1. Progression of BTEC students to HE David MacKay 2 March 2015

2. UCAS data on entry to HE 23.4% of students entered university in 2014-15 with a BTEC compared with just 13.5% in 2008 Only 26 large providers took fewer than 5% of their intake from BTEC holders in 2014-15 compared with almost double that number (47) in 2008 Disadvantaged young people over 10% more likely to enter HE than they were a year ago Entry rates for young people from all ethnic groups increased The proportion of students entering HE with a BTEC is higher in areas with a low rate of entry

3. BTEC and social mobility 2008/09 40% of BTEC students, compared to 20% of A level students, come from the bottom 4 socio economic groups ( 5 to 8 in table) For black students this rises to 45% of students

4. Data reference Data used in the rest of this presentation is HESA data taken from the report: Vocational Progression to Selecting Universities Comparisons and Trends 2010 – 2013 by Alison Rouncefield-Swailes Western Vocational Progression Consortium September 2014

5. Retention and withdrawal – HE degree programmes (HESA data) YearCompletion rate from BTEC Nationals Completion rate from traditional route 2010/201157.0% 2011/201259.1% 2012/201367.9%92.3%

6. Reasons for withdrawal Reason for withdrawal BTEC students 2010/2011 BTEC students 2012/2013 Traditional route 2012/2013 Academic failure/ not permitted to progress 17.4%11.6%2.4% Other personal 11.3%8.4%2.5%

7. Degree classification of students completing degree programmes Degree classification BTEC studentsTraditional entry Good honours54.4%71.6% Unclassified1.0%4.5%

8. Discussion questions 1. Do BTEC students have the right skills for progression to HE? What are their strengths and weaknesses? 2. Does the background of many BTEC students make them vulnerable to withdrawal? 3. What can be done to support the transition of BTEC students to HE to improve their retention?