Ninth Level Ireland

“Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) president Dr Barry O’Connor wants progress on the National Broadband Plan to ensure that students and lecturers in rural areas can participate in e-learning and can access online resources. Dr O’Connor praised the Department of Education and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for providing funding to combat the pandemic and support learning during the lockdown …” (more)

[Darragh Bermingham, EchoLive, 8 October]

“University College Cork (UCC) has announced that the majority of its courses will continue to be delivered remotely for the remainder of the semester. However, the university has left it up to its individual schools to decide whether to hold non-practical tutorials in person …” (more)

[Aine Kenny, Irish Examiner, 8 October]

“The sudden transfer of third-level courses to the virtual world due to the Covid-19 pandemic raises an uncomfortable question for the education system: just how much real teaching has been going on in universities? Creating online courses at short notice serves the function of keeping students moving along the conveyor belt to graduation. But is something being lost in the process – and if so, what? …” (more)

[Joe Humphreys, Irish Times, 8 October]

“Academic misconduct is an age-old practice. It dates back to the Ming and Qing dynasties, when Chinese students used miniature copies of books to cheat in their civil-service examinations. Fast forward a few thousand years, and cheating in academia is still alive and well – it has simply taken on a new, more sophisticated form …” (more)

[Naoise D’Arcy, University Times, 7 October]

“Extensive and essential student supports must be put in place by Government and institutions and a focus put on online teaching and learning in order to provide clarity for the rest of this semester, according to the Union of Students in Ireland …” (more)

[USI, 7 October]

“When we were told, at the start of this term, to move all our teaching online my initial intention was to record most of the lectures in my office for the students to watch at their leisure rather than streaming them live …” (more)

[In the Dark, 7 October]

“UCD and NUIG have decided to continue to operate all teaching and learning activities online for the remainder of the first semester, following the Taoiseach’s announcement on Monday night that the country would move to Level 3 restrictions for the next three weeks …” (more)

[Jade Wilson, Irish Times, 6 October]

“Students at Dublin City University have been unable to access lectures and other online facilities due to a problem with the college’s virtual learning platform. The university reopened to students yesterday, with the bulk of learning to take place online …” (more)

[Emma O Kelly, RTÉ News, 6 October]

“NUI Galway has announced that classes will be online until Christmas. The only exceptions will be lab-based and practical tuition, which will remain on campus. The announcement comes on the heels of the Government’s move to implement Level 3 public health restrictions countrywide for three weeks, from midnight tonight …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 6 October]

“The Minister for Education Norma Foley TD has updated Leaving Certificate 2020 students on matters relating to the corrected, higher Calculated Grades which are to issue to some students. The Department of Education and Skills will re-open the student Calculated Grades portal at 6pm today, Saturday 3 October, and all students who are due to receive corrected, higher grades, will be able to access their results …” (more)

[Department of Education and Skills, 3 October]

“It’s the Saturday after a very tough week. At least I’ve got an excuse for lounging about at home because I’m waiting for a new bed to be delivered. Since I moved into my new house I’ve been sleeping in a single bed, in what will be the spare room, but when the bigger bed arrives I’ll be able to move into the main bedroom. Last week was a tough one at work …” (more)

[In the Dark, 3 October]

“The Dáil’s spending watchdog is expected to call in senior Department of Education officials to answer questions over the contract awarded to Polymetrika, the Canadian company at the centre of the latest Leaving Cert calculated grades controversy …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly and Cormac McQuinn, Independent, 3 October]

“Sir, – Those who were mistakenly downgraded will get upgrades, which is only fair. On Friday we found out that some who were mistakenly upgraded will be allowed to keep their extra points. Well, it would be harsh to take them away …” (more)

[Letters, Irish Times, 3 October]

“For the leaving certificate class of 2020, it has been nothing but an enduring struggle. The constant confusion around the predicted grades system left a lot to be desired, but yesterday’s revelations that over 6500 students – or 10% of the overall examination number – have received an incorrect grade would be almost laughable, if it weren’t so tragic …” (more)

[Orla Murnaghan, University Times, 1 October]

“Trinity has begun advertising an Associate Professorship in Sociology, which will focus on the school’s new Black Studies module. The module was created in June after students in College produced a petition for Trinity to establish a Black Studies module, following the debate on racial education in Ireland …” (more)

[Shannon Connolly, Trinity News, 2 October]

“With most Colleges and Universities returning to class this week there are understandable worries about how incoming new students will perform. In the 19th September edition of The Guardian newspaper, Anna Fazackerley writes about fears that UK universities predict record student dropout rate …” (more)

[Careful With That Axe, Eugene, 1 October]

“Cabinet ministers and Leaving Certificate students were ‘kept in the dark’ over the calculated grades errors, it has been claimed. Sinn Fein’s Donnchadh O Laoghaire said there was a ‘striking’ lack of clarity over exactly who knew what and when about the errors in the system …” (more)

[Michelle Devane, Belfast Telegraph, 1 October]

“As the college year struggles to an uncertain start, 6,500 students and their families have been hit with a bombshell. Errors in their Leaving Certificate grading raise serious questions, with major emotional, financial and logistical implications about their future lives …” (more)

[Independent, 1 October]

“Up to 1,000 extra college places may be needed for students due to errors in calculated grades issued to thousands of Leaving Cert candidates. Minister for Education Norma Foley apologised on Wednesday for coding errors which resulted in at least 6,500 students receiving a lower grade than they ought to have received …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Jennifer Bray and Pat Leahy, Irish Times, 1 October]

“Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath has revealed that ministers were not told about the Leaving Cert calculated grade error at Cabinet on Tuesday. In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Mr McGrath said that despite this issue being known about for a week, Education Minister Norma Foley did not inform her colleagues at their weekly meeting …” (more)

[Daniel McConnell, Irish Examiner, 30 September]