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Part-time and mature students are central to skills provision, to the UK's skills strategy, and for the reskilling and upskilling of the existing workforce. Despite this and the many other benefits to part-time education and mature entry, the number of part-time English domiciled undergraduate entrants to UK universities and further education (FE) colleges in England has declined every year since 2007/08. The falls were particularly dramatic following the 2012/13 reforms of student funding which increased tuition fees and introduced income contingent loans to cover part-time students' fees for the first time. This report analyses part-time or mature study over the last five years including: how many people considered or started study; people's background and characteristics; barriers to take up; and factors that facilitated take up. The methodology included: a general population survey to identify prospective learners; a survey of prospective learners to learn more about their experiences; and qualitative interviews.

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