Statistics on Higher Education

In the short-term there are plans to extend learning support for mathematics and statistics as part of a university-wide strategy for enhancing the student experience. To that end, the mathematics and statistics support centre will provide workshops for programme leaders, and promote discussion of a range of topics including the implications for higher education of curriculum and examination change post- compulsory education (for example Advanced-level (A-level) and Advanced- Supplementary (AS) qualifications typically taken between the ages of 16 and 18). It will continue to engage with the sigma Network with a view to learning from the experiences of other mathematics and statistics support centres. In particular, it will be seeking guidance on enhancing the learning and achievements of students who have been ‘turned off’ by their prior experiences of mathematics at school and/or college. It would also welcome opportunities to access continuing professional development for its staff aimed at enabling them to embed innovative methods into the design and delivery of their courses with a view to making the experience of learning mathematics and statistics more effective for their students. Finally, at a national level it would welcome development initiatives aimed at improving the mathematical and statistical understanding of applicants before they arrive at university.

The research study was done through two different higher institutions in two distinct countries. The obtained results, negatives or positives, were almost directed in the same way. Despite the few negative technical comments in the significance of the use and implementation of software in statistics at Higher Education Institutions, several positive comments supported it; especially in the academic fields such as motivation, understanding, skills, knowledge, facilitation, application and satisfaction. However, this study discovered some negative factors to be modified. Based on this sample study, students believed that the use and implementation of software experiment during statistical lessons should not be considered as a whole system in the teaching/learning process but it is very useful in clarifications. Also the use of software in the statistical learning environment had no sufficient time allocated for discussions. Software experiments had technical problems due to the insufficient specific software but at the time these problems have been solved, students, according to the survey results, did not face difficulties during the use of software experiments in statistical lessons. In addition, this survey failed to test the factor that software experiments had in view more complex subjects due to the ambiguous output of this issue. Nowadays, many academicals institutions established computer labs in their campuses; so they can get benefit from that not only by learning computer as software or a hardware instrument but also as a tool to improve the statistic teaching/learning process.

Mathematics support now forms a widely accepted and important part of the provision of higher education institutions within the UK and Ireland to assist students within their learning of mathematics and statistics, particularly as they make the transition to university study. Over the last 15 years it has seen growth as an area of scholarship, and behind this has been the role of those staff members who oversee, develop, deliver and research mathematics support within their institutions. To date, however, there has been little work that explores the roles, opportunities and recognition afforded to such individuals, but this is important if visibility for mathematics support as part of the provision and practice of higher education institutions is to continue to grow and a sustainable community of practitioners is to be established. Here we report on a survey of 51 individuals with responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the mathematics and statistics support provision within their institutions. Findings show that the majority of staff with such responsibility for the delivery of mathematics support within institutions are in permanent roles and that in many instances this forms the sole focus of their employment; there also exists an important and visible role for postgraduates in the delivery of mathematics support. Finally, there is evidence that most staff working in this area feel recognised and well supported with opportunities to develop their roles, engage with professional development, and to contribute to a national community of practice.

There exists an increasing array of evidence highlighting that mathematics and statistics support is now widely offered by higher education institutions within England. The recent work of Tolley and Mackenzie (2015) to gather senior management perspectives on support provision offers insight into the value placed upon such provision by senior management; the findings from our survey reinforce their work. The data show that not only is mathematics support available within a range of different types of institution, as identified by their mission group, but that it is extensive in both its extent (number of hours) and range (backgrounds of the individuals to whom it is available). Significantly, there is evidence that the way in which mathematics support provision is ‘positioned’ within an institution is becoming increasingly strategic; in many cases there is alignment with other student-focused services and mechanisms are in place for institutions to utilise their findings from offering mathematics support to feed into main-stream teaching and learning. For a number of years there has been much debate relating to the embedding of sustainable teaching and learning interventions within UK higher education; our findings show that the approach adopted by sigma, when establishing mathematics support provision as part of its national activities, in terms of requiring matched institutional support and a clear plan for longer-term sustainability has paid dividends with supported centres showing a high likelihood of longer-term sustainability as perceived by those who lead them. More broadly however, the evidence indicates that mathematics support appears a sustainable part of the teaching and learning provision within UK institutions.

Much of the information in this note is taken from the annual Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publications Resources of higher education institutions and its recent replacements. A limited amount of free information can be found on the HESA website. The most recent Patterns and Trends in UK Higher Education from Universities UK looks at 10 year trends in the sector and variations between institutions on a number of different indicators. The Higher Education Funding Council for England publishes an annual financial assessment of the sector in England. The latest version is Financial health of the higher education sector: 2012-13 financial results and 2013-14 forecasts.

