( calculated by dividing the number of applicants with at least one application to a high tariff provider by the number of learners in the Key Stage 4 population ). 24
Placed rates : The proportion of the Key Stage 4 population accepted to start higher education ( calculated by dividing the number of accepted applicants by the number of learners in the Key Stage 4 population ).
Application outcomes for the applicant population :
Offer rates : The proportion of applicants that receive at least one offer by 30 June or were recorded as being accepted by the end of the cycle ( calculated by dividing the number of applicants that receive at least one offer by the total number of applicants ).
Acceptance rates : The proportion of applicants that are accepted to start higher education by the end of the cycle ( calculated by dividing the number of accepted applicants by the total number of applicants ).
33 . Of all the application outcomes defined above , the measure most aligned with the definition of higher education participation – and the aims of the Uni Connect programme – is the placed rate : the proportion of the Key Stage 4 population that were accepted to start a higher education course .
34 . But by considering each stage of the application process in turn , we can gain further insight into which stage is making the greatest contribution to the gap in participation rates between the most and least represented areas . Therefore , in addition to the placed rate , we are also interested in whether underrepresented groups were less likely to apply for higher education , as measured by the application rate .
35 . Although not one of the explicit aims of the Uni Connect programme , it is also of interest if learners from Uni Connect areas are applying to more selective universities and colleges at a different rate to other learners . This can be measured by the ‘ high tariff application rate ’.
36 . In contrast to application rates and placed rates , offer rates and acceptance rates are conditional on a learner having already applied through UCAS . We find that differences in these outcomes are very small in comparison to the gaps in application rates and placed rates .
37 . See Table 1 below for a summary of the different groups of learners which inform the application outcomes described above .
Table 1 : Data used for the outcomes measures
24
See the OfS Key Performance Measure 2 for more information on how high tariff providers are defined : www . officeforstudents . org . uk / about / measures-of-our-success / participation-performance-measures / gap-inparticipation-at-higher-tariff-providers-between-the-most-and-least-represented-groups /.
14