Institute to sit tight on university application

THE Government must clarify its higher education policies before an application to make Waterford Institute of Technology a university should be decided, an expert has recommended.

A report for Education Minister Mary Hanafin concludes that, while there is merit in examining WIT’s upgrade application under the Universities Act, broader national policy factors would also have to be considered.

It found that the existing application process does not set out specific criteria which should be examined, making it difficult properly to investigate such applications in the absence of direct government policy.