Higher Education
Business, Innovation and Skills
Written answers and statements, 26 October 2009
Stephen Williams (Bristol West, Liberal Democrat)
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department and its predecessors spent on increasing the retention rate in higher education in each of the last five years.
David Lammy (Minister of State (Higher Education and Intellectual Property), Department for Business, Innovation and Skills; Tottenham, Labour)
In addition to its core teaching funding, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) provides institutions with additional funding to help support student retention. The total amounts for the last five academic years are as follows:
| £ | |||||
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| Full Time Students | 159,353,247 | 166,640,907 | 184,128,520 | 188,582,804 | 192,875,340 |
| Part Time Students | 53,883,613 | 54,283,169 | 55,763,058 | 57,351,573 | 60,292,489 |
| Source: Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) | |||||
We maintain very good completion rates for first degrees—OECD statistics show that the UK ranks third of 27 countries. This has been achieved and maintained during a
period when higher education has been opened up to both increased numbers and a greater diversity of students.