National College Awareness Week takes place this year from November 20-26.
Aimed at promoting a college-going culture, and increasing the numbers who progress to third level, particularly in areas where that s not usually the case, College Awareness Week is an important tool in spreading the word that having a post-secondary education plan is both important and achievable .
The campaign goals, supported by national agencies including the NAPD, HEA, Department of Education and Skills, Vincent de Paul, IGC and IBEC, include
- Celebrate the importance of going to college
- Showcase local role models who have gone to college
- Helping students to become college-ready
Last year, there were 659 events across 27 counties. This year, Pegasus is offering county councils, libraries and schools collaboration on a new project Ready For College.
Ready For College – University Preparation Courses
Our academic consultants, who have taught at second and third level in colleges across Ireland, the UK and the USA, have developed a set of modules aimed at introducing Leaving Cert students, new college entrants and mature students to the key writing, research and study skills that they will need to be successful in college.
These US-style modules cover key aspects including structuring an essay, taking notes, researching and referencing, and include
- Winning The Points Race Choosing Colleges & Courses
- Writing for life letters, emails, reports, CVs
- Writing for College
- Crash Course: Grammar, Syntax, and Usage
- Planning Part I (Reading and Research)
- Planning Part II (Brainstorming)
- Thesis Statements: Crafting a Clear Argument
- Outlining
- Drafting
- Conclusions
- Editing and Revising
- Citation, Attribution & Avoiding Plagiarism
Third level education is about learning at a higher level – developing skills relating to critical thinking, building supported, substantive arguments, analysing information and the critical use of data and multiple sources. These are university-level skills – but new college entrants will benefit hugely from working on the foundations of these skills, even before entering third level. Such skills will also help Leaving Cert students, and are key attributes that employers value.
Recent UK research suggests that courses designed to teach sixth form students essential university-level study skills also significantly improves their A-level results (University of East Anglia).
Lecturers
All the Pegasus training modules are delivered by leading academics, published authors and frontline media professionals, including
Dr. Myles Dungan, historian, presenter, RTE s The History Show, author of multiple books, including Irish Voices From The Great War (1995) and How The Irish Won The West (2006).
Dr. Jonathan Creasy, editor, publisher, teacher, author The Black Mountain Letters (2016)
Senator Marie Louise O Donnell, BBC, RTE, TV3, The Vincent Browne Show
John O Keeffe, criminologist, newspaper columnist and Associate Editor of The Garda Review
Brenda Power, barrister, presenter, Sunday Times/Daily Mail columnist, author The Noughties
Pegasus Consulting
Pegasus Consulting is an Irish media, PR and communications consultancy, representing a wide range of corporate and celebrity clients from television, theatre, politics, media, business and sport. Our expert staff, who have worked at senior levels in education, national newspapers, television, theatre, radio, business, politics and PR, offer a wide range of professional training modules, teaching the key skills of writing, presenting, social media management, producing video and working with the media. Pegasus works regularly with national TV, radio and theatre companies, and produces events across the country, supplying major corporations, local councils, libraries, festivals and historic properties with talent, expertise and technical facilities. Our clients include county councils in Cavan, Dublin, Dun Laoghaire, Galway, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Monaghan, Meath, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath and Wicklow.