The definition of higher education, according to Schedule 1 of the Further Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997, is education at a higher standard than the standard of courses leading to General Certificate of Education Advanced level (A Level), or Business and Technology Education Council National Certificate or National Diploma. These are qualifications at Level 3 on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF). 

Higher education courses can be provided by higher education institutions (HEIs) funded directly through the Department for the Economy (DfE), or by further education institutions. The article on ‘Types of Higher Education Institutions’ describes the different types of institution, and the remaining articles in the chapter focus on the range of programmes and levels of study that feature in the system.

Higher education in Northern Ireland shares a number of characteristics and structural features with higher education in England, Wales and Scotland. In all four parts of the United Kingdom, HEIs are autonomous self-governing bodies, which offer degrees by virtue of their own degree awarding powers (DAPs) or the degree awarding powers of another institution. These degree awarding powers are recognised by the UK authorities (Northern Ireland and Welsh Assemblies, UK and Scottish Parliaments). Institutions are responsible for appointing and employing their own staff (see the chapter on ‘Teachers and Education Staff’).

Reflecting these commonalities and shared missions, a number of sector-led bodies operate on behalf of higher education institutions across the UK. These bodies include:

• Universities UK (UUK), whose members are the executive heads of UK institutions
• GuildHE which, along with UUK, is a recognised representative body for higher education in the UK
• the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), which coordinates student applications services across the UK
• the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), which collects data from higher education providers to support UK governments and higher education funding bodies in their regulatory and funding work
• Advance HE, asector agency promoting equality and diversity, learning and teaching, and leadership and governance in higher education – since March 2018, it has included the Higher Education Academy (HEA), which offers professional development opportunities and accreditation for courses that support staff who teach and / or support learning
• the Committee of University Chairs (CUC), which represents the chairs of UK university governing bodies, and develops and promotes governance standards for higher education in the UK.

Assessment of research operates on a UK-wide basis through the Research Excellence Framework (REF), although there are differences in the way the funding bodies use the results to allocate funding for research infrastructure. See the article on ‘Higher Education Funding’.

Grants for specific research projects and programmes are administered on a UK-wide basis by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a body established in 2018 following the passing of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017.

Within the context of institutional autonomy, some common approaches and frameworks are used. There is no system for the accreditation of institutions, but the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) makes judgements on UK institutions’ capability to manage their own quality and standards and the UK Quality Code for Higher Education provides the definitive reference point for institutions. See the article on ‘Quality Assurance in Higher Education’ for further information on the Quality Code.

In addition to the commonalities, there are also some differences in higher education provision in the UK. The most notable of these are differences in tuition fees and student support, the funding of institutions and governance arrangements. These divergences have developed, in particular, since the late 1990s when the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland and Wales took on responsibility for education.

In Northern Ireland, in contrast to England and Wales, where the largest component of higher education funding now comes from student tuition fees, government grants are still the largest single component of funding, contributing more than tuition fees. These annual grants are allocated and distributed directly by the Department for the Economy (DfE).

Policy objectives for higher education 

The power-sharing executive in Northern Ireland (see the article ‘Political and Economic Situation’) collapsed in January 2017, since when the Northern Ireland Assembly has not been sitting and there are no executive ministers. Much of the following policy context has seen little shift within that period.

The Northern Ireland government department with responsibility for higher education is the Department for the Economy (DfE), which was formed in May 2016. The DfE encompasses the functions of the former Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) and of the former Department for Employment and Learning (DEL), with the exception of the Employment Service. The DfE continues to apply the key higher education strategy documents published by the DEL under the 2011–2016 Northern Ireland Assembly. These specific strategies for higher education, which are summarised below, are complemented by several more that address the wider skills landscape and aim to enhance the Northern Irish economy. They include the skills strategy, Success through Skills (2011); the appenticeships strategy, Securing our Success (2014), and the economic and innovation strategies for Northern Ireland, which are described under the subheading ‘Employability’ in the article ‘Bachelor’.

