Our Students
There are 213,135 college students
The median age of a college student is 22
1 in 5 (22%) of Scotland’s 18-19 year-olds attended college full-time
16-24 years 45%
25 years and over 44%
Women: 52%
Other/prefer not to say: 1%
16-24 65%
25 and over 30%
96% of all learning hours lead to a recognised qualification – a 1% increase
7,665 students with an HNC/D progressed from college to university -
58% entered into year 2 or 3 at university, and
25% of those were from the 20% most deprived backgrounds
Engineering 29,852
Family Care/Personal Development/Personal Care and Appearance 27,151
Business/Management/Office Studies 20,567
Construction and Property (Built Environment) 17,313
Information Technology and Information 16,407
Area Studies/Cultural Studies/Languages/Literature 10,207
Sciences and Mathematics 9,045
Politics/Economics/Law/Social Sciences 8,656
Catering/Food/Leisure Services/Tourism 8,257
Discretionary: £9.0m
Childcare: £9.6m
The median age of a college student is 22
1 in 5 (22%) of Scotland’s 18-19 year-olds attended college full-time
Age
Under 16 years 11%16-24 years 45%
25 years and over 44%
Gender:
Men: 47%Women: 52%
Other/prefer not to say: 1%
Hours of Learning
Colleges delivered over 69 million hours of learning – remaining stable despite Covid-19
Hours of Learning by Age:
Under 16 5%16-24 65%
25 and over 30%
96% of all learning hours lead to a recognised qualification – a 1% increase
Mode of Attendance
Full-time 30%
Part-time 70%
Level of Study
Further Education 80%
Full-time 17%
Part-time 63%
Higher Education 20%
Full-time 13%
Part-time 7%
Colleges deliver around a quarter (23%) of all higher education in Scotland
Entrants to higher education in colleges has increased by 7%
70% of higher education entrants in colleges are on HNC or HND programmes
44% of all full-time college activity is in higher education
25% of entrants to higher education courses in colleges are from the 20% most deprived areas of Scotland
7,665 students with an HNC/D progressed from college to university -
58% entered into year 2 or 3 at university, and
25% of those were from the 20% most deprived backgrounds
Top 10 Subject Areas
Health Care/Medicine/Health and Safety 46,588 (number of students)Engineering 29,852
Family Care/Personal Development/Personal Care and Appearance 27,151
Business/Management/Office Studies 20,567
Construction and Property (Built Environment) 17,313
Information Technology and Information 16,407
Area Studies/Cultural Studies/Languages/Literature 10,207
Sciences and Mathematics 9,045
Politics/Economics/Law/Social Sciences 8,656
Catering/Food/Leisure Services/Tourism 8,257
Overseas Students
| 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | |
| Europe (including EU) | 505 | 503 | 769 | 267 | 305 |
| International (outwith Europe) | 607 | 616 | 867 | 709 | 1,012 |
| Rest of UK | 914 | 843 | 1,376 | 1,253 | 1,800 |
205 nationalities are represented in colleges
Student Funding
Bursary: £94.0mDiscretionary: £9.0m
Childcare: £9.6m
