Ninth Level Ireland

“A €1,000-a-day job at the new Technological University of the South East was filled without regard to proper procurement procedures, which are supposed to apply to all positions over €25,000. Tom Boland was announced as executive director of the Technological University of the South East consortium by Higher Education Minister Simon Harris last July …” (more)

[Darren Skelton, Irish Examiner, 31 March]

“IReL and Taylor & Francis Group have signed a new transformative agreement, for three years starting in March 2021. IReL is a licensing consortium of nine participating Irish publicly-funded higher education institutions. This deal allows Irish researchers access to Taylor & Francis Group journals as well as the option to publish in around 2,000 titles without paying article publishing fees …” (more)

[IReL, 31 March]

“Despite pressure on students to find accommodation in the Dublin housing market, it is possible that the new student accommodation that has been under construction for the last three years will not open in September. UCD have acknowledged the issues faced by students, with the UCD Bursar David Kelly stating, ‘We are acutely aware of the pressure on our students in finding accommodation’ …” (more)

[Emer Nolan, College Tribune, 31 March]

“Sir, – Statistics this year show that just over half of students completed their courses in computer science and engineering (Carl O’Brien, ‘Is our obsession with degrees failing students?’, Analysis, Education, March 29th). Reasons for dropping out from college include financial, health, family or changing course. Away from the firm structure of secondary education, new independent learning can become problematic for some students at third level …” (more)

[Kevin McLoughlin, Irish Times, 31 March]

“An Bord Pleanala has given the go-ahead to a multi-storey student complex in the shadow of Thomond Park. The national appeals body rejected the recommendation of its own inspector in order to approve the multi-million euro project, which will see the former Hassett’s Bar – closed for a decade – demolished …” (more)

[Nick Rabbitts, Limerick Leader, 30 March]

“Hundreds of young people are making up for the disappointment of a quieter St Patrick’s Day by partying harder than ever in the Holyland, residents said. It follows reports of ‘busloads being shipped in to view properties in the area’ – even though term has finished and there is no need for students to be there …” (more)

[Claire McNeilly, Belfast Telegraph, 30 March]

“Trinity Senator David Norris has expressed concern about the exclusion of Prof Sarah Alyn-Stacey from the Provost election, arguing that the election should be suspended to allow for Alyn-Stacey’s inclusion in the race. In January, Alyn-Stacey was disqualified from running in the Provost election by the Interview Committee, which was set up to screen candidates before the Provost elections begin …” (more)

[Sárán Fogarty, University Times, 30 March]

“Five institutes of technology and 10 departments have been recognised for measures to improve gender equality in higher education in the latest round of Athena SWAN awards, announced today (31st March). The institutes of technology in Athlone, Dundalk, Galway-Mayo, Letterkenny and Sligo each receive a Bronze award, which recognises that the institutions have identified their key gender equality challenges and opportunities and have action plans to drive progress …” (more)

[Maura O’Shea, HEA, 30 March]

“Provostial candidates were keen to distance themselves from Trinity’s current employment practices and converged on similar messages throughout at today’s hustings hosted by the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT). Chair of IFUT’s Trinity branch John Walsh ran the hustings, posing questions …” (more)

[Matt McCann, Mairead Maguire and Cormac Watson, University Times, 30 March]

“Sir, – I am concerned about the current state of the election of the Provost of Trinity College Dublin and in particular the exclusion of Prof Sarah Alyn Stacey …” (more)

[David Norris, Irish Times, 30 March]

“Much like the ‘new power’ phenomenon it draws on as its analytical lens, the power of The New Power University lies less in the singularity of any of its insights than in their accumulation to build a picture of the fragility of the contemporary Western university in the face of enormous political and social upheaval …” (more)

[Debbie McVitty, Wonkhe, 30 March]

“The future of fees for international students is likely to be determined by which of the three candidates in the race to be Trinity’s next provost is successful in the April election. Professors Linda Doyle, Linda Hogan and Jane Ohlmeyer took different standpoints on whether fees for non-EU students would increase under their provostship at a hustings this evening hosted by Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) …” (more)

[Lauren Boland, Audrey Brown and Shannon Connolly, Trinity News, 29 March]

“Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide the public and private investment in research and development as a numerical value, a share of GDP, a share of GNI and a share of GNI* in each year since 2006, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 25 March]

“Two Government Ministers are supporting locals’ objections to plans for a 698-bed student accommodation development across eight blocks in Goatstown in south Dublin. Minister for Tourism and Culture Catherine Martin and Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion Josepha Madigan have each made submissions to An Bord Pleanála concerning the plan where the blocks range in height from three to seven storeys …” (more)

[Gordon Deegan, Irish Times, 29 March]

Abstract: Higher education institutions are striving to lower student dropout rates to increase the number of academically qualified persons in the labour market and decrease misguided investment. Researchers generally acknowledge that students who are firmly decided on their studies tend to drop out of their studies less frequently. Building on the extended expectancy-value model via the cost component, this longitudinal study investigates changes in and the impact of students’ motivation on career decidedness and intention to drop out. We analysed data from 351 first-year university students aiming to become teachers across three measurement points, finding that the task effort of students and, to a lesser degree, their interest value was related to career decidedness and, indirectly, to the intention to drop out after the first year in higher education. Moreover, the results revealed that these students’ ability beliefs increased and interest value decreased from the beginning to the end of the first year at higher education. Accordingly, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications taken from these findings.

Carina Bargmann, Lisa Thiele and Simone Kauffeld, Motivation matters: predicting students’ career decidedness and intention to drop out after the first year in higher education, Higher Education. Published: 29 March 2021.

“Two weeks ago, ‘The PROPEL Report: Promoting Consent and Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Institutions,’ was published. It was never anticipated that the publication would coincide with violent cases in both Ireland and abroad …” (more)

[Eavan O’Brien, Independent, 29 March]

“Sir, – The Irish Times has carried articles that report on a controversy surrounding Irish collaboration with a university that until recently was called ‘The Central University for Nationalities’ (‘UCC academics concerned at deepening links with Minzu University’, News, November 25th). When the Chinese Communist Party in 1949 created the People’s Republic of China, it envisioned a land of multiethnic and multilingual flourishing …” (more)

[Nathan Hill, Irish Times, 29 March]

“In the time since a small group of academic librarians launched the #ebooksos campaign with an Open Letter asking for an investigation into the academic e-book publishing industry, we have faced some questioning of our actions …” (more)

[Rachel Bickley, Wonkhe, 29 March]

“Between 60% and 80% of students in some third-level computing and engineering courses are dropping out, new data shows. Young men with low Leaving Cert points are at a particularly high risk of failing to complete their college courses. The findings are contained in a study by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) which tracked the progress of thousands of students who started third-level courses over a 10-year period …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 29 March]

“President of UCD, Andrew Deeks has defended academic freedom in the wake of ‘a number of recent events’ in a recent President’s Bulletin. These comments emerge after a slew of ‘recent events’ brought the principle and its status in UCD to the fore …” (more)

[Rowan Kelleher, College Tribune, 28 March]