There are some surprises in today's CAO points offers. Points have gone up for most courses and, for some, they have fallen, but within those parameters, there were dramatic ups and downs, not just for degree but also for diploma and certificate courses. For some 20 degree courses there are considerable increases in points required compared to last year. In the diploma and certificate area, the requirements have also gone up - even in areas where points dropped in the degree alternative.
Given that 650 extra degree places were made available in software engineering (400 in universities and 250 in institutes of technology and RTCs) and 500 places in engineering technician programmes in RTCs and the DIT, it was expected that points needed would fall for these courses. But at UCC (electronic and electrical engineering) and UCG (electronic engineering) the requirement increased by over 30 points in each case. Counter-balancing that, however, was a drop of more than 30 in the points required for food process engineering and civil engineering in UCC and electrical/electronic engineering at DIT.
An indication of the importance of including a language element in an otherwise non-language degree was evidenced in the increase in points required for these combination degrees, whether with law, computers or business. It seems clear that students are being more realistic in terms of their choice of courses and that not everyone "wants to go to university". For example, there has been huge pressure on some of the courses offered in regional technical colleges, thereby increasing their points requirements. Evidently, students realise that RTC courses are sure stepping stones to the degree courses they want, whether in this State, in the North or in Britain. In addition, the regional colleges offer many courses tailored to the needs of manufacturing and service industries - where jobs are available immediately on completion of courses.
Seven RTC courses, which were listed in the CAO handbook, do not appear on the CAO points list as carried in the College Places supplement this morning. No reason has been given for the cancellations - insufficient demand would be one possible reason - but applicants at this pressurised stage don't need unpleasant surprises. The number of students who get at least one offer on the first round today drops to 74.2 per cent from over 78 per cent last year, still a sizeable proportion of the 62,597 students who sat the Leaving Cert last June. Some 43.5 per cent of those who opted for a degree place have been offered their first preference, that's more than 3 per cent more than last year, while over 71 per cent will get one of the three first preferences they listed. At diploma/certificate level, 54.6 per cent of students got their first choice, slightly fewer than last year's level.
The points system may be brutal, harsh and deserving of much of the criticism that is hurled at it. However, given the demographics and the scarcity of funds for investment in any across-the-board expansion of places in third-level education, it would be difficult, in the short term, to fashion a better alternative system to that which offers three-quarters of Leaving Cert school-leavers a full-time place in third-level education.