SFC-funded hours of learning by age group.

56. In 2005-06, colleges delivered just under 78 million hours of learning. This

peaked in 2009-10 at 83.4 million hours. This decreased to 73.8 million hours in 2012-13 and by 2014-15, had increased to 76.3 million hours.

57. It should be noted that SFC learning hour targets were reduced by 4% in 2013-14 and used to fund SDS places. SFC’s learning hour target was subsequently increased again in 2013-14 by just under 7% from its 2012-13 figure, whilst SDS places were reduced for that academic year.

58. In addition, hours of learning targets were reduced by 5% between 2010-11 and 2011-12 for school college provision which, as has been explained, is now focused on senior phase high school pupils. Although there are fewer school / college places, the students affected are below the senior phase and therefore would still have had their full-time place at school.

59. The hours of learning for 16 to 24 year olds peaked in 2010-11 at 55.3 million

learning hours, falling to 52.3 million by 2012-13. Staying on rates at secondary

27.3 27.0 26.5 25.0 24.4 23.7 21.3 19.5 20.8 20.8

47.9 50.7 51.6 53.1 55.1 55.3 54.5

52.3 53.9 53.6

2.7 3.3 4.1 4.2 4.0 3.8 2.5

1.9 1.9 1.9

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Figure 8: Hours of learning (millions) by age group 2005-06 to 2014-15

under 16 aged 16-24 aged 25 and over

25

schools9 and the subsequent improvement in qualifications achieved at school may partly explain the reduced hours for the 16 to 24 age group.

60. In 2013-14, hours of learning for 16 to 24 year olds increased to 53.9 million. In 2014-15, this fell slightly to 53.6 million, although that remains 12% higher than in 2005-06.

61. It should be noted that SFC learning hour targets were reduced by 4% in 2012-13 and used to fund SDS places. SFC’s learning hour target was subsequently increased again in 2013-14 by just under 7% from its 2012-13 figure, whilst SDS places were reduced for that academic year. In 2005-06, 61% of all hours of learning were for 16 to 24 year olds and in 2014-15, this percentage was 70%.

62. SFC’s policy to prioritise course funding which would improve the student’s employment prospects over very short leisure programmes was expected to lead to a reduction in headcount. It was also expected to generate an increase in the average hours of learning undertaken by this reduced number of students. Figure 9, below, shows the changes in average hours of learning per student over the period 2005-06 and 2014-15. There has been an increase in average hours of learning per student over this period of 61%.

9 Scottish Government school attainment publication

http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/06/2579

26

249 246 240 247

278 311

366 376

392

401

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Figure 9: Average hours of learning per student 2005-06 to 2014-15

27

Section 6: Enrolments and hours of learning by gender

63. This section looks in more detail at the trends in number of enrolments and hours of learning broken down by gender.

64. Figure 10, below, shows student enrolments split by gender between 2005-06 and 2014-15. Females outnumbered males in each year, with females accounting for 51% of all enrolments in 2014-15. However there has been a narrowing of the gender gap as in 2005-06, females accounted for 58% of student enrolments.

Please note that the 2014-15 figures do not include 118 enrolments for whom the gender identity was declared as ‘other,’ or was not declared at all 65. Figure 11, below, looks at the enrolments for those of a working age (18 to 59

for females and 18 to 64 for males) split by subject area and by gender for the 2014-15 academic session.

66. It shows that some subject areas are dominated by males and others by females. Construction, Engineering and Nautical courses continue to be dominated by males, although in Construction and Nautical studies, the gap has decreased slightly (see Figure 11 of SFC’s 2013-14 Baseline Report)10. Females dominate Hairdressing and Beauty, Care, Art & Design and Languages & English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). The Scottish Government has asked SFC


188,981

200,244

214,992

215,453

197,934

177,753

150,441

141,655

144,731

145,254

257,638

267,911

274,618

268,019

240,588

205,252

170,205

155,931

155,097

151,639

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Figure 10: Student enrolments by gender 2005-06 to 2014-15

Male Female

http://www.sfc.ac.uk/web/FILES/Statistical_publications_SFCST012015_BaselineReportforAcademicYear201314/SFCST012015_Baseline_Report_for_Academic_Year_2013-14.pdf

28

to make it a strategic priority to address gender imbalance on college courses, and SFC is in the process of developing a Gender Action Plan11.

This table does not display the percentage of enrolments from students for whom the gender identity was declared as 'other', or was not declared at all. Percentage figures displayed are rounded and may not therefore total 100%.

11 Gender Action Plan

93%

92%

86%

69%

63%

55%

50%

49%

49%

42%

41%

39%

39%

38%

37%

36%

27%

5%

7%

8%

14%

31%

37%

44%

50%

50%

51%

58%

59%

61%

61%

62%

63%

64%

73%

95%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Nautical studies

Engineering

Construction

Land-based industries

Sport and Leisure

Computing and ICT

Media

Performing arts

Special Programmes

Education and training

Science

Business, management and administration

Hospitality and tourism

Languages and ESOL

Social subjects

Art and design

Care

Hairdressing, Beauty and Complementary…

Figure 11: Gender split by subject group for working age enrolments 2014-15

male

female

http://www.sfc.ac.uk/Priorities/Access/GenderActionPlan/GenderActionPlan.aspx

29

Section 7: Full-time students aged 16 to 24 funded by SFC

67. Consistent with Scottish Government policy, SFC has asked colleges to prioritise provision to improve the employability of young people in the 16-19 and 20-24 year-old age groups. Because young people often favour full-time provision, this has led to an increase in full-time students. In this section, we will look at full-time students and then look at trends in age, concentrating on the 16 to 24 age cohort as this age group has been prioritised by SFC for funding.

