‘Substantial reduction’ in random selection for college courses

Almost 60% of Leaving Certificate students who applied for a Level 8 course or an honours bachelors degree got an offer for their first choice, the Central Applications Office said.

There were 31,251 (59%) Level 8 first preference offers made on Wednesday, compared to 27,947 (54%) last year.

Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris congratulated students receiving their CAO offers.

In Wednesday’s course offerings, 85% of students were offered one of their top three preferred courses, compared to 82% last year.

Mr Harris said: “I want to congratulate every Leaving Cert student who has made it this far.

“This is a landmark day in every student’s life after what has been an incredibly challenging few years for them. I truly hope the news they received today aligns with their hopes and ambitions.

“It’s a major milestone for those taking the next step on their educational journey.”

Separately, the department said there has been a “substantial reduction” in the number of high points course using random selection this year – down to 17 from 47 in 2022.

In the vast majority of courses, admission is based solely on examination results and places are offered to the applicants with the better results.

Sometimes, there is an excess of applicants who achieved the same points applying for remaining places on a course. Those applicants are assigned the remaining seats through a random number process.

Mr Harris added: “But while it can be exciting time for many, especially for those who receive their first or second choice preferences, it will also fill others with feelings of anxiety.

“Some students might believe that if they haven’t received their preferred choice that their hopes and dreams for the coming academic year are gone.

“This is not the case – disappointed students should know there are many other pathways available.”

Mr Harris said “grade inflation”, the process which saw results being artificially increased to match those given prior to the pandemic, needs to be unwound.

Speaking at a press conference at Government Buildings, he said: “Grade inflation does need to be unwound for a number of reasons, including the importance of all-island education and we do need to move to a post-pandemic era.”

He said the process was introduced to be “fair to everyone”, with students competing with cohorts who deferred from the previous year.

“But I do think we now need to see a system to reduce that grade inflation over the next number of years,” he said.