HC Deb 19 April 2004 vol 420 cc34-5W
Mr. Swire

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students dropped out of(a) Oxford, (b) Cambridge, (c) Edinburgh, (d) St. Andrews, (e) Exeter and (f) Durham universities in each of the last seven years. [164801]

Alan Johnson

The available information on drop-out rates can be found in the Higher Education Council for England (HEFCE) publication, "Performance Indicators in Higher Education in the UK". Copies of the publication can be found at: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/learning/perfind/ 2003/ The non-completion rates cover UK domiciled full-time students starting first degree courses who are projected to neither transfer nor achieve an award from their study. A benchmark is calculated for each institution which allows for the entry qualification of the students and the subject mix at the institution. Figures are given in the tables. Prior to this, non-completion rates were calculated by the Department for the UK as a whole, but not at individual institution level.

Percentage
Non-completion rate by those starting courses in:
1999/2000 2000/01
Institution Rate Benchmark Rate Benchmark
University of Oxford 2 3 2 3
University of Cambridge 1 4 1 3
University of Edinburgh 10 8 9 8
University of St. Andrews 3 9 7 9
University of Exeter 8 10 9 9
University of Durham 7 8 4 7
Source:
Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).