68. Of the 79,565 full-time students enrolled at Scotland’s colleges in 2014-15, 76,851 were funded by SFC with the remainder funded from other sources. This would include International Students or those funded via other Government agencies such as SDS. This would also include 1,370 ‘Associate Students’. An ‘Associate Student’ is a student for whom responsibility is shared by a College and a Higher Education Institution (HEI). The HEI acts as an awarding body for a course delivered partly by the college and partly by the HEI. Classes in the earlier years of the course tend to be delivered by the college, and the later years tend to be delivered by the HEI.

69. In this section we only look at students funded by SFC, as SFC does not collect information on planned learning hours for students funded from other sources.

Table F: Full-time, SFC-funded students in 2014-15 split by age cohort Aged under 16 Aged 16 to 17 Aged 18 to 19 Aged 20 to 24 Aged over 25

427 13,557 26,252 18,416 18,199 70. The 16 to 24 age group is considered a priority for funding by the Scottish

Government. Table F, above, shows that 58,225 (76%) of full-time SFC funded students were in this age cohort.

71. Figure 12, below, shows the number of full-time SFC funded 16 to 24 year old students broken down by age group. When compared with 2013-14 figures, the number of 16 to 17 year olds and the number of 18 to 19 year olds fell slightly by 942 and 505 respectively. The number of 20 to 24 year olds increased by 165.

30

72. Figure 13, below, shows the number of male and female full-time SFC funded

students aged 16 to 24 from 2005-06 to 2014-15. It shows that 54% of full-time students aged 16 to 24 were female in 2008-09. The gender gap has closed among this cohort in the years since, with just under 52% of full-time students aged 16 to 24 being female in 2014-15.

12,168

12,994

12,844

13,630

15,727

16,987

17,870

17,574

18,251

18,416

18,089

19,449

19,525

20,513

23,711

25,319

26,834

26,543

26,757

26,252

18,276

18,583

18,632

19,344

18,406

17,299

16,600

14,479

14,499

13,557

-

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Figure 12: Full-Time (SFC Funded) students aged 16-17, 18-19, 20-24 from 2005-06 to 2014-15

Aged 16 to 17 Aged 18 to 19 Aged 20 to 24

31

This table excludes 21 enrolments from students for whom the gender identity was declared as 'other', or was not declared at all.

23,057

24,040

23,846

24,585

27,021

28,295

29,405

28,219

28,929

28,053

25,476

26,986

27,155

28,902

30,823

31,310

31,899

30,372

30,578

30,151

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Figure 13: Full time (SFC Funded) students aged 16 to 24 by gender 2005-06 to 2014-15

Full-Time Male Full-Time Female

32

Section 8: Students with a disability or additional learning needs

73. Figure 14 shows the trend in the number of learning hours for students with a recorded disability, and what these represent as a percentage of the total learning hours. In 2014-15, students with a recorded disability accounted for 12.3 million learning hours, an increase on the 2013-14 figure of 11.6 million learning hours (as per Figure 14 of the 2013-14 Baseline Report12). In 2014-15, these learning hours delivered to students with a recorded disability accounted for 16% of all student learning hours. The 2013-14 equivalent figure was 15%.


http://www.sfc.ac.uk/web/FILES/Statistical_publications_SFCST012015_BaselineReportforAcademicYear201314/SFCST012015_Baseline_Report_for_Academic_Year_2013-14.pdf

33

3,084,958 2,910,366

3,117,038 3,218,802

3,067,555 3,485,277

3,302,865 3,665,895

3,277,171 3,755,189

3,201,868 3,787,936

2,860,344 3,046,192

2,730,648 2,621,788

2,592,484 2,435,833

2,545,553 2,291,881

1,777,703 2,010,853

1,948,012 2,215,700

2,216,680 2,364,856

2,415,060 2,606,516

2,509,517 2,653,423

2,712,380 2,908,088

2,926,725 2,806,343

3,116,261 2,521,321

3,243,476 2,548,026

3,490,194 3,360,021

4,621,132

5,009,936

5,307,900

5,383,316

5,525,948

5,551,816

5,529,604

5,265,658

5,798,208

6,234,142

0 2,000,000 4,000,000 6,000,000 8,000,000 10,000,000 12,000,000

2005-06 disabled2005-06 not disabled










Figure 14: Learning hours for students with a disability or requiring additional support needs 2005-06 to 2014-15

Learning needs programmesMainstream programmes with learning needs

34

74. Of the 12.3 million learning hours delivered to students with a disability, 6.2 million (51%) was delivered via mainstream programmes without requiring any additional support. The rest was delivered via specialist programmes for students requiring additional support (2.5 million hours) and mainstream programmes that did require additional learning support (3.5 million hours).

75. It is important to note that it is not just disabled students requiring additional learning support and that an additional 5.7 million learning hours of additional support were provided to students without a declared disability.

76. Just under 2.3 million learning hours were delivered on specialist programmes for students without a declared disability requiring additional support. The remaining delivery of just under 3.4 million learning hours was to students without a declared disability requiring personalised additional support whilst enrolled on a mainstream programme of study. This means that, in total, 17.9 million hours of learning were delivered to students with a disclosed disability and non-disabled students requiring additional learning support. This is equivalent to 23% of all learning hours and represents an increase of over 1.3 million hours of learning delivered to this cohort of students when compared with 2013-14 – an 8% increase.

35

Section 9: Students from a black and minority ethnic (BME) background

77. There were 17,144 enrolments from a minority ethnic background in 2014-15,

which accounts for 5.8% of total enrolments. In 2013-14, this cohort accounted for 16,284 enrolments, or 5.4% of total enrolments. Of these 2014-15 enrolments from a minority ethnic background, 4,135 were from an African background whilst 3,020 were from a Pakistani background.

