An action by 35 former students at the College of Marketing and Design in Dublin who expected to be awarded a degree on satisfactory completion of a fourth year in college has been settled, the High Court heard yesterday.
The students had sued the City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee for damages after they learned they would not be getting degrees after their extra year's study in 1991-1992. The VEC, operator of the college, had denied their claims.
The settlement was announced to the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Morris, by Mr Ciaran O'Loughlin SC, with Mr John Doherty, for the students. Mr Aongus O Brolchain SC, for the defence, consented. The settlement terms were not disclosed in court.
Following a three-year course at the college ending in June 1991, the students were awarded a diploma in marketing and administration.
They claimed that the VEC in agreements around July-September 1991 agreed to provide them - on payment of the appropriate fee, attendance at a further year's course and attainment of a satisfactory standard in further examinations - with an advanced diploma in marketing and administration.
It was also claimed that under the agreements the VEC warranted that it had made a submission to TCD for the award by the university of degree status for the advanced diploma.
However, the students claimed the VEC failed to award any classification for the advanced diploma or make any submission to the university for a degree status for the advanced diploma.
As a result, they wasted a full year in their careers, while some had surrendered employment which they had secured before July 1991 to attend the advanced diploma course.
Most of the students had also opted to sit for the advanced diploma in preference to other courses which did have a guaranteed degree status.
As the advanced diploma was neither classified nor carried degree status, it was of no practical benefit to the plaintiffs in advancing their careers over and above the diploma which they secured in December 1991, it was claimed.