Ninth Level Ireland

“UCDSU President Conor Anderson and Welfare Officer Ruairí Power met with the Registrar and Deans on Wednesday to discuss new COVID-19 aids for students. The proposed accommodations include waiving resit fees, uncapped resit grades, and the automatic right to resit an assessment or exam in August. The College Tribune met with Ruairí Power to discuss how the meeting went, his rationale for pursuing these measures, and the likelihood of their passing …” (more)

[Rosie Roberts Kuntz, College Tribune, 21 February]

“Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to higher education institutions charging gym fees for the current academic year despite the lack of access to same; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 18 February]

“Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if leaving certificate 2020 students who have been awarded an upgraded college course having received a higher leaving certificate after sitting the examination will be liable for the student contribution fee of €3,000 when they transfer to year one of their upgraded course in 2021; if such students are liable, his views on whether it is unfair to charge twice for year one; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 17 February]

“NUI Galway has come under criticism by students and NUIGSU for not waiving their €295 resit fees despite their purpose being questioned in light of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. This comes in the wake of myriad other Irish third-level institutions waiving this fee, including University College Cork, NUI Maynooth, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City University, Athlone IT …” (more)

[Jack McGee, College Tribune, 17 February]

“The thing about pandemics, observed the historian Yuval Noah Harari, is that they tend to accelerate history. A couple of years ago, appalled by the environmental, financial and working-time costs of running research conferences, I wondered aloud how long it would take for many of these events to be conducted online – and gloomily predicted that it would take another decade …” (more)

[John Naughton, Guardian, 13 February]

“Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if pro rata refunds of registration fees for student services will be issued by third level institutions to students who have not been on campus to avail of such services; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 11 February]

“NUI Galway has once again come under fire for its €295 exam repeat fee. Students who need to repeat an exam have to pay a flat fee of €295, and repeating one exam costs the same as repeating six. NUI Galway Students’ Union has criticised the fee, saying that the majority of the repeat exams will take place off-campus and students will be using their own laptops …” (more)

[Aine Kenny, Irish Examiner, 10 February]

“During the first week of the current Students’ Union term in July, the issue of repeat fees emerged much like every issue, it started by raising it with university management. Before our term, it had been sought several times with the indication that the fees wouldn’t be charged. We believed that NUI Galway would be like nearly every other institution in the country and waive repeat fees. This wasn’t the case and they planned on charging them …” (more)

[Pádraic Toomey, SIN, 9 February]

“Verona Murphy (Wexford, Fine Gael): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of tuition fees; if these fees have been finalised for Irish students considering their options to take up third level education in a UK university for the 2021-22 academic year; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 3 February]

“Over 2,000 Trinity students have signed a students’ union petition calling for a reduction to the annual contribution charge. 2,400 students have signed the petition from Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) which is calling on the government to reduce the student contribution charge of €3,000 …” (more)

[Lauren Boland, Trinity News, 3 February]

“Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on calls by students and student unions to reduce university fees by 30% given that students are under severe financial pressure with the current Covid-19 pandemic to afford their college course; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 27 January]

“Minister Simon Harris was asked by Clare TD Michael McNamara on an online forum whether or not he planned to reduce college fees in the wake of Covid-19. Minister Harris did not directly respond with an explicit binary response in relation to plans of the Department of Education and Skills to formally reduce college tuition fees on a national basis …” (more)

[Eve Moore, College Tribune, 27 January]

“The university has released a statement following calls from Students’ Union leaders to remove such repeat fees and also to give students the option to repeat exams if they feel they could have achieved better grades in normal circumstances. In a statement released by the University, it says students who are in the most need of financial support can apply for a fee waiver …” (more)

[Galway Bay FM, 26 January]

“Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein): It will come as no surprise to the Minister of State to hear me say that I believe in a publicly-funded model of third level education and moving towards the complete removal of fees. Universities and colleges have been underfunded for over a decade, forcing them to find money in the private sector or to charge international students huge fees …” (more)

[Seanad debates, 26 January]

“Sinn Féin Senator Fintan Warfield today called on the Government to directly intervene in cases where key components of university courses have not proceeded due to Covid-19, and to ask for reductions in fees for the next academic year. Speaking on the issue in the Seanad today, Senator Warfield said …” (more)

[Sinn Féin, 26 January]

“Sinn Féin MLA John O’Dowd has called on the Economy Minister to use funding available to help support students during the COVID-19 pandemic. John O’Dowd said …” (more)

[Sinn Féin, 23 January]

“Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if third level students who did not qualify for free fees will receive a refund of their student contribution fees in view of the fact that the majority of students have been forced to move to online learning since the start of the academic year due to Covid-19 restrictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 20 January]

“I’m thinking of studying an undergraduate course in a UK university in September 2021. Following Brexit, I’m having difficulty establishing what fees I’ll have to pay. Could you clarify what the situation is for Irish students? … (more)

[Brian Mooney, Irish Times, 19 January]

“Joyce Zhao flew from Shanghai into Dublin on a wintery night in February 1999 at around 11pm, and realised there was no-one at the airport to meet her. ‘My arrival was actually forgotten by the college’, says Zhao. She had enrolled in a private college, settling for Ireland after two failed attempts to get a US study visa, she says. A rep was supposed to pick her up …” (more)

[Shamim Malekmian, Dublin Inquirer, 13 January]

“Waterford Institute of Technology’s income dropped by €844,000 as a result of a significant drop in the number of new international students beginning their studies at WIT. In the 2020-21 academic year, Waterford Institute of Technology had 125 total international students, 68 of whom were new entrants, as opposed to 227 in the 2019-20 academic year, of whom 172 were new entrants …” (more)

[Jade Wilson, Waterford News and Star, 9 January]