The Forum for the Advancement of Continuing Education

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The Forum for the Advancement of Continuing
Education

• What data and analysis is available from UCAS?
• Jill Johnson, Head of Outreach
• 3 March 2004

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Data

• Unique data about demand for higher education
  going back to 1994.
• Data covers applicants demographics,
  qualifications and choices.
• Statistical and Analytical Services provides
  added value by combining these data with other
  data.

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UCAS Capitation Fee Data

• Management Statistics
• Annual Datasets
• Institutional Datasets
• Applicant Postcode Tracking Service
• Statistical Enquiry Service
• Applications Digest
• On-Line Enquiry Service
• Widening Participation

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Management Statistics

• The Management Statistics are sent to UCAS
  correspondents at the end of each year on a
  floppy disk, they consist of
• 46 tables of applications and acceptances by
  course code for your institution and nationally
• an analysis of applications made by your
  applicants
• an analysis of Route B applications

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Institutional Planning ServiceAnnual datasets

• 1996 to 1999 entry - 7 annual datasets
• - Subject dataset
• - Institution/ Subject Group/ Domicile dataset
• - Institution/ Age dataset
• - Region/ Domicile dataset
• - Qualifications/ Subject dataset
• - Qualifications/ Educational Est./ Ethnicity
  dataset
• - Ethnicity/ Social class dataset
• From 2002 entry- 36 annual datasets
• - Separate datasets for UK, England, Wales,
  Scotland NI
• - International dataset

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What do the datasets contain?

• Applicants, Applications, Accepted Applicants
• Demographics
• age, sex, ethnic origin, social class, domicile,
  previous educational establishment etc
• flexible level of detail
• Qualifications
• A levels, Scottish Highers, VCE results
• records of other qualifications (not GCSE)

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What do the datasets contain?

• Applicants choices
• Subjects (21 or 170 groups, harmonised with HESA)
• 334 Institutions for 2002 entry
• Offers (unconditional, conditional, reject)
• Replies (Firm choice, insurance, decline)
• Confirmation and Clearing

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Institutional Planning Service

• Using the UCAS data available under the
  capitation fee it is possible to
• Analyse trends in applications and acceptances
  for your institution, nationally for courses that
  you offer and for UCAS as a whole.
• To break this down by gender, UK region, overseas
  region, qualification, ethnic origin, previous
  educational establishment and more.
• To identify your competitors and to compare
  trends in numbers of applications and acceptances
  by subject group, age and region of domicile.

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What is the profile of your applicants?

• Where do your applicants come from?
• Applicant Postcode Tracking Service

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Questions about...Comparative data

• Who are my competitors?
• How do I compare to my competitors?
• What is my market share and how has it changed
  over time?
• What are the trends for subject groups by
  competitors over time?

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Where do I get this information from?

• UCAS Management Statistics
• Institutional Datasets
• Widening Participation Datasets
• Applications Digest

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Management Statistics and Institutional datasets

• Enables you to compare your Applicants and
  Accepted Applicants over a five year period
• Mass communication and documentation
• Creative Arts
• Business and administration studies
• Social studies
• Mathematical sciences and informatics
• Subjects allied to medicine

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Questions about...Conversion Rates

• How many of my unconditional/conditional offers
  are replied to/accepted?
• How does conversion compare across different
  social class/ethnic groups?
• How does conversion compare across subject
  groups?
• Where do my non-accepted applicants end up?

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Where do I get this information from?

• Applicant Postcode Tracking Service
• 2001 entry Offers and replies
• Live Cycle Offers and replies
• Management Statistics
• Offers by ethnicity
• Conversion dataset
• Applicant/Demographic/Qualifications/Subject data
• Accepted applicants to you, competitors and
  other institutions

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How can I find out about conversion?

• UCAS conversion dataset
• Analysis of applications to your institution
• Understand conversion by subject or applicant
  profile
• Make simple forecasts of accepted applicants

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On-line statistical enquiry service

• He interrogates the on-line statistical enquiry
  service to see if the 2001 end of year figures,
  were also down, when compared to 2000 entry.

www.ucas.com/figures/enq
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Electronic Application Service (EAS)

• The EAS is becoming an increasingly popular
  method of application.
• So far for 2002 entry, 35 of applications have
  been made electronically.
• It is anticipated that for 2003 entry, 80 of
  applications will be made through the EAS.

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Questions about...Pre-Applicants

• Who and where are my potential applicants?
• What are the subject preferences of potential
  applicants?
• What is the profile of potential applicants
  within a school?

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Where do I get this information from?

• UCAS HE Conventions SMART cards
• Data on over 110,000 year 12 students
• Information on
• Subject preferences
• First generation Higher Education
• Names and addresses for mailing purposes

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SMART card Available data
Gender
Postcode/Region
Qualification type (obtained)
Qualification type (currently studied)
Qualification subject (currently studied)
Proposed year of entry
Subject areas of interest
Convention interested/attended
School
Parent Attended HE
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Statistical Bulletin on Widening
ParticipationEdition 2001

• Key information on UK accepted applicant
  profiles.
• Data presented for each UK country
• Gives a taste of the analyses UCAS is able to
  offer in the widening participation arena

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Statistical and Analytical Services

• Core modules
• Institutional Data
• Comparator Data
• National Data

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Statistical and Analytical Services

• Option modules
• Schools and colleges
• Catchment areas
• Conversion rates
• SMART card
• Widening Participation

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Statistical and Analytical Services

• Reporting modules
• Analysis and reporting
• Training
• Presentations

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Further information

• Please contact dasenquiries_at_ucas.ac.uk 01242
  544896
• OR
• Mark Fowler m.fowler_at_ucas.ac.uk
• 01242 544816
• Liz Peters l.peters_at_ucas.ac.uk
• 01242 544907
• Vickie Phair v.phair_at_ucas.ac.uk
• 01242 544912

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What data and analysis is available?

• Overview of UCAS data
• institutional case study example

Making sense of the statistical and analytical
services available from UCAS
Helping you gain a clear understanding of your
current student profile in a widening
participation context
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Annual datasets
www.ucas.com/figures/fps/ads

• National picture - 5 years
• England
• Scotland
• Wales
• Northern Ireland
• (2000 and 2001)

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Institutional datasets

• National picture - 5 years
• Competitors 5 years
• Own 5 years

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Institutional/Annual datasets

• Mr Suca then drills down to applications data for
  the broad subject areas offered at Rosehill.
• Own by subject group - 5 years
• Competitors by subject group 5 years
• National by subject group 5 years

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Enquiry service
01242 544896

• Observing that Education and Mass Communication
  were the subjects most in decline in terms of
  applications to Rosehill, Mr Suca contacts the
  Statistical Enquiries Team at UCAS to obtain more
  detailed subject time-series data.
• Subject lines

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Subject

• The data suggests that
• Education applications lost from one subject line
  (X4 Junior only) are closely reflected in
  increases to another within Rosehill (XX
  Combinations).
• Applications to courses in Education and Tourism
  and Communication studies may be being lost to
  competitors.

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Statistical and analytical services

• Demonstrates that you are able to begin to piece
  together the data jigsaw from the various
  services.
• Or, if you havent the time or expertise, UCAS
  can do it for you, focusing on the pieces of the
  jigsaw you require.