DfE's role in higher education

Higher Education Policy

The Department develops, communicates and evaluates higher education policy for Northern Ireland, in consultation with the sector, and other regions of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. This includes policy areas such as: alternative providers; teaching funding; student number control; and the provision of information about higher education. 

Additionally the Department works alongside colleagues across the other regions of the UK on matters such as: Admissions to Higher Education, Student Mental Health, Period Poverty / Dignity in Higher Education and legislation in relation to Cheating Services.

Outcome Agreements

The Department develops and manages Outcome Agreements between the Department and local universities. These agreements set out how higher education institutions will contribute to key economic and social priorities. The Department develops annual guidance and works collaboratively with universities on the preparation of agreements to ensure public funding is aligned with agreed strategic outcomes.

Degree Awarding Powers and University Title

The HE market in Northern Ireland consists of both public and private providers. Public providers are those funded by this Department (i.e. Queen’s University, Belfast; Ulster University; Open University NI; Stranmillis University College; and St Mary’s University College).

Private providers (also known as alternative providers) are those which are not in receipt of public funding. Such providers can still offer higher education courses to students; however, in order for those students to avail of student support, private providers must apply for course designation through this Department.

Degree Awarding Powers

In order to award a UK-recognised degree, a HE provider must have Degree Awarding Powers (DAPs). These are usually set out in the Charter and Statutes of a university.

HE providers in the UK can apply to have DAPs granted to them, allowing them to award UK-recognised degrees. Further information on DAPs and how to apply is available from the Quality and Assurance Agency.

Degrees which have been awarded by a provider without DAPs will not be a recognised UK degree.

University Title

The use of “university” in a company name/title is protected under UK legislation, and its use as such must be approved by this Department.

Publishing and maintaining a list of higher education providers

The UK has a well-deserved reputation world-wide for providing high quality and well-respected higher education. There are well over 100 institutions in the UK that are permitted to award a wide variety of degrees to suit most educational aspirations. All those institutions have degree awarding powers recognised by the UK authorities (UK and Scottish Parliament, Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies). These are known as recognised bodies.

Current Northern Ireland recognised bodies are:

• Queen’s University, Belfast
• Ulster University
• Open University
• Presbyterian Theological Faculty, Ireland – postgraduate only.

In addition to institutions awarding degrees, there are also several hundred colleges and other institutions across the UK which do not have degree-awarding powers but who provide complete courses leading to recognised UK degrees. Courses at these institutions are validated by institutions which have degree awarding powers. These are known as listed bodies.

It is important to note that the listed bodies of higher education providers changes, often from year to year, depending on the arrangements in place with recognised bodies. The Department will review and update the list annually.

As of September 2025, the current Northern Ireland listed bodies are:

• Stranmillis University College
• St Mary’s University College
• Belfast Metropolitan College
• Northern Regional College
• North West Regional College
• South Eastern Regional College
• South West College
• Southern Regional College
• College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE)
• Belfast School of Theology (formerly Belfast Bible College)
• Irish Baptist College
• Union Theological College

If your provider is not listed above, and is based in Northern Ireland, please seek clarification by emailing the Department – hepolicy@economy-ni.gov.uk

For listed bodies in other parts of the UK, please contact the relevant jurisdiction:

England

Email the Office for Students - providerverification@officeforstudents.org.uk

Scotland

Contact the Scottish Government central enquiry unit

Wales

Email the Welsh Government - customerhelp@gov.wales

Alternative providers of Higher Education 

An ‘alternative provider’ is any provider of higher education courses which:

• is not in direct receipt of recurrent funding from the Department for the Economy or from equivalent funding bodies in the devolved Administrations; and/or
• does not receive direct recurrent public funding (for example, from a local authority, or the Secretary of State for Education)

In order for NI students who are undertaking higher education courses with these alternative providers to avail of student support, the provider must secure specific course designation from the Department for the Economy.

Higher education - specific course designation

This guidance sets out the specific course designation process for alternative providers of higher education in Northern Ireland. In particular, the guidance explains:

• the criteria for granting specific course designation;
• the assessment and decision making process; and
• the conditions of specific course designation.

The guidance is intended for alternative providers who wish to apply for specific course designation and for those with existing designation.

Full guidance on specific course designation for alternative providers of higher education in NI, covering the eligibility criteria and the full application process, is available:

• Specific course designation - guidance for NI providers

Alternative providers who wish to apply for specific must complete and return, in line with the guidance, these documents:

• Specific course designation - application pack
• Specific course designation - assurance statement
• Specific course designation - FSMG data capture

The privacy notice, which outlines how personal data is handled when alternative providers submit an application for specific course designation, is available:

Privacy Notice - specific course designation

The Provision of Information about Higher Education

Providing information about higher education is one of the priorities for the Department. We work with the HE sector in NI and with the UK HE Funding bodies to ensure that accurate, relevant information is available to prospective students in order to assist them in their decision-making regarding their higher education needs.

The Department works with the other UK funding bodies on a number of UK-wide information initiatives including the National Student Survey (NSS) and DiscoverUni.

The NSS gives the UK’s students the chance to express their views about their course. The results of the NSS are published, along with other key information, on Unistats.

The DiscoverUni website provides access to key statistics on courses at all HEIs in the UK, giving official detailed quantitative data on graduate employment data, course continuation rates, degree results and entry requirements, etc.

Provision of Free Period Products in NI Higher Education Institutions

• The Period Products (Free Provision) Act (NI) 2022 – Location of Free Period Products

Information about Northern Ireland’s Higher Education Sector

More information for prospective students, including information on course fees, financial support, teaching and learning assessment methods, the cost of living, student satisfaction, future career prospects, Northern Ireland’s universities and colleges and other relevant information can be found at the Higher Education section of NIDirect .