New data on student grants following a data sharing agreement between the Higher Education Authority and SUSI

Posted: 9 December, 2024

The overall number of students in receipt of a grant in Ireland is set to increase following a period of decline. However, the student grant recipient population has not kept in line with the overall increase in the size of the student population in higher education.

This is according to new data released by the Higher Education Authority under a Data Sharing Agreement with Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), the national grant awarding authority.

The percentage of students in receipt of a grant declined from 33% in 2018/2019 to 26% in 2022/23 – a time, which according to HEA statistics – full-time student numbers increased overall by 7%. However, following changes to the eligibility criteria for student funding, the overall number of students in receipt of a grant in 2023/24 is anticipated to increase.

Grant recipients are more likely to be female (57%) and older than the overall student population (29% over 30).  They are more likely to choose certain fields of study (such as Services – leisure and hospitality, or Arts & Humanities) than non-recipient students (such as Social Sciences or Engineering).

There are similar overall numbers of grant recipients in traditional universities and the technological sector, but grant recipients make up a larger percentage of the total student population in the technological sector.  This is in line with previous findings using the HEA’s Deprivation Index Scores.

Grant recipients are less likely to declare a disability, and this mirrors findings from other analyses on disability and socio-economic status.  Grant recipients are more likely to be parents and single parents, and grant recipients tend to be older than non-recipients.

According to the HEA’s definition of non-progression, grant recipients are less likely to progress from first to second year, and results from a statistical analysis designed to investigate the underlying factors behind the differences in progression rates are in line with other HEA reports on socio-economic disadvantage and non-progression.

Grant recipients also have a different graduate outcomes profile.   Overall, grant recipients are more likely to be in further study than non-recipients, but less likely to be in employment than non-recipients.

There are also differences seen in sectors of employment, occupations and salaries, and this can partly be explained by different course choices.

Dr Alan Wall, Chief Executive of the HEA, said, “This report gives a wealth of detail on student grant recipients in higher education. It is a substantial addition to the evidence base on third level student grants and will support policy makers, higher education institutions, and higher education access schemes in informing future policy planning, as well as evaluating and monitoring the impact of access and inclusion initiatives.”

Commenting on the importance of this research, Philip Connolly, Director of Services with SUSI said: “For the first time, SUSI data has been linked with HEA data for research purposes. This collaboration marks an important step in building further understanding of student grant recipients. The findings provide important analysis which can inform future policy and support students further.”

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NOTES TO EDITOR:

This new body of research is the result of a Data Sharing Agreement that is in place between the HEA and SUSI, the national grant awarding authority and underpinned by primary legislation including the HEA Act and amended Student Support Act. This data enables us to compare the demographics, progression and outcomes of grant recipients and compare these with non-recipients so we can better assist and support in policy-making across the third level system.

SUSI provides support to eligible students in approved courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

These fall into two broad categories: maintenance grants, which help students with their living costs; and fee grants, which pay tuition fees and the student contribution.

Through the Data Sharing Agreement, SUSI has transferred data to the HEA which provides data from 2017/2018 to 2022/2023 grant recipients. The data transferred includes students’ grant rates, adjacency rates and distance from college. The intention of the Data Sharing Agreement is to analyse the student life-cycle, from entry to post-graduation outcomes from the lens of grant status.

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Student Grant Recipients: A Collaborative Data Analysis