78. The hours of learning measure is based on SFC funded students for whom we collect information on planned learning hours. SFC does not collect information on planned learning hours for students funded from other sources. This is more likely to be the case for students from minority ethnic backgrounds who may travel from countries outwith the European Union to study a college course. International students (i.e. those outwith the European Union) are not eligible for SFC funding. Overall, 13,396 enrolments of the 17,144 enrolments from those from a minority ethnic background were funded by SFC, as displayed in Figure 15 (above).

1,295 836

2,590

252

1,070 1,682

205

3,357

357

1,752

191 1,179

430

62

256

243

26

778

51

532

-

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

Figure 15: Enrolments for students from a minority ethnic background 2014-15

Funded from other sources Funded by SFC

36

79. Figure 16, below, provides a more detailed look at the hours of learning for those from a minority ethnic background in 2014-15. Figure 15 provided a breakdown for the same minority ethnic groups by number of enrolments. Those from a minority ethnic background received 4.3 million hours of learning over a total of 13,396 SFC funded enrolments in 2014-15. This compares with the 4.1 million hours of learning delivered to this cohort in 2013-14.

80. Figure 17, below, provides a breakdown of hours of learning for SFC funded

students from a BME background (for those where ethnic background was disclosed) over the period 2005-06 to 2014-15. The figure also shows what these learning hours represent as a percentage of the total student learning hours.

-

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

Figure 16: Hours of learning for students from a minority ethnic background 2014-15

37

81. The number of learning hours delivered to those from a minority ethnic

background in 2014-15 was around 4.3 million. As Figure 17 shows, the number of learning hours delivered to this cohort peaked in 2008-09 at 4.3 million, and declined slowly before decreasing back up to a similar level in 2014-15. The 4.3 million learning hours delivered in 2014-15 is equivalent to around 5.6% of all activity. That is higher than the proportion of the population from minority ethnic backgrounds in Scotland (4% according to the 2011 Scottish Census)13. This represents an increase on the 2013-14 percentage of total learning hours delivered to students from minority ethnic backgrounds.

13 Scotland’s Census 2011

4.2

4.4

4.6

4.8

5.0

5.2

5.4

5.6

5.8

3,500,000

3,600,000

3,700,000

3,800,000

3,900,000

4,000,000

4,100,000

4,200,000

4,300,000

4,400,000

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

BME

stud

ent l

earn

ing

hour

s as a

per

cent

age

of to

tal l

earn

ing

hour

s

BME

stud

ent l

earn

ing

hour

s Figure 17: BME student learning hours as percentage of total learning hours, 2005-

06 to 2014-15

BME student learning hours BME learning hours as percentage of total learning hours

http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/

38

Section 10: Recognised qualifications and additional support needs

82. Figure 18 shows the number of student enrolments on courses which lead to recognised qualifications (including courses for students with additional support needs). Programmes that do not lead to a recognised qualification for students who require additional support are shown separately as are courses not leading to a recognised qualification for students who do not require any additional support.

83. Additional support courses (referred to as ‘Special Programmes’ in Figures 18 and 19, below) facilitate learning for those with learning difficulties separate to mainstream courses.

84. The focus on prioritising more substantial programmes that improve employment prospects has had an effect on the number of enrolments to non-recognised qualifications. Enrolment on non-recognised qualifications has decreased by 68% since 2007-08.

85. Whilst the absolute number of enrolments on recognised qualifications has also fallen from the peak figure in 2007-08, enrolments on these courses have increased from 59% of total enrolments in 2007-08 to 79% of total enrolments in 2014-15.

39

86. Figure 19 shows the hours of learning on courses which lead to recognised

qualifications, special programmes and non-recognised qualifications. In 2005-06 the percentage of learning hours leading to a recognised qualification was 91%. By 2014-15 it had increased to 97%.

87. In 2005-06, 9% of learning hours were delivered on courses that did not lead to a recognised qualification. In 2014-15 that fell to 3%.

88. There has been a notable reduction in the volume and percentage of learning hours delivered on special programmes in recent years.

288,672

277,304

288,603

284,305

272,766

256,416

229,678

216,915

226,709

233,239

16,180

18,824

19,617

20,928

18,923

15,806

12,417

9,927

8,068

6,401

141,767

172,027

181,390

178,239

146,833

110,783

78,551

70,744

65,051

57,371

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Figure 18: Recognised qualifications and special programmes by enrolment 2005-06 to 2014-15

Non-Recognised qualification Special Programs Recognised qualification

40

71,106,999

71,913,280

73,500,355

74,208,913

76,514,284

77,078,462

73,824,314

70,041,779

73,532,397

74,063,514

0

10,000,000

20,000,000

30,000,000

40,000,000

50,000,000

60,000,000

70,000,000

80,000,000

90,000,000

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Figure 19: Recognised qualifications and special programmes by hours of learning 2005-06 to 2014-15

Non-Recognised qualification Special Programs Recognised qualification

41

Section 11: Further information

89. The INFACT database14, available on the SFC website, allows for more detailed analysis of provision within Scotland’s colleges. Please note that figures on INFACT may differ from those presented here. FTE figures may differ as INFACT also includes FTE figures for students not funded by SFC. These students are not counted in the Baseline Report. Please also note that headcount figures may differ, as this report will count a student once irrespective of how many colleges they attended, whereas INFACT will count them at each college.

90. All charts and data shown in this report are available in an Excel spreadsheet from the main SFC contact. These charts are also available in an Excel spreadsheet on the SFC website15.

91. A publication detailing College Performance Indicators for 2014-15 can also be found on the SFC website16. Student numbers presented in the Baseline Report may differ from those contained in other publications, as the reports are prepared for different purposes. For example, the College Performance Indicators publication excludes students who begin courses in January and finish in December of the same year as results will not be available for these students until the course ends. However in the Baseline Report, activity relating to these students is counted.

