MEDIA RELEASE

May 2015

Universities agree revised model for converting A-Level grades to Leaving Certificate points

The Irish Universities have agreed a revised model for converting A-Level grades to Leaving Certificate points for the purposes of entry to universities in the Republic of Ireland. Under the new model, which will be applied in 2016, the points for an A* grade in an A2 subject will rise from 150 to 180, the points for an A will go up from 135 to 150, while the points for other A2 subject grades will be adjusted slightly. Points will be also awarded in recognition of achievement in a fourth A2 or a fourth AS subject.

Commenting on the new scheme, Prof Andrew Deeks, President of UCD and Chair of IUA, said “this necessary work was undertaken to ensure fair and equitable access for UK applicants, and to satisfy our desire to encourage greater numbers of these applicants, particularly from Northern Ireland”.

The revised model was developed by the Irish Universities Association (IUA) Task Group on Reform of University Selection and Entry (TGRUSE), following a detailed review of grade distributions between UK and Irish examination data by university admissions officers.

The model will remove what was increasingly being seen in both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom as a significant disincentive for A-Level candidates who consider applying to universities in the Republic of Ireland. A majority of these candidates only sit three A-level exams, which means they could not realistically compete for many of the more high-demand courses in the Republic of Ireland. The new model is weighted in favour of the first three A-Levels, as a large majority of A-Level students sit only three A-Levels, while additional points will also be awarded in recognition of achievement in a fourth A-Level or for a fourth AS-Level.

Table 1: revised model for converting A-Level grades to Leaving Certificate points, to be applied from 2016

Table 2: outgoing model for converting A-Level grades to Leaving Certificate points

N.B. The existing arrangements regarding additional points for a grade E or better in Mathematics at A2 level, and regarding the additional admissions test (HPAT-Ireland) for applicants to medicine, will continue to apply to A-Level applicants under the new model above.

Ends.

For more information contact:
Mr Lewis Purser, Director of Academic Affairs, IUA, 01 6764948

Irish Universities Association

STATEMENT

29^th April 2015

The Irish Universities Association (IUA) welcomes and supports the announcement, by Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan T.D, of the most significant reform of Leaving Certificate grades and the points system in the last 20 years.

Prof. Philip Nolan, President of Maynooth University and chairperson of the university task group which is working on these topics, said “The universities are delighted to have worked closely with the Department of Education and Skills and a range of other stakeholders in preparing these reforms. We believe these will serve students well and will enhance both their second and third level learning experiences”.

The main changes announced today are:

• A new grading system for the Leaving Certificate – reducing the number of grades from the current 14 to 8
• Proposals for a revised common points scale for entry into higher education
• Broader undergraduate entry to high education programmes
• An analysis of predictability in the Leaving Certificate

The changes in the new Leaving Certificate grading system require a new common points scale, both to address the reduction in the number of LC grades and also to minimise random selection in the event of students achieving the same points score.

A set of proposals in this regard will be discussed by the Academic Council of each university, with full details available in September 2015.

The universities are continuing to progress the development of broader undergraduate entry routes, based on the set of principles agreed by each Academic Council in 2013. These developments are linked to curricular and pedagogical reforms taking place across the university sector, aimed at ensuring high quality provision of undergraduate education to a growing and increasingly diverse student population.

Ends.