Applying for Higher Education

Career Choices and Plans

Putting Research Outcomes into Practice (PROP) Conference,

Tuesday 12th June 2007

Professor Kate Purcell

• Initial population census with targeted follow-up of under-represented groups.

• Reliance exclusively on web-based data collection.• Contact with universities and colleges to maintain

contact and ‘rebalancing’. • Substantial resources devoted to:

• retention of sample members;• co-ordination across HECSU wider research

programme;• dissemination of research findings.

• Longitudinal pilot survey, question testing, consultative approach to identification of priorities at each wave.

THE RESEARCH DESIGN

2006 UCAS APPLICANTS: POPULATION AND RESPONSE AT WAVE ONE

506,304 UCASapplicants

78,518 ‘late applicants’ or no email supplied

not e-mailed invitation (15.5%)

427,786Invited to participate

in survey (84.5%)

122,872responded

(24.1% of allapplicants

305,914no response

(60.4%)

SURVEY RESPONDENTS100,411 (82.4%)

accepted places in HE21,461 (17.6%)Not accepted

NON RESPONDENTS223,198 (73%)

accepted places in HE82,716 (27%)not accepted

OTHER APPLICANTS64,000 (85.7%)

accepted places in HE11,000 (14.3%)not accepted

HE NON-PARTICIPANTSSHORT SURVEY

7,591respondents

FUTURETRACK Wave 1

TWO RELATED SURVEYS (..at least..)

HE ENTRANTS

NON-ENTRANTS

Who accepted insurance place?

Who turned down offered place and why?

Who failed to obtain a place – and what did they do next?

Who got first main scheme place?

Who took a gap year and why?

Who entered through Clearing?

(and who changed course within first year?)

FUTURETRACK Wave 1

• Full survey response of 121,427

• Short questionnaire for non-accepted applicants: 7,591 responses

• Final response 129,118

• Application data merged with survey responses

• Telephone follow-up interviews with targeted respondents

RESPONSE BIAS

What bias did we expect?• Gender (more women than men)• Age (younger rather than mature)• Ethnicity (lower proportion of Afro-Caribbean)• Social background (fewer working class

applicants)• Entry qualifications (fewer applicants with low

entry qualifications)• Non-traditional degrees (fewer on Foundation

degrees)

RESPONSE RATE ANALYSIS

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0 1 to 79 80 to 119 120 to179

180 to239

240 to299

300 to359

360 to419

420 to479

480 to539

540 plus

Tariff points

% r

espo

ndin

g to

sur

vey

Female - not accepted

Female - accepted

Males - not accepted

Males - accepted

THE KEY STRENGTHS OF THIS INVESTIGATION

• Large and comprehensive• Longitudinal – from HE application to early career

development• Detailed data – university/college application data,

educational history, socio-economic background and other attributes prior to survey responses and targeted follow-ups

• Opportunities for methodological development and testing

• Interdisciplinary research team using both quantitative and qualitative research methods

• Strong support from HE stakeholder community and collaboration to track students – with data-linking where feasible.

FUTURETRACK Wave 1 Some indicative findings

(Weighted responses, HE participants only)

NB: Not to be cited without permission of the research team(Futuretrack2006@warwick.ac.uk)

MAPPING DIVERSITY

• Different contexts and sources of information of HE applicants

• Different ‘HE Terrain’ (and VARIETY of HE Terrain) to which they have access

• STAGE 1: UNPACKING COMPLEXITY

WHO GETS HE PLACES? - BY CONTEXT DURING APPLICATION

0

10

2030

40

50

6070

80

90

Accepted inmain scheme

Accepted inUCAS extra

Accepted inclearing

Notaccepted

Not known

final year in secondary school / sixth form college

student at FE college

employed

unemployed

ETHNICITY BY SITUATION WHILE APPLYING FOR HE

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Asian Black White Mixed Other

per

cen

t

Secondary school / sixth form collegeStudent at FE collegeEmployedUnemployedOther

Subject/ Discipline Sub-Group (HESA broad categories)

