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AONTAS Update...
24 August 2010 Issue Number 47 Welcome Welcome to the AONTAS Update! The AONTAS Update is a weekly resource designed to keep members informed about current lifelong learning issues as well as what’s happening in AONTAS! Please let us know what you think of the bulletin by taking a short survey here.
Weekly Survey The reintroduction of fees for higher education may be endorsed by a strategy group examining higher education. Do you agree with the This week, why not visit Which Course Expo? It is Dublin's largest course reintroduction of fees for fair, run annually at the RDS. This year’s event will be held on August 28th higher education? Click here to & 29th from 11am until 6pm Sat and Sunday at the RDS Industries Hall. let us know. AONTAS are exhibiting this year. For more information, please visit www.whichcourse.ie. Thank you to everyone who has already responded to the The Update will be e-mailed to members every Tuesday afternoon. If you survey. We will bring you the have difficulty viewing the Update in your e-mail window, download as a results at the end of the month. PDF by clicking here. Members are very welcome to contribute and if you have anything for inclusion, please e-mail it to Eleonora Peruffo (eperuffo@aontas.com) by 5pm on Monday afternoon.
POLICY Adult Education News Politics
PROMOTION Adult Learners’ Festival News Press Release
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INFORMATION
AONTAS News Membership News AONTAS Membership
Information Referral Service Education & Training Opportunities
POLICY
ADULT EDUCATION NEWS CAO points for most third-level courses set to increase Due to record levels of applications of 67,640 CAO points for most college courses are set to increase this year. There is expected to be a small increase in points for arts, a slight increase for most science and engineering courses, no major change for business courses and a dramatic fall off for property and construction courses. Points are also expected to increase for nursing and no major change is expected for teaching. (Irish Times, 16/08/10) Battle begins for college places as early offers are snapped up Early offers have been sent to mature applicants, those who deferred for a year, and overseas students with a record 7,280 applicants accepting places. This is a significant rise on the 5,568 acceptances for the same period last year. (Irish Independent, 16/08/10) College boss calls for change to points system Professor Tom Collins, interim president of the National University of Ireland Maynooth, has said that colleges may have themselves to blame for their complaints about the abilities of many students in recent years who are unable to meet the demands of third-level education. He said alternatives worth looking at might include random selection of students above a set number of Leaving Certificate points who have achieved a minimum grade in certain subjects relevant to their chosen course. Also the introduction of portfolios for some courses could be looked at. (Irish Examiner, 17/08/10) Coughlan: Points system is fairest route to college Education Minister Mary Coughlan has said that the points system is the fairest way for students to gain entry to college. She said that the harsh reality of life is that "you will always have pressure" and the current system had been examined by the Points Commission in 1999 and found to be the most appropriate. (Irish Examiner, 18/08/10) Our universities fail to make the world’s top 200 New international rankings have shown that Ireland’s universities have failed to make the top 200 in the world. Trinity is the top-ranked Irish university, remaining in the 201-300 category of the world's best universities and between 75-123 in Europe. UCD remains in the 301-400 bracket in the world and between 124-168 in Europe. (Irish Independent, 18/08/10) College revolt over bonus points plan University College Cork and the National University of Ireland Galway have stated that they are against the reintroduction of bonus points for honours maths. In both colleges, the majority of academics felt the awarding of bonus points would not achieve the aims of improving either the take-up or
performance in higher-level maths. (Irish Independent, 19/08/10) Students face further hike in registration fee for college Tanaiste and Education Minister Mary Coughlan, has ruled out the reintroduction of college fees but has refused to rule out an increase in college registration fees in the budget. Since its introduction a decade ago the registration fee has increased by 780pc, from €190 to €1,500. (Irish Independent, 19/08/10) Girls doing better in most subjects According to a gender analysis of this year’s Leaving Cert examination girls performed better in higher level Irish, English, history, geography, French, German and art. At higher level, girls even outperformed boys in subjects traditionally associated with males, such as physics, agricultural science and construction studies. (Irish Times, 20/08/10) Report calls for student loan scheme and return of college fees The Hunt report, a Government-commissioned report on the future of thirdlevel education, recommends that students “contribute to the cost of their education” by receiving a loan to cover the cost of fees. It says the huge dependence of colleges on State funding is unsustainable in the longer term, and that non-State funding is urgently required. (Irish Times, 19/08/10)
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PROMOTION ADULT LEARNERS FESTIVAL NEWS Date for your Diary The Adult Learners’ Festival 2011 takes place from 21st to 25th February 2011. The Festival, now in its fifth year is a nationwide celebration of adult learning coordinated by AONTAS – The National Adult Learning Organisation. Planning is well underway for the 2011 Festival and further information will be circulated in the coming weeks.
