The State's seven universities and the DIT have been asked to change the way they allocate points - a move which could affect more than 35,000 Leaving Cert students.
A confidential report calls on the colleges to increase the number of points they award each year to students doing the Leaving Cert Vocational Programme (LCVP), which now operates in about 500 schools and involves 35,000 students in fifth and sixth year.
Up to now the universities and the DIT have been accused by student groups of discriminating against students doing the LVCP exam.
The report, by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), says students doing the vocational Leaving Cert should be given greater recognition by the universities and the DIT.
Their views follow a report from the Higher Education Authority last month which showed that in some areas third- level access rates are getting worse. The buoyant labour market has also tempted many students to bypass third level and go straight into a job.
Senior university sources said yesterday that the suggestions from the NCCA would be seriously looked at in the months ahead.
If the changes are adopted, universities hope it will be seen as another sign they are broadening access and giving greater recognition to skills outside traditional academic disciplines. However, any changes are unlikely to apply to this year's students.
The LCVP is a Department of Education programme which emphasises vocational skills, in addition to the traditional academic disciplines of the mainstream Leaving Cert.
Students taking the LCVP develop their interpersonal, vocational and technological skills. These skills, according to the Department, are highly relevant to those preparing for a job, for further education or who are planning to start their own business.
The NCCA document - seen by The Irish Times - says points are still regarded as a "valued currency" among students, parents and the media. It says because the universities and the DIT do not give the vocational Leaving Cert full recognition, many aspiring university students bypass the programme.
It says the universities and the DIT give fewer points for the "link modules" included as part of the LCVP, compared to their counterparts in the institutes of technology (ITs).
For example, the ITs give 70 points for a distinction in these modules, 50 for a merit and 30 for a pass.
However, up to now the universities have awarded 50 for a distinction, 40 for a merit and 30 for a pass. The NCCA report suggests the universities and DIT come in line with the ITs and change their points scheme.
The link modules involve students studying and doing a portfolio in three areas: preparation for work, work experience and enterprise education. The work involves doing CVs, career investigations, work experience in an office and projects in the local community.
According to the NCCA report: "The type of learning encouraged in the modules is consistent with the needs of the growing number of students progressing to third level."
It says that if the universities and the DIT change their policy it would enhance the status of the LCVP in schools and "ensure there is no difference in the scale of points awarded by higher education institutions".
Universities have been reluctant to change their policy because some academics worry that by giving greater points recognition to the LCVP it could undermine mainstream Leaving Cert subjects such as maths, English and Irish, which are regarded as among the toughest.