92. College staffing data has not been included in this publication. SFC intends to publish this data in a separate publication in 2016.

93. The SFC publication Learning for All: Measures of Success17 presents statistics on widening access in the College and University sectors.

94. For further information or to comment on any aspect of this publication please contact Stephen Riddell, Tel: 0131 313 6658, email: [email protected]

14 INFACT database 15 Baseline Report background data 16 College Performance Indicators 2014-15 17 Learning for All: Measures of Success 2015

mailto:[email protected]://www.sfc.ac.uk/statistics/further_education_statistics/infact_database/infact_database.aspxhttp://www.sfc.ac.uk/communications/Statisticalpublications/2016/SFCST022016.aspxhttp://www.sfc.ac.uk/communications/Statisticalpublications/2016/SFCST012016.aspxhttp://www.sfc.ac.uk/communications/Statisticalpublications/2015/SFCST062015.aspx

42

Annex A: College Outcome Agreements

95. As part of the Outcome Agreement process, SFC introduced a National Performance Framework to be used to help measure and assess the impact of the Outcome Agreements across a range of key priority areas.

96. The table below shows the 2012-13 to 2014-15 figures for some of the measures, expressed in SUMs:

Table A1: Selected national performance measures, 2012-13 to 2014-15 SFC Priority Measure 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 Right learning in the right place

SUMS delivered 1,844,145 1,912,161 1,908,089 Proportion of SUMS delivered to learners aged 16-19 49.9% 49.0% 48.3% Proportion of SUMS delivered to learners aged 20-24 21.0% 21.5% 22.0% Proportion of SUMS delivered to full-time learners aged 16-19 55.5% 54.1% 52.5% Proportion of SUMS delivered to full-time learners aged 20-24 22.8% 22.9% 23.3%

Access for people from the widest range of backgrounds

Proportion of SUMS delivered to learners from the 10% most deprived areas 15.9% 16.3% 16.8% Proportion of SUMS relating to learners from different protected characteristic groups and care leavers (where data is available) Female 51.7% 51.8% 51.8% Male 48.3% 48.2% 48.2% BME 5.2% 5.3% 5.6% Disabled 15.1% 15.2% 16.1%

43

97. Further information and a summary of the progress of the College sector can be found on the SFC website18.

18 Information on Outcome Agreements and a summary of progress made

http://www.sfc.ac.uk/funding/OutcomeAgreements/OutcomeAgreementsOverview.aspx

Baseline Report for Academic Year 2014-15Issue date: Reference:Summary:FAO:14 January 2016SFC/ST/02/2016This publication provides an overview of college sector statistics from 2005-06 to 2014-15Principals and directors of Scotland’s and / or Further information:Scottish Funding CouncilApex 297 Haymarket TerraceEdinburghEH12 5HDT 0131 313 6500F 0131 313 6501www.sfc.ac.ukContentsContents 2List of figures/tables 3Section 1: Executive Summary 5Section 2: Measuring student numbers, volume of activity and changes in policy 7Section 3: Trends in student numbers and activity 12Section 4: Full and part-time enrolments and learning hours 19Section 5: SFC funded hours of learning 24Section 6: Enrolments and hours of learning by gender 27Section 7: Full-time students aged 16 to 24 funded by SFC 29Section 8: Students with a disability or additional learning needs 32Section 9: Students from a black and minority ethnic (BME) background 35Section 10: Recognised qualifications and additional support needs 38Section 11: Further information 41Annex A: College Outcome Agreements 42List of figures/tablesPageTable AStudents to Enrolments 2014-156Table B2005-06 to 2014-15 trends in student numbers and volume of activity in Scotland's colleges 8Table C2005-06 to 2014-15 timetable of significant changes in external factors affecting the Scottish College Sector9Table DPercentage of students enrolled on multiple courses 2012-13 to 2014-1512Table EWSUMs delivered vs target, 2005-06 to 2014-1515Table FFull-time SFC-funded students in 2014-15 split by age cohort 28Figure 1Number of students and enrolments 2005-06 to 2014-1511Figure 2WSUMS delivered against target 2005-06 to 2014-1513Figure 3FTEs delivered over the period 2005-06 to 2014-1516Figure 4aFurther and Higher Education enrolments 2005-06 to 2014-1518Figure 4bFurther and Higher Education enrolments (excluding part-time FE) 2005-06 to 2014-1519Figure 5Number and proportion of enrolments by mode and level of study 2005-06 to 2014-1520Figure 6Full-time FE and HE students 2005-06 to 2014-1521Figure 7Enrolments lasting for under 10 hours and non-recognised qualifications 2005-06 to 2014-1522Figure 8Hours of learning by age group 2005-06 to 2014-1523Figure 9Average hours of learning per student 2005-06 to 2014-1525Figure 10Student enrolments by gender 2005-06 to 2014-1526Figure 11Gender split by subject group for working age enrolments 2014-1527Figure 12Full-time, SFC-funded students aged 16-17, 18-19, 20-24 from 2005-06 to 2014-1529Figure 13Full-time, SFC-funded students aged 16 to 24 by gender 2005-06 to 2014-1530Figure 14Learning hours for students with a disability or requiring additional support needs 2005-06 to 2014-1532Figure 15Enrolments for students from a minority ethnic background 2014-1534Figure 16Hours of learning for students from a minority ethnic background 2014-1535Figure 17BME student learning hours as percentage of total learning hours 2005-06 to 2014-1536Figure 18Recognised qualifications and special programmes by enrolments 2005-06 to 2014-1538Figure 19Recognised qualifications and special programmes by hours of learning 2005-06 to 2014-1539Annex ASelected national performance measures 2012-13 to 2014-1541Microsoft Excel tables containing the background data behind all of the charts presented in this report can be found on the SFC website.Section 1: Executive Summary1. In 2014-15, Scotland’s colleges exceeded their target of 116,269 full-time equivalent (FTE) places. They delivered 119,078 funded FTEs through a combination of 118,407 SFC-funded places and an additional 671 Employability Fund places funded by Skills Development Scotland. An additional 2,286 FTEs, jointly funded by SFC and the European Social Fund (ESF), were also delivered. In total, colleges delivered 121,364 FTEs in 2014-15. Overall this represents an increase of 1.2% when compared with 2013-14. 2. Colleges have exceeded their SFC-funded activity targets in each of the last 10 academic years. They exceeded their target by 0.1% in 2014-15 and by an average of 2.4% between 2005-06 and 2014-15. 3. In 2014-15, there was a headcount of 226,919 students at Scotland’s colleges, whereas in 2013-14 there was a headcount of 238,399. This represents a decrease of 4.8%. 4. There were 66,667 full-time students in 2005-06, and 79,565 in 2014-15. Although the 2014-15 total does represent a slight fall from the high of 81,373 in 2011-12, full-time numbers have shown an overall increase of 19% from 2005-06 to 2014-15. 5. SFC expected to see a decrease in headcount from 2008-09 as colleges were asked to prioritise more substantive courses designed to improve students’ employment prospects and reduce the number of students enrolled on leisure programmes and very short (less than 10 hours) programmes of study. This policy is the main reason for the continued reduction in headcount from 379,233 in 2007-08 to 226,919 in 2014-15. To illustrate the impact on headcount, based on 2014-15 figures, a single full-time Further Education (FE) student is approximately equivalent to 140 students on these short programmes. 6. This prioritisation led to an increase in the average hours of learning per student from 249 hours in 2005-06 to 401 hours in 2014-15. That is an increase of 61% across that period.7. In academic year 2005-06, 9% of learning hours were delivered on courses that did not lead to a recognised qualification. By 2014-15, this had decreased to 3%.8. Whilst 58% of student enrolments were by females in 2005-06, the proportion fell to 51% in 2014-15. Female enrolments outnumbered male enrolments in every academic year from 2005-06 to 2014-15 although the gap has steadily narrowed. 9. The proportion of all SFC-funded learning hours delivered to those aged 16 to 24 increased from 61% in 2005-06 to 70% in 2014-15. This reflects the priority colleges have been asked to place on provision for young people. Section 2: Measuring student numbers, volume of activity and changes in policy10. Student activity can be measured in different ways and in this publication we make use of several metrics. The next section describes each of these measures and explains why they are useful, depending on what we are trying to describe. 2.1 Student Numbers

