Universities buck advice by adding courses

The number of degrees offered by universities is rising despite pressure to reduce them and help slow the race for points between Leaving Certificate students.

With the exception of University College Dublin, universities’ course numbers have risen or are largely unchanged in the nearly three years since the initial agreement that offering fewer but broader general entry courses could help remove the need for school leavers to get top results for places on dozens of degrees.

The figures compiled by the Irish Examiner are based on level 8 degrees offered through the CAO, the numbers of which have jumped from 843 at 43 colleges in 2011 to 953 at 45 higher education institutions this year. However, the majority are offered by the seven universities, and the 579 they will offer places through CAO to Leaving Certificate students this summer is up from 567 in 2011.