2005-2007 Action Plan
The first National Plan for achiveing equity of access to higher education plan was drawn up by the National Access Office with the assistance of an advisory group and in consultation with a range of education and social partners. The objective was to present a roadmap of practical and attainable goals and actions which would progress the access and participation of under-represented groups in higher education. The six areas in the 2005-2007 Access Plan identified for progress between were:
Communicate the Rationale for Equity of Access to Higher Education
A key role of the office has been to continue to communicate the rationale as to why the achievement of a more equitable education system continues to be a national priority. An audio-visual DVD promoting the rationale was produced in 2005.
A national framework of policies and initiatives to achieve equity of access
Over 2005 and 2006 the National Office co-ordinated an evaluation of the access programmes of twenty-seven publicly funded higher education institutions(Towards the Best Education for All, HEA, 2006). The final report presented the first national framework for successful higher education access programmes.
Creating routes of access and progression to higher education
Since its establishment the National Office has supported the development of existing and new routes of access through the qualifications framework.
The office has worked on a number of initiatives by the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, including an evaluation of transfer and progression to university by the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland published in November 2006.
Supporting a broader range of teaching and learning practices
Progress to date on new strategies for teaching and learning and recommendations for the future were presented by the Head of the National Access Office at a conference in NUI Galway in June 2006.
Ensuring necessary financial support and resources are available
In December 2005 the National Office published a Review of Access Funding for students, institutions and communities. The review recommended the need for more comprehensive and accessible information for students and their families on financial support; a study should be conducted on the cost of going to college for students from diverse backgrounds, including mature students in part-time education. Also whole community approach to access should be developed.
The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) is undertaking a study of the cost of going to college for different kinds of students, including those with childcare and family responsibilities.
Studentfinance.ie has been launched and provides information for students, parents and communities on the financial supports available to them in further and higher education.
Two new pilot community projects have begun which will run for three years from 2006-2009. The aim of these projects is to provide insights into the initiatives and relationships that are needed to make equality of access a reality using a whole-community approach. One project is in County Offaly and the other in Clondalkin, West Dublin.
The HEA also allocates core funding for the access programmes of higher education institutions and the funding is available through the strategic innovation fund. See here for more details on funding.
A more robust data collection and evaluation framework to advise the development targets and indicators of progress.
The development of better data sources on student access and participation began with the collection of Equal Access data at student registration in 2007.
The plan was launched at a national conference in December 2004 and implementation commenced in January 2005. Two annual Reports on progress were published, the first early in 2006 and the second early in 2007.
