§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how many overseas students have so far applied for university courses next year; how this compares with the number of applications at the same time in 1978, 1979 and 1980; and if he will analyse the figures to show the subjects applied for in each year;
(2) how many home students have so far applied for university courses next year; how this compares with the number of applications at the same time in 1978, 1979 and 1980; and if he will analyse the figures to show the subjects applied for in each year.
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§ Mr. WaldegraveThe available information, which is for applications by home and overseas students in 1981 and 1980, is contained in the recent press notice issued by the Universities Central Council on Admissions. I am sending a copy to the hon. Member. Because of changes in the classification of candidates at home and overseas, comparable information for applications in 1978 and 1979 is not available.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many (a) men and (b) women undertook full-time university courses in each year since 1960; and what are the figures for the latest applications.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe numbers of men and women on full-time and sandwich univerity courses in Great Britain for each year from 1960–61 to 1980–81 are shown in the following table. By 1 November 1981 there had been 31,980 applications by men for entry to United Kingdom universities in 1982, compared with 30,793 in the same period in 1980. The corresponding figures for women were 24,780 and 22,768 respectively.
Undergraduate Level Postgraduate Level Men Women Men Women *1960–61 67,025 22,838 14,305 3,531 *1961–62 68,813 24,968 15,612 3,750 *1962–63 70,900 27,311 16,754 4,039 *1963–64 74,381 29,509 18,255 4,300 *1964–65 80,172 32,972 20,209 5,358 1965–66 101,519 38,660 22,568 5,860 1966–67 109,046 43,184 25,397 6,576 1967–68 117,472 47,181 27,484 7,535 1968–69 123,289 50,221 29,507 8,277 1969–70 127,103 53,076 30,548 8,581 1970–71 129,533 56,339 32,592 9,492 1971–72 130,922 59,571 34,356 10,136 1972–73 130,534 62,715 35,193 10,924 1973–74 131,157 66,102 35,282 11,553 1974–75 132,479 70,216 35,571 12,299 1975–76 136,883 74,585 36,707 13,083 1976–77 142,665 78,820 36,631 13,663 1977–78 148,107 83,547 35,314 13,557 1978–79 151,079 88,144 35,131 14,065 1979–80 152,011 93,082 33,470 14,175 1980–81 153,284 97,870 33,013 14,513 (*) Figures from 1960–61 to 1964–65 exclude students from the former colleges of advanced technology.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students undertook university courses in (a) physical science and (b) engineering in 1978–79, 1979–80 and 1980–81; and what are the projected figures for 1981–82, 1982–83 and 1983–84.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe numbers of students on courses in universities in Great Britain in(a) physical science and (b) engineering in 1978–79, 1979–80 and 1980–81 are:
Engineering and Technology Physical Sciences Undergraduates Postgraduates Undergraduates Postgraduates 1978–79 35,045 6,985 18,311 5,866 1979–80 35,817 6,672 19,118 5,601 1980–81 36,761 6,352 19,846 5,427 Although the University Grants Committee has set the universities student number targets to be achieved by 1984–85, these relate solely to home and European Community students and to three broad subject areas. It 489W is not possible to give projections of the above figures. It is for the universities to decide upon the intake to different courses each year to meet the overall targets.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students from Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America, respectively, enrolled at British universities in each of the past 10 years; and if he has comparable figures for the current academic year.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe number of students from Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America enrolled at United Kingdom universities in each of the past 10 years to 1979–80 can be found in the annual British Council publications, "Statistics of Overseas Students in the United Kingdom", copies of which are in the Library. The figures for 1980–81 are as follows:
UK Universities Undergraduate Postgraduate Australia 50 345 New Zealand 15 113 United States of America 1,108 921 Figures of enrolments in 1982–83 are not yet available.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students from EEC nations enrolled at British universities in each of the past 10 years; and if he has comparable figures for the current academic year.
§ Mr. WaldegraveEnrolments by students from other EC countries, excluding Greece, at United Kingdom universities to 1979–80 are given in the annual British Council publication "Overseas Students in the United Kingdom". Comparisons with 1980 are difficult, because in that year students from EC countries were entitled to pay fees at the home rate. The table below gives estimates of the numbers of overseas fee paying students had the fees entitlement rules not changed:
1979–80 1980–81(estimate) Undergraduate 1,078 1,070 Postgraduate 706 730 Figures of total enrolments of students at universities analysed by country of domicile will not be available for sometime. However, provisional estimates of overseas new entrants by country are expected for the University Grants Committee during December.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science; how many United Kingdom students studied in EEC universities in each of the past 10 years and the current academic year.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe following table shows numbers of United Kingdom students studying in France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Denmark and Greece for 1970 to 1977, the latest year available, in what is known for the purposes of international comparisons as third level education. This corresponds broadly with higher education in the United Kingdom. Such comparisons are best made across all third level studies rather than for universities only.
Information for Netherlands and Ireland and for 1974 for all countries is not readily available.
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1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 1977 1,637 1,823 2,135 2,590 3,185 3,740 3,835
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if it is his policy to encourage student mobility with Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America, respectively; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WaldegraveYes, subject to the availability of resources. So far as mobility of students within the Commonwealth is concerned, the Government are currently deliberating on the report of the Consultative Group on Student Mobility within the Commonwealth, which was submitted to the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Melbourne.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what estimate he has made of the fees payable by undergraduate and post-graduate students, respectively, commencing studies in the current academic year in the case of students from Australia, New Zealand, France and Germany, respectively.
§ Mr. WaldegraveFollowing is the information requested:
Fees charged in 1981–82 (a) To students from France and Germany: Postgraduate £1,320 Undergraduate and equivalent £ 900 (b) To new entrants from Australia and New Zealand (undergraduate and postgraduate): Universities: full cost as determined by each university, subject to minima as follows: Arts Courses £2,500 Science courses £3,600 Clinical courses in medicine, dentistry and veterinary science £6,000 Maintained institutions Classroom-based £2,649 Laboratory or workshop-based £3,672 The fees chargeable at maintained institutions to new entrants from Australia and New Zealand are those recommended by the Council of Local Education Authorities and are calculated to represent average full cost over the maintained sector as a whole.