Ireland prides itself on its well-educated workforce, and the trend in recent years has been to encourage higher rates of participation at third level in line with the needs of the labour market and with the need for social inclusion. The Government in ‘Learning for Life: White Paper on Adult Education’ has committed itself to widening access to educational opportunities for adult learners, traditionally under-represented in the third-level sector. These factors, together with declining numbers of school-leavers predicted in the next few years, has focused Universities and other educational institutions on the issue of attracting and retaining non-traditional students onto third-level courses.
An example of work that is being carried out to monitor developments in the area of mature students is that of Martha Henchion in the Admissions Office, UCC, who has been gathering data for over ten years on full-time Mature Students applying to the college. The first survey in 1991 showed a figure of 43 full-time first-year bachelor’s degree Mature Students entering UCC through the CAO route, and these figures have shown a sharp increase over the years to a figure of 176 mature students registering in 2000.
The purpose of Ms. Henchion’s research is to provide a statistical basis for the review of admissions policy relating to mature students at the level of the institution and within faculties. Each faculty has a quota of places in most of its courses for mature students. The number of applications, offers made, and numbers registering for each full-time course are recorded, and in subsequent years, students’ progress is monitored.
The data collected allows the Admissions Office and individual faculties to monitor take up rates, drop-out rates and analyse the functioning of the selection process for Mature Student participants.
With the acquisition this year of a new data processing package, it is expected that retrieval, manipulation and presentation of statistical data will be greatly enhanced.
In addition there are other groups of mature students attending evening certificate/diploma/degree courses in UCC. As a result UCC had 1,350 registered full-time and part-time mature students in 2000 and this impressive number of students underlines UCC’s commitment to improving access.
The Higher Education Authority sets Mature Student targets for third-level institutions, and UCC has consistently exceeded these quotas. The UCC Mature Student Tutor/Advisor Scheme, which has been running since 1997, offers an orientation programme for incoming Mature Students, ongoing support during the academic year and also conducts research. Other institutions have recently appointed Mature Student Officers, and it is to be hoped that further support and research structures will continue to be put in place.
In the absence of a formal communication structure between the third-level institutions in the area of Mature Student research, the HEEU plans to organise and facilitate a meeting later this year to discuss the development of an integrated research strategy in the area of Mature Students. Access officers, National Network representatives and others with an interest in Mature Student research and access will investigate what research is planned or being carried out in their institutions and discuss ways of developing a nationwide research, giving institutions and researchers access to commensurable data and providing a forum for dialogue and cooperation in the area of access.
Anyone interested in the areas of mature student research and access, please contact Angela O’Connell at the HEEU (021) 4902038.
Table of Contents of Newsletter 10