Vol. 568 No. 1
177 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Education and Science the current rate of non- completion of courses at institutes of technology throughout the State; the rate according to certificate, diploma, undergraduate degree and postgraduate degree courses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15798/03]
The issue of non-completion at third level is a complex one which has been a matter of concern for some time. The most recent figures on non-completion rates for third level institutes of technology are the result of research carried out, at the request of my Department, by the Educational Research Centre, ERC, in Drumcondra, Dublin. The quantitative element of the study was submitted to my Department in February 2001 and examined the completion rates of first-time entrants to eleven institutes of technology in 1995. The study shows an overall non-completion rate of 42.61% across the institutes surveyed. The Dublin Institute of Technology also conducted a similar study which showed an overall non-completion rate of 39.46% for the 1994 cohort of full-time first-year students pursuing courses in the institute.
The non-completion rate in respect of certificate, diploma and undergraduate degree courses is published in tabular format in chapter 5 of the ERC study by broad fields of study. There are five broad fields of study with regard to national certificate level courses, four at diploma level and three at degree level. Non-completion rates are not available for post-graduate degree courses. Chapter 2 of the Dublin Institute of Technology study details retention rates per faculty and field of study at undergraduate level. Due to the volume of the statistical data requested by the Deputy, I propose to forward this information directly to him as soon as possible.
