“Student leaders have called for a radical shake-up of university entry procedures in Scotland to prevent discrimination. NUS Scotland said much wider criteria should be used by universities to judge a student’s capabilities than exam results alone …” (more)
[Andrew Denholm, Herald Scotland, 19 May]
“The college admission system gives an undue reward to rote learning in the Leaving Cert, frequently delivering the wrong student to the wrong course, according to the provost of Trinity College Dublin, Dr Patrick Prendergast …” (more)
[Seán Flynn, Irish Times, 19 May]
“Almost 8,500 students were suspected of copying in their university applications last year, with new figures showing the number suspected of plagiarising their personal statements has more than tripled in a year …” (more)
[Alison Kershaw, Independent, 19 May]
“Science degrees are becoming increasingly popular with undergraduates, partly due to the ‘TV effect’. But choosing a career path means thinking outside the box …” (more)
[Sally Hamilton, Guardian, 18 May]
“Outstanding student loans now top $1 trillion, more than the nation’s credit-card debt. ProPublica has rounded up some of the best explanatory and investigative journalism on student debt …” (more)
[Blair Hickman, Slate, 18 May]
“Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether farmers land or farm assets be taken into account when means testing for college grants in view of the fact that while farmers land may be an asset they are of no value to the farmer unless they sell; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil Éireann, 17 May]
“Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of persons that were employed nationally in 2011 to assess student grant applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil Éireann, 17 May]
“The Union of Students in Ireland, USI has defended itself against allegations of flaws in the voting system in a country-wide referendum. The debate to set the policy of the national student union on whether to change its stance on tuition fees is taking place in colleges and Universities around the country as USI continue their ‘preferendum’ …” (more)
[Ciaran Hanna, Belfast Studenty.me, 18 May]
“It’s a digital, interactive, online, tricked-out Google map called The Atlas of Ingenious Ireland. Dedicated to ‘Putting Irish Science on the Map’, it locates and annotates key science, tech and natural history landmarks …” (more)
[John Lee, Huffington Post, 18 May]
“The fate of an experimental field of genetically modified wheat in the United Kingdom is still unclear after a televised debate between researchers in charge of the field trial and activists opposed to GM crops …” (more)
[Daniel Clery and Gretchen Vogel, ScienceInsider, 18 May]
“It has been reported today that Trinity students may soon be able to avail of a student loan scheme to cover the cost of the student contribution charge. The scheme is being discussed by the College, the Students’ Union and Bank of Ireland …” (more)
[Ronan Costello, University Times, 18 May]
“New gateways to college and alternatives to the current CAO points system need to be explored fully, the Provost of TCD Dr Patrick Prendergast has said. Addressing a major conference on undergraduate admissions he said his major complaint about the points system was that it remained the only gateway to college …” (more)
[Seán Flynn, Irish Times, 18 May]
“The referendum on National Union of Students affiliation at Queen’s University, Belfast Students’ Union has been declared invalid ‘due to an oversight in the process’ …” (more)
[Ben Finch, Belfast Studenty.me, 18 May]
“Advanced negotiations have taken place in Trinity College, Dublin, involving Bank of Ireland and the Students’ Union, about pioneering a student loan scheme. Trinity News also understands that the government is exploring the use of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) with banks to provide loan schemes for students in higher education …” (more)
[Rónán Burtenshaw, Trinity News, 18 May]
“Competition, we are constantly told, encourages individuals, institutions and companies to take the risks necessary for innovation and efficiency. But in higher education, competition often discourages risk taking, leads to overly cautious short-term decisions, produces a mediocre product for the price, and promotes excessive spending on physical plants and bureaucracies …” (more)
[Mark C Taylor, Bloomberg, 18 May]
“… our inventor-heroes have been popularly viewed as single-combat warriors working feverishly in a basement or some other threadbare den of solitude. And that’s unfortunate, because the myth that innovative genius burns brightest in dingy isolation has a real impact on the way this nation views the importance of the knowledge enterprise and the scientific infrastructure that supports it …” (more)
[Eric D Isaacs, Slate, 18 May]
“Students face several challenges when entering third level. Having spent the previous year as the most senior class in school, they arrive in an alien environment at the bottom of the ladder …” (more)
[Derry Cotter, Independent, 16 May]
“Quebec’s provincial government, facing the most sustained student protests in Canadian history, has introduced emergency legislation that would shut some universities and impose harsh fines on pickets blocking students from attending classes, as it looks to end three months of demonstrations against rises in tuition fees …” (more)
[Guardian, 18 May]
“Recently, I found out that my work is mentioned in a book that has been banned, in effect, from the schools in Tucson, Arizona. The anti-ethnic studies law passed by the state prohibits teachings that ‘promote the overthrow of the United States government’ …” (more)
[Patricia Williams, Guardian, 18 May]
“Sir, – On foot of your paper’s excellent article by Mary Fitzgerald (‘Why Bahraini human rights matter in Dublin’, Education Today, May 8th). We write to help broaden the issue to include the plight of the many teachers, academics and students who face charges related to exercising their basic rights to freedom of speech and right of assembly during the recent pro-democracy rallies in the Kingdom of Bahrain …” (more)
[Pat King and others, Irish Times, 18 May]
