KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR NORTH EAST SCOTLAND COLLEGE
The following tables show the key performance indicators relating to student outcome for
North East Scotland College (formerly Aberdeen College and Banff and Buchan College)
over the last 3-6 academic years. Data is presented in various groupings but is mostly
provided separately for full time and part time courses and is also split by level as follows:


HE qualifications are those at Higher National Certificate level or above (SCQF level
7 and over)
FE qualifications are those at National Certificate level or below (SCQF levels 6 and
under)
The data presented shows the proportion of enrolled students who completed their courses
successfully; those who remained in attendance but who did not achieve all the required
outcomes and those who withdrew before completion. The formal definitions are provided
below:
Completed: Successful = proportion of students who were retained on their courses and
successfully completed their qualifications
Completed: Partial success = proportion of students who were retained on their courses but
did not successfully completed their qualifications. This includes a number of students who
return to complete the elements of their course and subsequently complete their
qualifications.
Further withdrawal = proportion of students who left their course between the 25% date and
the end of the course. This figure includes a number of students who withdraw early in order
to take up employment or to move onto higher education.
Early withdrawal = proportion of students who left their course prior to 25% of the course
duration.
Full-time Student Outcomes
Outcomes for full-time students have improved again in the last year, continuing a positive
trend. A higher proportion of enrolments have completed successfully and withdrawal rates
have continued to fall for both FE and HE level students.
Table 1: Outcomes for Full-time Further Education student enrolments on recognised qualifications
Year
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
Mode of
Attendance
Full Time
Full Time
Full Time
%
Completed
Successful
60.9%
65.1%
66.2%
%
Completed
partial
success
12.4%
9.4%
12.4%
% Further
withdrawal
% Early
Withdrawal
18.2%
17.5%
15.1%
8.5%
7.9%
6.3%
Number of
Enrolments
4507
3977
4095
Table 2: Outcomes for Full-time Higher Education student enrolments on recognised qualifications
Outcomes for Higher Education student enrolments on recognised qualifications
%
%
Completed
% Further
% Early
Completed
Mode of
partial
withdrawal Withdrawal Number of
Successful
Year
Attendance
success
Enrolments
2011-12 Full Time
67.1%
12.3%
15.1%
5.4%
2846
2012-13 Full Time
70.3%
10.3%
13.7%
5.8%
2747
2013-14 Full Time
72.1%
11.1%
12.5%
4.2%
2691
Part-time Student Outcomes
The proportion of complete successes for part-time students has increased for part-time HE
enrolments, although it has fallen for FE students. Withdrawal rates remain very low for both
FE and HE. A smaller proportion of students have partial success in HE courses but the
number has risen for FE. Reasons for this are being investigated.
Table 3: Outcomes for Part-time Further Education student enrolments on recognised qualifications
Year
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
Mode of
Attendance
Part Time
Part Time
Part Time
%
Completed
Successful
84.6%
85.6%
80.4%
%
Completed
partial
success
11.4%
9.5%
14.8%
% Further
withdrawal
% Early
Withdrawal
2.5%
3.3%
3.4%
1.5%
1.6%
1.4%
Number of
Enrolments
9949
7650
8128
Table 4: Outcomes for Part-time Higher Education student enrolments on recognised qualifications
Year
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
Mode of
Attendance
Part Time
Part Time
Part Time
%
Completed
Successful
74.3%
77.8%
82.2%
%
Completed
partial
success
18.9%
17.7%
14.4%
% Further
withdrawal
% Early
Withdrawal
4.1%
3.3%
2.3%
2.7%
1.1%
1.1%
Number of
Enrolments
1473
1404
1521
Chart 1. Outcomes for FE on recognised qualifications (full time)
This chart shows the outcomes for students who enrolled on FE full-time courses over the last 6
years. The number of the left represents the number of enrolments. The shading represents the
percentage of enrolments in each of the outcome categories. The data shows a continuing upward
trend with respect to the proportion of students successfully completing and a reduction in those
withdrawing before completion.
