Students who fail their exams at third-level colleges outside the university sector will be given a new type of certificate under proposals from the State body responsible for the area.
Students who fail will be given a certificate for subjects they managed to pass, under the changes already accepted by the academic council of the National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA).
The main council of the NCEA will meet on February 15th for a final decision on the proposal. If it is accepted, colleges will be able to offer the certificates.
It would mark a major departure for colleges to award any kind of certificate to students who do not achieve an overall pass.
Consequently, some academics may raise the issue of lowering academic standards.
However, the lack of skilled graduates has forced the proposed change, and sources have rejected the charge that standards will be diluted.
"Students taking computers, for example, may have failed overall, but they still have valuable experience in computing which employers are looking to harness," said a source involved in the proposal yesterday.
Employers would rather be presented with some kind of certificate than nothing at all, the proposal's supporters argue. One example cited is where a student takes a French and computing course.
If students fail the French component they fail the whole course. Those in favour of the change believe students should, nevertheless, be given a certificate they can present to employers showing they have passed the computing element. "It is about recognising achievement, not failure," said one source.
It is likely the new proposal will apply to certificate, diploma and degree programmes across the non-university sector.
The council of the NCEA is expected to vote in favour of the proposal. Most decisions supported by the NCEA's academic council are supported by the overall council.
The council of directors of the Institutes of Technology have discussed the proposal and are also understood to broadly support it.
Among the colleges entitled to offer the new certificates are: the Institutes of Technology; the Garda Siochana training college at Templemore; the National College of Ireland; the Dublin Institute of Technology; and many private third-level colleges.