Students in higher education: September 2019 to August 2020

Higher education enrolments by students from Wales

• The number of students from Wales enrolled in UK Higher Education Providers (HEPs) increased from 101,860 in 2018/19 to 103,605 in 2019/20.
• There was a rise in the number of undergraduate students from Wales; in 2019/20 there was an increase from 83,330 to 84,375. This increase predominantly came from a rise in the number of part-time undergraduates which increased from 21,990 to 22,980 students in 2019/20.
• There was a rise in the number of postgraduate students from Wales; in 2019/20, there was an increase from 18,525 to 19,230.
• There were 22,980 part-time undergraduates from Wales in UK HEPs in 2019/20. The number increased by 990.
• For every two men enrolled at a university, there were three women.
• The most popular subject group was Subjects Allied to Medicine, with nursing enrolments comprising the majority of these.

Higher education enrolments in Wales

• Enrolments at Welsh universities have increased from 132,205 in 2018/19 to 136,355 in 2019/20.
• The number of undergraduate students studying part-time has increased this year by 665 (2.7%).
• The number of full-time undergraduates has increased this year by 1005 (1.2%).
• The number of postgraduate enrolments increased from 26,755 to 29,240 in 2019/20.
• Around two in five postgraduates studied part-time, compared to almost one in four undergraduates.
• Just over half of students at Welsh universities came from Wales before they began study.
• The most popular subject group at Welsh universities in 2019/20 was Business and management, followed by Subjects allied to medicine.

Cross border flows of full-time students

• Wales is a net importer of full-time students from the UK. In 2019/20 Wales accepted 11,320 more students from other UK countries than it sent to them.
• There were 37,855 full-time students from other UK countries at Welsh universities, compared to 26,535 full-time students from Wales studying at HEIs in the rest of the UK.
• Nearly two in five full-time undergraduates from Wales studied in England, as did one in three full-time postgraduates from Wales.

Higher education qualifications

• The number of qualifications awarded to students from Wales decreased to 28,820 in 2019/20.
• Around three quarters of qualifications awarded to students from Wales were undergraduate.
• The number of qualifications awarded by universities in Wales decreased slightly in 2019/20, to 40,250.
• Evidence from HESA suggests that some of the decrease can be explained by significant numbers of qualifications awarded this year not being reported. This was because a few providers experienced administrative hold-ups related to the COVID-19 pandemic. More information on the impact of COVID-19 on the 2019/20 academic year can be accessed in the notes section of the HESA statistical bulletin.

Higher Education at Further Education Institutions (FEIs) in Wales

• The number of students on higher education courses at FEIs in Wales are available from 2016/17 onwards.
• The number of students on higher education courses at FEIs in Wales has decreased slightly from 1,705 in 2018/19 to 1,580 in 2019/20.

Data to follow

Further student breakdowns by subject studied for students in Wales and students from Wales will follow on StatsWales.