The findings are in the Irish Survey of Student Engagement (ISSE), which asked students directly about their experiences of higher education during the 2016-2017 academic year.
The study polled 35,850 students from twenty seven higher education institutions in 2017,
Just over 70 per cent of first-year students in Ireland reported they never worked with academic staff on activities other than coursework. This compared to 58% in the UK and 50% in the US.
50.2% of students never talked about career plans with academic staff and 42.3% of all students never discussed their performance with staff.
Students commented on the relationship between student and lecturers and how they can be improved:
Having fewer lectures with hundreds of people and having more smaller lectures" argued one student.
Another undergrad complained about teaching methods: “Too many lecturers just stand and read off the slides. I can do that at home tbh and this affects attendance without a doubt. Why would I spend €12 travelling each day to sit and watch someone read off the slides I have?”
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The survey also examined students’ experiences of studying Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects.
A total of 25 per cent of non-Stem respondents reported their coursework emphasised “evaluating a point of view” very much, compared to 15 per cent of Stem students.
Overall, most students reported they had developed key skills such as clear and effective writing or skills that would help with employability.
You can read the full ISSE report here.
H/T: The Irish Times
