[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-623854-105":59,"doc-detail-623854-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","exploring-higher-education-continuation-rates-for-level-3-btec-national-learners","Exploring Higher Education Continuation Rates for Level 3 BTEC - National Learners","","Paper analyzes how recent qualification reforms affected university outcomes for students holding BTEC Level 3 National qualifications. It focuses on the HE continuation rate for learners on reformed BTEC Level 3 National (RQF) introduced from September 2016, which largely included a minimum of 40% external assessment. Using HESA Student Records 2019/20 and 2020/21, it compares continuation against legacy QCF qualifications and examines implications for widening participation and progression into higher education.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exploring-higher-education-continuation-rates-for-level-3-btec-national-learners/623854/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/exploring-higher-education-continuation-rates-for-level-3-btec-national-learners/623854.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Muffet","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-04","2026-10-20",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What question does the research address about BTEC reforms and university outcomes?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The research examines whether recent qualification reforms had any impact on university outcomes for students on BTEC Level 3 National (RQF) qualifications introduced from September 2016, focusing on the HE continuation rate.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How do continuation rates compare between BTEC RQF and BTEC QCF learners?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"BTEC RQF learners have a higher continuation rate than BTEC QCF learners (91% vs 87%), with RQF students more likely to continue into their second year.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How do BTECs relate to widening participation in higher education?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"BTECs play a crucial role in supporting increased participation by traditionally underrepresented groups, with learners from areas of historically low HE participation more than twice as likely to enter HE with a BTEC.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},623854,1792568795,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":36},962090768927,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_085a072bc5b1113ac321206ff7593b45","Exploring Higher Education Continuation Rates for Level 3 BTEC  \nNational Learners  \nKevin Mason, Blake Ashworth and Ria Bhatta 2025  \nContents  \nSummary 3  \nHeadline findings 3  \nContext and aims for this research 4  \nThe research approach 6  \nThe cohorts 7  \nData definitions 7  \nFindings 9  \n1. Is there a high non-continuation rate for students entering higher education with a BTEC? 9  \n2. Is there a difference in the continuation rate between the QCF and RQF BTECs? 11  \n3. Do BTECs provide a route for widening participation in higher education? 12  \nLimitations 13  \nConclusions 14  \nReferences 15  \nAcknowledgements 16  \nThis work was undertaken using data from the HESA Student Records 2019/20 and 2020/21 . This does not imply Jisc’s acceptance of the validity of the methods used to obtain these figures, or ofany analysis of the results.  \nSummary  \nThis paper seeks to understand what impact, if any, one of the recent set of qualification reforms had on the university outcomes of students on BTEC Level 3 National (RQF) qualifications, introduced from September 2016 onwards, which also largely introduced a minimum of 40% external assessment.  \nThis is the first set of data available for the reformed qualifications. Previous studies have used data from legacy BTEC Level 3 National (QCF) qualifications , which have since been largely phased out.  \nHeadline findings  \n1. BTEC learners have a high continuation rate – much higher than international and national benchmarks. The vast majority of students entering higher education ( HE) with BTECs complete their degrees, experiencing a continuation rate that is:  \n2. higher than the rates seen in many jurisdictions internationally, includingthe USA and Australia;  \n3. significantly higher than the Office for Students’ 80% regulatory threshold for higher education institutions.  \n4. BTEC RQF learners have a higher continuation rate than BTEC QCF learners (91% vs 87%) . Students on the newer, post-2016 BTEC (BTEC RQF) were more likely to continue their studies into their second year than students entering HE with older, internally-assessed BTEC QCF qualifications, suggesting that the newer qualifications are an even better preparation for higher education. This is the first published evidence to date on outcomes for students on RQF BTECs.  \n5. BTECs play a crucial role in supporting increased participation by traditionally underrepresented groups in higher education. Students from areas with historically low levels of participation in HE are over twice as likely to enter HE with a BTEC as those from areas with higher levels of participation. BTEC students are more likely to have a characteristic from under-represented students , including ethnicity and socioeconomic background.  \nContext and aims for this research  \nAt Pearson it is incredibly important to us to understand the efficacy of our qualifications , and the impact they have on student outcomes. We regularly evaluate the effectiveness of our provision through different means.  \nThe past ten years have seen extensive reform to vocational qualifications in England, with further reform being proposed by the government atthe time of writing this report. This academic year marks the first teach date of the updated BTEC Level 3 Nationals in England, featuring a minimum of 40% of externally-marked assessment (i.e. public exams) and developed in line with the DfE’s Alternative Academic Qualification (AAQ) criteria. Qualifications within this category have a primary purpose of supporting progression into higher education.  \nThis paper seeks to understand what impact, if any, the previous set of qualification reforms had on the university outcomes of students on BTEC Level 3 National (RQF) qualifications, introduced from September 2016 onwards, which also largely featured a minimum of 40% external assessment (developed in line with the DfE’s Applied General and Tech Level criteria) .  \nBTEC Level 3 Nationals have been taught since 1984,","cbCaim6whYdXeZAf","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaim6whYdXeZAf","pdf",289425,16,"English","# Summary\n# Headline findings\n# Context and aims for this research\n# The research approach\n# The cohorts\n# Data definitions\n# Findings\n## Is there a high non-continuation rate for students entering higher education with a BTEC?\n## Is there a difference in the continuation rate between the QCF and RQF BTECs?\n## Do BTECs provide a route for widening participation in higher education?\n# Limitations\n# Conclusions\n# References\n# Acknowledgements","[{\"question\":\"What question does the research address about BTEC reforms and university outcomes?\",\"answer\":\"The research examines whether recent qualification reforms had any impact on university outcomes for students on BTEC Level 3 National (RQF) qualifications introduced from September 2016, focusing on the HE continuation rate.\"},{\"question\":\"How do continuation rates compare between BTEC RQF and BTEC QCF learners?\",\"answer\":\"BTEC RQF learners have a higher continuation rate than BTEC QCF learners (91% vs 87%), with RQF students more likely to continue into their second year.\"},{\"question\":\"How do BTECs relate to widening participation in higher education?\",\"answer\":\"BTECs play a crucial role in supporting increased participation by traditionally underrepresented groups, with learners from areas of historically low HE participation more than twice as likely to enter HE with a BTEC.\"}]","Exploring Higher Education Continuation Rates for Level 3 BTEC - National Learners | PDF",1792472385]