Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 June 2020
201. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education and Skills if predictive grades will have an impact on the points reduction offered to students that are eligible for the higher education access route. [10355/20]
View answerThe Higher Education Access Route (HEAR) is an alternative admissions scheme to tertiary education, offering places on reduced points and extra college support to school leavers from socio-economically disadvantages backgrounds. The scheme is operated by the Irish Universities Association (IUA), and applications to the scheme are through the CAO.
Whilst criteria for applications and the processes for application itself are centralised, admissions under the HEAR scheme are regulated by the institutions themselves. Each institution determines its own admissions policy in relation to the schemes, the number of places it reserves and the allocation of those places.
Calculated Grades will have the same status as Leaving Certificates awarded to students in previous years and will be used as a basis for entry into tertiary education in 2020 for all candidates, including access to the HEAR scheme as usual.
