§ Mr. Pawseyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students obtained degrees at the Open University in 1979 and 1983 and in the first year in which a substantial number of degrees were awarded.
§ Mr. BrookeThe information is as follows:
371W
Number of degrees awarded 1972 1979 1983 First degrees 898 5,835 *5,600 Higher degrees — 18 49 Honours degrees — 1,068 *1,100 * Estimated.
§ Mr. Pawseyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students studied at the Open University when it first opened, and in 1979 and 1983.
Mr. BrookThe information supplied by the Open University is as follows:
1971 1979 1983 All students 19,615 80,332 114,528 Undergraduates 19,518 60,579 66,403 Associate students — 8,778 7,367 Postgradutes 34 664 765 Others* — 10,311 39,993 * Including students on short courses and learning materials sold to clients
§ Mr. Pawseyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much funding was made available to the Open University in 1979, 1983 and 1984; and how those figures compare in real terms with the amount of funding that was available when the Open University was first opened.
§ Mr. BrookeThe university admitted its first student in 1971 and this is taken to be the year it first opened for the purpose of this question. The second column of the table gives recurrent grant in cash terms received by the university in the academic years 1971, 1979, 1983 and an estimate of the outturn for 1984. These cash figures have been adjusted to cost terms in the third column at average 1983 prices using the deflator for gross domestic product at market prices. The predicted deflator for 1984 is taken from table 5.5 of the Financial Statement and Budget Report.
£ Million 1983 base Academic year Recurrent grant (cash terms) Recurrent grant (cost terms) 1971 6.02 25.65 1979 34.27 51.77 1983 *55.37 55.37 1984 *57.58 54.63 * Excluding grants and loans for the university's professional industrial and commercial updating activities.
§ Mr. Pawseyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of students are currently studying science, hard technology subjects and mathematics; and how this compares with the year the Open University first opened.
§ Mr. BrookeAs regards undergraduates, the information is as follows:
1971 per cent. 1984 per cent. Science 23 15 Technology — 18 Mathematics 21 17 Totals 44 50 The Open University did not offer technology courses until 1972.