Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) releases study that finds IB Diploma students more likely to enroll within the Top 20 Higher Ed Institutions in the UK 

The report provides an overview of IB student characteristics and analysis of enrolment patterns at the top HEIs, chosen fields of study, achievement and non-continuation rates, as well as activities approximately six months after leaving HEIs.

“The study by HESA supports the recent studies released in the United States supporting the IB Diploma as excellent preparation for university and college success,” said Drew Deutsch, Director of IB Americas.

Key findings include:

Achievement – More than double the number of IB entrants attended the top HEIs compared with A Level entrants, when taken in proportion.  91% of IB entrants holding 44-45 exam points  attended one of the top 20 HEIs. Approximately a fifth (19%) of IB entrants with a full-time first degree achieved a first class honors award compared to 14.5% of first degree qualifiers who held A Level or equivalent qualifications. IB entrants are almost twice as likely to study Medicine and Dentistry (5.1%) as A Level entrants (2.9%).

Continuation rates (measure of attrition/dropout) – Results show that across most subject areas IB entrants were less likely to leave their institution in the following year without gaining an award, than entrants holding other types of qualifications. 91.1% of IB entrants continued at the same institution compared to 89.5% for A level entrants.

Activities of IB Diploma students – Six months after leaving tertiary studies, IB students (36%) are almost twice as likely as their A Level and equivalent peers (18.8%) to pursue further study full time, and more likely to be employed in graduate level jobs and in higher paid occupations than A Level and equivalent leavers. A greater proportion of IB than A level leavers are employed within professional, scientific and technical activities.

Salaries of full-time employed IB Diploma students – The median annual salary of IB Diploma students in full-time paid employment was higher at £20,500, than that of A Level and equivalent leavers at £19,000.

The report sources data from the International Baccalaureate and data from the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the United Kingdom to identify characteristics and trends of IB students compared with students holding the more traditional A Levels, Scottish Higher and other level three qualifications. The majority of the data has been restricted to the academic year 2008/2009 with some comparisons with the academic year 2007/2008. Of the 423,455 full-time entrants to first degree courses across the 165 HEIs in UK, 1.5%, 56.7% and 10.8% were identified as holding IB qualifications, A Level qualifications and A Level equivalent qualifications respectively.

This study joins a growing body of evidence that the IB Diploma Programme prepares students for success at the university level and beyond, including three recently released studies on the US postsecondary performance of IB students. The complete study, and others, can be downloaded at:  www.ibo.org/research/programmevalidation/index.cfm

About the International Baccalaureate

The International Baccalaureate is a not-for profit foundation, which offers three high quality and challenging educational programmes for a worldwide community of schools. For over 40 years, IB programmes have gained a reputation for their high academic standards, for preparing students for life in a globalised 21st century, and for helping to develop the citizens who will create a better, more peaceful world. The IB currently works with over 3,230 schools in 141 countries. To learn more, please visit www.ibo.org.