University of Glasgow Standard Student Population Headcount Trend Data

Please note that the HESA Standard Registration Population and the UofG Standard Student Population student headcounts cannot be compared. 

  • HESA Standard Registration Population headcounts are for reporting, i.e. all students, including withdrawn, online learning etc.
  • UofG Standard Student Population headcounts are for operational use i.e. actual students physically at the university, not including withdrawn, online learning etc. 

UofG Standard Student Population headcounts are less than HESA Standard Registration Population headcounts because they exclude various categories of students.  To follow is an example for a recent year (rounded to the nearest 100):

  • Withdrawn (~700)
  • Online Learning (~500)
  • Distance Learning (~200)
  • Staff Learning (~200)
  • There are other small differences in "not send to HESA" plans which are in QlikView but not HESA.

In summary, if you require operational numbers, i.e. who is physically here, then use the UofG Standard Student Population headcounts.  If you wish to compare against other UK institutions, then use the HESA Standard Registration Population data. The UofG Standard Student Population headcount contains students who are physically on campus.  The HESA Standard Registration Population data contains students who we actually reported to HESA,  for which we are bound by HESA guidelines and coverage rules.