Briefing Paper: Being a Commuter Student in Ireland

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Creator(s) (alphabetical)

Liz Thomas

Organisation(s)

N-TUTTOR, University of York

Discipline(s)

Teaching and Learning

Topic(s)

Student Success

License

CC BY-NC-SA

Media Format

PDF

Date Submitted

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Description

In 2024/25 research was undertaken in higher education institutions in Ireland to explore commuter students’ experiences and to consider changes that would improve their experiences and outcomes. It addressed the questions: i. How does being a commuter student impact on student experiences and outcomes in higher education institutions in Ireland? ii. How can higher education institutions improve the experience and outcomes of commuter students? The study combined a semi-structured review and thematic analysis of the websites of the seven higher education institutions (HEIs) in Ireland, with two online ‘town hall focus groups’ (THFGs) involving 33 participants: six staff and 27 students, eight of whom were trained as facilitators and ‘jurors’ to reflect on the evidence heard. The THFGs addressed the key research questions, collecting individual responses via an online form; small groups discussed the topics and then a commuter student facilitator reported key points from their discussion into the main room.

Benefit of this resource and how to make the best use of it

This briefing paper focuses on what it’s like to be a commuter student in Ireland, drawing on the findings from the two THFGs.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA)

This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA license, allowing sharing and adaptation for non-commercial use with proper attribution, provided derivative works use the same license.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
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Thomas, L. (2025). Briefing paper: being a commuter student in ireland. National Resource Hub (Ireland). Retrieved from: https://hub.teachingandlearning.ie/resource/being-a-commuter-student-in-ireland/ License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA).

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