Professor Gerry McKenna:

We have spoken about the issue of equivalence between A-levels and the leaving certificate. Insofar as that has been done, it has been somewhat unfair in terms of A-level applicants. Students in Northern Ireland and the Republic who apply through UCAS get conditional offers earlier in the year. They are sitting with those offers and have a certain attachment to them. They then get their offers earlier than would be the case for universities in the South. That is an issue. It is a different of approximately a fortnight, but it is quite an important fortnight in the life of an 18-year-old. There is an attachment to that. Something might be done to align that.

There seems to be a problem with being in UCAS and the CAO. Ulster University had a template to be in both, but there was a view that would not be possible from the point of view of UCAS. I would have thought that was a solvable problem. There is no reason the Northern universities could not be included in UCAS. That would be of some help in smoothing the application process for universities so they have a better view of what is happening in terms of potential numbers.