Student success is a core priority for higher education. The HEA supports the sector to develop shared understanding, evidence-informed approaches and practical resources that enable institutions to support student success in diverse and evolving contexts. This page brings together key publications, frameworks, and initiatives that explore what student success means, how it can be understood and how it can be embedded across the student lifecycle.
Latest Resources
Discussion Paper
2026Between Metrics: Rethinking 21st Century Student Success in Ireland
Rethinking how student success is defined and measured
Report
2026Student Success in Their Own Words: Insights from Higher Education in Ireland
Student perspectives on what success means in higher education
Review
2025Review of the Irish National Framework for Student Success in Higher Education
Review of the Irish National Framework for Student Success in Higher Education
National Understanding of Student Success (2019)
An overview of Ireland’s National Understanding of Student Success, setting out a shared framework that recognises success as multifaceted and extending beyond progression and completion rates, informed by policy, institutional, student, and international perspectives across the student journey.
Initiatives
Student Success Toolkit (2021)
Seven Cs for Embedding Student Success: A Toolkit for Higher Education Institutions (Seven Cs Toolkit) resource for higher education institutions.
Data-Enabled Student Success Initiative (DESSI) (2017-2019)
National Forum’s open-access, online library of guides and manuals, covering key topics relating to learning analytics.
Online Resource for Learning Analytics (ORLA) (2017)
Supporting institutions as they look to develop effective, informed, sustainable strategies for maximising the value of data as a resource
Previous Publications
Report: Understanding and Enabling Student Success in Irish Higher Education (2019)
This report outlines Ireland’s National Understanding of Student Success, presenting a shared framework for understanding and supporting student success.
Forum Insight: Towards a National Understanding of Student Success (2019)
A discussion paper that informed the development of Ireland’s National Understanding of Student Success framework.
Related HEA Areas
Related HEA policy areas and initiatives connected to student success in higher education.