Number Per cent

Medicine and Dentistry 12024 2.9 Subjects allied to Medicine 30917 7.5 Biological Sciences 32799 8.0 Vet. Science, Agriculture and related 4730 1.2 Physical Sciences 18067 4.4 Mathematical and Computing Sciences 26179 6.4 Engineering 22745 5.6 Technologies 2713 0.7 Architecture, Building and Planning 8057 2.0 Social Studies 31946 7.8 Law 18481 4.5 Business and Administrative Studies 42470 10.4 Mass Communications and Documentation 9645 2.4 Linguistics, Classics and relate 11813 2.9 European Languages, Literature and related 4943 1.2 Non-European Languages and related 2300 0.6 Historical and Philosophical Studies 13714 3.3 Creative Arts and Design 43029 10.5 Education 13952 3.4 Combined Arts 12820 3.1 Combined Sciences 7229 1.8 Combined Social Sciences 10952 2.7 Sciences combined with Social Sciences 17956 4.4 Social Sciences combined with Arts 10952 2.7 General, other combined and unknown 5180 1.3 Total 409606 100.0

RESPONDENTS’ SELF-EVALUATION: KEY SKILLS PRIOR TO HE ENTRY

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Writtencommunication

Spokencommunication

Numeracy skills

Computer skills

Self-confidence

Excellent

Very good

Good

Adequate

Not very good

DEGREE OF CLARITY ABOUT CAREER AMBITIONS, BY GENDER

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

I have a clear idea of the occupation I want to enter......I have no idea [of what I want to do after my course]

Male Female

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

*Where 1 means 'I have a clear idea about occupation and qualifications required' and 7 means 'I have no idea'

Under 18

19-20

21-24

25 and older

CLARITY OF IDEAS ABOUT CAREER PRIOR TO COURSE* BY AGE-GROUP

CAREER PLANNING BY SUBJECT

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Historical and philosophical studies

Languages

Linguistics and classics

P hysical sciences

Social science/arts

Maths and computing

Mass communication and documentation

Other interdisciplinary

Business and Admin.

Social studies

Biology, Vet and Agricultural related

Science/social science

Creative art and design

Engineering and technology

Law

Architecture, building, planning

Subjects allied to medicine

Education

Medicine & Related

% scoring 6 or 7 on career plans

% scoring 1 or 2 on career plans

All accepted applicants

%

Medicine & dentistry %

Education %

Subjects allied to medicine

%

Engineering & Tech. %

Business & Admin.

%

Physical Science

%

Language%

Historical &

Philosophical Studies

%

Per cent female

54 57 86 74 14 48 40 72 50

Per cent aged 25 or over

12 15 20 31 9 8 6 6 9

Per cent high soc-econ.[1]

15 30 11 12 15 12 20 21 22

Reasons for HE:

- normal thing…

35 44 20 27 39 36 42 47 44

- part of career plans

78 91 87 85 78 78 73 65 71

- to get good job

79 69 75 73 81 84 83 80 74

- to study subject

78 87 66 72 78 54 78 81 79

- friends doing it

14 14 9 9 15 13 18 20 21

•Self-evaluation on range of ‘Excellent’, ‘Very good’, ‘Good’ ‘Adequate’ or ‘Not very good’ [1] From higher managerial or professional household (SES1) [2] From categories 0- 11, where 0 = 0 and 11 = 540+ (NB overseas and non-standard qualifications zero-rated) [3] On scale of 1-7 as in previous figures.

All accepted applicants%

Medicine & dentistry %

Education %

Subjects allied to medicin

e %

Engineering & Tech.

%)

Business &

Admin. %

Physical Science

s %

Languages%

Historical &

Philosophical

Studies%

Reasons for subject

- enjoy studying it

78 76 57 59 78 68 89 91 93

- get good grades

41 50 14 26 44 35 55 58 54

- to enter profession

44 90 80 77 48 30 32 23 16

- difficulty deciding

8 3 4 5 8 9 11 10 10

Excellent written communication*

20 27 15 19 14 15 16 35 32

Excellent numeracy skills*

17 36 8 16 34 18 30 7

Average UCAS tarriff[2]

5.5 7.5 4.5 4.6 5.4 4.8 6.8 6.7 6.8

Average career plan score[3]

2.8 1.3 1.5 1.6 2.5 2.9 3.4 3.6 3.9

* Self-evaluation on range of ‘Excellent’, ‘Very good’, ‘Good’ ‘Adequate’ or ‘Not very good’ [1] From higher managerial or professional household (SES1) [2] From categories 0- 11, where 0 = 0 and 11 = 540+ (NB overseas and non-standard qualifications zero-rated) [3] On scale of 1-7 as in previous figures.

