Association of Colleges 2 5 Stedham Place London WC1A 1HU Telephone: 020 7034 9900 Fax: 020 7034 9950

0 Email: keyfacts@aoc.co.uk

College Key Facts

Summer 2009

Website: www.aoc.co.uk

Strength
Every year Colleges educate and train around three million people 737,000 16 to 18-year-olds choose to study in Colleges (compared with 487,000 in all schools) 95% of General Further Education Colleges are involved in delivering the new Diplomas in England 82,000 14 to 16-year-olds are enrolled at a College Colleges provide 39% of entrants to higher education More than half of all Foundation Degree students are taught in Colleges 91% of General Further Education Colleges teach Foundation Degrees Colleges deliver 73% of HNCs and 60% of HNDs 172,000 students study higher education in a College 269 Colleges provide higher education Colleges educate over 56,000 students from outside the UK

Success
Success rates for Colleges rose to 81% in 2007/08 The average A-level or equivalent point score for Sixth Form Colleges is 794.8 (compared with 757.4 for school sixth forms) One-third of A-level students study at a College 46% of those achieving a Level 3 qualification by age 19 do so at a College Almost half (45%) of all vocational qualifications are awarded via Colleges; 6% are awarded through employers The three most popular qualifications taught in Colleges at Level 4 and above are: Accounting; Business, Administration and Law; Health and Social Care

Satisfaction/standards
96% of Colleges inspected in 2007/08 were judged satisfactory or better by Ofsted for the quality of their provision; in 75% of Colleges it was good or outstanding 93% of Colleges were judged satisfactory or better for their overall effectiveness Three quarters of people say their local College has a good reputation for the quality and range of courses it provides Three quarters of people believe that, for many teenagers, a College will be a more suitable place to study and acquire skills than a school 83% of people think Colleges are as important to business competitiveness as universities 90% of students are fairly, very or extremely satisfied with the quality of teaching in Colleges Two-thirds of large employers that train their staff do so through a College 84% of employers training through a College are satisfied with the service provided QAA judged 99% of HE courses in Colleges to be commendable or approved

Social mobility
Ethnic minority students make up 18% of learners in Colleges compared with 12% of the general population 13% of 16 to 18-year-olds in Colleges are from a deprived background compared with 8% in maintained school sixth forms 135,000 College students are aged over 60 68% of those in receipt of an Education Maintenance Allowance study in a College 81% of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students study at a College

Sound investment
The total College income in England in 2007/08 was 7.2 billion Colleges employ 263,000 people, 140,000 of whom are teachers and lecturers Staff costs (excluding restructuring) total 4.6 billion, accounting for 63% of total College spending