There are 264,858 students in colleges – a 9% increase

The median age of a college student is 22

Age:

Under 16 years 17%
16-24 years 39%
25 years and over 44%

Gender:

Men: 48%
Women: 51%
Other/prefer not to say: 1%

Hours of Learning

Colleges deliver over 70 million hours of learning

Hours of Learning by Age:

Under 16 - 6%
16-24 - 63%
25 and over - 31%

96% of all learning hours lead to a recognised qualification

Mode of Attendance

Full-time 26%
Part-time 74%

Level of Study

Further Education 83%

• Full-time 15%
• Part-time 68%

Higher Education 17%

• Full-time 11%
• Part-time 6%

42% of all full-time college activity is in higher education

67% of higher education entrants are on HNC or HND programmes

Colleges deliver 26% of all higher education in Scotland (36% of all Scottish undergraduate entrants)

In 2017/18, 95% of confirmed qualifiers moved on to positive destinations, with 87% progressing into a higher level of study at college

42% of all Scottish domiciled first-degree entrants to university went via HNC/D at college

93% of full-time further education students are satisfied with their college experience

Top 10 Subject Areas

(number of students)

47,934 Health Care/Medicine/Health and Safety

39,180 Engineering

39,017 Family Care/Personal Development/Personal Care and Appearance

22,742 Business/Management/Office Studies

21,617 Information Technology and Information

17,697 Construction and Property (Built Environment)

16,248 Catering/Food/Leisure Services/Tourism

14,967 Area Studies/Cultural Studies/Languages/Literature

13,251 Sciences and Mathematics

8,248 Sports, Games and Recreation

Overseas Students

Europe (including EU): 769
International (outwith Europe): 867
Rest of UK: 1,376

227 nationalities are represented in colleges