Ninth Level Ireland

“Some 14,000 higher-education places without fees or with reduced fees will be made available to help support workers affected by coronavirus restrictions, RTÉ News has reported. Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris is due to announce €30 million in funding to support part-time or postgraduate college places …” (more)

[Emer Moreau, University Times, 27 October]

“As the country braced itself for a nationwide lockdown this week, an air of disquiet permeated all aspects of the higher education sector: would college libraries close? Would students – who only moved into their accommodation a few weeks ago – be forced to move out? …” (more)

[University Times, 25 October]

“College will refund residents who want to move out of its accommodation at a pro-rata basis for the remainder of their license fee to January 23rd, minus four weeks for the notice period. Students will not have to find a replacement for their room and there is no deadline in place for when students have to leave by …” (more)

[Sárán Fogarty, University Times, 23 October]

“Students from Trinity are among the least likely to receive a Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) grant in a comparison of students around the country. According to a recent report by the Department of Public Expenditure, students from Trinity, University College Dublin (UCD) and the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI) are the least likely to receive grant-aid, with only 5-25% being entitled to receive Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) grants …” (more)

[Shannon Connolly, Trinity News, 22 October]

“Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the mechanisms he has explored to ensure students in both on-campus and off-campus accommodation will receive full refunds for unused accommodation; the institutes of higher education and accommodation providers that have agreed to give refunds; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more, and even more)

[Dáil debates, 20 October]

“Five of the State’s seven universities have confirmed they will refund students who leave their third-level accommodation, Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris has said …” (more)

[Marie O’Halloran, Irish Times, 21 October]

“Holly Cairns TD, Social Democrats spokesperson for Further and Higher Education, has called on the Government to immediately address the impact of Level 5 restrictions on third level students …” (more)

[Elaine Murphy, TheCork.ie, 21 October]

“Who’d be a college student in 2020? This time last year, thousands of giddy students were getting their first taste of college life; this year, most are experiencing third level through a laptop screen …” (more)

[Irish Times, 20 October]

“University College Cork (UCC) Students’ Union has confirmed that an agreement has been reached to issue students who wish to return home from their rented accommodation with a refund. Following a meeting with UCC Campus Accommodation, the union posted the update on social media …” (more)

[Breda Graham, EchoLive, 18 October]

“Fergus O’Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if additional supports will be made available to college students who have paid full college fees but are advised to remain home under Covid-19 guidelines; if supports will be made available for students who have paid accommodation fees up front; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 15 October]

“The interruption of lectures twinned with a sharp decline in international students has precipitated a cash flow problem for the majority of Irish universities, Trinity not least among them. With Queen’s College Belfast chartering literal planes to fly in foreign students and societies seeing corporate sponsorship dry up, the business model by which Irish universities have coasted on appears to be hitting a fork in the road …” (more)

[Ciaran Brennan, The Burkean, 18 October]

“The 2020 Leaving Certificate (Calculated Grades) appeals process has concluded and the appeal outcomes will be made available to students at 12pm today, Friday 16 October through the Calculated Grades Student Portal. In the processing of the appeals, the Calculated grades Executive Office reviewed a total of 33,301 individual subject records belonging to 12,216 students. This number excludes students who initially entered for an appeal but later withdrew their application …” (more)

[Department of Education and Skills, 16 October]

“Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will constitute an independent inquiry into the 2020 leaving certificate which would examine the circumstances leading to the cancellation of the exam, the design and implementation of the calculated grades system, the ensuing errors and omissions and the knock-on effect on the CAO process; and if she will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil debates, 14 October]

“Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide details on the process a person (details supplied) could follow; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 14 October]

“An investigation carried out by The University Observer into the implementation of measures by UCD in response to the Guidelines for Public Health Measures in Higher Education Institutions (HEI)s has left many questions surrounding how seriously the management of UCD planned the reopening campus …” (more)

And see: UCD Statement on return to campus

[Doireann de Courcy Mac Donnell, University Observer, 13 October]

“When colleges closed their doors last March, many students were forced to move back to their hometowns to complete the academic year online. With most of these students staying in their locality from March until September, many of their part-time jobs allocated them more hours to help deal with the surge in demand from the coronavirus pandemic …” (more)

[Conor Brummell, SIN, 13 October]

“A number of third-level stakeholders have expressed disappointment over Budget 2021, which was announced earlier today. Some €3.3 billion was allocated to the Department of Further and Higher Education under Budget 2021 – up from €2.8 billion last year – which includes a €50 million fund to assist third-level students experiencing financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus pandemic …” (more)

[Molly Furey, University Times, 13 October]

“In June, a new dawn broke for universities. They finally had a government department for themselves – a seat at the cabinet table – and a real chance of concrete reform for the sector. And, on the whole, summer had been a hopeful time for the sector. Higher Education Minister Simon Harris had proven an energetic figure, indicating that he felt higher education needed to be rejigged – and that funding was a priority …” (more)

[Cormac Watson, University Times, 13 October]

“Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD and Minister of State for Skills and Further Education Niall Collins TD have today announced a series of new measures as part of Budget 2021. The package includes …” (more)

[MerrionStreet.ie, 13 October]

“All full-time third-level students are to receive a €250 payment in the coming year to help compensate for the move towards greater online learning. It is one of a number of education measures set to be unveiled in Budget 2021 including the hiring of 565 additional teachers to bring the pupil-teacher ratio at primary level to a record low …” (more)

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