Fears CAO applicants with previous year's Leaving Cert points will miss out on places

Seventy-nine percent of students' estimated grades will remain the same after the standardisation process. Seventeen percent will be reduced and 4% will increase.

The Department of Education has said approximately 20,000 students applying to the CAO are using Leaving Cert results from 1985-2019.

It said: "Around half of these are presenting 2019 results. Approximately 25% are presenting a Leaving Certificate result from a previous year."

Carolyn Hulbert from Dublin says she is very concerned that the rise in grades will mean a rise in points. 

She sat her leaving cert in 2019, and is re-applying to the CAO this year to enter another course. 

She said: "I got 530 points last year. I only have nine points over what I need for the course I want. The points could shoot up by 20 or 30."

Carolyn attended Trinity College last year, and started out in Biological and Biomedical Science. 

However, the course was not for her, and she tried to transfer into Occupational Therapy. That course was completely full, so she was advised to drop out and re-apply for Trinity's Occupational Therapy through next year's CAO.

She said: "I was hopeful that I would get my first choice, but now they have basically said they are going to allow grade inflation. It's really unfair, how are other year's points comparable to this year's?"

She said teacher's marks would be in line with the student's best day, and consequently be more generous. 

She said: "In reality, in the exam you're under pressure. You're not really comparing like with like."

Carolyn says she has no issue with the way the grades were calculated this year, but those in her situation need to be treated fairly.

They should have a separate entry route on the CAO for us. I feel like we have been forgotten about.

Pól Ó Doghartaigh, Registrar of NUI Galway and chair of the board of the CAO, said if there is significant grade inflation, the points could rise on a lot of courses.

He said: "We have been offered a lot of extra places, and that may help keep the points down, but that would benefit this year's cohorts as well.  

"I think it is a legitimate fear, if you have a Leaving Cert from a previous year and there is grade inflation, that you could miss out." 

Prof Ó Doghartaigh said a separate entry route, for example judging student's points based on their course's CAO points for the year they sat their leaving cert, would not be possible.

He said: "There is no legal basis for differentiating between different year's leaving certs. I suspect if we tried to do that, we would end up in court. 

"A student who is applying with 2019 points could get into a course with 500 points, but a 2020 student with 510 points is denied a place. You could be looking at legal action."

Prof Ó Doghartaigh wonders if the question of the comparability (of points) across the years has been addressed. "I don't know what the solution is going to be."  

In a statement, the Department of Education said: "CAO points requirements for higher education programmes are dependent on a number of distinct factors including the volume of applications, the number of applicants who meet the entry requirements, the number of places available and the grades received by applicants. 

"Therefore there can be fluctuations in CAO points requirements every year and it is not possible to predict — nor would not be appropriate for the Department to speculate — on CAO points requirements this year."

The department said that an additional 1, 250 places have been provided in universities and institutes of technology. 

It said: "These places are in addition to over 1400 CAO places already provided in areas of skills need, under the Human Capital Initiative."