Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 April 2023
185. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the supports in place for students who cannot secure necessary living accommodation to complete third-level courses; if online facilities will be provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18386/23]
View answerI am actively working to address the supply of student accommodation. Increasing costs of construction and financing are impacting on viability, and as a result a number of Universities had to pause their projects. In responding to these challenges, on 29 November 2022, Government approved development of both short and medium term policy responses to activate supply.
These landmark policy responses will see the State providing financial support for the construction of student accommodation, and underpin the policy commitments set out in Housing for All.
In the short term, Government has approved funding to support development of 1,065 beds for students of the University of Limerick, Dublin City University, Maynooth University and the University of Galway which have planning permission granted or at an imminent stage, but are stalled. My officials are also examining potential developments at UCD and TCD, and UCC also has proposals in development.
These proposals are in addition to the 1,806 student accommodation beds delivered in the last year, with a further 929 beds due to open in Cork and Galway before the start of the next academic year. There are also 2,057 additional beds currently under construction through private developments.
In addition to stimulating purpose built student accommodation by higher education institutions my Department is encouraging the bringing on stream of additional units through minor capital grants, promotion of digs accommodation and utilisation of the rent a room scheme.
The recent extension to the rent a room scheme means that income generated is disregarded for social welfare and student grant assessment purposes. Approval was also given to disregard this income for medical card assessment purposes and also to allow Local Authority tenants to access the scheme.
Support of €1m is also being provided to our Technological Universities (TUs) to conduct a needs assessment and my Department is examining the development of a TU Borrowing Framework in conjunction with other Government Departments, as part of the range of student accommodation initiatives underway.
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are autonomous institutions within the meaning of the Universities Act 1997, the Technological Universities Act 2018 and the Institutes of Technology Acts 1992 to 2006. Under this legislation the institutions are academically independent and are entitled to regulate their own academic affairs and administrative processes, including the mode of delivery of programmes of study. HEIs have taken significant steps to ensure that teaching and learning is enhanced by the integrated use of digital technologies, both on-campus and remotely.
In 2021, key stakeholders from across the higher education sector worked collaboratively to reflect on the sudden move to online/remote learning in higher education, gather related evidence and to agree a way forward post-pandemic. Partners included the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, QQI, USI, representative bodies of HEIs, and others. The resulting report, ‘Next Steps for Teaching and Learning: Moving Forward Together’ was launched in November 2021. The report includes recommendations for the sector with regard to blended/remote teaching and learning and the use of technology to ensure that higher education is as flexible, resilient and equitable as possible for all who learn, all who teach, all who support and lead, and our wider communities.
In June 2022, the HEA announced €37.62m in funding for the ‘National Technological University Transformation for Recovery and Resilience' (NTUTORR) programme. The programme was informed by the Next Steps report and this funding will enable the technological sector to systematise the learnings from the experience of digitally enabled education and support the provision of digitally enhanced teaching, learning and assessment to meet the needs of staff, students, and enterprise in the regions.
The fourth National Access Plan, 2022 to 2028, which launched In August 2022, places an emphasis on student-centred goals, including flexibility. It aims to support students to study on a flexible basis including part-time and blended learning, and identify connectivity supports for remote learning. This is a seven-year plan with an additional dedicated investment of €35 million over the course of the plan.
Many HEIs are and will be developing new blended learning programmes for validation. Such programmes need to be designed, delivered and assessed within an approved quality assurance framework developed by HEIs with reference to the Statutory Quality Assurance Guidelines for Providers of Blended Learning Programmes. Programmes that are delivered partially or fully online, need to be developed with that mode of delivery in mind rather than merely being translated or transferred from the original face-to-face programme model.
