Nora Owen
Question:8 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Education and Science the initiatives, if any, he has developed to tackle the high non-completion rate in third level courses. [7240/00]
Other Questions. - Third Level Courses.
In relation to the overall retention rate in the university sector, the Higher Education Authority carried out a study in 1994, which indicated a completion rate of 81%, which is high by international standards, for those entering in 1989-90. The authority has commissioned the Educational Research Centre, Drumcondra, to undertake a further detailed study in this area and a report is nearing completion. The study will consider a range of factors as to their effect on completion rates such as socio-economic factors, entry requirements, time of enrolment, availability of repeat examinations and the transition from second to third level education.
The council of directors of institutes of technology has also commissioned the Educational Research Centre, Drumcondra, to undertake a comprehensive study on the issue of non-completion in the institutes and the research project team is in the process of collating the necessary data.
The Dublin Institute of Technology is also conducting a two-year quantitative and qualitative investigation of student withdrawal within the institute which is a similar and comparable study to that commissioned by the council of directors of institutes of technology. The above studies are being funded by my Department.
In addition to this I am supporting and promoting a number of initiatives in the technological sector to assist the compilation of a database on attrition-drop-out rates and to develop appropriate strategies to address the issues. The council of directors of the institutes of technology has established a national committee on retention with representatives from each institute to focus on "maximising success rates" for institutes' students. The committee has assembled a profile of current good practice in relation to retention across the sector. The profile has been made available to all institutes of technology.
Institutes of technology continue to introduce a range of initiatives and support services seeking to improve completion rates. These include induction-orientation programmes, course information services, tutor services and systems designed for the early identification of "at risk" first year students.
Additional InformationAs part of a two-year funding initiative to tackle educational disadvantage at third level, I am providing £1.5 million over the period 1999-2000 to address the issue of non-completion in the technological sector. This funding supports and complements the programmes already in place and has regard to the recommendations of the national committee on retention in relation to the funding of action projects-programmes, both short and long-term based on best practice. In addition, £8 of the student services charge collected in institutes of technology is being dedicated to projects linked to attrition and access.
Through these initiatives the institutes are developing their strategies and from this year a dedicated member of staff is being assigned to work with students and staff to develop mechanisms aimed at improving retention rates. Considerable work is also being done in collaboration with the National Centre for Guidance in Education and with the post-primary inspectorate in my Department to develop other positive actions in this area. I am also actively addressing the provision of science and technology in second level schools, a provision of particular importance in preparing persons for successful participation in technical courses at third level.
A computerised management information systems project is currently in progress as part of the ongoing work to establish modern financial and administrative systems for the institutes of technology. The project has the aim of supporting the efficient and effective administration of the institutions and providing both the institutions and my Department with timely and accurate management information for a variety of purposes. This new system will provide enhanced information on attrition and the results from the initiatives above will be fed into this project.
Why is data in this area so elusive? Why are we relying on information from 1989-90 that is ten years old? Why can the Minister not report within a year on the drop-out rate from different courses?
To some extent people drop out and drop in again. Apart from that, I presume they do not have the statistical back-up to provide that information.
What type of statistical back-up does the Minister need? One can count sheep in a field.
The Deputy wanted information on the last study. The information I have given was based of the last study. The Government of which the Deputy was a member was in office for two years and did not overcome the problem.
We were not in the Department of Education and Science since 1987.
The study was carried out in 1994 and was based on the completion rates for those entering in 1989-90. If they entered in 1989-90 it would take three or four years to complete the course. Therefore, one has to go back a period of years to find the start and finishing times. This is not only about the starting times—
Dr. Upton
What is the responsibility of the colleges in reporting this information? If colleges had responsibility for reporting on an annual basis it would preclude the need for extensive studies and save a great deal of money for the Department.
Needless to say, the colleges are to a large extent independent in their operation and they value that very much.
Does the Minister pay for students?
We pay for 40% of students. We pay almost all the fees. There is a problem that has to be tackled. If one does a survey in 1994 one has to use the information on those entering in 1989-90 to see if they continued to 1994. I presume the survey was based on looking at what had happened to that cohort of people over the period. The Educational Research Centre was much more concerned at the reasons for non-completion, on which it has conducted a number of studies. Policies would be based on those reasons.
What are the conclusions?
If there are 100 entrants in year one will it not be known at the end of the year how many completed the year and how many dropped out and similarly for second and third year students? As Deputy Upton suggested, why does the Minister not get it from the colleges?
We must proceed to Question No. 9.
As a matter of interest three of the institutes of technology showed a non-completion rate among first year students of 37%.
Dr. Upton
What is the Minister doing about it?