13% of total enrolments at Magee College with nursing test contributing to spike

DE’s new ‘Enrolments at UK Higher Education Institutions: NI Analysis 2021/22’ shows that of 69,565 students enrolled at higher education institutions (HEIs) in the North in 2021/22, 34,550 (50 per cent) were enrolled at Ulster University and 9,025 (13 per cent) were enrolled at Magee College.

A breakdown of the 34,550 students enrolled at Ulster University alone in 2021/22 show 13,315 (39 per cent) were enrolled at Belfast; 9,025 (26 per cent) were enrolled at Magee; 3,995 (12 per cent) were enrolled at Coleraine; and 3,250 (9.4 per cent) were enrolled at Jordanstown.

The remainder were enrolled at campuses in London (2,770; eight per cent) and Birmingham (2,200; 6.3 per cent).

The report indicates that over the decade since 2012/13 (55,895), enrolments at HEIs increased by a net 24 per cent (13,670).

And the 69,565 students enrolled at HEIs in 2021/22 represented a net five per cent increase from 2020/21 (66,245).

This was partly due, the analysis states, to the location of the Nursing Competency Testing Centre (CTC) at Magee College.

"The increase in enrolments over the last three years can partially be explained by a new part-time module introduced by Ulster University for students undertaking the Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) of the NMC Test of Competence (ToC) in 2019/20.

"The ToC is for overseas nurses and midwives seeking registration as a nurse and/or midwife in the UK. However, enrolments on this course have decreased slightly between 2020/21 (5,080) and 2021/22 (4,890),” the report states.

The figures show that of 69,565 enrolled at HEIs in 2021/22, 34,550 (50 per cent) were enrolled at Ulster University; 25,295 (36 per cent) were enrolled at Queen’s University, Belfast; 7,355 (10.6 per cent) were enrolled at the Open University; 1,325 (two per cent) were enrolled at Stranmillis University College; and 1,040 (1.5 per cent) were enrolled at St. Mary’s University College.

The total combined enrolment at the Belfast campuses of Queen’s (25,295), Ulster University’s Belfast (9,025) and Jordanstown (3,250) campuses, Stranmillis (1,325) and St. Mary’s (1,040), accounted for 57 per cent (39,935) of all enrolments in the North.

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