11. Headcount (students) – this is a count of individual students. The headcount figure enables a comparison with known Scotland population totals, where applicable, to give an idea of the level of participation amongst different cohorts of the population. Using headcount and enrolments together give a better indication of the level of student/college engagement. Using enrolments is also relevant when looking at some aspects of provision such as Performance Indicators. 12. Enrolments – each time an individual engages on a new programme of study, they are counted as an enrolment. There are various reasons why a student may enrol on more than one programme of study such as progression from an introductory course to a higher level of study, or to widen their skillset in order to help improve their employment prospects. For this reason, the number of enrolments is usually greater than the headcount. Table A, below, illustrates the relationship between the number of students, the number of courses taken and enrolments for the 2014-15 session. Table A: Students to Enrolments 2014-15Number of students (headcount)Number of courses takenEnrolments174,9031174,90339,599279,1988,812326,4352,32049,2781,2855 or more7,196226,919297,0112.2 Volume of activity

13. Hours of learning – this quantifies the total hours of learning undertaken. 14. Student Units of Measurement (SUMs) – 1 SUM is equal to 40 hours of learning. 15. Weighted SUMS (WSUMs) – WSUMs are derived by multiplying the SUM figure by the ‘weight’ – that is, the relative cost to a college of delivering different subjects. 16. Full-time equivalent (FTE) – All full-time students count as one FTE. For part-time students, FTE is based on the number of SUMs delivered to them. For further information on deriving college WSUMS and FTEs, please refer to page 30 to 32 of the 2012-13 Baseline Publication. 17. College participation is complex, meaning the number and profile of students attending college can fluctuate substantially depending on a range of external factors (see Section 2.3: Impact of External Changes for further information) such as changes in economic conditions, demographics and Scottish Government policy. However these external factors have little impact on the overall volume of activity delivered by colleges. For this reason, volume measures are the best way of comparing funded activity over time. 18. Table B below shows the trend from 2005-06 to 2014-15 for each of the metrics used in this report. 19. Table B below shows differing trends for each metric and these will be explored in further detail in the rest of this report. Part of the explanation for the changes in the trends can be explained by external factors which impact on the sector, for instance government policy and economic conditions. These trends should be read in the context of such changes. The following section briefly describes the main external changes and their effect. Table B: 2005-06 to 2014-15 trend in student numbers and volume of activity in Scotland's colleges Student NumbersVolume of ActivityAcademic YearHeadcountEnrolmentsSUMSWSUMS delivered incl ESFHours of LearningFTE2005-06350,410446,6191,949,9422,217,36178,002,240116,2982006-07363,597468,1552,025,8212,322,00581,032,840120,8082007-08379,233489,6102,054,4462,379,80282,177,840122,6412008-09374,986483,4722,056,9912,407,80482,279,640123,0312009-10347,336438,5222,085,7602,442,89983,432,840124,6702010-11305,969383,0052,069,7962,448,30982,794,180124,650*2011-12257,913320,6461,957,8862,326,88584,048,520122,068*2012-13238,805297,5861,844,1452,196,67479,403,362119,161**2013-14238,399299,8281,912,1612,279,42276,486,439119,957**2014-15226,919297,0111,908,0892,315,21376,323,551121,364***includes ESF FTEs** includes SDS and ESF FTEs2.3 Impact of external changes

