'Don't defer your course': President of Sligo IT says college can adapt to 'blended learning'
The president of Sligo IT has pleaded with prospective students not to defer their college course by 12 months.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, there are fears in the third-level education sector that students currently in sixth-year in secondary school, will opt not to go to college in September.
Dr Brendan McCormack has said that the college will offer "blended learning" between on-campus and online.
“Our strength in online learning means we are agile and adaptable to provide easy accessible learning for our full-time on-campus students," Dr McCormack said.
"IT Sligo is well equipped to give our undergraduates a truly 21st-century education, embracing technology to our advantage, offering seamless access to learning from your laptop."
Dr McCormack said the current plan is that restrictions to on-campus learning will only be in place in the first semester of the upcoming academic year.
“I would advise students not to defer and course offering they get this year as they will miss out on a year of their studies and also on valuable experience of being a third-level student," he said.
"Over half of IT Sligo students have studied online and graduate side-by-side with our full-time students as equals with the same qualifications.
"With over 20 years experience of remote learning we have developed the best possible solutions for online and have worked with tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon to deliver their online training.”
Dr McCormack added that more students opting to defer starting their course this year, will lead to a ripple effect of a reducing number of spaces available in courses the following year.
“This will pass and the economic recovery will require a steady flow of new graduates to help rebuild our society. The country needs well-qualified graduates more than ever at this time”
