Further education in the United Kingdom and Ireland is additional education to that received at secondary school that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It may be at any level in compulsory secondary education, from entry to higher level qualifications such as awards, certificates, diplomas and other vocational, competency-based qualifications through awarding organisations including City and Guilds, Edexcel (BTEC) and OCR. FE colleges may also offer HE qualifications such as HNC, HND, foundation degree or PGCE. The colleges are also a large service provider for apprenticeships where most of the training takes place at the apprentices' workplace, supplemented with day release into college.
Education in England is overseen by the Department for Education. Local government authorities are responsible for implementing policy for public education and state-funded schools at a local level. State-funded schools may be selective grammar schools or non-selective comprehensive schools. All state schools are subject to assessment and inspection by the government department Ofsted. England also has private schools and home education; legally, parents may choose to educate their children by any suitable means.
Education in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter, with each of the countries of the United Kingdom having separate systems under separate governments. The UK Government is responsible for England, whilst the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive are responsible for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, respectively.
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant variation, in other countries and regions.
Three national rankings of universities in the United Kingdom are published annually by The Complete University Guide, The Guardian and jointly by The Times and The Sunday Times. Rankings have also been produced in the past by The Daily Telegraph and Financial Times. UK Universities also rank highly in global university rankings with 8 UK Universities ranking in the top 100 of all three major global rankings as of 2023/24: QS World University Rankings, Times Higher Education World University Rankings and Academic Ranking of World Universities.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, which was responsible for the distribution of funding for higher education to universities and further education colleges in England since 1992. It ceased to exist as of 1 April 2018, when its duties were divided between the newly created Office for Students and Research England.
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education is the United Kingdom higher education sector's independent expert quality body. It has a remit to maintain and enhance the quality of teaching and learning in tertiary education in the United Kingdom and beyond. It conducts quality assessment reviews, develops reference points and guidance for providers, and conducts or commissions research on relevant issues.
Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland includes all education after second-level, encompassing higher education in universities and colleges and further education on Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) and other courses.
Jisc is a United Kingdom not-for-profit organisation that provides network and IT services and digital resources in support of further and higher education and research, as well as the public sector. Its head office is based in Bristol with offices in London, Manchester, and Oxford. Its current CEO is Heidi Fraser-Krauss, who joined in September 2021 from the University of Sheffield.
There are fifteen universities in Scotland and three other institutions of higher education that have the authority to award academic degrees.
Chris Cobb is a British computer scientist and pro vice-chancellor, chief operating officer at the University of London. He has been pro vice-chancellor at University of Roehampton, London, England and prior to that was at London School of Economics. In 2020, he was appointed as chief executive of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, despite not having any professional background in music.
The Higher Education Careers Service Unit was an independent research charity based in Manchester for the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, specialising in higher education and graduate employment. It funded research projects for the higher education careers sector, and conducted research into graduate employment and career decision-making on behalf of its own members and external funding bodies.
The UK Data Archive is a national centre of expertise in data archiving in the United Kingdom. It houses the largest collection of social sciences and population digital data in the UK. It is certified under CoreTrustSeal as a trusted digital repository. It is also certified under the international ISO 27001 standard for information security. Located in Colchester, the UK Data Archive is a specialist department of the University of Essex, co-located with the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER). It is primarily funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the University of Essex.
The Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey or DLHE was a statistical survey which aimed to contact UK and EU domiciled graduates from higher education (HE) programmes six months after qualifying from their HE course. Its aim was to establish what type of employment or further study they were engaged in, and their income, on one specific day in the survey period.
In the United Kingdom, the Universities' Statistical Record (USR) consists of records of undergraduate students on courses of one academic year or more; postgraduate students on courses of one academic year or more; academic and related staff holding regular salaried appointments, and finance data for all UK universities. It was compiled by UCCA, the Universities Central Council on Admissions from its formation in 1961 until its merger with PCAS to form UCAS in 1993.
Graduate Outcomes is a statistical survey of graduates from higher education courses in the UK. The survey attempts to contact all recipients of higher education qualifications approximately 15 months after graduation. It aims to gather statistics on the employment and study activities of graduates, and their subjective opinions on the value of their higher education and qualifications. The survey is delivered by HESA to help universities and colleges fulfil their legal requirement to report on the outcomes of higher education to the UK higher education funding and regulatory bodies.
The United Kingdom is among the world's most popular destinations for international students, regularly placing within the top three countries for hosting international students alongside the United States and Australia. Data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency indicates that students from the three countries of India, China, and Nigeria together account for around 53% of all international students enrolled at higher education institutions in the UK.
