Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The Higher Education Authority (HEA) is responsible for gathering statistics on student numbers and according to the student numbers recorded by the HEA in respect of the 2016/17 academic year, there was 131,268 students attending universities and other colleges while 86,975 students attended Institutes of Technology (IoTs). This represents 60% for universities and colleges and 40% for IoTs. The numbers include undergraduate, postgraduate, full-time and part-time students.

In relation to the allocation of funding, the HEA has a Recurrent Grant Allocation Model (RGAM) which allocates core funding to all HEA funded institutions (universities/specialist colleges/institutes of technology). The RGAM takes account of undergraduate and postgraduate provision in each institution weighted by the type of course being provided. This approach takes account of the fact that it is more costly to deliver courses in certain disciplines. For example, a largely lecture-based arts or business programme would generally be weighted at 1, a programme which involves some practical or fieldwork would be weighted at 1.3 and lab-based provision is weighted at 1.7.

The HEA has recently undertaken a review of the RGAM which was led by an independent expert panel along with an Advisory Group that included representation from relevant stakeholders. The report, which is currently at final draft stage, will make recommendations on the most appropriate funding model for the future.