HE Analysis - data overview
Strata calculates entrant, continuation and completion rates for FE‑delivered HE using the same OfS methodology applied to universities, based on ILR data, tracking who enters, who stays, and who completes within expected timeframes.
1. Entrants (Access / Participation)
This is the proportion of students entering HE for the first time. This data can be cut for many different demographic groups for example, IMD quintiles, POLAR, TUNDRA, age groups, ethnicity, disability. The data is analysed against the year they enter into HE i.e. the start year and not by hybrid end or planned end year.
Key point for FE: Entrant rates are descriptive, not performance measures. They show who you recruit, not how well you perform.
2. Continuation and Best Case Rates
This is the proportion of first‑year students who continue into their second year or achieve a qualification within the expected timeframe. It is calculated as:
-
Identify a cohort of full‑time or part‑time first‑year students in a start year
Check whether each student:
- is still in HE at the same provider the following year(s),
- 1 year and 15 days for full-time and apprenticeship provision
- 2 years and 15 days for part-time provision
- has transferred to another provider, or
- has left HE
- is still in HE at the same provider the following year(s),
- The continuation rate is: Continuation rate = (students who continue + students who qualify early) ÷ total entrants in cohort
Important details:
- Students who transfer to another HE provider still count as continued.
- Students who withdraw, fail to progress, or disappear from the record count as non‑continuing.
3. Completion and Best Case Rates
This is the proportion of students who complete their course and achieve the intended qualification.
- Identify a cohort of students starting a course with an expected end date
- 4 years and 15 days for full-time and apprenticeship provision
- 6 years and 15 days for part-time provision
- Track whether each student:
- achieves the qualification,
- transfers,
- withdraws, or
- is still studying beyond the expected timeframe
- Completion rate is: Completion rate = number of students who achieve the qualification ÷ total entrants in cohort
Additional OfS considerations:
- Students who transfer to another provider and complete elsewhere do not count as completions for the original provider
- Students who take longer than expected may be counted as non‑completers depending on the timeframe
4. Differences between Strata and published OfS data
Strata cannot check whether a learner has transferred from another provider /across the sector. The OfS can so will count these learners as continuations and entrants against the original provider. For OfS purposes a transfer counts as successful continuation.
Strata only looks at your providers ILR data, thus will have no knowledge of HE enrolments at another provider. Therefore these learners will be counted as entrants, continuers and completers in your data but may not count on the published OfS dashboard.
5. B3 Condition %
This can be viewed on the HE dashboard and is published by a specific combination of level and mode of study grouping. The B3 values are published by the OfS.
The thresholds represent the minimum percentage of students who should:
- Continue into the next year of study
- Complete their qualification
They are set separately for each mode (full‑time, part‑time, apprenticeship) and level (UG, PG, PGCE, research). Example: Full‑time first‑degree students are expected to achieve at least 80% continuation, 75% completion, and 60% progression.
The purpose of these thresholds is to define the minimum acceptable performance for student outcomes in England’s higher education sector.