1. Academic Standards Committee
Student Population Statistics
February 2018

2. 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17 Full-Time First Degree Entrants: Non-continuation following Year of Entry
HESA’s Performance Indicator, T3 – Non-continuation following year of entry, measures the proportion of full-time, first degree entrants who continued in the following year, as distinct from those who either withdraw or fail to re-enrol.
The published tables for T3 consider only Home students, whereas the statistics shown here for Bournemouth are for all full-time first degree new entrants. However the figures are comparable as the BU measure quoted for 2014/15 year of entry is 89.9% and HESA’s published Continue/Qualify rate for BU for 2014/15 entry is 91.0% (1.1% difference).
The sector average in 2014/15, from HESA Performance Indicators, was 90.3%.
The c. 10% non-continuation rate from the first year forms roughly half of the c. 20% eventual dropout rate across the length of a full-time first degree. As such, trends in the year of entry measure are predictive of trends in final completion rates after 4+ years.
Excluding Partner Institutions, the Continue/Qualify rate at BU has risen 2.1% from 88.5% in 2015/16 to 90.6% in 2016/17.
The HESA PI definition ignores pre-1st December withdrawals. If the population is widened to include these students, the BU Campus Continue/Qualify rate is slightly lower at 88.9% in 2016/17.

3. 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17 Full-Time First Degree Entrants: Non-continuation following Year of Entry
Within the BU figure of 90.6% Continued or Qualified in 2016/17, there is some variation between Faculties.
The Faculty of Health and Social Sciences has a continuation rate of 92.2%, while the Faculty of Management has a continuation rate of 88.9%.
Across the sector, Computer Science (based on JACS subject category) had the highest proportion of 2014/15 students no longer in HE at 10.7%, compared with 6.2% sector average across all subjects. The proportion of students no longer in HE does not include transfers to other HEIs: “continued or qualified”, “transferred to another HEI” and “no longer in HE” constitutes the HESA population. And although HESA differentiate these last two categories in their data, we cannot do so internally, as we do not know which students have transferred and which have left HE.
continuation rates at department level range from 95.9% for Archaeology, Anthropology and Forensic Science to 84.1% for Law.
The three year trend line shows where departmental 2016/17 continuation rates are atypical over the period.
At sector level, 5.7% of 2014/15 Law students were no longer in HE, slightly better than the sector average of 6.2%, while for Physical Sciences the sector figure was 4.4%.

4. 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17 Full-Time First Degree Entrants: Non-continuation following Year of Entry by Entry Qualification
When viewed by Qualification on Entry type, there is a marked difference between Continue/Qualify rates for those with A/AS Level qualifications and Level 3 Diplomas (dominated by BTEC qualifications). For 2016/17, the Continue/Qualify rate for A/AS Level was 91.9% while for Level 3 Diplomas (including BTEC) it was 82.5%, a gap of 9.4%.
Across the 3 years, the overall Continue/Qualify rate for A/AS Levels was 91.7%, while that from level 3 Diplomas was 83.4%.
Continue/Qualify rates vary little by tariff points, particularly looking at all three years’ data. The 3-year trend line is almost flat around the 90% mark from 220 points to 360 points.
Within qualification types, continuation following year of entry also does not vary significantly by tariff points on entry: rather the rate at any given tariff range is similar to the average for the qualification type across all tariff ranges.
The slight underperformance in the overall trend at and tariff bands is influenced by the existence of BTEC triple combinations in these ranges. An equivalent dip at , visible in last year’s dataset is not clear on data (or in the 3-year trend).
Continue/Qualify rates are higher for A/AS Level students with 220 points (95.6%) than Level 3 Diploma students with 360 points (84.9%).

