Dropout rates at University of Galway increased during the Covid-19 Pandemic as remote learning eroded recent progress it had made in retaining students.

And the third level institute has cited Leaving Cert grade inflation and cost-of-living crisis as potential reasons why the rate of non-progression has continued to increase since Covid-19 lockdowns.

The university has put in place measures, including extra staff and student supports, to try to reverse the trend.

Members of the Governing Body have been told that “student progression in recent years had been eroded by the impact of the pandemic”.

According to minutes of the Údarás na hOllscoile, released to the Tribune under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI), members were told the most recent data showed an 11% non-progression.

This was an increase in the drop-out rate compared with the Pandemic where it stood at 8%.

The minutes of the Governing Body’s Standing and Strategic Planning Committee meeting noted the regression in dropout rates was “a trend experienced by many universities”.

This was backed up by recent figures for Atlantic Technological University (ATU) which revealed a 6% increase in the dropout at the former GMIT.

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