CALLS FOR BROADER SCOPE BY COLLEGES AS CAO PLACES OFFERED
The head of the Higher Education Authority says they want to see third level institutions broaden out the scope of some specialist courses to tackle the points race.
As 52,000 candidates receive their first round CAO offers today, figures show nearly half of courses have recorded a points increase on last year’s level.
Rising demand for a course is the main driver for the change.
However the HEA says breaking a general area like science down into more specific, smaller courses with limited places also results in higher points.
Chief executive Tom Boland believes colleges are willing to change their policies in the area.
“UCD has long been a leader in this base, in that it has a broad-base entry to its science programmes for instance – Maynooth is also making very good progress” he said.
“So all of the institutions have signed up to this process; and you can be sure that the Higher Education Authority – as the regulator of the sector – will be monitoring the situation closely” he added.
