Student support: lessons to learn

The revelation in yesterday's Irish Times that 17 per cent of university students fail to complete their courses should act as…

The revelation in yesterday's Irish Times that 17 per cent of university students fail to complete their courses should act as a wakeup call to those in Irish third-level education.

For years, we have rightly boasted of the quality of our education system. However, we should not allow ourselves to become complacent about the many unresolved problems within education.

The shocking figures draw attention to some of the pressing issues. In particular, they highlight yet again:

The pitifully low level of student maintenance grants.

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The difficulties faced by many students as they struggle to work part-time and complete their studies.

The shameful lack of an adequately-resourced career guidance service at second level.

To call for radical reform in the area of student support and guidance counselling is not to say that these reforms alone will solve the issue of dropout. However, these changes must be part of any serious attempt to tackle the issue.

While the study quoted yesterday did not concentrate on the reasons for non-completion, we have other research to help us answer the question.

In 1999 a group of three institutes of technology issued a report on non-completion. The report made a number of recommendations, including:

Providing additional supports for students entering without adequate academic skills.

More ongoing guidance and support at second level and while attending college.

Improvements in both the scope and the level of higher education maintenance grants.

Substantial investment in academic support services in the institutes as students on low incomes are especially reliant on the college resources to complete their courses.

Improved communication structures to be developed between management, staff and students in the institutes.

While a number of these recommendations have begun to be implemented, there is, sadly, no progress to report on the issue of student support and only very limited progress on career guidance.

The refusal to act decisively on second-level career guidance is nothing short of scandalous. Even though Fianna Fail promised in its most recent election manifesto to restore the ratio of one guidance counsellor to every 250 students which existed up to 1983, it has failed to honour this commitment, and the current ratio is almost twice the 1983 level.

This inaction is all the more unforgivable when one considers that there are now 730 courses provided in 44 institutions within the CAO system. This is in stark contrast to the situation in 1982 when there were only 95 courses on offer in nine institutions. The same arguments can be made in relation to guidance provision at third level.

The failure to address adequately the issue of student financial support is also a disgrace. Last week students picketed the Taoiseach's constituency office in Drumcondra, Dublin.

Their aim was to highlight the fact that the Taoiseach's constituency is particularly badly hit by the effect of meagre grants. Research has shown that less than 5 per cent of young people in the Dublin 1 area go to third level. This compares with a national average of over 40 per cent.

A grant system which offers students a maximum grant of just £49 per week is forcing many students to abandon their plans of attending college and is forcing many others to leave college without qualifications.

At an institutional level, there is a need for college initiatives to identify and support students in difficulties. Third-level institutions should be encouraged to develop comprehensive student support structures. In particular, more must be done in the areas of personal tutors/student advisers, student peer supports and study skills classes.

We must also make special provision for mature and second chance students. These have special needs that must be catered for.

Introductory courses in report writing, information technology and mathematics must be provided for those who need them. In this regard, while I welcome the decision of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) to allocate £400,000 of additional funding to tackle dropout, I believe that much more is needed if we are serious about addressing this issue.

We must also look again at our "one strike and you're out" attitude to those who fail their end-of-year exams or choose to change their course of study. In general, students who are repeating a year of study are ineligible for free tuition or maintenance grants.

Finally, yesterday's editorial spoke of the HEA report as a landmark document, providing detailed information on dropout in universities for the first time. However, landmarks only offer a signpost as to the direction we should take; reaching the desired destination demands courage, commitment and resources.

Julian de Spainn is president of the Union of Students in Ireland