Private colleges are a respected part of the higher education system, tried and trusted alternatives to universities or institutes of technology for a raft of careers in high demand areas

THE CAO process is the most travelled road to a degree, but it’s not the only one. If one door closed today, there are many more open for college entry this autumn; the route might be different, but the destination the same.

Private colleges are a respected part of the higher education system, tried and trusted alternatives to universities or institutes of technology for a raft of careers in high demand areas such as law, accounting and finance, business, media and design. They also have provided a broad spectrum of arts degrees.

They offer both Level 8 honours degrees and ordinary degree/higher certificate Level 7/6, often with in-built progression routes up the academic ladder to honours degree and beyond.

Entry to some courses is via the CAO but direct entry, outside that process, is also possible and in many cases at much lower points than those for a similar programme elsewhere. Courses outside the CAO system lead to awards from other bodies, usually a British university.

The downside to private college is the fees, but tax relief reduces the gross cost and, in an era when “free fees” seem set to become a thing of the past in publicly-funded institutions, that difference may become more blurred.

Private colleges are mainly in Dublin city centre locations, including Dublin Business School – with a strong tradition in business, arts and psychology – and Portobello College, which it acquired a couple of years ago, which majors in business and law. The Portobello Irish Law degree is validated by the University of Wales, and by HETAC, the Irish Higher Education and Training Awards Council.

STUDIES

Others are the American College, whose portfolio includes a degree in Psychology.

Griffith College offers an Irish law degree, awarded by HETAC, the Irish Higher Education and Training Awards Council, and recognised for the purposes of entry into Kings Inns. It also offers media studies, and interior design among its courses. Griffith College’s computing science degree is unique among private college degrees in that tuition fees are covered by the Department of Education and Science for the first two years of the programme.

There are also well established private colleges outside of CAO, including Independent Colleges, Dublin 2; the School of Practical Childcare; the Dublin Institute of Design; Dorset College; and others that have a long history of offering excellent, well recognised specialised courses.

The Institute of Business and Technology (IBaT) in Sword, north Dublin, has a range of courses which are validated by the HETAC.

Outside of Dublin, HSI Limerick Business School has a long-established track record.

Two of the Independent Colleges’ full-time degree courses, Journalism and Psychotherapeutic Studies, will be included in the CAO (Central Applications Office) listings from next year. Independent College’s programmes are validated by nationally and internationally awarding bodies. Its Journalism and Psychotherapy degrees are awarded by HETAC, and its Law degrees are awarded by the University of West England.

Its various accountancy programmes are validated by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), the CPA (the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland) and IATI (the Institute of Accounting Technicians in Ireland).

Katherine Donnelly