HETAC Welcomes Publication of National Strategy on Interational Education ...

PRESS RELEASE

30 September 2010

HETAC welcomes publication of National Strategy on International Education

HETAC welcomes the recent publication of Investing in Global Relationships: Ireland's International Education Strategy 2010-2015. The emphasis in the strategy on quality as a distinctive feature of Ireland's offering to international students is particularly welcome, given that this has also been the centre of HETAC’s activities.

Determined to ensure that international students were welcomed on the campuses of its registered providers (Institutes of Technology and independent providers), HETAC has recently undertaken two new initiatives to support the Government’s International Education strategy. Firstly, HETAC was a member of the working group[1] which led to the establishment of a code for the pastoral care of international students. Any HETAC registered institution that recruits international students onto its programmes is required to adhere to that code. HETAC is progressively including checks on compliance with the code in its programme validation, monitoring and institutional review activities.

Secondly, the Government’s strategy also deals with transnational education, that is, Irish qualifications delivered overseas. Recognising that such offerings must be underpinned by robust quality procedures and best practice, HETAC published a new Policy for Collaborative Programmes, Transnational Programmes and Joint Awards in December 2008. That policy was supported at institutional level with training events and guidelines.

Gearóid Ó Conluain, CEO, said:

“I am confident that these actions have positioned HETAC, and its providers, to play their part in delivering on key actions in the national strategy. Many of our registered providers have a history of recruiting international students and their campuses have been richer for the diversity they bring to college life”

HETAC looks forward to the new, comprehensive statutory arrangements and is confident that its successor agency, Qualifications and Quality Assurance Ireland, will be able to build on the substantial work being undertaken to enhance and assure quality for international learners.

ENDS

Further information:
Gearóid Ó Conluain, Chief Executive, HETAC 087 6956605 / 01 6441 502

Note to editors:
HETAC (The Higher Education and Training Awards Council is a public body established under the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999 to establish and maintain a national framework of qualifications in Ireland. It is the national awarding body for higher education and training awards outside the university sector. HETAC also sets standards, accredits, monitors and evaluates quality assurance in higher education programmes.

[1] Provision of Education to International Students: Code of Practice and Guidelines for Irish Higher Education Institutions, published by the Irish Higher Education Quality Network (2009).

The Learner Services Unit would like to thank all of those who attended the recent Learner Services Unit Conference held in HETAC on 26 November.

The purpose of the conference was to take all attendees through critical LSU administration procedures and provide an opportunity to address specific queries to members of the Learner Services Unit, who handle learner registration /broadsheet production in HETAC.

The conference was a success thanks in part to the large number of attendees on the day.

Presentations from the conference are available for viewing

HETAC was included on the European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR) on 7 October 2009. The European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) ‘aims to improve the quality of European higher education by allowing students and employers to identify which higher education institutions or study programmes have undergone quality reviews by trustworthy and credible quality assurance. The register is web-based and freely accessible for students and higher education institutions and provides the public with clear and reliable information on quality assurance agencies operating in Europe. (www.eqar.eu)

Inclusion is only open to agencies which following rigorous external review, have proven that they operate in compliance with the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in European Higher Education. There are currently 17 agencies listed on the Register.

HETAC’s entry on the register is available here.

Inclusion on the Register relates to HETAC’s direct external quality assurance functions (institutional reviews, delegated authority reviews, programme accreditation, etc.), and does not extend to any other functions.

The LEARNING OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT 2009 is a pilot assessment of generic skills which will take place at a number of higher education institutions across Ireland during September and October 2009. ...

Further information on participation in the assessment is available here

Applications are invited for the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) Register of Expert Panellists...

HETAC wishes to increase the number of higher education and training specialists involved in its evaluative work. We are seeking applications from persons with recent experience in the quality assurance of higher education and training, as well as applications from subject specialists and researchers for occasional work. Persons on the Register will be appointed to various assessment and evaluation panels for the registration, accreditation, and review of providers of Higher Education and Training in Ireland and their programmes of study. The work of external evaluation panels is essential in assuring high quality in Irish Education. Interested parties should read the attached information and submit a curriculum vitae and a completed application to HETAC for inclusion on the register by June 8th by emailing pdoyle@hetac.ie. Mr Pat Doyle can be contacted by telephone at +353 1 631 4567.

The Council of HETAC has approved a new policy on the Registration of Providers and also new procedures on the assement of applications for Registration as a HETAC provider...

On December 8th, 2008, the Council of HETAC approved a new policy on the Registration of Providers and a new procedure: Assessment of applications for Registration as HETAC provider establishing principles and processes in respect of Provider Registration. Potential providers are now invited to view the policy and submit an application to HETAC in accordance with the procedures provided here.

Public Viva Voce Examination - Doctor of Philosophy Tuesday, 20 May 2008 ...

PublicViva Voce Examination – Doctor of Philosophy

Tuesday, 20 May 2008

The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) is the national awarding body responsible for the external quality assurance of academic programmes of higher education and training provided by Institutes of Technology, and other providers that apply for accreditation on a voluntary basis.

HETAC is a public body, accountable to the Irish government and the Oireachtas, which exists to benefit learners and potential learners by:

· Setting standards, accrediting programmes and awarding qualifications at all levels of higher education and training;

· Providing assurance to the public that programmes of higher education and training are above an acceptable threshold level of quality and that objective quality assurance processes are in place to meet the expectations of Irish Society and the International Community;

· Delivering a quality improvement service to accredited educational providers so as to contribute to raising standards to increasingly higher levels.

In partnership with the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI) and the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC) it promotes lifelong learning by playing a key role in the development and implementation of the National Framework of Qualifications.