Table C: 2005-06 to 2014-15: Timetable of significant changes in external factors affecting the Scottish College SectorDateChangeImpact on the trends presented in this report2008-09Colleges asked to prioritise more substantial courses designed to improve employment prospectsReduction in number of students enrolled on very short programmes of study unlikely to lead to employment or higher level of study. Corresponding increase in the number of full-time students and those on courses leading to recognised qualifications.2011-12Decision to focus school/college courses towards the senior phase of high schoolReduction in college activity targets of 5%, but students continue to have a full-time place at school.2012-13Introduction of College Outcome Agreements Transfer of funded learning hours from SFC to Skills Development Scotland (SDS)Reduction in SFC funded learning hours delivered to those aged 16 to 24, with this activity being commissioned by SDS.2.3 Regional Outcome Agreements

20. Regional Outcome Agreements were introduced in Academic year 2012-13. They are intended to enable SFC and colleges to demonstrate the impact of the sector and its contribution in meeting Scottish Government priorities. 21. A National Performance Framework (see Annex A) has been created as part of the Outcome Agreement process to help assess the impact of the sector. The framework consists of a set of measures which have been selected to monitor performance across a range of priorities. Annex A also reports on the 2012-13 to 2014-15 figures for some of the measures, where data is available. 22. Further details on Outcome Agreements are available on the SFC website: 23. From Academic Year 2015-16, SFC is implementing a simplified approach to college funding, where WSUMs targets will be replaced with Credit targets. Further information on this can be found in the Simplified Approach to College Funding update newsletter, on the SFC website. Section 3: Trends in student numbers and activity24. In this section we take a high level look at the sector in terms of headcount and enrolments, and then the level of activity, examining the trends in both. 3.1 Student numbers and enrolments

/25. Figure 1 shows that, in 2014-15, there was a fall in student numbers from 238,399 in 2013-14 to 226,919 in 2014-15, a fall of 11,480 (4.8%). Enrolments remained broadly stable, reducing from 299,828 in 2013-14 to 297,011 in 2014-15 – a decrease of 2,817 enrolments (0.9%). 26. The 2014-15 headcount figures represent a decrease of 152,314 students from the 2007-08 peak. As has been made clear, this trend is primarily explained by the shift from very short courses of limited economic value to more substantive programmes leading to recognised qualifications. 27. Funding for Colleges increased by over 8% between 2007-08 and 2010-11. In that same time period, student headcount fell by 73,264. That represents 48% of the total reduction from the 2007-08 peak. 28. We have already illustrated in Table A in section 2 that students can enrol on more than one course. That table provides an overview of the number of courses taken by college students. Over the academic year 2014-15, 52,015 students were enrolled on multiple courses. Table D, below, shows how the percentage of students on multiple courses between 2012-13 and 2014-15 has been increasing steadily.Table D: Percentage of students enrolled on multiple courses: 2012-13 to 2014-15Number of Courses TakenPercentage of Students in 2012-13Percentage of Students in 2013-14Percentage of students in 2014-15182.4%81.7%77.1%213.0%13.5%17.5%33.1%3.2%3.9%41.0%1.0%1.0%5 or more0.5%0.6%0.6%29. Before exploring the student and enrolment figures in more detail, the next section will look at the changes in the volume of activity across the sector. 3.2 Volume of activity

