UNIVERSITY College Cork (UCC) is to increase its minimum requirements for entry into its courses.
UCC will now require prospective students to have four higher level subjects rather than two. The changes will be implemented for the 2014 academic year.
The Department of Education has written to the Irish Universities Union outlining its concern about the move, which UCC made independently of other National University of Ireland (NUI) bodies.
However the UCC Academic Council said the increase was necessary because it was concerned about students with relatively low Leaving Certificate attainment not progressing as hoped.
A statement from UCC said: “The decision was taken because of concerns about non-
progression among students with relatively low leaving certificate attainment, an issue which is documented. This measure is an effort to address educational standards and represents a more realistic description of the minimum level of attainment necessary to succeed at UCC.
“Students without the necessary levels of education and associated knowledge, skills and competency on entry to university are likely to struggle in first year and have a significantly higher risk of failure.”