“The University of Limerick (UL) is coming under increasing pressure to refund rent paid by students who vacated campus accommodation due to the coronavirus. Education Minister Joe McHugh has waded into the row, contacting UL Chancellor Mary Harney to discuss the matter …” (more)
[Kevin O’Neill, Irish Examiner, 14 May]
“No, this is not going to be a gossipy blog and it’s certainly not going to be some sort of embarrassing exposé of anything or anybody. In fact I’m going to do a David McWilliams and draw some comparisons between academia and romantic relationships …” (more)
[Tales from Academia, 14 May]
“How Irish universities and colleges operate, teach, make money and research will face fundamental change over the next five years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With remote teaching set to become a mainstay until a widespread roll-out of a Covid-19 vaccine, the business model for higher education is also going to face significant challenges. Increasing numbers of students may opt to defer courses, ‘big tech’ looks likely to play a much larger role in the sector and we could see fewer institutions …” (more)
[Jess Casey and Ciannan Brennan, Irish Examiner, 14 May]
“When you grow up as a working-class kid, you learn somehow that poverty is somehow your fault, or the fault of your family. You never have enough money because you don’t budget properly, not because our welfare payments don’t meet a minimum essential standard of living …” (more)
[Gary Gannon, University Times, 13 May]
“A ‘military precision’ queuing system for Leaving Certificate candidates, a two-metre rule between students, and the staggering of papers between July 29th and September 5th were among the measures planned for the now abandoned State exams …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 13 May]
“Results from a piece of research conducted by Professor Paul J Devereux from UCD, following access to HEA Statistics Unit SRS data. The paper looks at the determinants of degree quality in Ireland – in terms of finishing and final grade (‘good’ degree and ‘great’ degree) …” (more, download)
[Victor Pigott, HEA, 13 May]
“Education Minister Joe McHugh faced close but mostly courteous questioning in the Dáil yesterday over his decision to postpone the Leaving Cert and introduce calculated grades instead of the written exam. He defended the decision, saying there was compelling evidence for taking it …” (more)
[Independent, 14 May]
