In relation to the data provided in PQ No. 200 of 31 January 2024, published HEA enrolment data for the 2022/2023 academic year shows a decrease of 4,225 (1.6%) in total enrolments in higher education, with a total of 256,785 individuals enrolled across all modes of study relative to 261,010 in 2021/22.
This decrease includes the following:
A drop of 2,294 in the number of Irish domiciled students undertaking taught masters programmes. Graduate outcomes data shows that a higher proportion of graduates from the class of 2022 in employment 9-months after graduation, suggesting the strong labour market is encouraging students completing undergraduate programmes to go straight into employment rather than further study. It is important to note that this decrease follows a Covid-impacted increase of over 4,100 in 2020/21. The 2022/23 decrease may be a reversion to a sustainable level after pandemic driven growth.
A drop of 1,420 in the number of students undertaking Certificates. This is being driven specifically by two courses related to Brexit in SETU Carlow, which saw a drop of 1,197 enrolments in one year.
A drop of 1,685 in the number of students undertaking Ordinary Degrees. This is the continuation of an ongoing pattern of change in which less students are opting to pursue an ordinary degree, and more are opting to pursue an honours degree.
The last four years have been marked by significant fluctuations in enrolments in the higher education sector in general reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Total enrolments increased by over 13,270 in a single year, increasing from 246,630 in 2019/20 to 259,900 in 2020/21. Despite the reduction this year, enrolments in 2022 are more than 10,000 above pre-pandemic levels.
Overall higher education enrolment trends reflect a range of underlying factors including availability of opportunities outside education and preference for particular course types. These factors must be considered carefully in assessing enrolment figures.
It should be noted that the number of new entrants each year to undergraduate honours degree programmes in the technological universities have increased steadily over the last five years, from 9,760 in 2018/19 to 11,760 in 2022/23.
As to the wider successes of Technological Universities, I draw the Deputy’s attention to the many advances that have been made in the sector in recent time, in particular the securing of EU funding for TU-related projects. €84 million in technological university-oriented research funding has been secured over the period of the European Regional Development Fund to 2027. This funding will enhance central research functions within the technological university sector and further institutions’ engagements with their regions. It will establish, strengthen, and systemise research and innovation offices in TUs to enable greater and more structured engagement with regional enterprises, in particular, small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This programme is entitled TU
RISE (Research & Innovation Supporting Enterprise).
The benefits of research and innovation offices will be accelerated and cascaded across disciplines and campuses of institutions through staff development, including increased researcher human capital, at faculty/school level. As such, TU RISE will result in a deepening of research-led teaching and learning excellence, including at apprenticeship and post-graduate levels, extension of research fields, and greater capacity within TUs to serve national and regional strategic objectives in line with Ireland’s Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3).
TU RISE responds to Smart Specialisation ambitions by strengthening TUs as regional innovation leaders. It aims to build new and additional capacity to facilitate and enable knowledge transfer and S3 objectives. By supporting enhanced research, development and innovation capabilities and work placements into enterprises, TU RISE activities will bring knowledge and expertise out of TUs and into the regions and generate opportunities for enterprises to draw on academic expertise within institutions. This exchange is a critical enabling step in cultivating engagement with SMEs and building a pipeline for further collaborative projects.
TUs are uniquely placed to link with local and regional enterprises, particularly Small and Medium Enterprises, to support them to turn innovation opportunities into real-world actuality, which TU RISE will be accelerate.
€40 million was also secured over the period 2022 – 2024 under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan for TU Education and Training reforms programmes.
The project is organised around three interconnected streams: Stream 1: Transform the student experience through learner empowerment; Stream 2: Transform learning, teaching and assessment by developing staff capabilities using a Sustainable Education Framework Stream 3: Enable Digital Ecosystems to transform learning, teaching and assessment.
Both of these funding streams will enable growth and development not only of our TUs, but also of the regions around them. The complement substantial Exchequer investment, including the €50m Technological Sector Advancement Fund, announced last year.
The TUs have demonstrated their capability through the high quality proposals for new programmes submitted through the HEA’s Capacity Building Expressions of Interest process. Officials in my Department are working with colleagues in the Department of Health, and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, in the context of the ongoing National Development Plan review process on bringing these proposals forward.
Additionally, the TUs have been central to the rollout of tertiary degree programmes in partnership with regional Education and Training Boards (ETBs). A tertiary course is one that commences in an Education and Training Board (ETB) and continues in a Higher Education Institution (HEI), culminating in the award of a degree, allowing for potential students to pursue degrees in nursing, business, engineering, and media without ever engaging with the CAO system. The first tertiary programmes commenced in September 2023, and earlier this month I announced a major expansion of joint degree courses with more than 40 options to be offered this year.
It is clear that substantial progress has been made to date and that Technological Universities are contributing substantially to a dynamic and innovative higher education system.
