Department for the Economy publishes Higher Education Fact Sheets 2014/15

The Department for the Economy has today published a series of Higher Education (HE) statistical fact sheets. This includes the 2014/15 NI Higher Education Age Participation Index (API) as a statistical first release.

Department for the Economy publishes Higher Education Fact Sheets 2014/15

The fact sheets also provide a number of more detailed breakdowns of previously published HE data as follows:

• The NI API for the 2014/15 academic year was 49.2%, a decrease of 0.3 percentage points from the 2013/14 academic year. The API has grown substantially since 1991/92, at which stage it was 27.5%. 
• Between 2006/07 and 2015/16, the number of applicants applying to NI institutions increased by 35.5%. Over the same period, the number of applicants accepted to NI institutions increased by 18.6%.
• Between 2010/11 and 2014/15, the total number of students enrolled on initial teacher training courses at NI HEIs decreased by 3.0% (45 students), while those graduating decreased by 7.5% (45 students).
• In 2014/15, 8.1% of students enrolled at NI HEIs were self-reported as having a disability. This has increased from 7.4% in 2013/14.
• Of those NI domiciled students enrolled at NI HEIs who were asked to provide their religion in 2014/15 (excluding those at the Open University), 30.8% were ‘Protestant’ and 47.9% were ‘Roman Catholic’, while 21.3% of students fell into the ‘Other’ or ‘Not Known’ categories.
• In 2014/15, 24.8% of students at NI HEIs were enrolled on Narrow STEM related courses. The equivalent percentages for English, Scottish and Welsh HEIs were 26.1%, 28.9% and 29.4% respectively.
• Of the 56,445 students enrolled at NI HEIs in 2014/15, 46.2% were enrolled on Broad STEM related courses. The equivalent percentages for English, Scottish and Welsh HEIs are 44.5%, 48.2% and 44.2% respectively.
• Between 2010/11 and 2014/15, the total number of students enrolled on Narrow STEM related courses at NI HEIs increased by 13.6% (1,685 students)
• Between 2010/11 and 2014/15, the total number of students enrolled on Broad STEM related courses at NI HEIs, although fluctuating, increased by 2.9% (745 students).
• Over the past 30 years, enrolments on HE courses at NI HEIs have increased from 20,970 in 1985/86 to 56,445 in 2014/15. Over the same period, enrolments on HE courses at NI Further Education (FE) colleges have increased from 2,645 to 11,722.
• Over the past 10 years, enrolments on HE courses at NI HEIs (including the Open University where the national centre is located in NI) have decreased from 69,315 in 2005/06 to 68,165 in 2014/15.
• Between 2010/11 and 2014/15, the total number of NI domiciled students enrolled on HE courses at UK HEIs, UK FE colleges and RoI institutions decreased by 1.0% from 77,570 to 76,780.

The fact sheets are available to download from the Department’s website.

Notes to editors: 

1. The statistics presented in these 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 Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), Welsh Assembly Government (WAG), 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 1st August to 31st July.
9. Further notes and technical details are available in the fact sheets on the Department’s website.
10. For media enquiries, please contact Department for the Economy Press Office on 028 9052 9604. Outside office hours, please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned. 

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