The annual performance indicators are published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), the central source for the collection and dissemination of statistics about publicly funded higher education in the UK.

The statistics provide comparative data on higher education performance, taking into account factors such as widening participation, student retention, learning and teaching, research output and employment of graduates.

This year’s results show that 95.5% of the University’s graduates who leave with a first degree from full-time courses are either employed or in further study within six months of graduating.

The figure is an improvement on last year’s figure of 93.9%, and is significantly above the UK and Welsh benchmarks of 93.8% and 93.9% respectively.

Retention rates of first-year students at the University are also excellent, with 93.5% still at the University at the end of the academic year. 

This compares favourably with the Welsh average of 90.5% and the UK average of 91.4%, and is an improvement on last year’s result, when 92.7% of students completed their first year.

In addition, the indicators show that 79.6% of Swansea’s students are expected to qualify with a degree, compared with 77.4% in the UK and 77.2% in Wales.

The University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Richard B Davies (pictured), said: “These results are very good news for our students. The 3,000 graduates who receive their degrees from Swansea University this week can be reassured that they leave with a qualification that equips them for distinguished personal and professional development.

“The quality of our teaching and research is an important factor in ensuring that our career-enhancing courses produce highly employable graduates, as is our award-winning student experience.”

The “employment of graduates” statistics are published by HESA here.