“New college places to be created this year will be enough to offset the potential effect accredited grades and increased demand will have on this year’s race for courses. That is according to Education Minister Norma Foley, speaking ahead of the Leaving Certificate exams getting underway tomorrow …” (more)
[Jess Casey, Irish Examiner, 8 June]
“Mayo TD Rose Conway-Walsh has called on the government to stop downplaying the scale of the increase of applicants to the CAO and to take action to make additional places available. The Sinn Féin spokesperson for Further and Higher Education, Conway-Walsh stated: ‘The Leaving Cert results being delayed until September 3 will be very stressful news for students and their families …'” (more)
[Connaught Telegraph, 6 June]
“Cavan-Monaghan TD Pauline Tully has called for an increase in places available for those studying for a mental health qualification. Teachta Tully said …” (more)
[Sinn Féin, 31 May]
“Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students attending third-level education for the academic year 2020-2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 20 May]
“Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which he expects third and fourth-level student numbers to increase at academic and technical level in the future in line with demand; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 20 May]
“The number of first years at college will rise above 50,000 for the first time with the addition of around 3,000 more third-level places this year. It is hoped the increase in places will absorb the pressure that the Covid-19 pandemic is heaping on the third-level entry process. Figures have to be finalised, but higher education colleges have, so far, identified up to 3,000 extra places that can be offered for 2021/22 …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 27 April]
“Higher education institutions are ‘creaking’ and will struggle to provide additional college places in key areas this year aimed at easing CAO points pressure, universities have warned. The Government has pledged to provide an additional 2,000 third-level college places in high-demand courses this year in response to record number of applicants and expected grade inflation this year …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 14 April]
“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]
