Startpage for Swedish National Agency for Higher Education

 
 

2005:22 R

Foundation year programmes, Spring 2005

The numbers taking foundation year programmes rose somewhat during the academic year of 2003-04 (3,569 students) compared with the preceding year (3,449 students). Up until 1998-99, a slight majority of these students were women. Since then a shift in the gender balance has taken place and now there are more men than women taking foundation year programmes. The proportion of women during the academic year of 2003-04 was 39 per cent.

Foundation year programmes of various kinds were offered during 2003-04 at 26 higher education institutions. The most common were foundation years offering preparation for engineering programmes together with “open" programmes in technology/natural sciences, in which students choose to specialise during the programme. These types of foundation year programmes also have most students. Foundation year preparation for programmes in primary school teaching and dentistry or medicine is also offered, but these programmes are less common. The foundation year programme for dentistry/medicine has always been of limited extent.

The amendment of the Higher Education Ordinance that came into effect on January 1, 2003, entitles the higher education institutions to offer foundation years in subjects other than technology/natural sciences and also to decide themselves on the establishment of foundation year programmes.

Foundation year programmes in subjects other than technology and the natural sciences are offered at two higher education institutions. The possibility of offering foundation year preparation for all programmes, provided that there is a lack of eligible applicants and the qualifications are needed on the labour market, has not been used to any major extent by the institutions.

Today several institutions are offering shorter “foundation semesters" and “foundation courses" that are integral elements of degree programmes. These are offered to students who are only partially eligible. One effect of this is to speed up the admission of these students to the programme for which preparation is offered. Some higher education institutions arrange entire foundation year programmes or parts of them in the form of distance teaching. Transfer to higher education on completion of foundation year programmes remains high. About 70 per cent of students taking foundation year programmes are studying in some higher education programme one year after the beginning of the foundation year. Men completing foundation year programmes are as likely as women to continue to higher education, but they are more likely to choose programmes in engineering and other technological subjects. On the other hand, a larger proportion of women opted for programmes outside the disciplines of technology and the natural sciences.

Swedish National Agency for Higher Education  Visting address: Luntmakargatan 13  Box 7851, 103 99 Stockholm
Phone: 08-563 085 00  Fax: 08-563 085 50  Email: hsv@hsv.se