Ninth Level Ireland

“Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if funding is available for students wishing to continue to third-level education abroad in September 2021 given the likely rise in CAO points requirements for domestic courses; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 24 March]

“Brexit has fuelled the huge leap in demand for college places this year, and is likely to contribute to driving up the points for some courses. Almost half the extra 6,268 CAO applications are from students living outside the Republic …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 8 March]

“Internal Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) documentation highlights senior university officials expressing concern at the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on international student recruitment. This documentation, seen by The Detail, also shows how the university values just eight international students as having an economic impact equivalent to £1 million …” (more)

[Rory Winters, The Detail, 24 February]

“Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if an additional 2,500 college course places will be provided in 2021, in addition to the 2,500 places provided in 2020 …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 18 February]

“The University Observer has found that there has been a significant increase in the class sizes in the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, particularly in MSc Business Analytics and MSc Digital Marketing, based on records obtained by Freedom of Information Requests …” (more)

[Andrea Andres, University Observer, 16 February]

“Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of persons who accepted an offer of a place through the CAO in 2019 and 2020, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 17 February]

“A new report, published by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) today, has revealed that the number of students at Irish higher educational institutions has steadily increased and that there is now a higher proportion of female students attending Universities or Associate/Affiliate Colleges than men. The report – The Social and Living Conditions of Higher Education Students in Ireland – is part of the Eurostudent VII Report, which collates comparable data on student life across Europe …” (more)

[Maura O’Shea, HEA, 10 February]

“The Vice Chancellor at Ulster University (UU) has told Derry councillors that under the current funding model it will not be possible to deliver the long-promised target of 10,000 students at the Magee campus. This week UU confirmed that the School of Health Sciences undergraduate programmes will relocate to its Magee campus in Derry from September 2022 …” (more)

[Garrett Hargan, Derry Now, 3 February]

“When the standard deadline of February 1 passed, 79,303 applicants had registered, the highest ever at this time of the year. The number is likely to increase further as there is a late applications facility that opens between March and May …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 1 February]

“Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the actions taken to expand in-demand third level course places for the 2021-22 academic year; the target number for increased places; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 21 January]

“Applications to the CAO for college entry in the autumn are up more than 5,000 on this time last year. While February 1 is the standard deadline, January 20 is the cut off for applicants who want to benefit from a reduced fee of €30, rather than €45. At 5pm, 66,457 had applied, up from 61,387 – an increase of 5,070 – at the same time in 2020 …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 20 January]

“Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris confirmed this week that the thousands of extra college places that were introduced last year to cope with the demand during the pandemic will remain in place. He also plans to introduce 2,000 more places next year. However, while increasing access to higher education should be commended and encouraged, the circumstances of this particular announcement are more complicated than they seem …” (more)

[University Times, 17 January]

“Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has confirmed that the thousands of extra college places introduced this year because of the pandemic are here to stay. Harris will also introduce 2,000 additional higher education places this year ‘to deal with the demographic pressures’ that the sector is currently facing …” (more)

[Cormac Watson, University Times, 15 January]

“Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris has confirmed that the 2,225 extra college places secured last year during the controversy over the Leaving Certificate calculated grades will be available again this year. He also said he had secured budget funding for more than 2,000 other new places this year, bringing the total to almost 5,000 …” (more)

[Marie O’Halloran and Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 14 January]

“The number of students studying remotely in Irish third-level institutions increased significantly in the years before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new research. The Department of Education report, published on Monday, reveals those studying part-time or in flexible way, including remote online learning, has increased steadily, rising by more than a third from 6,015 in 2015 to 9,207 in 2018 …” (more)

[Sorcha Pollak, Irish Times, 28 December]

“Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of part-time students currently enrolled or the most current figures available; the number of part-time third level students, by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 26 November]

“David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the training pathways, including third-level undergraduate and postgraduate pathways, currently in place for each of the medical professions; the numbers availing of these annually; the cost per person for each pathway; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 17 November]

“The likely creation of significant additional higher education places for students denied college entry due to errors in Leaving Cert calculations will make an already bad lecturer:student ratio even worse and undermine the credibility of higher education delivery, the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) has warned …” (more)

[IFUT, 1 September]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to provide further extra places on third-level first year courses in 2020 in view of the higher points achieved by students in the leaving certificate 2020 compared to previous years; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Written answers, 17 September]

“Almost £4 million is being provided to create extra university places following the cancellation of A-levels in Northern Ireland. This includes medical, nursing and midwifery courses, Finance Minister Conor Murphy said …” (more)

[Michael McHugh, Belfast Telegraph, 11 September]