About Access

About Access

The DIT Access Service was established in 1999 to assist individuals and communities in overcoming socio-economic barriers to accessing higher education.

Dublin Institute of Technology recognises the role of higher education in providing benefits to individuals and communities and is committed to ensuring that people and communities experiencing educational disadvantage are supported in accessing higher education.

DIT Access Service aims to:

  • Support students from disadvantaged schools in applying to higher education through a comprehensive programme of initiatives for schools and communities.
  • Facilitate access to higher education for students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds incorporating ethnic minority students through higher education access entry routes.
  • Assist access students in adjusting successfully to DIT and gaining maximum benefit from their time in DIT by providing a range of post-entry supports.The Digital Community Programme trains residents in basic computer courses and gives them the skills, through our train the trainer course, to pass their new learning on to their neighbours and friends. Courses include Comic Creation, Clay Animation Digital Literacy Digital Photography, and a range of formal courses which are accreditated through DIT's CPD (Continuing Professional Development)course and Microsoft. (Microsoft accreditation is provided by Certiport USA  and delivered through Prodigy Ireland to our communities).

The programme also provides high quality Technical Support for Hardware & Software in all the centres. The programme also actively encourages the participation of other ethnic groups within our centres. Currently these include Victims of Persecution and Torture(Spirazi) Seperated Children, Refugees, Asylum seekers, and people with disabilities.

The Digital Community Programme offers computer based projects which take place in our 25 centres. These projects vary from centre to centre and include Summer Projects for Children, Clay Animation and a variety of activities which engage young people in an informal but fun way.### The DIT Access Service provides a broad range of supports to ensure that students from communities and backgrounds where there is little tradition of participation in higher education succeed in accessing and graduating from higher education.\ The Access Service works directly with over 40 second level schools in Dublin inner city, Louth, Cavan, Leitrim, Roscommon, Longford, Offaly and Kilkenny and 30 primary schools and, through the Higher Education Access Route, a collaborative access entry route, indirectly with 220 designated disadvantaged schools nationwide. `

The Access Service has supported over 650 students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds in accessing DIT and worked with over 10, 000 students through its school and community initiatives.

Access students have achieved considerable academic and other success during their time in DIT and upon graduation. Retention rates of access students are higher than retention rates amongst the general student body and increasing numbers of access students are achieving distinctions in final exams.

Access is embedded in DIT at every level and the success of Access rests of collaboration between external partners, the DIT Access Service and services and faculties in DIT.

The development of Access in DIT is outlined in the 3-year DIT Access Strategy.

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