Ninth Level Ireland

“The Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD and the Minister of State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD today announced €10 million funding in capital grants for the country’s 11 institutes of technology (IOT) and TU Dublin. The investment is being made under Project Ireland 2040 for the current academic year and the money will be used on small-scale and necessary infrastructure works and improvements …” (more)

[Department of Education and Skills, 11 December]

“Senior academics have little confidence in the governance and management capacity of their own higher education institutions, according to a new survey. It also finds many are sceptical over the Government’s ambition to provide the best education system in Europe over the next decade. The findings are contained in a survey of more than 340 senior staff in higher education institutions and agencies by the polling firm Prospectus …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 20 November]

“The Irish Universities Association (IUA) today officially launched the Enhancing Digital Capacity in Teaching and Learning in Irish Universities (EDTL) project as the final event of the World Conference on Online Learning. This is an ambitious three-year project, funded by the Higher Education Authority’s Innovation and Transformation Programme …” (more)

[IUA, 7 November]

“The Higher Education Commission consultation is a missed opportunity to address all key issues in the sector. The current Government process and consultation aims to update the Higher Education Authority Act, 1971, which sets out the functions of the HEA and provided for its governance. The Act provides for the funding and overall financial monitoring of designated institutions of higher education by the HEA …” (more)

[IFUT, 7 November]

“Trinity has appealed for an exemption to controversial government proposals for higher education, asking for time to implement ‘similar reforms’ itself rather than allow the state to make sweeping changes to its governance structures, The University Times has learned …” (more)

[Cormac Watson, University Times, 6 November]

“Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the importance of sufficient canteen facilities being made available to third-level students undertaking courses; his further views on whether the service of food is a vital welfare issue for students; if his attention has been drawn to a situation (details supplied); the steps he will take to help resolve same; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 5 November]

“Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD and Minister of State with responsibility for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD today (6 November 2019) welcomed the report of the TU Research Network (TURN): Connectedness and Collaboration enabled by Connectivity, which was presented to the Department by the TURN high level working group …” (more)

[Department of Education and Skills, 6 November]

“Trinity rushed through the appointment of a top-ranking officer for gender equality, The University Times has learned, U-turning on an earlier decision not to create the position amid fears that its application for a new government equality initiative would be ‘seriously weakened’ without a senior equality advocate …” (more)

[Donal MacNamee, University Times, 5 November]

“Higher Education System Performance, Institutional and Sectoral Profiles 2016/17 is the seventh in a series of reports from the Higher Education Authority. These profiles, developed in partnership with the Department of Education and Skills and the higher education institutions, have proved invaluable in supporting strategic planning at institutional and system levels. The profiles play an important role in demonstrating the performance of the higher education system to the public and government …” (download)

[David Sheils, HEA, 30 October]

“Sir, – The recently published Higher Education Authority (HEA) report on socioeconomic and spatial differences in third-level education (as reported in Carl O’Brien’s article ‘Wealthy students more likely to study high-points courses’, News, October 21st) draws attention to the role that parental income and where you live may play in higher education choices in Ireland. However, a deeper understanding of these relationships is needed …” (more)

[Letters, Irish Times, 28 October]

“The consistent failure of the government to restore funding levels to higher education is a major impediment to access by students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) has stated. Responding to new data from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) which found that only 10% of the national student population is from a disadvantaged background …” (more)

[IFUT, 23 October]

“Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he has received an application from Athlone Institute of Technology and Limerick Institute of Technology to come together to form a new technological university for the region pursuant to the Technological University Act 2018; when a decision will be made thereon; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 22 October]

“A new study by the Higher Education Authority shows in stark terms the gap between rich and poor at third level. Students from affluent families are not just more likely to progress on to third level – they also dominate high-points courses and earn more within months of graduation …” (more)

[Irish Times, 22 October]

“Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this story carried on RTÉ about an Higher Education Authority study which details the socio-economic backgrounds of students attending higher education institutions in Ireland is not the findings which predictably note …” (more)

[The Cedar Lounge Revolution, 22 October]

“There’s no doubt that the data the HEA has complied is extremely valuable. It’s also fascinating. It doesn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know however, it just confirms it. The link between socio-economic status, academic attainment, and future earning levels is deep and enduring …” (more)

[Emma O Kelly, RTÉ News, 21 October]

“Those from Better Off Financial Backgrounds Still More Likely to Go to College. Progress has been made in delivering on the national priority of increasing access to higher education. The Higher Education Authority (HEA) today, Monday 21st, publishes a detailed picture of the geographical and socio-economic make-up of Ireland’s higher education institutions and courses. All publicly funded institutions except Trinity College Dublin are included in the study. Among the key findings are …” (more, download)

[David Sheils, HEA, 21 October]

“Affluent students are far more likely to study high-points courses in university and earn more within months of graduating than those from less well-off backgrounds, a new study finds. Medicine, dentistry, finance and engineering courses attract the highest proportions of well-off students from the wealthiest parts of the country, according to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) research …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 21 October]

“Provost Patrick Prendergast has called for the introduction of a national strategy on university rankings, after Trinity’s persistent falls in both the Times Higher Education and QS rankings in recent years …” (more)

[Donal MacNamee, University Times, 21 October]

“Social class speaks volumes when it comes to a student’s chances of going to college, the sort of degree they study, and how much they earn in their first job. The most detailed breakdown ever of the socio-economic and geographic background of third-level students paints a disturbing picture of the extent to which postcode determines study and career chances …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 21 October]

“Last week, this newspaper reported that the College had submitted a proposal regarding important university reforms to the government without the approval of the Board, the highest decision-making body in Trinity. The threat of government encroachment into Irish universities has hovered over the sector for years, and recent revelations about proposed reforms to the Higher Education Authority Act confirmed that change is indeed afoot for the College’s current governance structures …” (more)

[University Times, 20 October]