Outcomes for Further Education student enrolments on full
time recognised qualifications
2008-09
4,110
2009-10
4,314
2010-11
4,332
2011-12
4,507
2012-13
3,977
65.1%
2013-14
Year & Students
4,095
66.2%
54.5%
17.2%
57.6%
-40% -30% -20% -10%
0%
% Further Withdrawal
13.3%
61.2%
13.5%
60.9%
12.4%
9.4%
12.4%
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
% Early Withdrawal
% Completed Successfully
% Partial Success
Chart 2. Outcomes for FE on recognised qualifications (part time)
This chart shows the outcomes for students who enrolled on FE part-time courses over the last 3
years, and is split by length of course. The number of the left represents the number of enrolments.
The shading represents the percentage of enrolments in each of the outcome categories. The data
shows some fluctuation with respect to the proportion of students successfully completing, albeit
around high success rates and low withdrawal rates.
Outcomes for Further Education student enrolments on Part
time recognised qualifications
2013-14
2012-13
2011-12
Duration &
Students
under 10 hours
106
10 up to 40 hours
1,056
40 up to 80 hours
1,424
80 up to 160 hours
5,461
160 up to 320 hours
1,329
320 hours up to FT
1,022
under 10 hours
71
10 up to 40 hours
761
87.6%
8.4%
40 up to 80 hours
1,038
86.9%
7.8%
80 up to 160 hours
3,811
87.7%
160 up to 320 hours
1,284
60.4%
22.6%
75.0%
16.7%
89.2%
6.0%
85.6%
13.2%
82.0%
7.3%
50.9%
20.1%
100.0%
0.0%
11.5%
76.2%
6.9%
320 hours up to FT
685
under 10 hours
235
10 up to 40 hours
685
82.8%
11.8%
40 up to 80 hours
892
82.5%
9.2%
8.3%
95.3%
80 up to 160 hours
4,005
160 up to 320 hours
1,628
320 hours up to FT
85.5%
79.5%
19.0%
75.7%
683
4.7%
13.3%
87.1%
7.6%
-40%-30%-20%-10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
% Further Withdrawal
% Early Withdrawal
% Completed Successfully
% Partial Success
Chart 3. Achievement for FE students with partial success
This chart shows the level of achievement for students who have completed courses but not attained
qualifications (“partial success”) on Further Education courses of over 160 hours in length. Of the
students in this category, 45% achieved at least half of the planned units.
Level of achievement for students completing an FE course of 160
hours or more who did not achieve 'full' success
(An overview of the 'completed partial success' group above )
Number of students who complete their course without
gaining any units / credits
Number of students completing their course achieiving up
to 25% of planned units
129
Number of students completing their course achieving 25
to 50% of planned units
Number of students completing their course achieving 50
to 75% of planned units
Number of students completing their course achieving at
least 75% of planned units
208
64
221
155
Chart 4. Outcomes for HE on recognised qualifications (full time)
This chart shows the outcomes for students who enrolled on HE full-time courses over the last 6
years. The number of the left represents the number of enrolments. The shading represents the
percentage of enrolments in each of the outcome categories. The data shows a continuing upward
trend with respect to the proportion of students successfully completing and a reduction in those
withdrawing before completion.
Outcomes for Higher Education student enrolments on full
time recognised qualifications
2008-09
2,444
2009-10
2,536
2010-11
2,704
2011-12
2,846
2012-13
2,747
70.3%
2013-14
Year & Students
2,691
72.1%
-40% -30% -20% -10% 0%
% Further Withdrawal
64.0%
13.2%
65.3%
13.1%
66.3%
11.6%
67.1%
12.3%
10.3%
11.1%
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
% Early Withdrawal
% Completed Successfully
% Partial Success
Chart 5. Outcomes for HE on recognised qualifications (part time)
This chart shows the outcomes for students who enrolled on HE part-time courses over the last 3
years, and is split by length of course. The number of the left represents the number of enrolments.
