Colleges under fire over points reform delay

A university leader has criticised other colleges for lack of progress in introducing one of the key reforms to reduce pressure on Leaving Certificate students to get top grades for third-level access.

For another successive year, points needed for hundreds of courses offering places through the Central Applications Office rose yesterday, although the increases for around half those with higher standards were in five to 10 points.

UCD’s deputy president, Mark Rogers, questioned the validity of having hundreds of CAO entry codes for level 8 courses, pointing to the fact that nearly 1,000 such degrees are now open for applications at 44 colleges, over twice the number in 2002.