5. 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17 Full-Time First Degree Entrants: Non-continuation following Year of Entry by Ethnic Origin
In considering non-continuation by ethnic origin, the population has been limited to Home (BU + PI) students.
For 2016/17 academic year of entry, the continue/qualify rate for home BME students was 86.1%, compared with 89.8% for non BME students, a gap of 3.7%.
While the continuation rate for non-BME students has remained relatively stable across the 3 years (89.8% in 2016/17 compared with 90.5% in 2014/15), the continuation rate for BME students has fallen from 88.5% in 2014/15 to 86.1% in 2016/17.
As described above, qualification on entry is one of the strongest influencing factors for progression, with BTEC students significantly underperforming relative to student with A-levels.
The continue/qualify rate for BME students with A-levels is 92.2% which is comparable with the 91.7% rate for non-BME students. However, the continue/qualify for BTEC BME students is 79.9%, compared with 83.3% for non-BME students, a difference of 3.4%.
There is also a difference of -5.6% for students with “Other Level 3 qualifications”, increasingly used by UCAS to denote students with a mix of level 3 qualifications, such as A-level and BTEC.

6. 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17 Full-Time First Degree Entrants: Non-continuation following Year of Entry by Low Participation Neighbourhood (LPN)
In considering Non-continuation by LPN category, the population has been limited to Home, Young (under 21 on entry) students.
Continue/Qualify rate for LPN students has risen from 86.9% to 89.9% between 2014/15 and 2016/17 entry, while over the same period, non-LPN Continue/Qualify rates have remained relatively stable, moving from 91.5% in 2014/15 to 90.0% in
The most recent sector data, for 2014/15 entry, shows a Continue/Qualify rate of 88.8% for LPN students compared with 91.6% for Home, Young students not from an LPN, a difference of 2.8%. This is less than the difference of -4.6% for BU LPN students in 2014/15, but considerably more than the -0.1% difference for BU LPN students in 2016/17.
As described above, Qualification on Entry is a significant predictor of progression.
The opposing graph shows the progression of 2016/17 entrants by LPN and Qualification on Entry.
For all qualification types, continuation rates are very similar for LPN and non-LPN students.

7. 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17 Full-Time First Degree Entrants: Non-continuation following Year of Entry by Disability
The Continue/Qualify rate for ALS students has remained stable at between 87.5% and 86.9% between 2014/15 and 2016/17 entry.
The Continue/Qualify rate for non-ALS students has also been relatively stable, moving from 90.2% in 2014/15 to 89.4% in
Over the last 3 years, the continuation rate for ALS students has, on average, been 2.1% lower for ALS students, although this has varied between -1% for 2015/16 entry to -2.7% for 2014/15 entry.
Overlaying Qualification on Entry on continuation rates by Disability shows that this difference remains when considering qualification on entry profile.
The Continue/Qualify rate for ALS students with A-levels is, at 89.9%, 2.3% lower than the non-ALS rate at 92.2%.
This pattern is repeated for BTEC students, where the is an 80.8% continuation rate for ALS students which is 2.0% less than the 82.9% rate for non-ALS students.
However, taking A-level and Other Level 3 qualifications (predominantly mixtures of A-level with other Level 3 qualification types) together the rates are very close, at 91.3% for ALS and 91.5% for non-ALS students

8. 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14 Full-time First Degree Entrants: Outcomes
HESA’s Performance Indicator, T5 – Projected Learning Outcomes, projects the proportion of full-time, first degree entrants who will leave with a degree, based upon the pattern of transitions between student year n to year n+1 in BU’s 2014/15 and 2015/16 HESA returns.
The BU measure presented here records actual outcomes for 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14 academic year of entry after six, five and four years respectively, and compares them to HESA projections.
The Continued/Qualified rate has fallen from 82.2% for 2011/12 first degree entrants to 80.4% for 2013/14 entrants. This compares to a 2013/14 HESA sector average of 81.3%.
HESA’s modelling of our 2013/14 first degree qualifying rates is 80.0%, a close match to the observed figure; but the BU figures are based on actual qualifiers rather than a projection. HESA project a figure of 79.3% for our 2014/15 entrants which, if accurate, would be a c. 1% fall in qualifying rate.
Considering just first degree students at BU campus, the Continued/Qualified rate for 2012/13 entrants varied from 84.8% in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences to 75.9% in the Faculty of Science and Technology.