The shading represents the percentage of enrolments in each of the outcome categories. The data
shows an increasing trend for successful completion albeit with some fluctuation, along with very low
withdrawal rates.
Outcomes for Higher Education student enrolments on part
time recognised qualifications
Duration &
Students
2011-12
10 up to 40 hours
40 up to 80 hours 398
77.9%
80 up to 160 hours 308
76.3%
160 up to 320 hours 461
70.1%
320 hours up to FT 306
70.9%
10 up to 40 hours
2012-13
00
16.6%
23.4%
18.3%
00
40 up to 80 hours 271
84.1%
11.4%
80 up to 160 hours 344
81.4%
17.2%
160 up to 320 hours 481
77.1%
320 hours up to FT 290
10 up to 40 hours
67.6%
18.1%
24.8%
00
40 up to 80 hours 344
2013-14
17.3%
83.1%
80 up to 160 hours 350
79.4%
160 up to 320 hours 499
84.6%
320 hours up to FT 311
79.4%
15.1%
19.1%
11.8%
13.2%
-40%-30%-20%-10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%100%
% Further Withdrawal
% Early Withdrawal
% Completed Successfully
% Partial Success
Chart 6. Achievement for HE students with partial success
This chart shows the level of achievement for students who have completed courses but not attained
qualifications (“partial success”) on Higher Education courses of over 160 hours in length. Of the
students in this category, 56% achieved at least half of the planned units
Level of achievement for students completing an HE course of 160
hours or more who did not achieve 'full' success
(An overview of the 'completed partial success' group above)
Number of students who complete their course without
gaining any units / credits
Number of students completing their course achieiving up
to 25% of planned units
Number of students completing their course achieving 25
to 50% of planned units
Number of students completing their course achieving 50
to 75% of planned units
Number of students completing their course achieving at
least 75% of planned units
16
105
59
100
119
Chart 7. Enrolments by age group
This chart shows the number of enrolments on all courses of 160 hours or more by age
group. It shows that the majority of students on these courses are under 20 years old, with
only a relatively small number over 40 years. However, older learners tend to be less likely
to withdraw and more successful. For example, the completed successful figure for the 41
years and over group is 76% compared with 67% for under 18s.
Enrolments by age group for courses lasting 160
Age group &
hours or more
Students
under 18
3,126
18-20 year olds
3,417
74.3%
11.5%
21-24 year olds
1,308
73.9%
11.7%
25-40 year olds
1,549
75.1%
9.7%
507
75.7%
41 and Over
66.9%
13.1%
14.2%
-40% -30% -20% -10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
% Further Withdrawal
% Early Withdrawal
% Completed Successfully
% Partial Success
Chart 8. FE Enrolments by Education Scotland subject group
This chart shows the success rates on FE courses lasting 160 hours or more by broad
subject groupings. High numbers of enrolments are evident in Engineering; Care and
Hairdressing and Beauty in particular. Success rates are particularly high in Special
Programmes (93%); Nautical Studies (82%); Languages and ESOL (81%); Education and
Training (81%); Construction (78%) and Engineering (76%).
Subject &
Students
Enrolments by Education Scotland subject groupings on FE
courses lasting 160 hours or more
Special Programmes 143
93.0%
5.6%
Nautical studies 148
82.4%
Languages and ESOL 259
81.1%
6.6%
Education and training 111
81.1%
5.4%
12.2%
Construction 319
78.1%
9.7%
Engineering 1,598
75.5%
11.5%
Hospitality and tourism 278
73.0%
9.4%
Business & Management 305
72.8%
12.5%
Computing and ICT 274
70.1%
Hairdressing & Beauty 568
69.0%
7.6%
Land-based indutries 138
66.7%
13.8%
Media 116
66.4%
Science 194
65.5%
Care 1,171
64.6%
17.5%
Performing arts 120
64.2%
17.5%
Sport and Leisure 150
63.3%
Social subjects 266
60.9%
Art and design 248
52.8%
8.8%
8.6%
7.2%
15.3%
10.9%
24.6%
-40%-30%-20%-10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
% Further Withdrawal
% Early Withdrawal
% Completed Successfully
% Partial Success
Chart 9. HE Enrolments by Education Scotland subject group
This chart shows the success rates on HE courses lasting 160 hours or more by broad
subject groupings. High numbers of enrolments are evident in Engineering; Business &
Management and Computing & ICT in particular. Success rates are particularly high in
Construction (91%); Engineering (79%); Performing Arts (77%) and Care (76%).
