What

1
Whats Unique about the Irish First Year
Experience?

• Claire Laudet
• Trinity College Dublin
• Colleen Blaney
• University College Dublin

21st International Conference on the 1st Year
Experience Dublin 24 June 2008
2
Presentation Outline

• Irish Jargon Buster
• Higher Education Sector in Ireland
• Educational philosophy
• Student Demographics
• Application Process to Irish Universities
• The Irish First Year Experience
• Costs of attending university
• Funding of higher education in Ireland
• Student Service Professionals in Ireland

3
1. Irish Jargon Buster

• Leaving Certificate (LC) end of secondary
  school state examinations
• CAO Central Applications Office
• School leavers students who have just finished
  high school
• 3rd level Higher Education up to undergraduate
  degree
• 4th level Higher Education, postgraduate level
• HEIs Higher Education Institutions
• IT or IoT Institutes of Technology
• National University of Ireland (NUI) UCD, UCC,
  NUI Galway, NUI Maynooth
• UCD University College Dublin
• TCD University of Dublin, Trinity College
• University of Limerick
• Dublin City University

4
2. What is the higher education sector like in
Ireland?

• 7 universities
• 14 Institutes of Technologies
• 6 Colleges of Education
• 12 other colleges inc. some private Colleges
• 40 HEIs in total- 125,000 students (2003)
• Admission rate in 2004, 55 of school leavers
  go on to 3rd level ( 20 in 1980)
• 105 from 1990/91 to 2003/04
• 1st generation college attendees still common
  only 30 of parents of new entrants have 3rd
  level qualification (2004)

5
National Policies

• National Development Plan 2007-2013 on higher
  education
• Increased participation and improved access
• Encourage greater flexibility of course offerings
  to meet diverse student needs in a lifelong
  learning context
• Promote the quality of teaching and learning
• Significantly increase PhD numbers and research
  activity
• HEA Strategic Plan 2008-2010 does not explicitly
  mention student services

6
Field of Studies
Source OConnell P et al, 2006, p.24
7
3. The Irish universities and their philosophy

• 2nd level schools focus on coaching for the
  Leaving Certificate, rather than teaching and
  learning of material
• Gap exists modularisation in 3rd level may widen
  it
• Universities not proactively bridging gap
• Degree track prescribed little student choice
  in subjects (courses) they pick, particularly in
  1st-2nd years
• Major subject(s) started upon entry no liberal
  arts approach
• Learning skills training poorly resourced nor
  integrated into university teaching
• No university has an official Orientation Office!

8
4. 1st Year Student demographics

• 80 Irish residents
• Predominantly female (04 58 in Univ., 86 in
  CoEs, 47 in ITs)
• Young 13.5 are 17, 43.5 are 18, 24 are 19,
  10 are 20-22, 8 are 23-39, 1.5 over 40
• 89 full-time
• 41 from Employers, Managers Professions, 22
  Manual Agricultural Workers
• Commuting over half of students attending UCD
  (60) and TCD (58) live at home.
• 21 of 1st years at TCD live in university
  accommodation.
• Across Ireland, most students choose to study at
  a university close to home
• Commuter campus feel empty campuses on weekends
• Student engagement generally good (???)

9
Reason for choice of college
Source OConnell P et al, 2006, p. 83
10
Reason for choice of course
Source OConnell P et al, 2006, p. 84
11
5. How students apply to Irish universities

• Students must do 6 subjects
• Mid-August Students find out LC results
• Late August allocation of places
• September/October Start of academic year
• Final year 2nd level pressures studying for LC
  and completing CAO form
• Very short transition time

• Students apply to a Central Applications Office
• Number of LC points used to match supply and
  demand for 3rd level places.
• Student earn place based solely on points in the
  Leaving Certificate

12
Impact of Admissions system on course choices

• the overwhelming influence of the CAO points
  system on student choices, with considerable
  parental and other pressure on many individuals
  to choose courses requiring the highest points
  they can achieve, rather than those best suited
  to their interests and needs.
• Completion rates for students taking full-time
  programmes of study in Institutes of Technology,
  p. 40

13
Students relationship with university pre-entry

• Marketing is different in Ireland
• Mostly based on Web sites, Open Days and College
  prospectus/literature
• Role of personal connection with college (family,
  friends, guidance counsellor) not as important as
  used to be
• Some advertising in the media
• Personal relationship marketing non-existent
• Generally no interview prior to entry for
  admission
• Personal connections, written recommendations,
  legacy status DO NOT play role in admission

14
6. The Irish First Year experience

• Retention rates
• Nationally 83 retention (Rand corporation)
• Universities 3-years 84 retention (2003)
• IoT Certs dips 70
• IoTs Degrees 87.4 in 2004
• UCD 16-17 non-completion
• Issues for students
• What they consult support services about
• Concerns and expectations
• Role of parents

15
What do 1st year students consult services about
- TCD Tutorial Service Survey (2007)
16
Concerns and expectations of TCD new entrants 2007

• Expectations
• Meeting new people (40)
• Social life and parties (18)
• Getting involved in clubs societies (18)
• Starting new course (9)
• Passing exams (2)

• Concerns
• Exams (25)
• Difficulties making friends (12)
• Workload (11)
• Not liking course (7)

Source Senior Tutors Office survey, TCD, Oct.
2007
17
TCD Counselling Service Data
Main Referral Reasons
18
The role of parents in the Irish first year
experience

