Ninth Level Ireland

“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 Union of Students in Ireland is to be praised for its interest in mental health in the group it represents. I am a psychiatrist providing a service to one of the universities in Ireland. I work closely with the university welfare officers, the general practitioners on campus and the counselling and psychological services. There are several other psychiatrists who provide a similar service to universities in Ireland …” (more)

[Patricia Casey, Independent, 31 August]

“Recent headlines about high dropout rates in technology courses probably caused a wobble among some students currently considering their CAO choices. There are graduate jobs aplenty out there right across the STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) spectrum, and they are very well paid. But are they only for a select band of maths geniuses? …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 13 March]

“Sir, – Your article ‘State and students “should bear cost” of third-level education’ (News, March 4th) raises questions as to why the Higher Education Authority decided to ask the public how higher education should be funded and on the methodology of the opinion poll …” (more)

[Joan Donegan, Irish Times, 8 March]

“The HEA commissioned Kantar Millward Brown to conduct a survey of public perceptions of Irish higher education. This was conducted in September, 2018, in 64 sampling points with a sample size of 1,008. The purpose was for us to understand how the public view higher education and research …” (more, download)

[Malcolm Byrne, HEA, 1 March]

“The public believes the State should pay at least half the share of third-level education fees, with a quarter funded by students and their families and the remaining balance from businesses. They are the findings of a poll of more than 1,000 adults conducted by the Higher Education Authority into public perceptions of the third-level system …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 4 March]

“The Higher Education Authority (HEA) today (Monday 18th February) publishes the results of a survey of over 29,000 individuals who graduated in 2017 from our higher education institutions. It found that 78% of that class are now working while 14% are in further education or training, 5% are seeking work and up to 4% are engaged in other activities (eg travel) …” (more)

[Malcolm Byrne, HEA, 18 February]

“Huge demand for reform of the Leaving Cert has emerged in new research commissioned by the organisation representing principals in post-primary schools. Students and parents are to the fore in seeking radical changes, with three in four recent school-leavers backing a system of continuous assessment rather than reliance on a final exam and the pressure that involves …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 7 January]

“Just one in 25 Leaving Cert students believe the exam is a fair and accurate assessment of their knowledge and skills, according to a new survey. The study also found a vast majority of students (76%) support a move towards continuous assessment to help ease the pressure and stress linked to summer exams …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 7 January]

“Students, parents, and teachers are in agreement on the need to radically reform the Leaving Certificate but quite divided on the ways of doing it, new research suggests. In surveys conducted for the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD), all three groups agreed with the need for change …” (more)

[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 7 January]

“The answer to the question is yes. First I should stress that a lot of people have put a lot of hard work into this survey and I don’t want to disparage anyone’s efforts. But I think the fundamental problem is that there is a ‘political’ undercurrent at work here whereby the ISSE is designed to conceal as much as it reveals …” (more)

[An Irish Blog about Education, 4 November]

“Questions relating to student-faculty interaction: ‘During the academic year about how often have you … 1 Talked about career plans with academic staff?’ The fact that half of all students replied ‘never’ was picked up by the media who made a big fuss about it. But really it’s hard to take any particular stance on this – there are too many variables …” (more)

[An Irish Blog about Education, 4 December]

“The ISSE is the Irish Survey of Student Engagement. According to studentsurvey.ie the purpose of the survey is to: ‘provide benefits to each institution and its students by helping to improve feedback and appropriate follow up action. Objectives identified for the taught survey include …'” (more)

[An Irish Blog about Education, 4 December]

“In light of the current National Housing Crisis, the Union of Students in Ireland is calling on all third level students across the country to take part in the 2018 national housing survey, aimed at understanding the student experience of accommodation …” (more)

[USI, 21 November]

“Half of all third-level students have never talked about career plans with their lecturers, according to a major national study. More than a third said they had never discussed their performance with academic staff. The poll of more than 38,000 students in Irish third-level institutions included questions on student-faculty interaction, effective teaching practices and learning strategies …” (more)

[Sarah Burns, Irish Times, 20 November]

“Students studying at Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) are among the most satisfied in Ireland, according to The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019 released at the weekend …” (more)

[Athlone Advertiser, 8 November]

“Over the past number of weeks, the Tribune has conducted an investigation into Tutorial practices within the Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences in UCD. The aim of this investigation has been to gain testimony from tutors regarding the tutorial process, and to gauge undergraduate students’ opinions on the status quo …” (more)

[College Tribune, 7 November]

“The results for student-faculty engagement have further improved in 2017, according to the Irish Survey of Student Engagement, and could have stemmed from greater focus on specific aspects of the student experience. One quarter of STEM students report that their coursework emphasized applying facts, theories or methods to practical problems or new situations …” (more)

[Shivani Shukla, University Observer, 31 October]

“On October 3rd, The University Express compiled a survey entitled ‘Racism in UCC’, designed with the intent of highlighting instances of on-campus racism which would otherwise go unseen. The survey was sent out via e-mail to every student currently attending UCC …” (more)

[Fergal Smiddy, University Express, 30 October]

“At the beginning of October, the University Express launched a survey aimed towards students of University College Cork in order to determine whether students view racism as an issue in UCC, whether students have experienced or witnessed racism in or around the UCC campus, and how it affects students of all ethnicities and backgrounds …” (more)

[Ciaran Dineen, University Express, 30 October]