CAO Updates

Dear Guidance Counsellor/Principal,

I hope this email finds you well.

In advance of the CAO offers process, I want to draw your attention to a couple of process changes which may be of interest to those of you supporting a 2021 applicant over the coming weeks.

Unfortunately, each year a number of applicants will omit important information from their applications and neglect to take the opportunities for correction (principally during the statement phase in May). In the event of an applicant discovering that their Leaving Certificate examination number/year and/or their PPSN details are incomplete/incorrect, they will have the opportunity to edit the LC/QQI section of their accounts during the following intervals:

– 7 September at 2pm – 14 September at 11am – applicants can edit their Leaving Certificate examination number from the Qualifications and Assessments section of their application. This data will be updated to their account by noon on 17 September. Supply of correct data at this stage will mean inclusion for consideration by admissions offices for round two.

– 7 September at 2pm – 10 September at 2pm – applicants can edit their QQI examination details (i.e. PPSN) from the Qualifications and Assessments section of their application. This data will be updated to their account by noon on 17 September. Supply of correct data at this stage will mean inclusion for consideration by admissions offices for round two.

If your students/clients have questions for CAO during the offers stage, please encourage them to visit the Have a Question page which has a number of answers to frequently asked questions broken down by category e.g., CAO offers, Editing my account, account access issue, etc. They may also wish to ask the Virtual Assistant for assistance, or alternatively send an email via the Correspondence Section of their account.

The 2022 interactive CAO handbook is now available at www.cao.ie/handbook

This online version has been introduced in place of the traditional printed version. The interactive version will offer applicants a more user-friendly set of instructions, with live links to additional resources (for example the demo application form, video guides for each specific section, links to important sections of the CAO website and so on).

We have printed a small quantity of CAO handbooks for distribution to guidance counsellors and principals – you can expect to receive this combined CAO HEAR DARE mailing in mid-September. This mailing will contain the usual HEAR DARE literature, and 5 copies of the CAO Handbook, as well as some posters promoting the Important Dates and the Online Handbook.

Yours sincerely,
Eileen Keleghan
Communications Officer