• Increasingly, helicopter parents are hovering at
  Irish universities
• Why?
• Smaller families children more precious
• Middle class syndrome
• Customer service mentality
• Parents are used to having relationship with
  their childs school and habits are hard to break
• Programming for parents non-existent
• UCD Parents day care during Orientation and 2
  parent nights (engineering and business)

19
Retention Issues in Ireland 1

• Reasons for withdrawal
• Wrong course choice
• Lack of commitment
• Academic difficulties
• Financial worries
• Difficulties settling into college (academic
  social)
• Concerns about career prospects
• Under-preparedness in mathematics
• Poor interaction with school career guidance
  services,
• socio-economic background,
• Little motivation to avail of student support
• mismatched expectations

20
Retention Issues in Ireland 2

• Difficulties with social integration or financial
  hardship not often mentioned (Rand corporation,
  2007)
• Only 13 of students who withdrew consulted
  career guidance in 2nd Level school (Baird, 2002)
• 2/3 happy with their decision to leave most
  continue in 3rd level (Baird, 2002)

21
A Few Examples of First Year Support Initiatives
in Ireland UCD

• Orientation _at_ UCD
• Week before term
• Orientation Guides (peer mentors)
• Presidents Welcome Reception
• Academic Advisory Meetings
• Computer System Induction
• Campus, Library, Sports Hall and Language centre
  tours
• Orientation kick-off BBQ
• Entertainments
• Parents Crèche

22
A Few Examples of First Year Support Initiatives
in Ireland TCD

• Orientation _at_ TCD
• Week prior to term
• Includes campus, library sports centre tours
• Info meeting on support services
• Course meetings
• SU organised social activities
• Clubs societies fair
• Students Union led Peer Orientation Programme
  (POP)
• Peer Learning programmes (languages, programming,
  maths)
• New entrants web-site and orientation e-mail
  address
• Chemistry pre-entry course (one week)
• Regular e-mail shots from personal tutors

23
A Few Examples of First Year Support Initiatives
in Ireland other institutions

• NUI Galway Student Connect Mentoring Programme
• University of Limerick Mathematics and ICT
  Learning Centres
• University College Cork pre-entry Science
  programme, chemistry and physics (2 weeks)
  intensive revision programme (Easter break)

24
Student engagement with services in 1st year

• In Trinity College
• 4.8 of first years went to Student Counselling
  
• 72 of Freshers went to see tutor in Freshers
  week.
• 14 did not go because they had too much to
  do, 7 did not think it was valuable thing to do
• 40 of 1st years had a problem but did not go to
  tutor. 28 did not see how tutor could help, 12
  did not think of going, only 3 went to another
  service instead.
• In UCD
• Link found between different academic disciplines
  and student engagement

25
7. Costs of attending university in Ireland

• No tuition fee for full-time EU students (unless
  repeat)
• Registration Charge 825 in 07-08 (1300)
• Everything else is charged repeating courses or
  exams, part-time study, doing additional degree,
  graduate programmes
• Annual cost of living is 10,000 (15,500) per
  academic year
• Grant system for financially needy students 36
  in ITs, 32 in CoE, 26 in universities
• Full grant awarded 3,400 ( 5,300) top up
  if on benefit (6,700).

26
8. Funding of Higher Education in Ireland

• State expenditure per student (2006) 10 272
• State funding
• Recurrent Grants
• Capital Funding
• SFI PRTLI research funding
• Student Service Charge (Registration, exams and
  student services) 825
• Some Private Funding
• Additional strategic funding for pilot projects
  (3 years), some for Student Services

• An illustration The TCD Case
• Income
• 39 State Grants
• 28 Student Fees (mostly paid by State)
• 26 Research Funding
• 7 Other income
• Expenditure
• 1,9 go to Student Services inc. funding for SU,
  Clubs Societies

27
9. Student Services Professionals in Ireland

• Traditional areas (careers, counselling,
  chaplaincy) have clearly defined professional
  requirements and career paths
• New areas (disability, access, advising) are
  growing but are less well defined. Unclear
  professional requirements.
• Many are part-time or temporary because of
  short-term pilot-type funding

28
Conclusion What does all this mean for student
services staff?

• Scale is much smaller than in other countries
• Resources are much more limited
• New appreciation of 1st year experience
• Services tend to be reactive to students needs
  rather than proactive/preventative

• Growth of peer support, orientation guide model
• Many initiatives funded short-term
  mainstreaming not always possible

29
Bibliography

• Baird, K. (2002). An inquiry into withdrawal
  from college A study conducted at Trinity
  College Dublin.
• Harrington, H., ODonoghue, A., Gallagher, M.
  Fitzmaurice, D. (2001). The first year
  experience An insight into non-completion.
  Report compiled for Student Counselling Service,
  Trinity College Dublin.
• HEA (2008), Higher Education Key facts and
  Figures 06/07,
• Inter-University Retention Network (2004),
  Submission to OECD Review Team, IUA
• Matthews, N. Mulkeen, S. (2002). Staying the
  course? A study of student retention UCD
  entrants 1999-2001. Dublin University College
  Dublin.
• Van Stolk C., Tiessen J. , Clift J. Levitt R.
  (2007) Student Retention in Higher Education
  Courses International Comparison , Rand
  Corporation
• OConnell P., Clancy D., McCoy, S.,(2006), Who
  went to College in 2004?, A national survey of
  new entrants to higher education, HEA

30
Questions answers
Claire Laudet Trinity College
Dublin claudet_at_tcd.ie Colleen Blaney
University College Dublin Colleen.blaney_at_ucd.ie