30. SFC funds colleges to deliver a specified number of learning hours per academic year. This section looks at how the volume of college activity has changed between 2005-06 and 2014-15. 31. Normally expressed as WSUMS, this hours of learning target for 2014-15 equates to 2,267,905. /32. Figure 2 shows the number of WSUMs delivered by the college sector over the 2005-06 to 2014-15 period. The sector exceeded its WSUMs target in each academic year. As noted in 2.3: Impact of external changes, there were two main changes in Government policy which impacted on this trend, which are considered below. 33. College WSUMs targets fell between 2010-11 and 2011-12 as a result of the decision to focus school / college courses towards senior phase school pupils. Where in 2010-11, colleges were asked to deliver 8.3% of their WSUMs to pupils attending college programmes as part of their studies, in 2011-12 this was reduced to 3% of the total WSUMs target. Prior to 2011-12, school / college provision had been delivered to learners in all school years including primary school. It should be noted that although college activity targets were reduced by 5%, this did not lead to 5% fewer students in education. The pupils affected had not yet reached the senior phase and therefore would have continued their education on a full-time basis at school. 34. The Schools for Higher Education programme (SHEP) funded by SFC, contributes to this by providing information, advice and guidance in schools which have traditionally low progression rates to Higher Education (HE). It aspires to assist in improving school staying-on rates at these schools along with progression to HE in College or University. Further information on the SHEP programme can be found on the SFC website. 35. In 2012-13 the Scottish Government asked colleges to deliver the New College Learning Programme (NCLP), a programme of learning managed by SDS, focused on targeting gaps in learner and employer needs. SFC’s WSUMs target was reduced by 4% in order to transfer funding to SDS to deliver the NCLP. 36. The Employability Fund was introduced in 2013-14 to improve learner progression along the skills and employability pipeline. A portion of the Employability Fund is ring fenced for college activity co-commissioned by SDS and Local Employability Partners. This activity is captured in the total headcount, enrolment and FTE numbers for 2013-14 and 2014-15. 37. Table E below provides a tabular view of the figures presented in Figure 2. It also shows the number of WSUMS delivered above target each year along with the number of WSUMs above target as a percentage of the WSUMs target for that year. Table E: WSUMS delivered vs target, 2005-06 to 2014-15 WSUMS targetWSUMS delivered excluding ESFPercentage above target2005-062,172,3112,217,3612.1%2006-072,274,4092,322,0052.1%2007-082,301,7032,379,8023.4%2008-092,304,1542,407,8044.5%2009-102,319,1282,442,8995.3%2010-112,322,7132,380,3222.5%2011-122,233,1402,276,8342.0%2012-132,111,7692,143,9211.5%2013-142,252,7912,273,2900.9%2014-152,267,9052,270,0240.1%38. Figure 3, below, provides an overview of college delivery in terms of FTE places. It shows that Scotland’s colleges delivered 118,407 SFC-funded FTE places in 2014-15. 39. An analysis of SDS’s Corporate Training System records indicates that the Employability Fund starts spend on average 9.8 weeks in college and work experience, based on 2013-14 figures. Relative to the typical (median) length of a full-time FE enrolment (36 weeks), these starts amount to an estimated 671 FTEs in 2014-15. 40. The European Social Fund (ESF) project also provided 2,286 FTEs which are part-funded by SFC. 41. Overall, 121,364 FTEs were delivered in 2014-15 by Scotland’s colleges, which represents an increase of 1.2% on the 2013-14 total of 119,957. 42. FTEs are useful for comparison and funding purposes. By measuring in FTEs, we get a better representation of the actual volume of activity delivered by colleges. /43. Each academic year, Scotland’s colleges are targeted with delivering 116,269 FTE places. SFC-funded activity and SDS Employability fund activity are both counted towards this target. ESF activity, which SFC funds in conjunction with the European Social Fund, does not however count towards this target. It should be noted that, due to a change in data collection methodology, 598 FTE places delivered at HE level by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) are not included in our FTEs delivered figures from 2013-14 onwards, but are still included in the 116,269 target.44. Although the FTE values in Figure 3 do show a reduction in FTEs delivered between 2009-10 and 2014-15, this is mainly explained by colleges delivering more activity over their WSUMS targets in 2009-10 than in later years, and by the reduction in school/college provision from 2011-12 onwards as alluded to earlier in this report. Targets were reduced again in 2012-13 but increased in 2013-14 and FTEs delivered also increased from the academic year 2013-14. Just over 8% of college activity was targeted towards school college provision prior to 2011-12 but was reduced to 3% from 2011-12. At the same time, school-college provision was focussed on the senior phase. This reduced the number of college places for those in lower school years (including primary school) but these students would have continued to receive full-time schooling. 45. So far, this Baseline Report has shown high level trends in terms of student headcounts and enrolments. It has also shown performance against WSUMs targets (based on hours of learning) and the number of FTEs delivered over the period. The rest of the publication takes a more detailed look at important sub-groups and provides more detail on activity delivered in academic year 2014-15. For this more detailed look, we have used the enrolment and learning hour measures. Section 4: Full and part-time enrolments and learning hours46. Figure 4a provides a detailed breakdown of full and part-time enrolments for Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) courses delivered in Scotland’s colleges over the 2005-06 to 2014-15 period. /47. Figure 4a shows a slight reduction in total enrolment numbers of 2,817 between 2013-14 and 2014-15. This is attributable to slight reductions in enrolments to full-time FE, and part-time FE and HE courses. By 2014-15, part-time FE enrolment numbers had fallen from their peak in 2007-08 by 197,493. 48. Part-time HE numbers also fell between 2005-06 and 2014-15, although numbers in this category make up a far smaller share of overall activity. There was a small reduction in enrolments to part-time HE courses in 2014-15, with this number having risen in 2013-14. Enrolments to full-time HE courses rose to 32,384 in 2014-15. This full-time HE enrolment total was the highest it has been over this ten year period. Figure 4b, below, allows a closer analysis of trends amongst these cohorts. /49. Figure 5, below, shows the proportion of enrolments, examined by mode of study, full-time (FT) and part-time (PT) and by level of study (FE and HE) from 2005-06 to 2014-15. /50. The graph shows the shift in activity over this period towards more full-time activity, particularly at HE level. 