“Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason that many third-level students remain studying predominantly online; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil debates, 13 October]
“Few current students were in College for Take Back Trinity – the mass protest movement that broke out on campus in 2018, after College tried to introduce €450 supplemental exam fees. Prof Linda Doyle, and the rest of the Trinity administration, however, very much remember it …” (more)
[University Times, 26 September]
“It’s been a bad week for Trinity’s public image: a student protest demanding more face-to-face teaching was picked up by several national media outlets, and Trinity students’ plight is, embarrassingly, becoming a mainstream news story …” (more)
[University Times, 26 September]
“This evening. Trinity College, Dublin. Members of Students 4 Change protest outside of Trinity College Dublin’s Dinning Hall in protest over the rona-related lack of in person classroom tuition …” (more)
[Broadsheet, 22 September]
“Students flooded Front Square this evening to protest the continuation of online teaching in College. Around 200 students gathered at the Dining Hall chanting ‘let us in’ and ‘face to face’ …” (more)
[Jody Druce and Emma Taggart, University Times, 22 September]
“Students at Trinity College Dublin are planning to protest next week over the university’s lack of on-campus lectures and reliance on remote learning. The university has introduced a more cautious approach to reopening than many third level institutions but promised students that all courses would have an element of in-person teaching …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 17 September]
“Sir, – After many frantic, anxious weeks my son finally secured accommodation in Dublin and was really looking forward to getting back to college for his third year after missing some of first and all of second year due to Covid. He’s just received his timetable and is in college for one hour per week with the rest of his lectures pre-recorded …” (more)
[Letters, Irish Times, 15 September]
“Over 350 students have signed an online petition calling for refunds for those who do not have in-person classes. The petition was created by the TCD Campaign for F2F Teaching and cites approaches from other universities, vaccination rates and the mental health of students and the student contribution charge as reasons for Trinity to provide more in-person teaching …” (more)
[Jennifer Ní Chiara, University Times, 13 September]
“Claire Taylor and Stefanie Hartley argue that it’s not online learning that is the enemy, but a narrow view of learner diversity and learning needs. There continues to be disquiet expressed in the press over just what the student experience will look and feel like as we head into a new academic year …” (more)
[Wonkhe, 18 August]
“Online learning has been widely unpopular among students. However, for many, online learning has been a – long overdue – blessing. Not all students can work off the same timetable – because they have a job, because they have a disability or they have a family to look after. Therefore the news this week that at-risk students returning to in-person classes in September would still have access to online learning should be welcomed …” (more)
[University Times, 11 July]
“Students want recorded lectures to continue when campuses reopen for face-to-face teaching. Strong support for the continuation of recorded lectures emerged in a survey of nearly 50,000 students across 25 colleges. The survey explored the impact of Covid-19 on students’ experience of higher education and the picture painted by their responses was mostly positive …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 31 May]
“Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris has said he expects students and staff to be back on campus for the new academic year. Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Harris said he also expects that most students returning to college will have been fully vaccinated, ‘and obviously staff generally being older than the students should also be overwhelmingly vaccinated’ …” (more)
[RTÉ News, 3 June]
“Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there are any refunds or waiver of fees available to third-level students given they have been at home studying remotely for most of the year …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 2 June]
“The internet brought us access to almost the entire body of human knowledge, a previously unimaginable ability to connect, share and collaborate. It was inevitable that this would transform the educational landscape, creating a linguistically and culturally diverse learning environment. Fundamentally this environment would of course be open to all, so why hasn’t this occurred? …” (more)
[Ellen McCabe, Irish Times, 27 May]
“The Irish Universities Association (IUA) today welcomed Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris’s recent comments in favour of a ‘substantial reopening’ of universities next semester. The Irish Independent reported yesterday that Harris said that the two-metre social distancing rule would likely be replaced with a ‘one metre with a mask’ rule …” (more)
[Cormac Watson, University Times, 20 April]
“Third-level and further education colleges are drawing up plans for the widest possible return of students in the autumn. It won’t be ‘business as usual’ because some public-health restrictions are expected to be still in place when the new academic year gets under way in September. Much will depend on the progress of the vaccination programme and the extent of the threat from Covid-19, including from any new variants …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 19 April]
“As we approach the end of the 20/21 academic year during which most of our teaching has been online rather than face-to-face, a number of students have been asking me whether we will ‘get back to normal’ next September for the start of next teaching year. The answer I give to this is that I don’t know. It depends entirely on the progress of the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic and that has so far proved to be difficult to predict …” (more)
[In the Dark, 17 April]
“Students are persisting with college courses despite the challenges posed by remote learning and Covid-19. The pandemic has not triggered a rise in drop-out rates, new figures show. Students have generally stuck with their courses and, in some cases, retention figures are well up on previous years …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 19 March]
“For the first year on record, more faculty members used learning management systems than print course materials when teaching classes, according a new report released Tuesday from the National Association of College Stores. The 2020 Faculty Watch report is based on a survey of 968 faculty members from 17 two- and four-year, public and private institutions in the United States and Canada …” (more)
[Emma Whitford, Inside Higher Ed, 24 February]
“Students who feel ‘terrorized’ by a strict implementation of social restrictions at Trinity Hall (Halls) have raised their concerns ahead of the upcoming semester. In a meeting of the newly-established Trinity College Dublin’s Renters Union (TCDRU) this evening, an issue was raised about the conditions Trinity Halls (Halls) residents have been experiencing over the last few months …” (more)
[Shannon Connolly and Kate Henshaw, Trinity News, 28 January]
