Ninth Level Ireland

“More than 3,000 students are being offered third-level college places by the Central Applications Office (CAO) today. Points for accounting at CIT have dropped from 319 to 318. The offers are being issued to 3,087 applicants, up from 2,446 at the same stage last year, and can be accepted up to next Wednesday evening …” (more)

[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 31 August]

“Working out of a tiny corner office overlooking Dublin Port, it is hard to believe that the eight staff and 10 full-time officers of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) run an organisation that represents 350,000 students …” (more)

[Ciarán D’Arcy, Irish Times, 31 August]

“A former Castlebar town councillor has welcomed a marked increased in applications for degree courses in GMIT Castlebar. However, he feels the revelation could eclipse the reality that five courses have been cut at the institution …” (more)

[Mayo News, 29 August]

“Concern has been raised by business leaders about moves that could restrict the provision of badly-needed student accommodation in Dublin city centre. Councillors will get a report from planning officials soon before voting on the proposal that could make it harder to get permission for purpose-built student housing …” (more)

[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 30 August]

“Sir, – This Friday and Saturday thousands of Leaving Cert students will avail of the option to review their examination scripts. It is an admirable exercise in transparency and greatly to the credit of the State Examinations Commission (SEC) that it operates in this way …” (more)

[Brian Fleming, Irish Times, 30 August]

“Ibec, the group that represents Irish business, today called on Government to oppose and prevent measures under consideration by Dublin City Council to restrict student accommodation. The proposal seeks to provide planning authorities with an additional basis to oppose the building of student accommodation …” (more)

[Ibec, 29 August]

“Lydia Bruna, a young filmmaker from Germany, was considering doing her master’s degree at the prestigious National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, just west of the British capital. Not only does the school have an international reputation, a British master’s would help her career in the United Kingdom – the European hub for filmmaking. But a note on the fee page of the school’s website changed her plans …” (more)

[Christopher Schuetze, US News, 28 August]

“Earlier this summer Google engineer James Damore posted a treatise about gender differences on an internal company message board and was subsequently fired. The memo ignited a firestorm of debate about sex discrimination in Silicon Valley …” (more)

[Alison Coil, Wired, 25 August]

“The anonymous marking of exam scripts has little impact on closing the achievement gap between students of different genders and ethnicities, new research suggests. Many universities have introduced blind marking in recent years in response to the underperformance of undergraduates from ethnic minorities and male learners in assessment …” (more)

[Holly Else, Times Higher Education, 29 August]

“Last week’s ‘A’ Level results not only signalled the start of the annual scramble to secure a place at University. They also pointed to a worrying development for the long-promised expansion of Magee campus in Derry …” (more)

[Steve Bradley, Slugger O’Toole, 29 August]

“NUI Galway has published the tender documents for its Nun’s Island regeneration masterplan. NUI Galway’s Education Building is located at Nuns Island, and it also owns the adjacent building …” (more)

[Connacht Tribune, 28 August]

“As has been noted previously in this blog, there are differing opinions on the extent to which universities should develop education strategies to provide skills needed in the economy. Some of those who might be sceptical about such strategies argue that universities should not be vocational training institutions …” (more)

[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 28 August]

“The University of Limerick is moving towards having a ‘No-Smoking’ campus, its president Dr Des Fitzgerald has announced. Dr Fitzgerald said there will be designated smoke-free areas all around the campus in the coming months, with some being introduced next month …” (more)

[Anne Sheridan, Limerick Leader, 28 August]

“As the accommodation crisis morphs from a calamity into a permanent feature of Irish cities, the inadequacy of Irish universities’ attempts to solve the problem are becoming more and more apparent. The crisis, which is showing little sign of relenting, has become an annual talking point in the media. High rents, exploitative landlords and the latest innovation all take up column inches as politicians and universities offer the latest pithy advice to students fretting about finding a home for college …” (more)

[University Times, 27 August]

“Colleges have reported a surge of interest among homeowners interested in renting rooms out to students in light of the crisis in accommodation. Minister for Education Richard Bruton and Minister of State with responsibility for higher education Mary Mitchell O’Connor last week appealed to householders to consider ‘digs’ as an accommodation option …” (more)

[Peter McGuire, Irish Times, 28 August]

“Academics are reeling under authoritarian management, marketisation and audits. A rewarding occupation is situated in an institutional context that’s not so benign. Speed is a key pressure in a profession where deliberation and a measured pace are especially important. Filip Vostal asks questions about this scenario. His Accelerating Academia: The Changing Structure of Academic Time is an opportune intervention on a pressing issue, assessing the literature and making his own empirical contribution …” (more)

[Impact of Social Sciences, 27 August]

“Rabbits, birds and guinea pigs were among more than 4,100 live animals used in research experiments at University College Cork (UCC) last year. The animals were sourced through specialist suppliers in Ireland, the UK and the US at a cost of almost €200,000. A further €3,000 was paid to dispose of carcasses …” (more)

[Darragh McDonagh, Irish Times, 27 August]

“British higher education is the fifth-largest export sector in the United Kingdom. According to the Treasury (2015), the UK has a target to increase educational exports from £18 billion (US$23 billion) in 2012 to £30 billion (US$38 billion) by 2020 …” (more)

[Ludovic Highman, University World News, 25 August]

“The receipt of an offer for a college course should be a time of celebration for school-leavers. Instead, students planning to study away from home are facing into a period of stress and uncertainty. The crisis in housing supply, along with soaring rents, means many do not have access to affordable accommodation …” (more)

[Irish Times, 25 August]

“Sir, – When announcing new jobs, foreign corporations cite our educated workforce, rather than our low corporation tax rate, as the main reason for operating in Ireland …” (more)

[Paddy Meyler, Irish Times, 26 August]