Written Question · S3W-15191 · Session 3
What the higher education participation rate would need to be to place Scotland in the top quartile internationally, as outlined as a chall…
The question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the higher education participation rate would need to be to place Scotland in the top quartile internationally, as outlined as a challenge in New Horizons: responding to the challenges of the 21st century, the interim report of the joint Future Thinking Taskforce on Universities, and how many students this would represent in terms of (a) 2008 population and (b) population projections for 2028.
The answer
Each year the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publish international indicators on participation rates in tertiary education (degree level and above) in their publication Education at a Glance. The most recent figures, published in September 2007, relate to the academic year 2004-05.
These figures show the lowest participation rate within the top quartile belongs to Iceland at 74%; therefore the participation rate for Scotland would need to be 74% to place Scotland in the top quartile. For the academic year 2004-05 the participation rate for Scotland was 56%.
Assuming that the participation rate of all member countries remains the same the number of entrants to Scottish institutions would need to rise to 55,440 in 2008 and 50,165 in 2028 (increases of 14,180 and 8,905 respectively compared to 2004-05). The decreased figure for 2028 compared to 2008 is due to a projected decline in the Scottish population.
Sources: General Register Office for Scotland (GROS), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and Scottish Funding Council (SFC).
These figures show the lowest participation rate within the top quartile belongs to Iceland at 74%; therefore the participation rate for Scotland would need to be 74% to place Scotland in the top quartile. For the academic year 2004-05 the participation rate for Scotland was 56%.
Assuming that the participation rate of all member countries remains the same the number of entrants to Scottish institutions would need to rise to 55,440 in 2008 and 50,165 in 2028 (increases of 14,180 and 8,905 respectively compared to 2004-05). The decreased figure for 2028 compared to 2008 is due to a projected decline in the Scottish population.
Sources: General Register Office for Scotland (GROS), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and Scottish Funding Council (SFC).
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S3W-15191 by reference.