Ninth Level Ireland

“International university rankings are deeply flawed measures of third-level colleges. They are produced by commercial organisations which sell their expertise on how to perform better. They ignore key aspects of college life such as the quality of teaching and learning. And the science behind some of the indicators is suspect, at best …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 19 June]

“The most recent in the apparently never-ending stream of university rankings, out today, shows no sign of reversing the 10-year decline in the performance of Irish universities – as a whole they are nowhere near where they were a decade ago, and at best it shows that the decline may have paused. Should this be a cause for alarm? …” (more)

[Bahram Bekhradnia, Irish Times, 19 June]

“Irish universities continue to struggle in world rankings as governments elsewhere pump more money into higher education. Trinity College Dublin is the best performer for Ireland in the latest global table, but it has continued its descent, falling to 108th, down four places on last year, in the annual QS World University Rankings. It is 37th in Europe …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 19 June]

“Irish universities show little sign of reversing their decade-long decline in new global rankings. The latest QS World University Rankings show Trinity College Dublin has slipped further out of the top 100, down from 104th to 108th place, while UCD climbed eight places to 185th. Of the eight ranked Irish universities, three improved, three declined, while two remained stable …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 19 June]

“As someone who studies academic organizations and their efforts to encourage equality, I believe that dedicated programmes to address inequalities are essential. I also worry they might not be designed to provide support to the very people who need it …” (more)

[Charikleia Tzanakou, Nature, 18 June]

“A 265-room property for students in Co Cork will open this week after having undergone an extensive €25 million upgrade. The property at Copley Street in Cork city is controlled by Hatch Student Living with financial backing from Elkstone, a multi-family office based in Dublin …” (more)

[Peter Hamilton, Irish Times, 17 June]

“For Ireland’s third-level institutions, the debate around autonomy has long been tied fast to the issue of government funding. This Editorial Board has often pointed out the hypocrisy at the heart of the government’s approach to the matter: for the last number of years, a blithe intransigence over the funding of the sector has gone hand in hand with a determination to exert more influence over its same institutions …” (more)

[University Times, 16 June]

“John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail): I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill relating to Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI. It is important to note one of the contexts in which this is relevant. There are only five or six countries in the world that are English speaking and the English language education market is a significant market in that regard. With the pending withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union in some shape or form, Ireland is the principal English language speaking destination and therefore English language education destination in the European Union …” (more)

[Dáil debates, 13 June]

“Members of the public have reacted positively to the first visual sign of activity at University of Limerick’s new city centre campus site. A giant purple banner, emblazoned with the message ‘Watch this space’ and the UL logo, was erected at the former Dunnes Stores at Honan’s Quay this Thursday afternoon …” (more)

[Fintan Walsh, Limerick Leader, 13 June]

“The Technological University for the South East is now a step closer. A memorandum of understanding has been agreed between IT Carlow, WIT and the Teachers Union of Ireland. The deal agreed at the Workplace Relations Commission will now be put to a staff ballot next week …” (more)

[Liz Reddy, WLR FM, 13 June]

“Students in UCC who engage in antisocial behaviour could have their landlord contacted by the college, according to radical new plans being explored. The plans, which were revealed at a community forum this week, are part of new attempts to clamp down on late-night partying by college students living in neighbouring areas …” (more)

[Ryan O’Neill, Cork Independent, 12 June]

“Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail): Níl éinne eile anseo. B’fhéidir go gcríochnóidh an díospóireacht níos luaithe ná mar a chríochnódh sé de ghnáth. Fianna Fáil is committed to maintaining and improving the highest standards in education. It is intended to increase the number of international students and the number of students entering higher education in this country is increasing all the time. It is vital, therefore, that these students are supported by a high quality education system …” (more)

[Dáil debates, 12 June]

“This morning I came across a piece in the Guardian about a report from the UK Office for Students about hate crime and sexual harassment in Universities. One of the recommendations of the report is that that Universities should hire specialist staff to investigate sexual harassment …” (more)

[In the Dark, 12 June]

“Mary Mitchell O’Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael): I move: ‘That the Bill be now read a Second Time’. I am pleased to bring the Bill before the House. It will amend the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act 2012, which established Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, the national agency with responsibility for external quality assurance and qualifications across the further and higher education sectors …” (more)

[Dáil debates, 11 June]

“Cleaning staff at Dundalk IT are set to get ‘hardship’ vouchers worth up to €300 each as compensation for moving from weekly to fortnightly pay. According to a report in today’s Irish Independent, the workers demanded compensation for the inconvenience of moving to the new pay system …” (more)

[Talk of the Town, 11 June]

“The Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD and the Minister for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD today (Monday 10 June) invited expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced persons to fill vacancies of chairperson of Dundalk Institute of Technology (DKIT) and chairperson of Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) …” (more)

[Department of Education and Skills, 10 June]

“Plans have been lodged with Kildare County Council for a new Student Centre at Maynooth University. The proposal envisages two building blocks with a shared external space under a new canopy …” (more)

[Conor McHugh, Leinster Leader, 10 June]

“The Teacher’s Union of Ireland say their concerns regarding Dundalk IT’s application for Technological University status have only increased since a response by the institute to their recent statement expressing concern over what they describe as management’s complacency in relation to the matter …” (more)

[Talk of the Town, 7 June]

“As almost 124,000 Leaving and Junior Certificate students get ready to sit exams tomorrow (Wednesday), the Irish Universities Association is calling on the Government to set out a sustainable funding model to prepare for these and future generations of aspiring third level applicants …” (more)

[IUA, 4 June]

“Universities say the surge in Leaving Cert candidate numbers evident this year must trigger an increase in Government funding to cater for student demand coming down the tracks. More than 124,000 students start the State exams today, the highest figure in years, and one that will continue growing until the mid 2020s at least …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 5 June]