Supports for Students with Experience of Care

 

MTU has established strong links with Empowering People in Care- EPIC and Tusla- Child and Family Agency to provide pre-entry and post-entry supports for students with experience of care who are progressing to Higher Education to complete a full-time programme of study.

 

MTU defines a care experienced student as any person who has lived in residential care or foster care for any period before the age of 18 years old.

 

The MTU Access Services have provided supports on an informal basis to care experienced students for many years. In the most recent National Access Plan- A Strategic Action Plan for Equity of Access, Participation and Success in Higher Education 2022-2028 Students with Experience of Care have been named as a priority target group for the first time.

Care experienced students are welcome to register with the Access Service upon entry to MTU to obtain post- entry support which may include the following:

• Financial supports
• Academic supports
• Personal supports
• Social supports

To arrange a meeting with a member of the Access Team, please email accesscork@mtu.ie 

Alternatively your after-care worker can contact the team on your behalf.

All meetings are confidential, no information will be shared with any third party without the student’s written permission. Students are most welcome to invite their after-care worker to attend any arranged meetings.

 

These supports offered by the Access Service are in addition to the tailored personal advocacy service offered by our colleagues Professor Margaret Linehan (Cork campus) and Dr Patrick McGarty (Kerry campus). Additional information on the advocacy service can be found here- www.mtu.ie/access/care-experienced-students 

 

Additional information on supports for Students with Experience of Care can be found here:

EPIC- www.epiconline.ie/

Tusla- www.tusla.ie/

National Access Plan 2022-2028- https://hea.ie/policy/access-policy/national-access-plan-2022-2028/