SUBJECT RATIOS - UK/EU/Overseas

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Engineering, Technologies

Business & Admin studies

Architecture, Build & Plan

Law

Social Studies

Social Science combined w ith arts

Mathematical & Comp Sci

Medicine & Dentistry

Interdisciplinary, other combined subjects

Languages

Science combined w ith social science

Mass communication and Documentation

Biology, Vet Sci,Ag & related

Subjects allied to Medicine

Creative Arts & Design

Physical Sciences

Linguistics and Classics

Hist & Philosophical studies

Education

UK

EU

Other overseas

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

Creative Arts & Design

Humanities,languages, mass communication

Business & Admin studies

Law

Social Studies and education

Engineering, Technologies

Mathematical & Comp Sci

Natural Science

Subjects allied to Medicine

Medicine & Dentistry

* per cent (accepted applicants only)

White

Black

Asian

SELECTED MAJOR SUBJECT GROUPS OF COURSES APPLIED FOR, COMPARING ASIAN, BLACK AND WHITE

APPLICANTS

GENDER, SELECTED SUBJECT GROUPS

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Biological, physical sciences, maths,computing

Engineering Technologies Other subjects

Male

Female

(accepted places)

ALL AND MAIN REASONS FOR APPLYING TO ENTER HE

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Other

I was encouraged to apply by my employer/ colleagues

I was influenced by careers advice or information providedelsewhere

I thought it would be better than being unemployed

I was influenced by careers advice or information provided at myschool/college

Some/all of my friends are doing so

I wasn’t sure what to do next and it gave me more options

My teachers encouraged me to apply

My parents encouraged me to apply

It is the normal thing to do for somebody like me

I want to be a student

I want to realise my potential

I want to study the particular subject/course

It is part of my longer-term career plans

To enable me to get a good job

Main reason

All reasons

REASONS FOR CHOICE OF HEI

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

No particular reason / Don't know

Other

School or college career advisers

Course fees and / or bursaries available

Availability of suitable accommodation

Cost of living considerations

Personal reasons (e.g. friends or other members of the family w ere there)

Teacher(s)

The research reputation of the university or department

Location, because I could continue to live at home

Students already studying at that institution or on that course

Friends

Location, because I w anted to study aw ay from home

Parents/Partners/other family members

Good university' Guide/ League Tables/ TQI

The university/ college prospectus or w eb-site

The teaching reputation of the university or department

Location, because it is an interesting place

Reputation of the institution generally

Visit to institution

It offered the particular course I w anted

ALL AND MAIN REASONS FOR CHOICE OF COURSE

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Other

I was advised that the course would be appropriate for me

I had difficulty deciding and it seemed like a reasonable option

It will enable me to qualify for another course

It includes the opportunity to spend part of the course abroad

It is a modular course and enables me to keep a range of options

I get good grades in subject(s) related to this course

I need to complete this course to enter a particular profession/

I think it will lead to good employment opportunities in general

I enjoy studying the subject(s)/topic(s)

I am interested in the content of the course

All reasons

Main reason

SELECTED REASONS FOR HE APPLICATION

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

It is the normal thing to do for somebody like me

I w ant to be a student

I w ant to study the particular subject/course

Some/all of my friends are doing so

My parents encouraged me to apply

My teachers encouraged me to apply

*Where influence of parental HE

Both parents had HE

One parent had HE

Neither parent had HE/ not declared

INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO INFORM HE DECISION-MAKING

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Information about the career implications of post-16 exam subject choices

Information about the range of HE courses available

Information about the relationship betw een courses and employment options

Information about alternatives to going on to higher education

Classroom based teaching on career or life planning

Access to careers information or guidance outside school or college

Individual careers guidance

Presentations by representatives of universities/colleges

Presentations about career opportunities by employers

School/college visits to universities/colleges

Independent visits to universities/colleges

Visits to careers fairs (e.g. UCAS regional fair)

Access to publications such as 'Good University' guides,

Too much What I needed Not enough None at all

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

My friends influenced my choice(s).

I needed more help and advice in choosing which course to study.

Careers guidance provided at my school/college was very helpful tome.

I found it difficult to choose course(s).

I have had excellent careers guidance.

