What
The annual publication of “Performance indicators in higher education in the UK 2008/2009″ offers a brief presentation of the higher education institutions in the UK, in terms of performance and the indicators used to monitor it.
Who
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) – a private limited company which has formal agreements with government departments to provide the data which they require, and it is funded by subscription from all of the universities and higher education colleges throughout the United Kingdom.
Why
To provide reliable information on the nature and performance of the higher education sector in the UK and a consistent set of measures of this performance.
To contribute to a greater public accountability by the sector, as well as ensure that policy decisions can be made on the basis of consistent and reliable information.
How
Following the recommendations of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education, the Government asked the funding councils to develop suitable indicators and benchmarks of performance in the higher education sector. The Performance Indicators Steering Group (PISG) was established, with membership drawn from government departments, the funding councils and representative bodies. Since 2002/03, HESA has published the Performance Indicators on behalf of Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) who published them previously.
Results
The set of Performance Indicators (PIs) was published in April 2010, by HESA is the twelfth in the series. The indicators are used for all publicly funded higher education institutions in the UK and they currently cover:
- widening participation indicators
- non-continuation rates (including projected outcomes)
- module completion rates
- research output
Performance indicator example
Source: HESA, 2010
Nationally, over 90% of 17 year-olds in full-time education attend schools or colleges in the state sector. 88.5% of young entrants to full-time first degree courses in 2008/09 had attended such schools, Chart 1 bellow shows the pattern. (HESA, 2010)
Reference
HESA 2010, “ Performance indicators in higher education in the UK 2008/2009”, available at http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php/content/view/1703/141/ (accessed 25 April 2010)
