Press release
Minister of State Mitchell O’Connor welcomes record number of enrolments in Higher Education Institutions in 2017
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Published on
Last updated on
Minister of State for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD, has welcomed today’s release of key statistics from the Higher Education Sector in Higher Education: Key Facts and Figures by the Higher Education Authority (HEA).
Student numbers in the sector have increased from 196,000 in 2011/12 to almost 232,000 in 2017/18, an increase of some 18%.
There were over 70,500 graduates of HEIs in 2017/18, of which 49,000 were undergraduates and over 21,500 were postgraduates. This represents an increase of 8.5% from 2013/2014.
How people access education and training is continuing to develop. 17% of students – over 40,100 people are studying part-time. In addition, almost 8,000 students now access Higher Education remotely, an increase of almost 2,000 students on two years ago.
Minister Mitchell O’Connor said:
"The efforts of the Institutions in responding to demand and facilitating the increased number of students cannot be underestimated."
The Minister of State also highlighted:
"Higher Education is no longer a stepwise progression from school, the message that education is a lifelong pathway is gaining momentum. In the last year 39,682 people aged 25 or over have made a conscious and life changing decision to return to education as an undergraduate, either for the first time or to re-skill in a new area of study."
She continued:
“I also welcome the fact that our higher education institutions are strongly engaged in the delivery of a wider range of apprenticeships. I would like to encourage young people considering their options over the coming weeks to fully explore all that is on offer, including apprenticeship opportunities.”
ENDS