Students have been left with an “awful lot of unanswered questions” ahead of their return of college.

The Government this afternoon announced a €168m support package to help students and third-level institutions adjust to COVID-19 restrictions on their return.

Around €15m will help around €10,000 students buy laptops and IT equipment, while €16 will go towards a doubling of the student assistance fund.

On Lunchtime Live this afternoon, Lorna Fitzpatrick, President of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), said there is still a lot of confusion over what college will look like next year.

“There are an awful lot of unanswered questions,” she said. “We are a couple weeks out from when people should have been returning to college.

“It is very late in the day for this announcement to be made on a national level because now, institutions need to go away and plan for that as well and we really need those answers very quickly.”

'Not good enough'

She said there has been "very little communication or messaging in relation to third-level" in recent months despite the huge numbers of people affected by the reopening plans.

“I know institutions operate autonomously and that is probably a part of it but I really don’t think that’s good enough,” she said.

“There should have been much more communication and much more engagement on the issues affecting third level and that should have been clearer to people across the board.”

Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris arriving at Dublin Castle for a cabinet meeting, 15-07-2020. Image: Sam Boal/RollingNews

Ms Fitzpatrick said most students still don’t know whether they should be looking for accommodation for next semester.

“That is a simple question but it has a massive cost associated with it,” she said.

“We need to have those answers so students can look at whether they need to book a room or whether they need to get accommodation.

“Year on year, we talk about the cost of student accommodation or the cost of renting for students and it is thousands of Euros so it is not a cheap decision and it’s not a decision that can really be made in the dark – which is where we are at the moment.”

College life

She said it is impossible to say what the college experience will be like next year until students know the ratio between on-campus and remote learning.

“Going to college is about so much more than just what you receive in terms of the academic experience in the lecture theatre,” she said.

“It is around the clubs and societies; it is about meeting new people from different backgrounds who have different experiences and learning and challenging and growing – all of that kind of thing.

“So that has to still be a priority for our institutions and for our Government because we need a whole of system approach when we look at that student experience.”

Roadmap

Announcing the roadmap for the return to on-campus learning this afternoon, Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris said first-year students should be prioritised.

“We want to maximise the on-site experience,” he said.

“I am not sure you can introduce somebody to college through Zoom so I think for first-year students, there needs to be a particular focus on them to be able to attend on-site as much as possible.

“Also, for some courses, it is not possible to do things off-site or remotely if you need a lab.”

The support package includes €14m for personal protective equipment, €34m for investment in online learning and €48m to support research projects that have been disrupted by the outbreak.