9. 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14 Full-time First Degree Entrants: Outcomes by Department (BU Excl. PI)
2013/14 Continue/Qualify rates at department level range from 88.1% for Human Sciences and Public Health to 60.8% for Creative Technology.
The three year trend line shows where departmental 2013/14 Continue/Qualify rates are atypical over the period.
As with their T3 (Non-continuation following year of entry) indicator, HESA exclude withdrawals before 1st December in the year of entry from their measure. Including these students would reduce the BU Campus overall figure from 80.2% to 78.5%.

10. 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14 Full-time First Degree Entrants: Outcomes by Entry Qualification Type
Outcomes for First Degrees are very different by Qualification on Entry type. Across the 3 years, the average Continue/Qualify rate for students with A/AS Level qualifications is 85.3%, whereas for students with Level 3 Diplomas it is 64.3%, a 21% difference.
The graph also shows that the fall in Continue/Qualify rate overall across the 3 years is much less marked for A/AS level students. Overall, the Continue/Qualify rate fell by 1.8% from 82.3% to 80.4% while the rate for students with A/AS Levels fell from 86.2% to 85.7%.
Outcomes vary little by tariff points, particularly looking at all three years’ data. The 3-year trend line is almost flat around the 80% mark from 220 points to 360 points.
Peaks and troughs in the 3-year trend are influenced by the availability of BTEC combinations. Troughs occur at tariff scores which represent possible BTEC triple award combinations: “MMM” at 240; “DMM” at 280; “DDM” at 320; “DDD” at 360. The L3 Diploma peak at represents a very small population (9 students).
2013/14 Continue/Qualify rates are higher for A/AS Level students with 240 points (80.8%) than Level 3 Diploma students with 360+ points (64.1%).

11. 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14 Full-time First Degree Entrants: Outcomes by Ethnic Origin
In considering outcomes by ethnic origin, the population has been limited to Home (BU + PI) students.
For 2013/14 academic year of entry, the continue/qualify rate for Home BME students was 72.6%, compared with 81.7% for non-BME students, a gap of 9.0%.
While the Continue/Qualify rate for non-BME students has remained relatively stable across the 3 years (82.9% for 2011/12 entry compared with 81.7% for 2013/14 entry), the continuation rate for BME students has fallen from 78.4% in 2011/12 to 72.6% in 2013/14.
This outcome for 2013/14 BME students varies considerably by qualification on entry:
The Continue/Qualify rate for BME students with A-levels is 81.9% compared with an 86.1% rate for non-BME students (a difference of 4.2%). However, the Continue/Qualify rate for BTEC BME students is 52.3%, compared with 65.0% for non-BME students, a difference of 12.7%.
There is also a difference of -24.5% for students with “Other Level 3 qualifications”, increasingly used by UCAS to denote students with a mix of level 3 qualifications, such as A-level and BTEC.

12. 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14 Full-time First Degree Entrants: Outcomes by LPN
Full-time First Degree outcomes by LPN are given for Home students under 21 on entry.
For 2013/14 academic year of entry, the Continue/Qualify rate for LPN students was 78.6%, compared with 80.9% for Young, Home non-LPN students.
The overall Continue Qualify rate for Home Young students has fallen slightly across the 3 years from 82.8% in 2011/12 to 80.7% in 2013/14, while the Continue/Qualify rate for LPN students rose slightly from 77.5% to 78.6%.
When considering LPN outcomes alongside Qualification on Entry, the variation in Continue/Qualify rates generally reflects differences in entry qualification rather than LPN status.
The Continue/Qualify rate for LPN students with A-levels is 86.2%, nearly identical to the 86.0% rate for non-LPN students. The Continue/Qualify rate for BTEC LPN students is, at 60.0%, comparable with 62.9% for non-LPN students.
Although outcomes are similar by entry qualification for LPN and non-LPN students, 2013/14 LPN Continue/Qualify rates are 2.3% lower overall due principally to a higher proportion of LPN students with BTEC qualifications (27%) compared with non-LPN students (17%).