Higher education strategy 

Graduating to Success: a Higher Education Strategy for Northern Ireland (May 2012) provides a long-term vision for the higher education sector in Northern Ireland, setting out the direction for higher education policy up to 2020. It aims for the sector to be recognised for:

• its ability to equip individuals with the distinctive range and quality of skills and attributes needed for an increasingly competitive international workplace
• its excellence in research
• its willingness to work in partnership with industry to promote knowledge transfer and drive innovation
• the professionalism of its teaching and its commitment to quality
• its support for students and its fairness in maximising opportunities for all who are able to benefit
• its accessibility to learners and its engagement with local communities, contributing to their regeneration, diversity and sustainability
• its flexibility in responding to the needs of learners and other stakeholders, including business
• its willingness to engage globally
• the rigour of its governance.

The document also sets out how the Department and the higher education sector intend to realise the vision for higher education.

Widening participation strategy 

Access to Success, published in September 2012, outlines an integrated strategy for widening participation in higher education in Northern Ireland up to 2020. The key actions contained in Access to Success include:

• studying educational attainment over time to identify patterns of disadvantage among applicants to higher education
• reviewing and improving the mechanisms used to gather comprehensive and reliable data on access to, and participation in, higher education
• developing an awareness raising programme to increase the profile and relevance of higher education and skills in under-represented communities and in the workplace
• expanding the range of programmes available in schools, colleges, communities and workplaces aimed at raising aspiration and attainment
• requiring higher education institutions (HEIs) to actively monitor the attendance of all students in receipt of widening participation support
• supporting HEIs to develop additional support measures for students to sustain continuing participation
• developing a single Widening Access and Participation Plan (WAPP) which will be submitted annually for approval by all funded fee charging institutions offering higher education courses – each plan summarises an institution’s widening participation strategy and provides a programme of actions and targets for improving representation from under-represented groups in the coming year.

Widening participation was a key strategic goal for the former Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) and remains so for the Department for the Economy (DfE), whose priorities for higher education finance and governance (see below) include increasing participation and widening access, particularly from groups who are under-represented in higher education. The WAPPs for Northern Ireland’s further education colleges, universities and university colleges can be found on the Department for the Economy’s website.

For an overview of recent shifts and trends in higher education in Northern Ireland, see the Universities UK publication Patterns and Trends in UK Higher Education 2018, the latest in a series which provides a summary of annual statistical data about the UK higher education sector in the context of the trends of the previous decade.

Funding priorities for higher education 

While higher education institutions (HEIs) are autonomous bodies, with responsibility for how they make use of their government grants, their funding allocations in recent years have been made in the context of the following aims:

• to enhance research capabilities and research quality
• to support them in achieving long-term sustainability
• to exploit fully the contribution which they can make to the economy and, in particular, to increase their responsiveness to the needs of business and the community
• to increase participation and widen access, particularly from groups who are under-represented in higher education
• to improve the quality and standards of teaching and learning alongside promoting greater flexibility in delivery
• to ensure effective governance.

Sustainability of the higher education sector 

In September 2015, the then Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) launched the ‘Big Conversation’, a consultation on the future sustainability of the higher education system in the context of public spending constraints. The consultation addressed the skills needs of the economy; the quality and accessibility of higher education; sources of funding; the operation and repayment of student loans; and Northern Ireland’s funding model compared with models used in other education systems. It resulted in an options paper, Securing a Sustainable Solution for Higher Education in Northern Ireland, which presented three future funding scenarios: increased public investment; increased student contributions; or increases in both elements.

