The number of mature students studying in Ireland is "quite low" in comparison to the numbers that go back to college in Britain - and even lower in comparison with the USA, Australia, Sweden or Germany.
"Generally we are far behind all of the other EU member states. But there's a big push to try and encourage people back to education and training," says Fiona McCauley, policy worker with Aontas, the national association of adult education. She says the latest statistics show that the number of mature students going on to third level is not improving. One of the problems, she explains, is that "full-time education doesn't suit everybody". Some people who are trying to balance jobs, family commitments and trying to get time off for studying and trying to get funding "are just snookered", she says.
Three years ago, just over 800 mature students entered third-level education through the CAO. This was slightly more than 4 per cent of CAO acceptances. The different application processes used for mature students by third-level institutions (who must be at least 23 years of age on January 1st of the year of entry) can be a stumbling block for applicants also. "Many remain unconvinced of the fairness of selection procedures, which are difficult to quantify," Anne Byrne wrote in her column in this paper in January. "If you are a mature student you may be assessed on the basis of your CAO form, or an interview, or an assessment or prior learning or a combination of these. But if you don't get a place, you are unlikely to find out why."
According to a document published by the Points Commission - arising from research on this issue - "there is widespread agreement . . . that a new application and selection mechanism needs to be put in place to overcome the detail and replication of the current application process and that such a mechanism should result in a more open and responsive system". Some 11 per cent of the student population in NUI Maynooth, which has a very strong tradition of facilitating mature students, are matures. One in six of first year arts students are mature, says Angela McGinn, mature student support officer at NUI Maynooth. "They really enhance the student experience," she says. "The traditional students and the mature student learn a lot from each other."
Professor Kevin Ryan, of the University of Limerick, says: "I've been fortunate enough to have classes which had a disproportionate number of mature students and the effect on the class was quite noticeable. They bring a view of the world that young people straight out of second level don't have. Mature students have been exposed to the world of work and the world of ideas. We're finding that some of the young students who are just out of school have very high points but they will have very little awareness."
One of the routes used by mature students is through the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme, which aims to help people who have been unemployed for six months to return to education and training and to up-grade generally through education qualifications. Last year over 17 per cent of the 5,000 students who availed of VTOS at centres around the country went on to third-level education.
