A new survey has found more than half of third-level students rated the overall quality of interactions at their college as high.
New research from StudentSurvey.ie has looked at first year's perspective on their college experience.
53.6% of students rated the overall quality of interactions at their institution as high.
Among those, 92.2% had a positive overall evaluation of their college or university, and 92.6% even went as far as to say they would choose to attend the same location if they had to decide again.
Minister for Higher Education, Simon Harris, says this kind of research is important to learn how to improve the college experience for students:
“Understanding students and their experiences should always be at the core of every decision that is made and every discussion that takes place in third level education."
The results of the survey show that opinions of college life have improved since the Covid pandemic, and a lot of this is being put down to the fact that people have returned to campus and in-person lectures.
64.8% of students report they are satisfied with life nowadays, compared to 56.6% in 2021.
However, despite overall opinions improving, when it comes to postgraduate students, 42% say they have seriously considered dropping out of their course.
Of that number:
- 23.7% was for financial reasons
- 16.5% for personal or family reasons
- 9.9% for health reasons
- 6.6% for employment reasons
- 3.8% would to transfer to another institution
- 6.8% cited other
Chris Clifford, President of the Union of Students in Ireland says funding i crucial to tackling this issue.
"USI would like to see Higher Education Institutions collaborating with student unions in developing action plans following the surveys. These plans should outline concrete steps to address any concerns highlighted by survey results, reinforcing the commitment to enhancing the student experience."
Factors that are being considered to play a huge role in this are the cost-of-living crisis, the lack of accommodation and the inability to work full-time while studying.