Legislative framework 

Higher education is a devolved area, which means that most decisions about higher education policy in Northern Ireland are taken by the Northern Ireland Assembly. For an analysis of the impact of devolution on higher education in Northern Ireland, see the Universities UK (UUK) 2008 research report, Devolution and Higher Education.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) in Northern Ireland are autonomous self-governing bodies. The structure of programmes is not regulated by law. Subject to the status of their degree awarding powers (DAPs), HEIs are free to design and offer such programmes and awards as they wish. However, all institutions structure their programmes along broadly similar lines (a three-cycle framework, incorporating undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral study), which conforms to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) qualifications framework.

Quality assurance in higher education is not regulated by law. HEIs are responsible for the approval of their own programmes and for ensuring that appropriate standards are achieved. They are judged on how well they fulfil these responsibilities and the effectiveness of their processes by the (UK) Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) (see the article on ‘Quality Assurance in Higher Education’). The main reference point for the QAA’s review work is the UK Quality Code for Higher Education. This sets out the expectations that all providers of UK higher education are required to meet, and provides them with a shared starting point for setting, describing and assuring the academic standards of their higher education awards and programmes, and the quality of the learning opportunities they provide.

The Department for the Economy (DfE) distributes public funds for teaching and research infrastructure.

The current arrangements for tuition fees for full-time undergraduate students were introduced in 2006 under the Higher Education Act 2004 and the Higher Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2005. In England, changes to the regulations prescribing the maximum annual amount for tuition fees led to a significant rise in fees from 2012, but in Northern Ireland fees were ‘frozen’ subject only to inflationary rises. Tuition fees are set by individual HEIs but, for full-time undergraduate students in Northern Ireland, are limited to £4275 (€4829.96*) for the 2019/20 academic year. Fees for postgraduate students are not regulated. Public funding for research, other than research infrastructure, is not devolved to Northern Ireland; it is allocated by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) on a UK-wide basis. See the article on ‘Higher Education Funding’.

 * Exchange rate used: €1 = £0.88, ECB 16 September 2019.

Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ) 

Although not required by law to do so, all institutions design their qualifications in accordance with the Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies (FHEQ). This is developed by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) and forms part of the UK Quality Code for Higher Education. The FHEQ is intended to promote consistency across the sector, by facilitating a shared and common understanding of the expectations associated with typical qualifications, and ensuring that qualifications with the same titles are of an equivalent academic standard.

The fundamental premise of the FHEQ is that qualifications should be awarded on the basis of achievement of outcomes and attainment rather than years of study.

The five levels of the FHEQ are numbered 4–8 (Levels 1–3 are allocated to levels of education that precede higher education).

Qualification descriptors illustrate the distinct level of intellectual achievement for each level of the framework. These qualification descriptors describe the threshold academic standard for those qualification types, in terms of the levels of knowledge and understanding, and the types of abilities that holders of the relevant qualification are expected to have (FHEQ, pages 19-32).

Subject benchmark statements make explicit the nature and characteristics of awards in a specific subject area and set out the attributes and capabilities of graduates in that subject. They exemplify what the generic outcomes set out in the qualification descriptors in the FHEQ might look like in practice.

The following table illustrates the main types of qualifications.

(Adapted from QAA (2014). The Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies, page 17)

The FHEQ has been self-certified as compatible with the Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area (FQ-EHEA).

Note: The FHEQ is not a credit framework. For a description of the use of credit in higher education in Northern Ireland, see the subheading ‘Branches of Study’ in the article ‘Bachelor’.

Structure of the academic year 

The structure of the academic year is not regulated by law. However, for funding and reporting purposes, the academic year runs from 1 August to 31 July.

The teaching year typically starts in mid to late September or early October and ends in mid to late June. The year is traditionally divided by breaks into three teaching terms, although some institutions organise teaching for some courses along a two-semester system.

For postgraduate students, the organisation of time varies. Where a taught master's programme has a duration of one year, this normally means a full calendar year, e.g. October to October.

Teaching typically takes place between 9.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m., from Monday to Friday, but may take place at other times. Part-time courses may run during the day or in the evening.

Article last reviewed September 2019.