Higher Education Statistical Fact Sheets published

The Department for the Economy has published a series of Higher Education (HE) statistical fact sheets.

This includes the 2015/16 Northern Ireland (NI) HE Age Participation Index (API) as a statistical first release. The fact sheets also provide a number of more detailed breakdowns of previously published HE data.

Key points:

• The NI API for the 2015/16 academic year was 48.2%, a decrease of 1.2 percentage points from the 2014/15 academic year. However, it has grown substantially in net terms since 1992/93, at which stage it was 32.1%. 
• Between 2007/08 and 2016/17, the number of applicants applying to NI institutions increased by 32.1%. Over the same period, the number of applicants accepted to NI institutions increased by 12.5%.
• Between 2011/12 and 2015/16, the total number of students enrolled on Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses at NI Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) decreased by 6.2% (25 students), while those graduating decreased by 11.5% (70 students).
• In 2015/16, 9.3% of students enrolled at NI HEIs self-reported as having a disability; an increase from 8.1% in 2014/15.
• Of those NI domiciled students enrolled at NI HEIs who were asked to provide their religion in 2015/16 (excluding those at the Open University), 30.2% were ‘Protestant’ and 47.4% were ‘Roman Catholic’, while 22.3% of students fell into the ‘Other’ or ‘Not Known’ categories.
• In 2015/16, 25.7% of students at NI HEIs were enrolled on Narrow STEM related courses. The equivalent percentages for English, Scottish and Welsh HEIs were 26.5%, 29.2% and 29.4% respectively.
• Of the 55,245 students enrolled at NI HEIs in 2015/16, 47.8% were enrolled on Broad STEM related courses. The equivalent percentages for English, Scottish and Welsh HEIs were 45.2%, 48.7% and 45.8% respectively.
• Between 2011/12 and 2015/16, the total number of students enrolled on Narrow STEM related courses at NI HEIs increased by 17.0% (2,055 students).
• Between 2011/12 and 2015/16, the total number of students enrolled on Broad STEM related courses at NI HEIs increased by 6.9% (1,695 students).
• Over the past 30 years, enrolments on HE courses at NI HEIs more than doubled, from 21,280 in 1986/87 to 55,245 in 2015/16. Over the same period, enrolments on HE courses at NI Further Education (FE) colleges have increased four-fold from, 2,365 to 11,631.
• Over the past 10 years, enrolments on HE courses at NI institutions (Higher Education Institutions and Further Education Colleges including the Open University where the national centre is located in NI) have increased by a net 4.1%, from 64,240 in 2006/07 to 66,875 in 2015/16.Between 2011/12 and 2015/16, the total number of NI domiciled students enrolled on HE courses at UK HEIs, UK FE colleges and RoI institutions decreased by a net 1.6% from 77,890 to 76,610.

The fact sheets are available to download from on the DfE website.

Notes to editors: 

1. The statistics presented in the fact sheets are based on data from a number of sources, including the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), Further Education Statistical Record (FESR), Consolidated Data Return (CDR), Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), Department for Education, Welsh Government (WG), Scottish Government (SG) and Higher Education Authority (HEA).

2. From the 2014/15 academic year onwards, DfE no longer counts the Open University as a wholly English institution, but splits it between England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, depending on where the national centre is located.

3. In 2013/14, the Further Education Statistical Record (FESR) ceased to exist and was replaced by the Consolidated Data Return (CDR).

4. Higher Education (HE) students for the purpose of HESA's data collection are those students on courses for which the level of instruction is above that of level 3 of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) National Qualifications Framework (NQF) (for example, courses at the level of Certificate of HE and above).

5. The definition of a HE student used by the different data sources may vary slightly due to different data coding and variable definitions.

6. Narrow STEM related courses include: Biological Sciences; Physical Sciences; Mathematical Sciences; Computer Science and Engineering & Technology.

7. Broad STEM related courses include: Medicine & Dentistry; Subjects Allied to Medicine; Biological Sciences; Veterinary Sciences; Agriculture & Related Subjects; Physical Sciences; Mathematical Sciences; Computer Science; Engineering & Technology; and Architecture, Building & Planning.

8. The academic year runs from 1 August to 31 July.

9. For media enquiries, please contact DfE Press Office on 028 9052 9604. Out of office hours, please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07623 974383 and your call will be returned.

10. Follow us on Twitter @Economy_NI

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