THE ADMISSIONS system for entry to Trinity College Dublin is set to change in an attempt to increase admissions from poorer students.
Incoming provost of the college Prof Patrick Prendergast says the current system – which can exclude even the brightest pupils from some poorer areas – is no longer acceptable.
A priority, he said, would be to “move the admissions criteria beyond a purely CAO [Central Applications Office] points-based systems”.
TCD could, Prof Prendergast said, emulate a system pioneered in Texas where the top 5 per cent in all state schools gained automatic access to the leading university. He was also open to the idea of using personal interviews as part of the application process to determine entry.
He said there was a pressing need to widen access to the university. A situation where even the very best pupils from schools in poorer areas of Dublin could not gain access to TCD was unacceptable. “We need to reflect on this situation . . . that’s not the kind of society we want, where young ambitious pupils are locked out of university.”
A comfortable winner in the recent election for provost, Prof Prendergast begins his 10-year term in August. At 44, he will be the youngest office-holder in 250 years.
Only a handful of Leaving Cert students from State-run inner-city schools go on to Trinity after the Leaving. None of last year’s class from CBS Westland Row is in Trinity, while Mount Carmel, Kings Inn Street, has only one of this cohort in the college.
By contrast, the fee-paying Belvedere College sent 28 pupils to TCD year, according to the Irish Times Feeder School List.
At present, college entry systems are dictated by the CAO points system which has not been reviewed since 1999. At least 480- 500 points is required to gain entry to most Trinity courses, but only about 10 per cent of Leaving Cert students achieve this total.
Prof Prendergast said he wanted to revisit the process of admitting students to the university and further develop Trinity’s work in non-traditional access routes. TCD must take “a lead role in reviewing the current admissions systems. We must ensure that our admission procedures are fair to all groups in society,” he said.
On the issue of fees, he said additional charges for students – over and above the €2,000 student contribution – were necessary in order to build a world-class university system. Any new system, he stressed, must be accompanied by adequate grants and supports for poorer students.
Concerning the overall funding situation, he said: “Trinity is operating on a budget which is only a fraction of that available to competitors in the UK, but there is only so far that you can go. We need a university like TCD who can play on the world stage but we must fund it properly.”
Other priorities for the new provost-designate include boosting income from university alumni and upgrading the college communications. “I am determined to ensure that Trinity is at all times regarded as Ireland’s premier university.”
Prof Prendergast also signalled that Trinity may break rank with the group which represents the seven university presidents, the Irish University Association.