Teachers/lecturers were very helpful to me.

I had access to all the information I required about higher educationcourses.

University/college websites and prospectuses were helpful.

I found the UCAS website easy to use.

My family were very supportive in my choice of course.

Strongly agree Agree Not sure disagree Strongly disagree Not applicable

CHOOSING COURSES – EXPERIENCE OF INFORMATION SOURCES

HOW STUDENTS PROPOSED TO FUND THEIR STUDIES

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Other

Sponsorship/bursary fromcurrent/prospective employer.

National Health Service/GeneralSocial Care Council.

University/college hardship oraccess funds.

Repayable loan from parents/otherfamily/partner.

Local Authority/Student AwardAgency for Scotland.

Other forms of borrowing (e.g.credit cards, bank loans)

University/college accessfunds/bursary.

Non-repayable contributions fromparents/other family /partner

Personal savings/inheritance.

Working during study.

Working during holidays.

From the Student Loan CompanyLimited.

RESPONDENTS’ EXPECTATIONS OF DEBT

20%

22%

58%

Significant debts

No significant debts

Don't know

DEBTS AND PAID WORK, BY DOMICILE

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Mer

seys

ide

Sou

th W

est

Eas

tern

Eas

t M

idla

nds

Nor

th E

ast

Nor

ther

n Ir

elan

d

Sou

th E

ast

Nor

th W

est

Yor

ks &

The

Hum

ber

Wes

t M

idla

nds

Wal

es

Gre

ater

Lon

don

Sco

tland

Oth

er U

K EU

Oth

er o

vers

eas

Tot

al

Anticipate significant debts Expect to do paid work during term time

ATTITUDES OF RESPONDENTS TO KEY ISSUES

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

I worry that, as a higher education student, I will find the level ofwork difficult.

One of the main benefits of higher education is the opportunity forextra-curricular activities.

I see my time in HE as the opportunity to clarify my careeroptions.

All universities should charge the same annual fees, regardless oflocation or course.

Student loans are a good idea.

For most good jobs a degree is essential.

Student debts place unreasonable burdens on graduates.

Education is valuable in its own right, not just as preparation foremployment

Students in higher education should contribute to its cost if theycan afford to.

Being a higher education student provides opportunities forpersonal growth and independence.

A higher education qualification is a good investment

Strongly agree Agree Not sure Disagree Strongly disagree

In the field NOWFUTURETRACK Wave 2:experience of 1st year

Topics to be investigated include: • current situation, • evaluation of HE experience – study, paid and

unpaid work, extra-curricular activities, • HE context – region, type of university/college,

travel, accommodation and other resources• current career aspirations, use of careers

service, • finance and debt, • obstacles encountered and access to

opportunities

SUBSEQUENT WAVES OF THE SURVEY

AT THE END OF FIRST DEGREE STUDY (2009):• Educational outcomes, career planning and use of careers

information and guidance services;• The next stage –graduate study, entry to employment, experience of

job-seeking, evaluation of fit between education and early outcomes, career plans and choices.

TWO+ YEARS LATER (2011-2):• Where are they now? Early career development, different career

paths, impact of advice and guidance;• value of higher educations experience and credentials, impact of

access to information and Career planning and use of services;• evaluation of fit between education and outcomes, longer-term

career plans;• continuing educational, training and career guidance needs;• Integration into the graduate labour market – winners, losers, and

what can we learn from their experience?

OBJECTIVES

• improve understanding of the career decision-making process;

• clarify the impact of obstacles and advantages in determining opportunities;

• provide both an overview of the student population and insight into particular categories of students;

• reveal where, when, what and for whom careers information and guidance are most effective – and most required;

• provide unprecedented evidence about the relationship between higher education and early career development to inform practice, policy and debates about ‘the knowledge society’, etc.

KEY ISSUES • Publicity and collaboration with other

Stakeholders – particularly HEIs and Careers Services – will be essential to ensure high retention rate;

• Targeting of under-represented groups required;• incentives and role of website important –

sponsorship, opportunities, etc;• development of panel element, to facilitate the

addition of those who failed to participate first time round.

For further information about

see www.hecsu.ac.uk ORwww.warwick.ac.uk/go/glmf

and follow the links to Futuretrack 2006

Methodological enquiries to the research team at Futuretrack2006@warwick.ac.uk