Press Release Leaving Certificate just the beginning for adult learners
AONTAS, the National Adult Learning Organisation congratulates all adult learners on the successful completion of their Leaving Adult Learners’ Festival 2010 Report Certificate this year. The This report contains an in depth look at the organisation of the Adult number of adult learners is Learners’ Festival 2010 as well as key outcomes and recommendations for included in the category of future Festivals. The report is intended to be a companion document to the ‘External Candidates’ released Adult Learners’ Festival Explore Magazine which provides a snapshot of the by the Department of Education. This year the celebrations during the 2010 Festival week. Click here to read the full number of number of external report. candidates is down – from
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4,361 out of 57,455 students in 2009 to 3,737 out of 57,839 in 2010. This represents a slight drop from 7.6% to 6.5%. More‌
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CEN meeting-21 October 2010 The next CEN meeting will take place on Thursday 21st October in The Carmichael Centre, North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7. Registration will take place at 9.45am and we will finish up with lunch at 1.15pm. The agenda for the day and further information will be available shortly. Please click on the link to register. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QCGYHBG
AONTAS MEMBERSHIP
Any organisation, group or individual that is involved, or interested, in adult and community education may apply for membership. If you feel that you would ****** benefit both in your MEMBERSHIP NEWS practice and personally We are currently planning to change from posting invoices and statements from AONTAS join our to sending them by email, enabling us to improve efficiency. In order to ensure that we have your current contact details, please vibrant organisation today! complete our online form. Click here or go to http://www.aontas.com/membership/ at your earliest convenience and fill in the form in our Existing Members section If you have any questions regarding this email, please contact Dympna Larkin at dlarkin@aontas.com or phone 01 4068220.
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INFORMATION EDUCATION & TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES WhichCourse EXPO Which Course Expo is Dublin's largest course fair, run annually at the RDS. The event has proven extremely popular with prospective students in the Greater Dublin area over its previous runs in 2008 and 2009. This year’s event will be held on August 28th & 29th from 11am until 6pm Sat and Sunday at the RDS Industries Hall. AONTAS are exhibiting this year. For more information, please visit www.whichcourse.ie
INFORMATION REFERRAL SERVICE Information Booklet If you are interested in returning to education why not contact our Information
****** Study Visits for Education and Vocational Training Specialists and Decision Makers, Academic Year 2010 -2011 (Round 2) Study visits provide education and VET specialists and decision-makers with an opportunity to spend up to one week in another European country, learning about different practices and approaches in education. Applications are invited for study visits taking place from March 2011 to June 2011. Applications must be submitted online as well as a hard copy signed by the applicant and endorsed by the head of the organisation. The deadline for receipt of online applications is 11.oo a.m. on 15th October 2010. The catalogue of study visits and the application form are available from July 19th 2010 online at: http://www.studyvisits.cedefop.europa.eu
Referral Service on 01 4068220. Alternatively, download a copy of the Information Booklet by clicking here ******
Léargas will host an information and application procedures meeting for the Study Visits Programme on Wednesday, 8th September 2010, from 14.3016.00 in the Maldron Hotel, Granby Row, Parnell Square West, Dublin 1. To register, please telephone or email your name, job title and organisation / institution by the 3rd September to bdesmond@leargas.ie / 01-8871214. For further information, eligibility criteria and application procedures please visit http://www.leargas.ie/studyvisits or email studyvisits@leargas.ie
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Back to Contents AONTAS is the National Adult Learning Organisation. It is a non-governmental organisation that exists to ensure that every adult in Ireland has access to appropriate and affordable learning opportunities throughout their lives, thus enabling them to participate in the economic, social, civic and cultural development of Irish society. For further information visit www.aontas.com or www.adultlearnersfestival.com. Apologies for any cross posting. If you no longer wish to receive information from AONTAS, please e-mail mail@aontas.com. AONTAS – The National Adult Learning Organisation 83 – 87 Main Street, Ranelagh, Dublin 6W Ph 01 4068220«Fax 014068227«E-mail mail@aontas.com Company Registration: 80958 Charity Registration: 6719