Michelle Donelan responds to new completion figures

In response to the Higher Education Statistics Agency figures on non-continuation rates published today, Minister for Higher and Further Education Michelle Donelan welcomed the record rates of students projected to leave university with a qualification.

She said: 

“I have long argued that when it comes to university, getting on is every bit as important as getting in, and that universities must focus on tackling drop-out rates among students. 

“That is why it is so greatly welcome to see that for the first time, it is projected over 90% of students will complete a qualification – the highest rate ever recorded. This is real progress, impacting real lives – and I want to put on record my thanks to our universities for their hard work, especially through a challenging pandemic, in reaching this milestone”.

Additional information – on background  

• The non-continuation rate for young full-time first degree entrants in 2019/20 in the UK was 5.3%.This is a fall of 1.4 percentage points from the previous year and is the lowest non-continuation rate observed since the UK PIs have been calculated.
• The non-continuation rate for mature full-time first degree entrants in the UK was 11.9%, a fall of 1.6 percentage points from the previous year.
• Projected outcome statistics show that 9.4% of full-time first degree entrants in the UK are projected to leave HE with no award, a fall of 1.7 percentage points from the previous year, and also the lowest rate on record.