Ninth Level Ireland

“PhD students have said that they were frozen out of reopening plans by the College and feel left in the dark about what teaching and tutorials are going to look like for the coming year. One of the founders of Trinity’s PhD Workers Rights Group, Thomas Dineen, told The University Times that some schools in Trinity did not involve PhD students in their ‘return to work’ committees, set up to plan the reopening of College …” (more)

[Cormac Watson, University Times, 13 August]

“Education Minister Peter Weir is facing calls to scrap this year’s controversial A-level results – or reconsider his position – following a backlash from principals and pupils …” (more)

[Claire McNeilly, Belfast Telegraph, 13 August]

“Many of us have a low opinion of Stormont at the best of times but along comes a story that highlights the utter head-bangingly stupid nature of some of their more crazy decisions. Writing in today’s Irish Times Newton Emerson highlights the issue of the cap on local students …” (more)

[Brian O’Neill, Slugger O’Toole, 13 August]

“Former WIT Students’ Union President and Labour Party Representative, Michael Murphy is urging Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) to rethink their method of assessment for the autumn repeats …” (more)

[Claire Quinn, Waterford News and Star, 13 August]

Abstract: The field of higher education research is fast-growing, both in number of publications and in geographical reach. There is however limited evidence on how this growth in publication influences the structure of the underlying co-authorship network. This is important as structural network parameters can change quickly in a fast-growing network, leading to fundamental different network structures, e.g., in terms of hierarchy, fragmentation, and inequality. Ultimately, these network structures can influence the current and future innovation and knowledge production in the field. Empirically, we construct 34 different co-authorship networks of all authors published in 28 higher education journals listed in Web of Science between 1976 and 2018 and perform bibliometric network analyses …

Jef Vlegels and Jeroen Huisman, The emergence of the higher education research field (1976–2018): preferential attachment, smallworldness and fragmentation in its collaboration networks, Higher Education (2020).

“First year students will have the option to take part in the Peer Mentoring programme remotely this year. Certain Orientation Week activities will be offered virtually to students who cannot attend University College Dublin (UCD) campus due to COVID-19 restrictions …” (more)

[Nessa Collins, College Tribune, 13 August]

“Sir, – You report that ‘Minister insists Leaving Cert students’ results will be “accurate, reliable and fair” to all’ (News, August 11th), citing issues in Scotland where calculated grades were reversed due to systematic biases shown toward pupils in socially disadvantaged communities. The issues being raised about calculated Leaving Cert grades seem to me to conflate two important but different issues …” (more)

[Shane Bergin, Irish Times, 14 August]

“A positive case of COVID-19 has been confirmed on the grounds of University College Dublin’s (UCD’s) main campus. Reports emerged on Wednesday night that a staff member at Oakmount Creche, located on the university’s Belfield campus, had tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, August 9th …” (more)

[Nessa Collins, College Tribune, 13 August]

“Leaving Cert students’ calculated grades should not be dictated by the past performance of their schools, the Ombudsman for Children has warned. Dr Niall Muldoon’s comments come amid controversy over the use of calculated grades in the UK which have seen hit disadvantaged students’ hit hardest by downgrades of their teachers’predictions …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 13 August]

“Extra college places in Medicine and other hotly contested areas are on the agenda for discussion ahead of next month’s CAO Round 1 offers. Higher Education Minister Simon Harris confirmed today that more places are likely to open on some high demand university courses …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 12 August]

“Foilsíodh tuarascáil faireacháin de chuid an Choimisinéara Teanga inniu ag nochtú go raibh os cionn 47% de chomharthaí in ollscoileanna faoi scáth Ollscoil na hÉireann i mBéarla amháin. Sáraíonn seo na rialacháin faoi Acht na dTeanagacha Oifigiúla …” (níos mó)

[Jennifer Ní Chiara, University Times, 12 August]

“A decision not to consider a home-schooled Leaving Cert student’s application for calculated grades is ‘unjust and discriminatory’, the High Court has heard. Elijah Burke claims the exclusion of home school students from the calculated grades process breaches his rights under the Article 42 of the Constitution and the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 …” (more)

[Aodhan O’Faolain and Ray Managh, Independent, 12 August]

“Irish students are reporting they are not receiving enough support from the government support during the pandemic. Research has found there are fears and uncertainty among college students and those entering third-level education. Their mental health has also been affected during the pandemic …” (more)

[BreakingNews.ie, 12 August]

“So here I am in my office while the first batch of our repeat examinations gets under way here in Maynooth. They seem to have started correctly so I’ve taken a break to have a cup of coffee and catch up on the news …” (more)

[In the Dark, 12 August]

“For many years, the notional ’40/40/20′ arrangement that many tenured academics are employed under – allowing the equivalent of two days a week dedicated to teaching, two to research and one to service and community engagement – has been creaking under the mounting administrative demands that higher education institutions make on their staff …” (more)

[John Ross and Anna McKie, Times Higher Education, 12 August]

“Minister for Education Norma Foley has moved to reassure thousands of Leaving Cert students that the new calculated grades system will be ‘accurate, reliable and fair to all students’. Her comments follow controversy in Scotland after the government reversed the downgrading of almost 125,000 students’ calculated grades based on teachers’ predictions …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien and Patsy McGarry, Irish Times, 11 August]

“Personal data belonging to former Maynooth University students, including their dates of birth, addresses and educational information, may have been stolen during a cybercriminal hacking attack last May …” (more)

[Laura Coates, Leinster Leader, 11 August]

“Timed written examinations continue to dominate university assessment. In most professions, the need to recall and write down specific information from memory under timed conditions is rare. Yet every year across the world students are crammed into exam halls to do just that …” (more)

[Naomi Winstone and David Boud, The Conversation, 11 August]

“Trinity Sport Centre and its outdoor campus facilities have reopened today with reduced operating hours and new social distancing measures in place. A one-way system has been introduced for entering and exiting the gym, which must be accessed through the Westland Row gate. Members are being asked to adhere to the two-metre social distancing markers and directional arrows …” (more)

[Shannon McGreevy, Trinity News, 12 August]

“Ever since I was a child, I have listened to politicians talk about a University for Waterford and for the region. For decades, the demand for educational equality for the South East has fallen on deaf ears. Moves championed as one step forward in reality were two steps back …” (more)

[David Cullinane, Waterford News and Star, 8 August]