NEW RESEARCH into the percentage of first class and upper second class degrees awarded to graduates of nursing has found wide variations depending on the particular university or Institute of Technology (IT) which they attended.
It reveals that graduates of Waterford IT and Tralee IT were far more likely to obtain a "first" in their degree studies than their counterparts in other institutions. Similarly, whereas about one in five graduates of Letterkenny Institute of Technology achieved either a first or a "2:1", almost every nursing graduate at Waterford Institute of Technology - 98 per cent - obtained one of these two awards.
Overall, the percentage of first class awards to graduates ranged from 2 per cent at DCU and Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (MIT) to 35 per cent at Tralee IT.
Elsewhere, 28 per cent of graduates of Waterford IT obtained a "first", compared with 5 per cent at University of Limerick (UL), 6 per cent at Athlone IT, 7 per cent at Letterkenny IT, and 14 per cent at University College Cork (UCC).
Meanwhile, just one in four nursing graduates at Dublin City University (DCU) obtained a first or a 2:1, compared with 58 per cent of students at Tralee IT, 56 per cent at UCC and 47 per cent at GMIT. Some 44 per cent of graduates of Athlone IT and 38 per cent of graduates of UL obtained one of these awards.
The study was undertaken by Martin O'Grady, a lecturer in psychology at the Institute of Technology, Tralee and a member of the Network for Irish Educational Standards, a campaign group set up to highlight the issue of grade inflation at third level.
He conducted a case study of the first cohort of graduates of Bsc in nursing courses, which were launched in 2002. The course standards are overseen by An Bord Altranais, the regulatory body for the nursing profession in Ireland.
The study, based on returns from eight educational institutions, is due to be published on the network's website, www.stopgradeinflation.ie today
Dr Ann-Marie Ryan, chief education officer with An Bord Altranais, said it could not comment on the figures as the board had not been privy to the report, but noted that it did not require nurses to have obtained a specific grade of award to register as a nurse.
She said the board would address the issue with the head of departments concerned through its annual review process, should the figures quoted by Mr O'Grady be correct.
"An Bord Altranais would have concern if the quality assurance schemes operated by HETAC in relation to their accredited courses and institutions were not in compliance with the standards set by HETAC for programme outcomes," she said.