Introduction Perth College UHI offers courses ranging from Access to Postgraduate level qualifications. The funding we receive is split, further education (FE) and higher education (HE). The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) for the past 12 years have published performance indicators (PIs) on college teaching activity for those institutions that are categorised as FE. Therefore, being part of the University of the Highlands and Islands, the PIs that have been published below only represent our FE level activity which is approximately 52% of our overall funded activity. The following report will consider FE data only at Perth College UHI, however as part of the Highlands and Islands Region, collated data can be found on the UHI website. How PIs are presented The chart below shows the actual results for full-time FE students over the period 2008-09 to 2013-14 for the entire sector. There is commentary below which should provide a guide on how to interpret the data being presented. This type of chart is used throughout the publication. The blue line highlights the zero% point on the axis. Bars to the left of this line show the percentage of withdrawals before the course has ended. Bars to the right of the line show the percentage of students who have completed their course. The first bar to the right of the blue line shows the percentage of students who have completed their course year successfully. This includes students who have completed a year of a multi-year duration course. Further information on the publication, understanding and calculation of these PIs including sector level data can be found http://www.sfc.ac.uk/publicationsstatistics/reportspublications/reportspublications.aspx 1
With a continued focus on analysis, process and impact on student experience, we continue to see success in our Performance Indicators. In many of the categories presented we are performing above the sector level. Chart 1 illustrates, over the last 6 years, attainment for students who have enrolled on full-time recognised qualifications. Chart 1 Since 2008-09 we have enrolled an additional 278 students on full-time FE courses and although we had a slight dip between 2011-12 and 2012-13, overall we have seen our success increase by 16% Since 2010-11, we continue to perform above the sector. In this last year, we are performing 7% above the sector level which is 66% in 2013-14. It is worth noting that SFC have targeted Colleges to have a success rate of 69% by 2016-17. In line with the sector, our withdrawal rates are decreasing. 25% of our full-time FE students who withdraw, do so to go into employment. Some of these individuals do return to continue their studies part-time, with another 4% transferring to other courses. Overall 29% of those who withdraw leave with a positive destination. 2
Chart 2 illustrates, over the last 3 years, attainment for students who have enrolled on part-time recognised qualifications, split into duration of study. The part-time courses that we offer can range from anything lasting 10 hours all the way up to 639 hours per year. Chart 2 It is noticeable that qualifications offered in the category of 160 up to 320 hours remains to be static and has done so for the last few years. We have investigated this further and our findings are to do with Highers. Some of our Highers are offered via distance learning, where individuals are more independent of support and need to be highly committed to their studies. In correlation to this and in addition to our class taught Highers and aligning with SFC comments; students who undertake Highers, their priorities may change, for example, initially enrolling for the full qualification but only completing partial as this is sufficient to advance/progress their studies. It is worth noting that we are committed to offering Highers via distance learning where most other colleges are not. 3
Chart 3 illustrates, for those students who completed their course with partial success, the % of units/credits achieved (the chart excludes those students who studied fewer than 160 hours): Chart 3 The % of students who achieved more than 75% of the planned units/credits at Perth College UHI is above the sector level by 2.5%. Chart 4 illustrates enrolments by age group for courses lasting 160 hours or more: Chart 4 The two categories that are performing the lowest correlates with earlier comments with regards to Highers including learning at a distance and open access where students can learn via flexible arrangements. SFC comment that students in the younger age groups are less likely to be successful, whilst this aligns with 18-20 year olds at Perth College UHI, our students aged under 18 are performing above the sector level by 4% The success rate for 21-24 year olds align with the sector level and 25-40 year olds are performing above the sector level by 4% 4
Chart 5 illustrates enrolments by HMIE subject groupings for courses lasting for 160 hours or more. Chart 5 It is worth noting that there are no figures represented for our Land Based Industry or Computing and ICT courses, this is due to the fact that the number of enrolments in these areas is less than 50 and therefore have been excluded from the SFC statistics. However we can report as a College that our % success for Land Based Industries is 68.8% and Computing and ICT is 66.7% It is also worth noting that where there were areas that performed less well last academic year, their success has dramatically increased this year. This is noticeable in Computing and ICT where success has increased by 23% and Media where success has increased by 19% 5
Chart 6 illustrates enrolments by level and gender on courses lasting 160 hours or more. Chart 6 We continue to see a growth in the achievement for both males and females. Across the sector, in general, males do tend to outperform females by 2% In comparison to sector level, our female success rate aligns, however, for males we are above the sector level by 3% Chart 7 illustrates enrolments by key groups for courses lasting 160 hours or more Chart 7 The above are key groups identified by SFC that may be of interest to various stakeholders and may help identify factors that may affect the success rates for colleges. It is good to note that with the exception of one category, 20% most deprived data-zone areas, we are performing above sector level. 6
Chart 8 illustrates our performance against target Chart 8 Each academic year, Colleges receive funding from SFC to deliver a target number of hours of learning. The above confirms that over the last 2 years, we have met and exceeded our target, demonstrating efficient growth in satisfying student and economic need. Chart 9 illustrates the percentage of full-time permanent staff with a teaching qualification recognised by the General Teaching Council Chart 9 Whilst we may employ individuals who already have recognised qualifications, Perth College UHI is committed to supporting the professional development of our staff. All teaching staff without an appropriate teaching qualification are planned to complete within 3 years. For 2011-12 and 2012-13 we are above the sector level. 2013-14 remains static at 95% to which sector level data is not yet available. Deborah Lally Head of Student Records Perth College UHI 15 January 2015 7