Points system ‘works well’ for technology institutes

THE institutes of technology do not see any need to abandon the college entry points system sought this week by a university president, according to their umbrella organisation.

Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski, president of Dublin City University (DCU), said on Monday that the system should be abandoned because of the pressure it puts on students and the status it places on certain professions because of the high points needed for qualifying courses.

But the chairman of Institutes of Technology Ireland (IOTI) Dr Richard Thorn said it was not a major issue for the 14 colleges in the sector. “We don’t have the courses which attract very high points requirements, such as medicine or law which are mostly offered by the universities,” said Dr Thorn, director of IT Sligo.

“Our concentration is on catering for people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds or with lower points and helping them to get the most out of higher education,” he said.

Dr Thorn said the institutes of technology are also catering more and more for people who are not coming directly from school, such as people returning to education or taking courses to support their work lives.

The Irish Examiner revealed last week that almost a third of the 40,000 people starting third level college this year were mature students or had previous further and higher education qualifications.

This increasing student diversity was highlighted as a factor requiring changes in structures and management at the institutes in a consultants’ report published by the IOTI yesterday.

The Prospectus study, funded by the Government’s Strategic Innovation Fund, identified the need for new teaching and learning strategies to cater for this diversity.

“For example, we might need to bring in more staff capable of teaching online to remote learners maybe doing workplace courses.

“Or we might also need to provide extra supports and services for international students, whose numbers are growing hugely in many institutes,” said Dr Thorn.

Other options the report examines include teaching workers in the workplace as part of the national focus on lifelong learning.

It also suggests greater collaboration with industry, local authorities and communities, and encouraging more IT staff to aspire to management positions.

Almost half of the 39,000 college places filled last year through the Central Applications Office were in the institutes of technology.