Higher education policy
The aim of Higher Education Policy branch is to develop, communicate and evaluate higher education policy for Northern Ireland, in consultation with the sector, other UK Regions and the Northern Ireland Higher Education Council.
The main business areas of Higher Education Policy Branch are:
- Widening Participation in higher education is a key priority for the Department for Employment and Learning. Widening participation in higher education is taken to mean increasing and facilitating the participation of those groups, which are currently under represented in the HE sector, in particular students from disadvantaged backgrounds and students with physical and learning disabilities.
- Higher Education in Further Education - Higher Education courses are delivered in Northern Ireland’s sixteen Colleges of Further and Higher Education.
- Foundation Degrees - A Foundation Degree is an important new, higher education, vocational – academic qualification, which has been described as a two-year route to a degree with high market value because of the focus on employability.
- Teaching and Learning - Higher Education Policy manages a range of teaching and learning initiatives and activities and, to this end, assesses, approves and appropriately manages funding allocations to support the core activities of Northern Ireland Higher Education Institutions.
- International Activity is an area of growing importance for the Department in the context of an increasingly international labour market and increased competition for international students worldwide.
- Teacher Education refers to undergraduate and postgraduate courses in higher education that eventually lead to a qualification to teach. The Department for Employment and Learning has responsibility for the administration and funding of teacher education in Northern Ireland. Courses in teacher education are provided at all higher education institutions in Northern Ireland.