Much of the information in this note is taken from the annual Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publications Resources of higher education institutions and its recent replacements. A limited amount of free information can be found on the HESA website. The most recent Patterns and Trends in UK Higher Education from Universities UK looks at 10 year trends in the sector and variations between institutions on a number of different indicators. The Higher Education Funding Council for England publishes an annual financial assessment of the sector in England. The latest version is Financial results and TRAC outcomes 2014-15, forecasts are given in Financial health of the higher education sector: 2015-16 to 2018-19 forecasts

Much of the information in this note is taken from the annual Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publications Resources of higher education institutions and its recent replacements. A limited amount of free information can be found on the HESA website. The most recent Patterns and Trends in UK Higher Education from Universities UK looks at 10 year trends in the sector and variations between institutions on a number of different indicators. The Higher Education Funding Council for England publishes an annual financial assessment of the sector in England. The latest version is Financial results and TRAC outcomes 2014-15, forecasts are given in Financial health of the higher education sector: 2015-16 to 2018-19 forecasts

Statistics anxiety is a pervasive problem in many fields of study (Macher, et al., 2012). Onwuegbuzie et al., 2003 highlight different areas like education, psychology, sociology as some of the courses where it is prevalent. It is, therefore, no doubt that most students from areas struggle with statistics related courses such as research methodology and statistical methods as Statistics are all pervaded. Its applications have increased in recent years (Onwuegbuzie, et al., 2003) as it has permeated into different fields. Statistics is a means to the end not a goal in itself. It is used in research to come to conclusions. In academics, statistics play an essential role as it assists students in undertaking empirical studies (Coetzee and Van der Merwe, 2010). It is worth noting that statistics anxiety will, therefore, cripple academic development as well as living life. It applies to workplaces, shopping malls, sports, accounts (Chew and Dillon, 2014). Therefore the importance of statistics cannot be underestimated. The universe’s language is statistics. It is the water and salt of education, research, and development.

The international mobility of Chinese students has to be considered against the backdrop of the dramatic expansion of tertiary education enrolments China has experienced in the last two decades (Samir et al. 2010). After a decade-long disruption during the Cultural Revolution, the gaokao (National College Entrance Exam) was restored in 1977, as a mecha- nism of restructuring higher education opportunities away from political affiliation, and the 1978 economic reform and opening-up furthered the idea of ‘meritocracy’ in education (Liu 2013). The number of HEIs mushroomed from 1054 to 2554 between 1995 and 2014 and the number of university students nearly tripled from 2.91 million to 7.21 million (China National Bureau of Statistics 2014). With the massification of tertiary education, a university degree no longer confers the same sense of symbolic and cultural distinction as it did in the 1980s (Bai 2006; Mok 2016; Waters 2008). It does not necessarily promise a secure job in the Chinese labour market, either; more than 30% (2.3 million) of university graduates in 2014 were unable to find a job six months after graduation (Sharma 2014). This has not, however, necessarily diminished the demand for higher education among the Chinese youth. On the contrary, it has exacerbated domestic competition for degrees from prestigious top universities that exercise highly selective admission criteria and generates anxiety and ambition among young Chinese people (Hansen and Thøgersen 2015; Yan 2013).

   Higher Education in Ireland: Universities in Ireland Nation Master: Education in Ireland: Statistics Wikipedia: Education in The Republic of Ireland Employment information     [r]

All official statistics should comply with all aspects of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. They are awarded National Statistics status following an assessment by the UK Statistics Authority’s regulatory arm. The Authority considers whether the statistics meet the highest standards of Code compliance, including the value they add to public decisions and debate. It is Welsh Government’s responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected of National Statistics. If we become concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with the Authority promptly. National Statistics status can be removed at any point when the highest standards are not maintained, and reinstated when standards are restored.

In the second year of HESLB operations; the year 2006/07, the Board continued with provision of loan using the same generalized criteria. So at minimum all students admitted in any accredited higher learning institution (public or private) within the country and those pursuing their undergraduate studies outside the country under bilateral agreement were eligible for the loan. Based on statistics, students pursuing their undergraduate studies within the country were paid 100% loan for meal and accommodation 3,500 per day and 120,000 for books and stationery. The rest of the loanable items were paid 60% of the specified amount as stipulated by structure of fee and other cost issued by their respective institutions. This amount 60% was paid to all students regardless of their socioeconomic background. Because of that, there were a lot of complaints over income inequality among students. Considering such complaints, the Board had to work out on the criteria which would take into account the income inequality among loan applicants so that those who are able to pay should not be granted the same amount of loan as orphans or those with permanent disability or those with genuine reason for low financial capacity and hence inability to finance their studies. The Board came out with new criteria for allocating students loans which was called Means Testing.

