Students waiting for college offers next Monday will be heartened to hear of the tremendous effort being made by An Post over the weekend. The offers will be collected from the CAO in Galway on Sunday. Students will receive their envelopes in the first post on Monday.
Additional measures have also been put in place to deal with any problems. If a postman returns to the post office with a CAO offer envelope that could not be delivered (the address may have been unclear or incorrect), the CAO will be contacted. If the problem is solved, a postman will be sent out immediately on a special delivery to the student's home.
And full marks should also be awarded to the CAO and college admissions officers as everything is running smoothly.
Applicants should note that the CAO fax is not available to the public from Sunday, August 24th. In the past, the availability of the fax led to confusion and duplication of work - according to the CAO - hence the disconnection.
Extra places
Earlier this year, the Government announced that 1,000 extra degree places and 750 technician places would be created in an effort to deal with predicted skills shortages in computing. Good news indeed but where exactly are those extra places?
There will be 400 new degree places, spread across the seven universities, and 200-300 new degree places in the regional technical colleges, Waterford Institute of Technology and Dublin Institute of Technology, according to the Higher Education Authority. It is also expected that up to 500 new certificate and diploma places in computing/engineering will materialise.
It seems that the new places were sanctioned by the HEA on Wednesday this week so that colleges now have to think about extra space, facilities, lecturers and timetabling.
All of which leaves many students wondering how to apply for these new places? The situation is as follows as far as we can ascertain:
There are three new courses in Athlone RTC now accepting applications from Leaving Certificate students - a three-year national diploma in computing; a three-year national diploma in engineering (mechatronics) and a BSc in computer and software engineering. Applications should be made directly to the admissions office at the college.
Too late for some
TCD and UCG advertised two new courses over the summer. TCD is introducing a BA (Mod) in information and communications technology with up to 80 places available. The closing date for applications was August 1st.
UCG is bringing in a new BE programme in electronic and computer engineering and the closing date for applications was August 8th. Offers for both courses will coincide with the CAO schedule.
Many would-be students will have missed both the advertisements and the closing deadlines as it is unlikely they spent their summer scanning the advertising columns. However, on the plus side, the coincidence of offers with the CAO will make life easier for those applicants who did notice the ads.
Extra places available through the CAO
In UL, there are 90 extra undergraduate places spread across three existing degree programmes - computer systems, computer engineering and information technology and telecommunications. Applicants who have already applied for these courses through the CAO are now competing for 440 places across the three programmes instead of last year's 350 places. This seems a sensible arrangement entailing no added work or worry for applicants.
It is expected that DCU will have a small increase in numbers in its popular BSc in computer applications. UCD may have 46 extra places in its BSc programme, which includes a computer science option. UCC is expected to increase its intake to its computer science degree and its degree in business information systems and to take a small number into its BE in electronic and electrical engineering. In NUI Maynooth, where computer science is offered as an option within a common-entry science degree, it is expected that the number of places in the second year computing stream will be increased.
Within the regional technical colleges, increased intake is planned in a number of programmes. Galway RTC expects to offer 50 extra places spread across courses in electronics, software and computer science. In Waterford Institute of Technology, increased intake is expected in the BSc in applied computing.
Watch out for advertisements from Carlow RTC next week as two new courses are expected to be in the offing - it is not yet known if applications will be through the CAO. The above is not a comprehensive list. Some colleges seemed unsure as to their ability to provide additional places. The advent of extra places in third level is, of course, to be welcomed but the timing of this response to skills shortages in industry leaves a lot to be desired, both from the students' and colleges' point of view.
And moving from the virtual world to the more earth-bound, UCD's agriculture faculty will have 20 additional places on its degree programme this year. These places are more likely to be snapped up by the son or daughter of a non-farm family than the first-born of a farmer.
More than half the students in the agriculture faculty are from non-farm backgrounds and 40 per cent are women. And one fifth of the students has attended second level in the Dublin area.
Cancelled courses
Carlow RTC will not be making first-round offers in the National Certificate in Science (applied physics) and the National Certificate in Science (environmental monitoring and instrumentation) due to insufficient applicant numbers. The college is writing to all applicants.
Vacant places
All courses at Carlow RTC's outreach centres in Kilkenny and Wexford campuses will be advertised in Monday's College Places supplement under the CAO vacant places procedures. This is due to the late start in the recruitment campaign for this year. Applicants should telephone the college admissions office or refer to Monday's advertisement.
The courses are:
Kilkenny campus
CW048 National Certificate in Business Studies;
CW049 National Certificate in Computing (options in end-user computing and commercial programming);
CW096 National Certificate in Business Studies (office information systems);
Wexford campus:
CW093 National Certificate in Business Studies;
CW094 National Certificate in Computing (options in end-user computing and commercial programming);
CW095 National Certificate in Business Studies (office information systems)
RCSI
This is the first year that the RCSI is within the CAO system and this entails not one but three CAO course codes. RC001 is for students who will accept a place without a scholarship. RC002 is for those seeking a scholarship on the basis of the entrance exam. RC003 is for students seeking a scholarship on the basis of their Leaving Certificate results. These categories are not exclusive, so that some determined students will have applied under all three course codes.
There are five scholarships (which will pay the fees and £1,000 per annum for the duration of the course) on the basis of the entrance examination and five on the basis of Leaving Cert results. In all, there are 40 places available for EU applicants.
CAO points on the web: The cut-off points for college courses will be carried by The Irish Times on the web at http.//www.irishtimes.com from 12.01 a.m. Monday morning.
Additional reporting by Catherine Foley