AROUND 450 STUDENTS will be affected as a religious college announced today that it will shut its doors.
All Hallows College has announced that it will wind down with immediate effect, with 80 staff set to lose their jobs.
A spokesperson for the college confirmed to TheJournal.ie that falling registrations and a financial shortfall had led to the decision to close the college, which is accredited by DCU.
“Financial difficulties had reached the point of a financial crisis,” the spokesperson said.
As for the 450 students, the college says it will work with them in order to ensure that they can finish their studies.
“The college will work with the students who are still enrolled in order to help them finish their degrees to the best of our abilities.
“We will not enrol any more students.”
The staff at the college are currently in consultation with senior management over a redundancy package.
The Department of Education said that they had been informed of the closure.
“This is no doubt a difficult time for staff and students of the college and our thoughts are with them. The Department welcomes the fact that the college intends to wind down in a phased and orderly manner in order to facilitate as much as possible the completion of students’ studies.
“All Hallows College receives grant in lieu of tuition fee funding from the Department. This amounted to some €439,000 for 2013/14. While there is a cap on the number of undergraduate students eligible for the free fees scheme, the College has not reached that cap in the previous five years. ”
A spokesperson for DCU said that the university was “saddened” by the closure.
“While DCU has no governance or management function with respect to All Hallows College, we have enjoyed a collegial partnership since 2008, during which time DCU has accredited the College’s degree programmes and provided access to supports such as library and IT services to All Hallows’ students.”
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