13. 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14 Full-time First Degree Entrants: Outcomes by Disability
Across the three years, the average Continue Qualify rate for ALS students was 78.4% compared with 81.3% for non ALS students, a difference of 2.9%.
This difference has narrowed from a 3.9% gap for 2011/12 entrants to a 2.8% gap for 2013/14 entrants.
However, as with degree outcomes more generally, the Continue Qualify rate for ALS students has fallen across the period, by 1%, from 79.0% for 2011/12 entrants to 78.0% for 2013/14 entrants.
The Continue/Qualify rate for non-ALS students fell by 2.0% from 82.8% for 2011/12 entrants to 80.8% for 2013/14 entrants.
When viewed by qualification on entry, the Continue/Qualify profile by qualification type is similar for ALS and non-ALS students.
Although the profile is broadly similar by qualification type, the overall difference in completion rate of c. -2% is present within the A/AS Level population.
The 2013/14 Continue/Qualify rate for ALS students with A-levels is 83.7%, 2.3% less that the the 86.0% rate for non-ALS students with A-levels.

14. 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17 Undergraduate Award Classification
This information considers students qualifying with an honours degree only; students qualifying with a lower award are not included. Analysis includes all modes of study (part-time, distance learning, etc: not just full-time).
After a slight fall between 2014/15 and 2015/16, the proportion of First and Upper Second Class degrees awarded has risen from 77.6% in 2014/15 to 80.0% in 2016/17.
Within this overall rise in the proportion of First and Upper Second Class degrees, the proportion of First Class degrees rose from 16.4% in 2014/15 to 22.5% in 2016/17, a rise of 6.2%, while the proportion of Upper Second class degrees awarded fell from 61.3% in 2014/15 to 57.5% in 2016/17, a drop of 3.8%.
There is a variation by Faculty between 85.5% in the Faculty of Media and Communication and 76.0% in the Faculty of Science and Technology.
The Faculty of Health and Social Sciences awarded the highest proportion of First Class degrees, 23.6% of their graduates receiving this classification in 2016/17, while the lowest proportion was awarded in the Faculty of Media and Communication (21.4%).

15. Full Time Undergraduate Awards – Tariff Points
An analysis of the relationship between UCAS tariff points on entry and honours classification (for graduating first degree students with a tariff score) shows a relationship between the degree classification awarded and tariff points on entry for those students.
Both measures, degree classification and tariff points, are for the students graduating in the specified year (i.e. 2016/17 tariff points are not for 2016/17 entrants, but for 2016/17 graduates).
Students without a tariff score have been excluded from the analysis.
2016/17 mean tariff points are similar across the three years. However, within the overall average, the mean tariff for students with a First or 2:1 has fallen by 6.9 and 8.8 points respectively since 2015/16.
The mean tariff for students gaining a Third has fallen by 14.5 points from in 2014/15 to in 2016/17. The mean tariff points of students achieving a 2:2 degree are very similar in all three years.
The correlation between tariff points on entry and degree classification, is more pronounced in 2016/17 than in 2014/15 and 2015/16.

16. Full Time Undergraduate Awards – Entry Qualification
Students without a tariff score have been excluded.
Although there is a clear relationship at institutional level between tariff points on entry and degree classification, there is some variation by Faculty.
In particular, mean Tariff points on entry for students graduating with First Class and Upper Second Class degrees in the Faculty of Media and Communication are higher than for other Faculties.

17. Full Time Undergraduate Awards – Tariff Points by Entry Qualification Type
Students without a tariff score have been excluded.
Students with A/AS Levels, Level 3 Diplomas (inc. BTEC), and Other Level 3 qualifications show a correlation between Tariff points on entry and degree classification.
Students with HE Access Course qualifications or Other (not Level 3) qualifications do not show as marked or straightforward a relationship between entry qualification and degree classification.

18. Full Time Undergraduate Awards – Ethnic Origin
The proportion of Home BME students graduating with a First or Upper Second class degree in 2016/17 was 62.9%, 20.3% less than the figure of 83.3% for non-BME students. This pattern is consistent across the last three years.
Award classification is significantly influenced by both entry qualification type and tariff points on entry.
The below graphs show that, for each qualification type and tariff band, there is a significant difference between BME and non-BME students. The proportion of First or 2:1 degrees awarded to 2016/17 graduates with A-levels was 73.3% for BME students vs 88.4% for non-BME students, a gap of 15.2%, while the gap for students with 360+ tariff points on entry (across all qualification types) was 19.5%.

