HC Deb 14 January 2004 vol 416 c750W
Ms Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the most recent figures are for the drop-out rate for English university students is in their(a) 1st year of study, (b) 2nd year of study, (c) 3rd year of study and (d) further years of study. [143250]

Alan Johnson

The available information on the non-continuation of students beyond the first year in each university, and the projected course non-completion rate in each university is contained in "Performance Indicators in Higher Education in the UK", published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, a copy of which is available from the House Library. The latest edition, published in December 2003, gives figures for students starting full-time degree courses in the United Kingdom in 2000/01. Table 3 shows that 9 per cent. of students did not continue beyond the first year, and that the projected non-completion rate over the whole course was 16 per cent.

No data are held covering those students who drop out of their course after two or three years. Nationally, the non-completion rate has remained broadly the same since 1991/92, a period of considerable expansion of student numbers.

Figures published in 2003 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) show that the UK has one of the lowest non-completion rates among OECD countries.

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