Enrolments by Education Scotland subject groupings on HE
courses lasting 160 hours or more
Subject &
Students
Construction 55
90.9%
1.8%
Engineering 992
78.6%
Performing arts 114
77.2%
7.0%
Care 141
75.9%
7.8%
Social subjects 201
75.1%
7.0%
Land-based industries 52
75.0%
Science 111
74.8%
7.2%
Business & Management 758
74.7%
10.7%
Media 160
74.4%
12.5%
Hospitality and tourism 118
72.0%
8.5%
Art and design 221
69.7%
11.8%
Computing and ICT 397
69.0%
11.3%
Sport and Leisure 181
63.0%
15.0%
13.5%
10.5%
Special Programmes 00
Nautical studies 00
Languages and ESOL 00
Hairdressing & Beauty 00
Education and training 00
-40%-30%-20%-10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
% Further Withdrawal
% Early Withdrawal
% Completed Successfully
% Partial Success
Chart 10. Enrolments by level and gender
This chart shows the number of enrolments on all courses of 160 hours or more by gender
and level of course. It shows that there are more male than female students at both FE and
HE levels. Both male and female students are more likely to complete and to succeed on HE
courses than FE. On FE courses males are marginally more likely to succeed than females
(71% compared with 70%) but females are more successful than males on HE programmes
(76% and 73% respectively).
Enrolments by level and gender on courses lasting 160 hours
or more
Gender &
Students
FE Females
3,193
70.4%
11.9%
FE Males
3,213
71.2%
12.4%
HE Females
1,530
HE Males
1,971
76.4%
73.1%
8.7%
13.5%
-40% -30% -20% -10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
% Further Withdrawal
% Early Withdrawal
% Completed Successfully
% Partial Success
Chart 11. Enrolments by key group
This chart shows the number of enrolments and success rates for some selected key
groups. Students who are on courses paid for by an employer are highly successful (90%),
and success rates for those who have already completed at least a year of a programme are
higher than that for the overall college population (81%). Over 1200 students with a disability
were enrolled in 2012-13, of these 82% completed their courses and 69% completed
successfully. Students who come from deprived datazones have higher withdrawal rates
and lower success rates.
Outcomes for student enrolments on recognised qualifications
Key Group &
Students
10% Most deprived datazone areas 423
66.9%
20% Most deprived datazone areas 1,151
68.5%
Fees paid by employer 1,324
14.4%
14.2%
90.4%
Ethnic minority 392
70.4%
Disability 1,272
68.9%
Year of study greater than first year 1,603
6.9%
16.6%
13.4%
81.4%
11.2%
-40%-30%-20%-10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%100%
% Further Withdrawal
% Early Withdrawal
% Completed Successfully
% Partial Success
Chart 12. WSUM targets and achieved
This chart illustrates that the College, has been within 0.5% of meeting its activity target in
the last 2 years.
Performance against activity targets
2012-13
-0.4%
2013-14
-0.5%
-2.0%
0.0%
2.0%
Chart 13. Staff with a teaching qualification
This chart shows that 97% of the permanent teaching staff employed by the College in 201213 held a recognised teaching qualification. Staff coming from industry rather than a
teaching background are enrolled on a teaching qualification soon after starting work so
there is a small proportion of staff who are working toward completion of a qualification at
any given time
Percentage of Full-time permanent staff with a teaching
qualification
2012-13
97%
2011-12
95%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%