19. Full Time Undergraduate Awards – LPN
The proportion of Young, Home LPN students graduating with a First or Upper Second class degree in 2016/17 was 79.9%, 4.4% less than the figure of 84.3% for non-LPN students. This difference of 4.4% in 2016/17 is considerably less than the 8.3% gap (72.7% for LPN; 81.0% for non-LPN) in 2014/15.
The below graphs show that there is a similar difference by entry qualification (-4.3% for A-level; -2.3% for BTEC) in the proportion of First or Upper Second class awards for 2016/17 LPN graduates.
Performance by tariff band is similar in all bands except for <240 and 360+, where there is a difference in the performance of LPN and non-LPN students.

20. Full Time Undergraduate Awards – Disability
The proportion of ALS students graduating with a First or Upper Second class degree has risen from 72.1% in 2014/15 to 77.8% in 2016/17. This compares with a 2016/17 figure for non-LPN students of 80.4%, a difference of -2.6%
The below graphs show that the relative performance for each qualification type and tariff band, is similar for both ALS and non-ALS students.
However, the overall 2.6% difference in the proportion of First or 2:1 degrees awarded to BME vs non-BME students is reflected in the A-level population (for entry qualification) and in tariff bands from 280 upwards.

21. Full-time Postgraduate (Taught) Entrants: Outcomes
As at the end of January 2018, a large proportion of 2016/17 entrants were continuing in 2017/18 (including the majority of students on non-standard academic years) and do not yet have award outcomes as can be seen in the graph opposite. Results shown are for Masters degrees: results for Postgraduate Diplomas and Graduate Diploma in Law (CPE) are not included.
For 2015/16 entrants, 88.7% of Masters level entrants were awarded a Masters Degree, 1.4% received a Postgraduate Diploma, 1.7% received a Postgraduate Certificate, 5.8% were continuing on their programme and 2.4% left without an award.
The graph opposite compares the outcomes by Faculty for 2015/16 entry.
There is some variation in the outcomes by Faculty. The Faculty of Media and Communication has the highest percentage of students graduating with a Masters Degree (91.5%). The lowest proportion was awarded in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences (76.5%). However FHSS also had the highest proportion of 2015/16 students still continuing (11.8%), the majority of which are likely to eventually complete a Masters Degree.

22. 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17 Postgraduate Award Classification BU Campus (excl. PI)
The proportion of students awarded a Distinction on a Masters programme rose from 19.5% in 2014/15 to 23.4% in 2016/17.
The proportion of students gaining a Merit or Distinction increased from 75.8% in 2014/15 to 79.7% in 2016/17.
Conversely, the proportion of students awarded a Pass on a Masters programme fell from 24.2% in 2014/15 to 20.3% in 2014/15.
The graph opposite compares award classification by Faculty for 2016/17 students graduating with a Masters degree.
There is some variation in the outcomes by Faculty. The Faculty of Science and Technology has the highest proportion of students graduating with a Merit or Distinction (82.8%), while the lowest proportion was awarded in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences (72.9%).

23. Postgraduate Research Entrants: Outcomes
The graph opposite shows completion rates of full-time doctoral students, based on initial mode of attendance and maximum qualification aim over the study period.
Time to complete is calculated from the start of the research instance to HESA date left, minus any periods of suspension. The doctoral completion rates presented here include withdrawals in the denominator, which are excluded from the BU Performance Indicator.
Overall completion rate for 2008/09 year of entry is 81%. Assuming eventual completion of continuing students, this figure will range between c. 80% (2010/11 entry) and c. 91% (2009/10 entry). Populations are small, ranging from 32 in the 2008/09 cohort to 88 in the 2012/13 cohort which will contribute to the variation
The proportion of FT students finishing within 4 years, fell from 34.7% for 2011/12 entry (17 from 49 starters) to 21.6% for 2012/13 entry (19 from 88 starters). Excluding withdrawals, the 2012/13 BU PI figure for 4 year completion rate is 26.0%.
Withdrawal rates over the duration of the course are higher for part-time doctoral students, with withdrawal rates of 29.2% and 40.0% for 2008/09 and 2009/10 entrants respectively.