Number of college courses continues to rise

The number of courses being offered by third-level colleges continues to rise despite plans in 2011 to cut them and help end the Leaving Certificate points race.

For more than 74,000 people who have registered this year with the Central Applications Office (CAO), there are now over 1,000 honours (level 8) degrees to choose from. The 599 available from universities and 408 at institutes of technology represent 49 more than the 958 offered by those 21 colleges in 2012

The previous year, stakeholders agreed at a conference on easing the transition from second level to third level that the number of CAO entry routes for school leavers needed to be reduced, but particularly at universities. The idea was two-fold, but the main aim was to have fewer degrees with such limited numbers of places that only those with some of the very highest Leaving Certificate results were eligible.