The dispute between DBS social care students and the college has continued after an online meeting on Monday failed to resolve the issue.
Minister Simon Harris has said he is "extremely concerned" as around 80 students remain in limbo after spending thousands on fees for the private college. Earlier this month, students learned they will not be eligible to register with health regulator CORU and become employed as social care workers when they graduate.
The course was established by DBS back in 2018 and was in the process of receiving CORU validation. However, the college withdrew their application to CORU earlier this summer when it became apparent it would not be successful due to the regulator having "concerns about the extent to which the programme ensures the achievement of the Registration Board Standards of Proficiency for Social Care Workers".
Read more: Social care students in Dublin college left thousands out of pocket after degree 'becomes worthless'
Students feel "grossly misled" as while they knew the course was not yet approved by CORU, they were "told they would be CORU approved and that the college was going to get it".
Dublin Business School spoke to students online on Monday and outlined different potential "pathways" which they hope will result in the students eventually being CORU registered. Among these was advising students to defer for a year, to allow the college to reapply to CORU.
They also outlined the "grandparenting rule" where students already working in the sector for a number of years can apply for recognition based on their employment record. The college also said they were in discussions with other institutions about potential transfers, but said this was not guaranteed.
During the meeting, many students said they wanted to be refunded the fees they have paid. A DBS spokeswoman told Dublin Live that this option "remains under consideration for any students who do not become eligible to get onto the Register". The college will also meet with students individually this week to discuss their personal options.
Speaking to Morning Ireland today, Minister Harris noted that "DBS is a private college and CORU the Health Regulator is an independent regulator". However, he said the "challenge is accepted" when it came to finding a way to help these students.
"I spoke to the President of DBS late one evening this week," Minister Harris said. "I think it's absolutely essential that DBS proceed with their plans to meet individually, one on one with students and explore all of the options available.
"There are some options available. For some students it may be possible to transfer to other accredited courses and for others it may be possible to use the time between now and joining the register to clock up enough professional experience to join the register.
"We also have to be honest here. Students in DBS signed up for something that turned out to be very different and I do think there would be a need for DBS to recompense the students, regardless of the outcome."
Minister Harris said he "certainly thinks" that refunds "have to be on the table" and said he "made that very clear to the President of DBS".
"I do think that from listening to a lot of these students, their number one priority is to get registered," he said. "These are passionate people who want to be social care workers and we want them to be able to be social care workers."
Student Carmel Corrigan has completed two years at DBS and said Monday's meeting left a lot of questions unanswered.
She told Dublin Live: "The only way they can make this better is by saying 'you can defer, we're going to give you your money back and in the meantime if you need to find something else that works for you then go for it and we will continue to try and get CORU registration and if you do come back, we won't make you do the whole four years but two or three years with extra work'. That's what they should be giving us".
Carmel said that students welcome Simon Harris' engagement on the issue and said they want him to meet with the DBS team to discuss a top-up course.
A spokeswoman for DBS told Dublin Live that the college is "as disappointed as their students" that the course did not receive CORU approval. She said: "Our students remain our priority, which is why we met with those who have been studying in our Applied Social Care programme to provide them with an update on further options since we last met with them.
"During this meeting, we outlined possible pathways for the students. The pathway for each individual student will depend on what stage they have completed on the programme and in some cases more than one pathway may be available as an option.
"We have informed the students that we are arranging one to one meetings with each student in the coming days to talk through which pathways are available to them and how we can assist them. Details of each pathway are still to be finalised. Reimbursement remains under consideration for any students who do not become eligible to get onto the Register.
"We are as disappointed as our students are that the programme did not receive CORU approval, as it had been mapped against the CORU criteria, and was submitted for approval at the first opportunity available. We are working around the clock and engaging with all relevant stakeholders to provide each of these students with the best possible outcome for their situation."
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