Drawing on the 2014 data from the UK Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and the 2014 Higher Expectations Survey (HES), our research provides the first systematic quantitative assessment of how Chinese students sort on universities’ prestige, social and cultural life offerings, economic cost, marketing strategies, and the size of existing Chinese student body across 120 British universities. We further supplement and elaborate on the quantitative findings with qualitative evidence from the focus groups we have conducted with Chinese international students. The qualitative evidence is provided for illustrative purposes in order to provide a sense of the potential individual logics underlying our quantitative patterns.

• Office of National Statistics, (2018), ‘Estimating Suicide Among Higher Education Students, England and Wales’, available at:. https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/estimatingsuicideamonghig[r]

One of the main goals of education policy is to enhance educational outcomes. If resources are used inefficiently, they will fail to maximise those outcomes. Data Envelopment Analysis was used to calculate technical efficiency of public spending on education for EU-28 using the latest higher education statistics available. Focusing on European higher education, conceptual and methodological issues related to the measurement and analysis of efficiency were discussed. The most efficient countries are identified and also countries for which real efficiency improvements are possible. A novel set of variables is used to highlight more appropriately the distinctiveness of the higher education sector and the relationship between input and outputs. The advantage of using Data Envelopment Analysis is that it identifies the best performing decision, making units and not the averages. This type of information about the efficiency of public spending on education is of importance to many parties. It can be used to promote ‘yardstick’ competition in the areas of education where the lack of market mechanisms is apparent, guide policy proposals, and to enhance the monitoring of education.

• Office of National Statistics, (2018), ‘Estimating Suicide Among Higher Education Students, England and Wales’, available at:. https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/estimatingsuicideamonghig[r]

Murder. The shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois Universities increased public awareness of crime in higher education. Whereas sexual violence had been at the forefront of campus crimes, mass murders committed by individuals became a new phenomenon. In their study, Fox and Savage (2009) looked at the murder statistics as reported by the Department of Education for the years preceding both shooting incidents. From 2001-2005, 76 homicides were reported. Of those murders, a gun was used in 52 percent of the occurrences. A knife (12%), some other weapon (14%), or no weapon (22%) was used in the remainder of the incidents. The perpetrator was almost always male (91%) and the victim was usually male (61%). The perpetrator was usually a student (58%), but a few were faculty members (9%), staff (9%), child of a campus community member (5%), or others (19%). The victim was found to be a student (36%), former student (5%), outsider (32%), or undetermined individual (27%). The relationship between the victim and perpetrator was determined to be a friend (28%), partner (13%), acquaintance (7%), stranger (28%) and undetermined (25%) in the reported homicides (p. 1468). When compared to other campus crime statistics, murders rank low, yet “the potential consequences can be devastating and long-lasting” (p. 1466).

Other surveys have also aspect about attitudes to debt. 34% of respondents to the 2007 UNITE survey agreed with a statement that they were seriously worried about the debts they would incur as a result of higher education, up from 27% in the 2006 survey. First year students were more likely to agree with this statement as were those from lower social classes (39% of C2DEs compared to 30% of ABC1s). 24% responded to questions that they “can’t afford to continue studying (too expensive)” or are more concerned about the “potential level of debt at graduation”. These students were more likely to be from the C2DE groups. However, the proportion of students who said they were actually struggling financially has not increased and 85% of students said that higher education was a worthwhile investment. 26

Source: VOCSTATS - NCVER, Higher Education Statistics – Department of Education and Population Projections and Population - Australian Bureau of Statistics... Population projections are[r]

One of the major contributors to this violence is alcohol, as evidenced by eight of the references mentioning alcohol. According to an article in the Journal of American College Health, in 2002, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s Task Force on College Drinking characterized heavy drinking by higher education students as widespread, dangerous, and disruptive: (a) Researchers conducting national surveys found that approximately 40% of college students can be classified as heavy drinkers, often defined as having five or more drinks in a row at least once in the past two weeks, (b) an estimated 31% of college students meets Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), 4th edition, criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse, whereas 6% can be classified as alcohol dependent, (c) by one calculation, more than 1,700 students aged 18 to 24 who are enrolled in two- and four-year colleges and universities die annually from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, and (d) nearly 80% of these deaths are due to motor vehicle crashes. In addition, approximately 500,000 college students in this age range suffer alcohol-related unintentional injuries each year (DeJong, Towvim, & Schneider, 2007).