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Tag: third level

  • Surveys planned to research harassment and sexual harassment in Third Level institutions

    Surveys planned to research harassment and sexual harassment in Third Level institutions

    On Thursday, 26th of November, Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris announced that surveys will be carried out to research harassment, sexual harassment and bullying of both students and staff in Third Level colleges and universities. Erin Killoran explores why there’s a need for these surveys.


    Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris recently announced that surveys will be carried out to research harassment, sexual harassment and bullying of both students and staff in Third Level colleges and universities. These are being carried out in order to tackle the ongoing harassment issue in higher education institutions. During an Irish University Association event, Harris said: “ These action plans will involve, the implementation of systems that record the number of incidents of bullying, intimidation or harassment including sexual harassment.”

    This announcement follows a letter written by Harris to the presidents of these colleges outlining plans to implement zero tolerance for bullying and sexual harassment in all of these institutions throughout the country. 

    The survey is due to begin next year, where the Higher Education Authority will be closely linked to Third Level institutions. 

    Speaking to TheCity.ie, former counsellor Siobhan Carroll said: “I think it’s very important that this survey is conducted, therefore if an issue arises, it can be dealt with accordingly.”

    According to a study carried out by National Bullying For Educational Statistics, 20.2% of higher education students report experiencing bullying. Carroll said: “Being bullied in college or in your workplace can have long lasting effects into later life, which can in some cases, have detrimental effects on these victims. 

    “People assume that bullying is just a childhood experience. In order to fully address this problem, we need to destigmatize bullying in adulthood.”

    Former student Shannon Jordan said: “I was bullied throughout the entirety of my two year course, which made me dread going in each day. However, this wasn’t from one of my peers, it was a tutor of mine.” 

    Describing her experience, she said: “I tried to ignore it in the beginning, but there was a point when I accepted it and realised that I was constantly being picked on by this person. To this day I regret never reporting this behaviour, because they made me miserable every day for two full years.”

    If you are experiencing harassment or sexual harassment, ensure to report this to your college, or alternatively there are plenty of helplines available to listen to regarding your experience and any concerns that you may have.

    Jordan spoke about her hope for this survey: “If these figures are documented and reported, I’d like to see if colleges and universities will implement ways to stop this kind of behaviour from occurring and it could also encourage others to come forward and report what they are going through.”

    The overall impact and result of this survey will not be determined until next year, but hopefully there will be a positive impact and it will bring us one step closer to a zero tolerance attitude for bullying and harassment in Third Level institutions. 

    Available helplines:

    Pieta House: 01 601 0000

    Samaritans: 1850 60 90 900

    Teen-Line Ireland: 1800 833 634

    BodyWhys: 1890 200 444

  • “The move to online classes cost me €2000”: students given no support for online learning

    “The move to online classes cost me €2000”: students given no support for online learning

    Erica Carter investigates the financial impact online learning has had on third level students, as they express their frustration at the lack of government support for the move to online classes this year. 

    Taken by Jack Baty. Sourced from Flickr

    Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, third level education has been moved primarily online, with limited access to college and university facilities. This has forced students to buy equipment, such as laptops, software and broadband, which they say is a large added cost on top of education fees in the midst of a pandemic.

    Deborah Deegan, a second year TU Dublin student, was asked by her class tutor to buy a laptop that cost €1200, in order to run software they no longer had access to due to no longer being on campus – a cost on top of other expenses, such as furniture and Wifi. “In total the move to online classes cost me about €2000,” explained Deborah, “which includes the recommended laptop for my course, accessories like an external mouse and headphones, and furniture like a desk and a chair, because I previously didn’t have those in my room.

    “I also had to install new WiFi and my electricity bills are higher due to attending online classes and doing my assignments from home.”

    Rose Conway-Walsh, Sinn Féin TD and the party’s spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, is completely opposed to these costs. “Third-level students and their families are under unprecedented severe financial stress,” she said. “They need help to ensure they can stay on at college.”

    “This practical financial support should take the form of a reduction of fees, refund of accommodation paid, wider reach of SUSI, access to the College Assistance Fund and laptops including remote connection to broadband. These supports need to be made available immediately.”

    A spokesperson from the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has detailed the additional funding provided in support of the students returning to education this semester. “This includes targeted student supports which will be of assistance to many students, particularly those with the least financial resources,” they said.

