Third-level colleges fail to meet mature student target

THIRD-LEVEL colleges are still behind target in the number of mature students enrolled on their courses, according to the latest figures published by the Higher Education Authority (HEA).

There have been higher-than-expected rises, however, in the number of college students with disabilities and from poorer backgrounds.

The HEA’s National Office for Equity of Access set targets in 2001 that 10% of all those in third-level courses would be mature students, aged at least 23. But the numbers have only reached 9.4%, although this is more than double the 4.5% rate in 2001.