“A student housing crisis is forcing some students to defer third-level education until they have saved enough money to cover escalating accommodation and college costs …” (more)
[Liz Dunphy, Irish Examiner, 6 September]
“The minister for higher education is set to overhaul the CAO system to include further education and apprenticeships. From November, the CAO website will be revamped to include those areas in a bid to ease what has been dubbed the ‘points race’ …” (more)
[Paul Hosford, Irish Examiner, 6 September]
“Around 11,000 free laptops will be distributed to disadvantaged students as part of a €38m investment in higher education. A demand-led fund of more than €5m will be aimed primarily first years, helping to provide students who have difficulty in getting a suitable device for their studies to find the right computer …” (more)
[Gabija Gataveckaite, Independent, 6 September]
“Leaving Cert grade inflation means measures are likely to be needed for next year’s exam students to make sure they have fair access to higher and further education …” (more)
[Wayne O’Connor, Independent, 5 September]
“Pol Ó Dochartaigh, Deputy President of NUI Galway and Chair of the CAO, has said the ‘hard reality’ is some students will not be successful in securing their first choice. Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week, he said the Leaving Certificate points have gone up and therefore the demand for the places has gone up …” (more)
[RTÉ News, 5 September]
“Students face paying up to €11,000 for on-campus accommodation this year. UCD updated its costs for on-campus accommodation for this coming academic year, with options ranging from €6,728 to €10,526 for first year students and €6,447 to €11,113 for returning students …” (more)
[Seoirse Mulgrew, Independent, 6 September]
“The cost of college is frequently a barrier to accessing education for many students, and with the first installment of the SUSI grant not set to be paid until October 8th, it is going to be particularly hard this year for many to make ends meet. This week, The University Times spoke to recipients of the grant about the later-than-normal first payment …” (more)
[University Times, 6 September]
“The Government is aiming to ensure about three-quarters of all CAO applicants will get one of their top-three choices when college offers are released on Tuesday afternoon. A combination of record-breaking Leaving Certificate results and higher numbers of college applicants – 84,000 – are expected to push CAO points higher for many courses on Tuesday …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien and Ronan McGreevy, Irish Times, 5 September]
“There is evidence of ‘unconscious bias’ in favour of girls in the estimated marks provided by schools for this year’s Leaving Cert students, according to an official analysis of grades. A report by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) says while female students do better on average than males in exams, the gender gap was wider in school estimates compared to traditional exams …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 6 September]