    “The Department has allocated €15 million of capital funding for a once-off COVID-19 grant to support disadvantaged students in the further and higher education sectors in accessing information and communication devices,” the spokesperson continued. “The grant is being made available to further and higher education providers, which are using it to purchase devices to support disadvantaged students who are encountering challenges in accessing devices for remote learning.”

    Supports such as laptop lending schemes were also only open for applications a few weeks into the college semester for some institutions, which meant students had to either buy a laptop or miss a few weeks of classes until they found out if they were eligible to be loaned one. “We were told during the summer there would be a laptop scheme for people who couldn’t afford them, but no information was provided until we had already been in classes a few weeks,” said Deborah. “Anyone that needed a laptop had already had to go out and get one because it was that or fall behind on our work.”

    Another problem that many students are facing is that they do not qualify for the Department of Further and Higher Education grants. As they or their parents or guardians do not fall within the eligible income bracket.

    TD Conway-Walsh is uneasy about this aspect of the grants. “I am concerned that despite Simon Harris being on public record telling me that eligibility for laptops would not be based on SUSI eligibility, I am being told by students that colleges are denying them laptops because they don’t receive SUSI,” she said. “I have written to the Minister to notify him of this.”

    He now says it is up to the third level institutions. “I fundamentally disagree with this as this is public money and eligibility for SUSI is too narrow to accurately reflect the financial status of many households.”

    When asked if any supports or funding were considered for students that weren’t deemed “disadvantaged”, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science did not respond.

    “I don’t think it’s acceptable to ask students to pay this amount of money on top of their college fees, in the middle of a pandemic and a recession where many are now losing their jobs,” asserted Deborah. “We as students have invested our money into these institutions to give us an education but they won’t invest in us in order to provide us with that education.”

  • Number of students receiving grants up almost 19,000 since 2013

    Number of students receiving grants up almost 19,000 since 2013

    The number of third-level students that have received financial grants over the past five years has risen by 18,778 in Ireland.

    According to figures provided by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), the number of students that have received financial grants rose from 60,022 in the academic year 2013-2014 to 78,778 in the academic year 2016-2017. That is an increase of 31%.

    In the academic year 2013-2014, the number of third-level students that were awarded grants was 73,326, that number drastically increased by over 5,000 to 79,861 students in the year 2014-2015.

    For many, the student grant scheme is the only possible way for them to attend university, with student contribution fees currently set at €3,000 per year, more than trebling since 2008.

    In 2002, the registration fee rose by 70%, from €396 to €670. This was followed by a further increase to €750 in 2003. Fees gradually built up over the following six years, and jumped from €900 to €1,500 in 2009, and then again to €2,000 in 2010, and are now at the current contribution of €3,000 in 2015.

    On top of this €3,000 a year, there are travel costs, accommodation, living costs and books which can add up to a hefty amount for students.

    In recent reports by the European Commission, it was found that Irish third-level students pay the second highest fees in Europe, after England, where students pay up to £10,000 a year for tuition.

    The idea of a student loans scheme has been put forward in the past, but Taoiseach Leo Varadkar quickly ruled it out.

    This proposal of a student loan scheme resulted in thousands of students protesting last year in October, calling for more public investment in third-level education in Ireland.

    The Union of Students in Ireland are against this loan scheme, which they said will result in a radical increase in student fees from €3,000 up to €5,000 and could leave students graduating with a debt of at least €20,000.

    By Aimee Walsh

     

  • Budget 2016: A student’s view

    Budget 2016: A student’s view

    With this week’s Budget still fresh in the minds of many across the country, how are the measures announced going to affect the third level students of Ireland?

    Cian Gaffney is a final year Religion, History and Teaching student in Mater Dei who had this to say about the Budget as a whole: “I do think the budget was technically fair, in that its pros slightly outweighed its cons. I think this is a carefully crafted budget that finely walks the balance between being safe for the parties involved, while giving the illusion of being more progressive than it probably is. Put simply, it’s just politics.”

    Students like Cian Gaffney could breathe a sigh of relief when they discovered the Student Maintenance Grant would remain at the same amount as the previous year. However, with rent prices in Dublin continuing to increase the Wexford native felt it was “unfair” not to increase the monthly grant, given the current cost of living.