51. Figure 6, below, shows that full-time student enrolments have risen from 66,667 in 2005-06 to 79,565 in 2014-15, which is an increase of 19%. The balance between FE and HE full-time numbers has been broadly consistent over the most recent four years at around 60:40. /52. Historically, part-time FE enrolments have included nearly all the programmes that do not lead to recognised qualifications, or that lasted under 10 hours. The decrease in these very short programmes/non-recognised qualifications accounted for around 147,533 (77%) of the total reduction of 192,599 enrolments between 2007-08 and 2014-15, as shown in Figure 7 (below).53. In 2014-15, there were 69,193 enrolments on these very short programmes/non-recognised qualifications. This represents 23% of all enrolments and account for 2,290,042 learning hours, 3% of SFC funded activity. /54. Based on these 2014-15 figures, and assuming that a full-time FE student takes 640 hours to complete the course, one full-time FE student is equivalent to around 140 students on these short course programmes, as it takes an average of 4.6 hours per student to complete these courses.Section 5: SFC funded hours of learning55. In this section, we will focus on SFC-funded hours of learning, in order to assess the impact of the Scottish Government policy of prioritising vocational courses for young people over very short or leisure programmes. Figure 8 provides a breakdown of SFC-funded hours of learning by age group. /56. In 2005-06, colleges delivered just under 78 million hours of learning. This peaked in 2009-10 at 83.4 million hours. This decreased to 73.8 million hours in 2012-13 and by 2014-15, had increased to 76.3 million hours. 57. It should be noted that SFC learning hour targets were reduced by 4% in 2013-14 and used to fund SDS places. SFC’s learning hour target was subsequently increased again in 2013-14 by just under 7% from its 2012-13 figure, whilst SDS places were reduced for that academic year.58. In addition, hours of learning targets were reduced by 5% between 2010-11 and 2011-12 for school college provision which, as has been explained, is now focused on senior phase high school pupils. Although there are fewer school / college places, the students affected are below the senior phase and therefore would still have had their full-time place at school. 59. The hours of learning for 16 to 24 year olds peaked in 2010-11 at 55.3 million learning hours, falling to 52.3 million by 2012-13. Staying on rates at secondary schools and the subsequent improvement in qualifications achieved at school may partly explain the reduced hours for the 16 to 24 age group. 60. In 2013-14, hours of learning for 16 to 24 year olds increased to 53.9 million. In 2014-15, this fell slightly to 53.6 million, although that remains 12% higher than in 2005-06. 61. It should be noted that SFC learning hour targets were reduced by 4% in 2012-13 and used to fund SDS places. SFC’s learning hour target was subsequently increased again in 2013-14 by just under 7% from its 2012-13 figure, whilst SDS places were reduced for that academic year. In 2005-06, 61% of all hours of learning were for 16 to 24 year olds and in 2014-15, this percentage was 70%.62. SFC’s policy to prioritise course funding which would improve the student’s employment prospects over very short leisure programmes was expected to lead to a reduction in headcount. It was also expected to generate an increase in the average hours of learning undertaken by this reduced number of students. Figure 9, below, shows the changes in average hours of learning per student over the period 2005-06 and 2014-15. There has been an increase in average hours of learning per student over this period of 61%. /Section 6: Enrolments and hours of learning by gender63. This section looks in more detail at the trends in number of enrolments and hours of learning broken down by gender. 64. Figure 10, below, shows student enrolments split by gender between 2005-06 and 2014-15. Females outnumbered males in each year, with females accounting for 51% of all enrolments in 2014-15. However there has been a narrowing of the gender gap as in 2005-06, females accounted for 58% of student enrolments. /Please note that the 2014-15 figures do not include 118 enrolments for whom the gender identity was declared as ‘other,’ or was not declared at all65. Figure 11, below, looks at the enrolments for those of a working age (18 to 59 for females and 18 to 64 for males) split by subject area and by gender for the 2014-15 academic session. 66. It shows that some subject areas are dominated by males and others by females. Construction, Engineering and Nautical courses continue to be dominated by males, although in Construction and Nautical studies, the gap has decreased slightly (see Figure 11 of SFC’s 2013-14 Baseline Report). Females dominate Hairdressing and Beauty, Care, Art & Design and Languages & English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). The Scottish Government has asked SFC to make it a strategic priority to address gender imbalance on college courses, and SFC is in the process of developing a Gender Action Plan. /This table does not display the percentage of enrolments from students for whom the gender identity was declared as 'other', or was not declared at all. Percentage figures displayed are rounded and may not therefore total 100%. Section 7: Full-time students aged 16 to 24 funded by SFC67. Consistent with Scottish Government policy, SFC has asked colleges to prioritise provision to improve the employability of young people in the 16-19 and 20-24 year-old age groups. Because young people often favour full-time provision, this has led to an increase in full-time students. In this section, we will look at full-time students and then look at trends in age, concentrating on the 16 to 24 age cohort as this age group has been prioritised by SFC for funding. 68. Of the 79,565 full-time students enrolled at Scotland’s colleges in 2014-15, 76,851 were funded by SFC with the remainder funded from other sources. This would include International Students or those funded via other Government agencies such as SDS. This would also include 1,370 ‘Associate Students’. An ‘Associate Student’ is a student for whom responsibility is shared by a College and a Higher Education Institution (HEI). The HEI acts as an awarding body for a course delivered partly by the college and partly by the HEI. Classes in the earlier years of the course tend to be delivered by the college, and the later years tend to be delivered by the HEI. 69. In this section we only look at students funded by SFC, as SFC does not collect information on planned learning hours for students funded from other sources. Table F: Full-time, SFC-funded students in 2014-15 split by age cohortAged under 16Aged 16 to 17Aged 18 to 19Aged 20 to 24Aged over 2542713,55726,25218,41618,19970. The 16 to 24 age group is considered a priority for funding by the Scottish Government. Table F, above, shows that 58,225 (76%) of full-time SFC funded students were in this age cohort.71. Figure 12, below, shows the number of full-time SFC funded 16 to 24 year old students broken down by age group. When compared with 2013-14 figures, the number of 16 to 17 year olds and the number of 18 to 19 year olds fell slightly by 942 and 505 respectively. The number of 20 to 24 year olds increased by 165. /72. Figure 13, below, shows the number of male and female full-time SFC funded students aged 16 to 24 from 2005-06 to 2014-15. It shows that 54% of full-time students aged 16 to 24 were female in 2008-09. The gender gap has closed among this cohort in the years since, with just under 52% of full-time students aged 16 to 24 being female in 2014-15. /This table excludes 21 enrolments from students for whom the gender identity was declared as 'other', or was not declared at all.Section 8: Students with a disability or additional learning needs73. Figure 14 shows the trend in the number of learning hours for students with a recorded disability, and what these represent as a percentage of the total learning hours. In 2014-15, students with a recorded disability accounted for 12.3 million learning hours, an increase on the 2013-14 figure of 11.6 million learning hours (as per Figure 14 of the 2013-14 Baseline Report). In 2014-15, these learning hours delivered to students with a recorded disability accounted for 16% of all student learning hours. The 2013-14 equivalent figure was 15%./74. Of the 12.3 million learning hours delivered to students with a disability, 6.2 million (51%) was delivered via mainstream programmes without requiring any additional su

Baseline Report for Academic Year 2014-152. Colleges have exceeded their SFC -funded activity targets in each of the last 10 academic years. They exceeded their target by 0.1% in 2014-15

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