Trends in Non-Progression 2016/2017-2023/2024- Student Characteristics

The focus of this chapter of the report is non-progression by student characteristics, focusing on demographics, particularly gender, socio-economic background and entry basis.

Progression:

Trends in Non-Progression 2016/2017-2023/2024 - Gender

• Non-progression rates have dropped for both males and females between 2022/2023 and 2023/2024; female non-progression dropped from 8.8% to 7.4% whilst male non-progression dropped from 13.3% to 11.6%.
• The non-progression rate for nonbinary new entrants has dropped between 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 from 13.2% to 11.6%.
• At NFQ Level 8, female non-progression dropped from 7.8% down to 6.6% between 2022/2023 and 2023/2024. For males, non-progression at NFQ Level 8 dropped from 10.8% to 9.3%.

Trends in Non-Progression 2016/2017-2023/2024 - Socio-Economic Background

HP Deprivation Index Scores (DIS) are used to assess the socio-economic profile of students in higher education in Ireland. For more information on DIS, see our page Socio-Economic Profiles 2021/22 to 2023/24. the above socio-economic data is limited to Irish domiciled students.

• There is variation by socio-economic background, with disadvantaged new entrants having a non-progression rate of 15.4%, compared to affluent new entrants at 6.4% in 2023/2024.
• Disadvantaged new entrants tend to have a higher non-progression rate than affluent new entrants and this is a trend that has been consistent since DIS was used to examine the socio-economic profile of new entrants.
• The non-progression gap between affluent and disadvantaged new entrants has remained relatively stable across this time period. The average gap is 8.8 percentage points between affluent and disadvantaged new entrants’ non-progression rates. This was at its lowest in 2019/2020, at 5.5 percentage points, and its highest in 2021/2022.

Trends in Non-Progression 2016/2017-2023/2024 - Student Grant (SUSI) Holders

• New entrants who were in receipt of a SUSI grant overall had a higher rate of non-progression (13.4%) than those not in receipt (8.8%). Please see the following report for context.

Trends in Non-Progression 2016/2017-2023/2024 SUSI Grant Type

• SUSI Grant Type

  • By SUSI rate band the special rate band, has the highest rate of non-progression at 13.5% in 2023/2024. This is a consistent trend over the last seven years, with students in receipt of the special rate SUSI grant having higher rates of non-progression than other grant types.

Trends in Non-Progression 2016/2017-2023/2024 - New Entrants with Disabilities

• New Entrants with Disabilities

  • In 2023/2024, new entrants reporting a disability had a higher rate of non-progression (11.0%) than new entrants who reported they had no disability (9.0%) via the equal access survey. New entrants with disabilities consistently have a higher rate of non-progression that new entrants without disabilities. However, the level of non-progression among new entrants with disabilities has been decreasing year on year since 2020/2021 (12.4% in 2020/2021 to 11.0% in 2023/2024).
  • The equal access classifies disabilities into the following categories: blind or deaf, learning disability, physical disability and psychological or emotional disability.
  • New entrants who reported being blind or deaf displayed the lowest rate of non-progression of students with a disability at 11.4% overall.
  • New entrants who reported a psychological or emotional disability had the highest rate of non-progression of students with a disability at 14.7% overall.
  • For further detail on the equal access survey, see key facts and figures access section.

Trends in Non-Progression 2016/2017-2023/2024 - Entry Basis

Since 2018/2019, the HEA has collected the entry basis of students as part of the SRS returns process. Entry basis in this context is the primary basis on which students are accepted onto their courses. For example, second level school leaving exams (Leaving Certificate) or based on a further education award.

The primary entry basis of most new entrants is entry through second level school leaving exams (72.1% in 2023/2024). Additionally, 7.6% enter through the DARE scheme while 3.9% enter via HEAR.

• Second level school leaving exams and DARE new entrants have the lowest non-progression rates in 2023/2024 at 8.9% (The variation between the DARE non-progression rate here and the new entrants with disabilities non-progression figure above can be explained by the data source (SRS vs equal access survey)).
• The rate of non-progression for access/foundation and other access routes new entrants dropped 7 percentage points between 2022/2023 (19.5%) and 2023/2024 (12.5%).
• At NFQ Level 8, DARE new entrants had the lowest rate of non-progression in 2023/2024 at 6.9%. Mature years new entrants had the highest rate of non-progression at 12.2%. Although previous analyses showed this was mostly attributable to choice of field of study/HEI.

Trends in Non-Progression 2016/2017-2023/2024 - Leaving Certificate Points

The Leaving Certificate points chart above is limited to new entrants with entry basis second level school leaving exams as their primary entry basis.

• Non-progression rates for new entrants in the top points grouping (600-625) consistently display rates of non-progression between 1-3%. .
• The trends show that the higher the Leaving Certificate points, the less likely a student is to not progress. Whereas the lower the Leaving Certificate points, the more likely a student is to not progress.

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