Participation measures in higher education
Academic year 2020/21

Description

This guidance describes the data included in the Participation Measures in Higher Education: 2020/21 Official Statistics release’s underlying data files. This data is released under the terms of the  Open Government License (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/) and is intended to meet at least 3 stars for  Open Data. (https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/improving-the-transparency-and-accountability-of-government-and-its-services/supporting-pages/releasing-data-in-open-formats)

The methodology pages attached to this release should be referenced alongside this data. It provides information on the data sources, their coverage and quality as well as explaining methodology used in producing the data.

Coverage

The release covers the latest Cohort-based Higher Education Participation (CHEP) measure.

For each cohort of pupils registered at English schools at age 15, we track their participation rates in HE by age 25 (CHEP-25).

Also included are underlying tables containing data on participation by age 20 and by age 30 (CHEP-20, CHEP-30).

Rounding

We are removing rounding and suppression of entrant numbers where possible in order to maximise the utility of the statistics while minimising the risk of disclosure.

More information about the Departmental policy on confidentiality can be found here:

External_Confidentiality_Policy (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/773124/External_confidentiality_policy.pdf)

All participation percentages are rounded to 1 decimal place.

Data files

All data files associated with this releases are listed below with guidance on their content. To download any of these files, please visit our data catalogue (https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-catalogue/participation-measures-in-higher-education/2020-21).

Data files

Headline key stats

Filename: chep25_headline_key_stats.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2010/11
Content summary: HE Participation by age 25 (CHEP-25) key stats

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name                    |  Variable description
-------------------------------  |  ------------------------------------------------
entry_percentage_females         |  HE Entry Percentage by Age 25 (Females)
entry_percentage_firstdeg        |  HE Entry Percentage by Age 25 (First Degrees)
entry_percentage_fulltime        |  HE Entry Percentage by Age 25 (Full Time)
entry_percentage_highest_region  |  Regional HE Entry Percentage by Age 25 (Highest)
entry_percentage_lowest_region   |  Regional HE Entry Percentage by Age 25 (Lowest)
entry_percentage_overall         |  HE Entry Percentage by Age 25 (Overall)


Overall

Filename: chep_overall.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2001/02 to 2015/16
Content summary: HE participation by ages 25, 20 and 30 (CHEP-25, CHEP-20, CHEP-30)

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name  |  Variable description
---------  |  ----------------
entrants   |  Entrants
entry_age  |  Age entered HE
rate       |  Entry percentage


Age

Filename: chep_age.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2001/02 to 2018/19
Content summary: HE participation by specific age, including a cumulative rate

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name    |  Variable description
---------------  |  ---------------------------
age_in_he        |  Age entered HE
cumulative_rate  |  Cumulative entry percentage
entrants         |  Entrants
rate             |  Entry percentage

Footnotes:

1. For the 2005/06 cohort, the rate for 18-year-olds is understated. This is explained in the Limitations section in the Methodology.


Gender

Filename: chep_gender.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2001/02 to 2015/16
Content summary: HE participation (CHEP-25, CHEP-20, CHEP-30) by gender

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name  |  Variable description
---------  |  ----------------
entrants   |  Entrants
entry_age  |  Age entered HE
gender     |  KS4 Gender
rate       |  Entry percentage


Region

Filename: chep_region.csv
Geographic levels: National; Regional
Time period: 2001/02 to 2015/16
Content summary: HE participation (CHEP-25, CHEP-20, CHEP-30) by region

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name  |  Variable description
---------  |  ----------------
entrants   |  Entrants
entry_age  |  Age entered HE
rate       |  Entry percentage


Level

Filename: chep_level.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2001/02 to 2015/16
Content summary: HE participation (CHEP-25, CHEP-20, CHEP-30) by level of study

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name  |  Variable description
---------  |  ----------------
entrants   |  Entrants
entry_age  |  Age entered HE
level      |  Level of Study
rate       |  Entry percentage


Mode

Filename: chep_mode.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2001/02 to 2015/16
Content summary: HE participation (CHEP-25, CHEP-20, CHEP-30) by mode of study

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name  |  Variable description
---------  |  ----------------
entrants   |  Entrants
entry_age  |  Age entered HE
mode       |  Mode of Study
rate       |  Entry percentage


Projections

Filename: heip_projected.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2006/07 to 2020/21
Content summary: A comparison of a HEIP-like projection using the new cohort-based figures against the old HEIP projection measure

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name  |  Variable description
-----------  |  -----------------------------------
entrants     |  Entrants
methodology  |  Methodology - Filter by methodology
rate         |  Entry percentage

Footnotes:

1. For the projections from 2016/17 based on the cohort figures, the earlier projections are less robust due to changes in the matching method in those years.
2. Additional providers who returned data to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Alternative record have been included from 2014/15 as a separate series.


Other data sources - APS, ONS

Filename: percentage_with_degrees_in_england_25_29_2011_to_2021.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2011 to 2021
Content summary: Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey (APS) data showing percentages in the aged 25-29 population qualified to Level 4 and above.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name  |  Variable description
----------  |  ----------------------
percentage  |  Percentage with degree
qual_level  |  Level of degree
