
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