ATU’s Progression Pathways host successful Open Day
Over 60 Further Education students attend event
Atlantic Technological University welcomed over 60 Further Education students to the inaugural FE Open Day, hosted by ATU’s Progression Pathways team, on the Sligo campus last week.
ATU’s Progression Pathways programme seeks to identify the barriers that prevent students moving from a Further Education (FE) course, such as those offered by Educational Training Boards (ETBs), to a Higher Education (HE) or third-level college.
The team, consisting of ATU lecturers Gillian O’Donovan (Marketing and Languages), Clodagh Caslin (Economics and Risk Management), Lorraine Murphy (Law) and Ruth Walsh (Law), had visited several FE colleges in the weeks preceding the open day and were delighted to see students from those colleges make the trip to the Sligo campus for the event.
Students joined the Progression Pathways team for an informal breakfast where they chatted with lecturers and former FE students about life at ATU. The team, which has run taster events in the past, would like to thank the FE students who are currently enrolled in ATU courses as they provided great assistance at the open day.
Lecturer Gillian O’Donovan says: “It is such a great opportunity for FE students thinking about pursuing a course in Higher Education to chat to students who are already studying with us here at ATU Sligo.
“These meetings give prospective students the opportunity to see how well-established the Further Education community is at ATU and gives them the confidence to pursue their Higher Education courses in the knowledge that many Further Education students are already succeeding in their Higher Education careers.”
After breakfast, students engaged with lecturers and students on the exhibition stands of the courses they had an interest in, took campus tours, and met with many other ATU staff members.
Funded by Higher Education 4.0 under the Human Capital Initiative (HCI) Pillar 3, the Progression Pathways team hope that, by identifying and addressing the barriers preventing Further Education students pursuing Higher Education courses, they can create more opportunities and, thereby, drive equality of access to education for all.