    “Given the ever-increasing exorbitant rent in cities around the country, [particularly] Dublin from personal experience, I think the grant remaining the same is absolutely unfair. The grant should be relative to the average cost conditions of the student body, and this is simply not the case. A balance needed to be struck, and it wasn’t,” he said.

    “Whether by incorporating more into the existing student grant, or creating another measure entirely, something should have been done to tackle this directly. The exclusion of such is all the more obvious in this budget given the progressive strides in other areas.”

    Those who like Mr Gaffney will be entering the workforce in less than a year also had to pay attention to tax measures being addressed in the Budget. With the hugely unpopular Universal Social Charge (USC) remaining in place but being decreased it was clear the Government was out to win some votes before the general election next year.

    “In terms of the USC, taking into account the field my studies would naturally enter me into, I shouldn’t realistically be affected too much either way. However, any adjustment to an unpopular levy in the general populace’s favour will naturally be seen as a positive one,” Mr Gaffney said.

    By Matthew Colfer (@_Gogery)

  • A mature road to recovery

    A mature road to recovery

    It’s 6am on a brisk Saturday morning in November, and George Fitzgerald is about to embark on his weekly journey down to Cork from his home in Kinsealy, north county Dublin.

    “When I’ve an assignment due it usually takes up to three or four hours in coursework a night. That’s all on top of the day job, and it’s by no means a 9-5 job either. The hours tend to be very long” says George, as he wrenches open the door of his Audi A4 ahead of another monumental trek south to Cork IT’s Bishopstown campus.

    He’s one of a legion of middle-aged students across the country who are choosing to further their education by enrolling in third-level courses. According to latest Higher Education Authority (HEA) figures, full-time mature entrants now account for 14% of the student body in third-level institutions- nearly 10% more than in 1998.

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    George attending to some of his college work

    “I could see the need to progress. I was with the same company for 23 years and I’d plenty of in-house training, but for me to progress outside of that I knew I had to get a degree” says George, a customer service manager at Network International Cargo.

    Having completed a diploma in Supervisory Management at Dublin’s IBAT college earlier this year, his workplace is now fully subsidising his current part-time Bachelor of Business in Supply Chain degree course in Cork.

    And he’s not alone.

    According to HEA statistics for the 2011/2012 academic year, 17% of all participants in college courses were classified as mature students (over the age of 23). Of that number, an increasing amount fit George’s description, a fact illustrated by the massive 20% increase in 35-44 year-olds engaged in higher education from 2000 to 2010.

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    The accompanying report states that increasing unemployment and vulnerability of employment during recent recessionary times has led to many people who may not fit the profile of a conventional college student to either return to or take up third-level education as a means of bettering their career prospects. That’s definitely how George sees it.

    “It definitely gives you an edge for your career prospects.

    “Not only that, but it’s the stuff you pick up on the course. A lecturer might say something and you can see how that might slot into your own business. Those you’re working for see that you’re not afraid of hard work and putting the extra effort in as well as it being for your own progression.”

    It’s a sentiment echoed by the employers union IBEC, whose recent survey found that 86% of employers involved are providing financial support to staff who are pursuing further education. This is a welcome development as Ireland looks to further solidify its position as a knowledge-based economy, according to Tony Donoghue, IBEC’s Head of Education and Innovation Policy.

    “The only way that Irish standards of living can be maintained into the future is through the development and production of higher quality and more innovative products and services,” said Mr. Donoghue.

    “By 2025, mature students are expected to account for a quarter of all students. The recent economic downturn has highlighted the importance of lifelong learning and workforce development. Jobs are becoming increasingly skill-intensive and this trend is certain to continue.”

    Latest estimates put Ireland 6% above the OECD average of 25-64 year-olds with 3rd level qualifications. HEA Chief Executive Tom Boland said in the organisation’s 2012 report that our colleges are adapting to reflect their changing student body, which George Fitzgerald is most certainly glad to be a part of.

    “I’d definitely recommend for others to do the same as me,” says George. “It’s very intense because I often have assignments due on successive weekends so it’s a difficult workload, but when you know you’re reaching a conclusion and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s definitely worth it. Just for a personal feeling of achievement if nothing else.”