§ Mr. Andrew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has about the number of mature students studying in higher education in the European Economic Community states the United States of America and Japan; and what percentage they represent within the indicated student population as a whole.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthThe requested information is not available centrally.
§ Mr. Andrew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will set out in tabular form the
Percentages Academic year beginning 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 19891 Older mature participation index Men 0.269 0.264 0.274 0.275 0.331 0.356 Women 0.250 0.279 0.291 0.317 0.371 0.400 Younger mature entry index Men 10.8 11.7 11.6 11.5 12.4 13.6 Women 4.6 5.0 4.6 4.9 5.6 6.3 1 Provisional. The indices are not calculated with reference to socio-economic groups.
§ Mr. Andrew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total number of mandatory awards made to mature students in higher education in each year from 1980 to the latest available date.
10Wnumber of mature initial entrants to full-time undergraduate degree courses in higher education for each year from 1980 to the latest available date for (a) universities, (b) public sector institutions and (c) all higher education; and if he will list those figures as a percentage of the total number of students in each year.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthThe information requested is as follows:
Mature home first year full-time undergraduates in higher education 1980–81 to 1988–89 in Great Britain Universities Polytechnics and colleges Total higher education 1980 7,594 9,574 17,168 1981 7,007 11,125 18,132 1982 6,224 11,016 17,240 1983 6,120 10,583 16,703 1984 6,515 10,170 16,685 1985 6,767 11,837 18,604 1986 7,390 12,577 19,967 1987 7,835 14,699 22,534 1988 9,116 16,887 26,003
Mature home full-time 1st degree entrants as a percentage of home full-time 1st degree entrants in Great Britain Universities Polytechnics and colleges Total higher education 1980 9.9 21.5 14.2 1981 9.6 20.8 14.3 1982 8.8 19.2 13.5 1983 8.9 18.6 13.3 1984 9.3 17.9 13.2 1985 9.7 20.3 14.5 1986 10.6 21.1 15.4 1987 10.9 23.5 16.8 1988 12.1 25.5 18.4 Source: DES Statistical Bulletin—Mature Students in Higher Education.
§ Mr. Andrew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will set out the older mature participation index and the younger mature participation index for higher education for each year since 1984; and if he will show these figures(a) for men and women and (b) for each socio-economic group, as defined by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthInformation available is as follows:
§ Mr. Alan HowarthThe data are not available in he form requested. The numbers of awards made to students with independent status in England and Wales from 1980–81 to 1988–89 were:
11W
Full Value Awards 1980–81 46,919 1981–82 49,810 1982–83 51,526
Mandatory Awards 1983–84 41,070 1984–85 41,318 1985–86 42,978 1986–87 46,732 1987–88 53,066 1988–89 60,310 The figures are for the academic year. Full value awards include both mandatory awards and full value discretionary awards.
The status of a student is either independent or dependent. To be treated as an independent student the student must be an orphan or satisfy one or more of the following in the year before the course starts: have reached the age of 25; have been self-supporting for three years or more; have been married for three years or more. All other students are treated as dependent.
§ Mr. Andrew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will set out in tabular form the number of applications made by mature students aged(a) 21 to 25 years and (b) over 25 years for entry to courses in higher education in each year since 1987; how many were accepted; and what percentage this represented in each of these years.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthInformation on the number of mature students applying and accepted for higher education in 1988–89 through the two central admission agencies is as follows:
Mature Students 1988–89 Applications (a) Acceptances/admissions (b) (b)/(a) percentage UCCA applicants/acceptances1 Age 21–25 years home domicile 11,139 4,739 42.5 Age over 25 years home domicile 11,946 5,373 45.0 PCAS applicants/admissions2 Age 21–25 years home domicile 15,313 5,462 35.7 Age over 25 years home domicile 12,410 5,429 43.7 Sources: UCCA—Statistical Supplement to 1988–89 Annual Report. PCAS—Statistical Supplement to 1988–89 Annual Report. 1 Candidates applying for admission to United Kingdom Universities (excluding the Open University and the University of Buckingham) through UCCA for full-time undergraduate first degree or first diploma courses. 2 Applicants are those who seek admission to a full-time or sandwich first degree or Diploma of Higher Education or Higher National diploma course in a polytechnic/college through PCAS.