While most of the awards made by HETAC are made following programmes in Institutes of Technology and other provider institutions, the Qualifications Act also makes provision for any person to seek an award from HETAC on the basis of a portfolio of knowledge and learning acquired in a non traditional manner. The first such award was made in 2005. Where a direct application is made to HETAC the Council must in its assessment processes ensure that the standard reached by the applicant is equivalent to that required for an applicant pursuing a more traditional route.

The Council received an application from Mr Desmond Keegan for the award of Doctor of Philosophy based on a corpus of writings and other contributions published over a number of years. The field of learning covered by these writings may be broadly described as distance education.

The Council referred the assessment of the work to a panel of expert examiners comprising;

· Professor Áine Hyland, University College Cork

· Professor John Field, University of Stirling

· Professor Michael G Moore, The Pennsylvania State University

The first stage of the examination process culminated in the submission of written reports by each of the examiners.

The final stage of the assessment involves a presentation by the candidate, Mr Desmond Keegan, and an oral examination of the candidate by the examiners.

This will take place on Tuesday, 20 May 2008 at 10am, at 26-27 Denzille Lane, Dublin 2 (HETAC offices). The independent Chairman of the examination board will be Dr Tony White.

While it is usual in many other European Countries to hold a doctoral viva voce in public, this has not been the practice in Ireland and the United Kingdom. The Council feels however that a public oral examination is appropriate in this instance.

The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC)* wishes to announce the appointment of Gearóid Ó Conluain, 52, at present Deputy Chief Inspector in the Department of Education and Science, as its new Chief Executive....

HETAC – Appointment of New Chief Executive

The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC)* wishes to announce the appointment of Gearóid Ó Conluain, 52, at present Deputy Chief Inspector in the Department of Education and Science, as its new Chief Executive.

Mr Ó Conluain will take up office on 3 September 2008 on the retirement of Mr Séamus Puirséil. Gearóid has had wide experience in educational management and heads up the Policy Subdivision of the Inspectorate dealing with Teacher Education Qualifications, Curriculum and Assessment, International links and Evaluation Support.

Welcoming the appointment, Professor Séamus Smyth, Chairperson of HETAC said “Gearóid Ó Conluain joins HETAC at a particularly important juncture in the evolution of higher education policy in this country and I am confident that he will provide sound leadership and objective judgement in the years ahead”.

Gearóid Ó Conluain was educated at the Christian Brothers Secondary School in Dundalk, Co Louth and holds an MA degree in Social and Equality Studies from UCD. He qualified as a primary teacher and taught in several schools before joining the Inspectorate in 1982. He had a deep involvement in the management and delivery of in-service education to primary teachers during the 80’s and early 90’s. In 1994, he was seconded to the Scottish Office Education Department in Edinburgh where he worked in the Audit Unit on the development of inspection instruments and systems for composite analysis of inspection reports. He established the Evaluation Support and Research Unit of the Inspectorate in 1997 and he has represented the Department of Education and Science on national and international Bodies dealing with education at all levels.

He is married to Marcella with three children.

* HETAC established under the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999 is the national awarding and accreditation body responsible for the external quality assurance of academic programmes of higher education and training provided by Institutes of Technology and other third level providers. (See www.hetac.ie)

Further information: Tadhg Ó hÉalaithe, (01) 631 4567, (087) 242 8244

The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) will confer Honorary Doctor of Laws Degrees on the following five distinguished people on Thursday, 24 April 2008....

PRESS RELEASE

The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) will confer Honorary Doctor of Laws Degrees on the
following five distinguished people on Thursday, 24 April 2008.

Joe McGarry: - Recently retired Secretary General of the Institutes of Technology Ireland (formerly Council of
Directors of Institutes of Technology); Former Head of School in Institute of Techology, Tralee.

Catherine McGuinness: Chair of the Irish Universities Quality Board (IUQB) and President of the Law Reform
Commission. Former Judge of the Supreme Court. Born in Belfast.

Joyce O’Connor: - President Emeritus of the National College of Ireland; Chair of Digital Hub Development
Agency; Former Chairperson of the Further Education and Training Awards Council (2001-2006) and member of
the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland from 2001 to 2006.

Nuala O’Loan: - First Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland; Qualified as a solicitor; law lecturer at University of
Ulster – held the ‘Jean Monnet Chair of European Law’ at University of Ulster from 1992 until appointed
Ombudsman.

Peter Williams: - Chief Executive of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) which was established to promote
quality assurance in Higher Education in the UK. President of European Association for Quality Assurance in
Higher Education (ENQA). Graduate in English from University of Exeter.

The ceremony will take place at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and the Minister for Education and
Science, Ms. Mary Hanafin T.D. will be the Guest of Honour.

The 5 recipients have had very distinguished careers and have made a major contribution to education in its
broadest sense.

The Higher Education and Training Awards Council, established under the Qualifications (Education and
Training) Act, 1999 is the national awarding and accreditation body responsible for the external quality assurance
of academic programmes of higher education and training provided by Institutes of Technology and other
providers.

Further information: Ann Graves, International and Communications Section,
HETAC – (01) 631 4567 Ext 121, agraves@hetac.ie

Fr. Seán McDonagh SSC has been awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) following the first ever public examination in these islands of works submitted that included a Viva Voce presentation....

COUNTRY’S FIRST EVER PhD AWARDED FOLLOWING PUBLIC EXAMINATION OF STUDENT’S VIVA VOCE PRESENTATION

viva voce.jpg
(L-R) Monsignor Andrew Vissanu Thanya-anan, Apostolic Nunciature, Cardinal Cathal Daly, Séamus Puirséil, CE, HETAC and Dr Seán McDonagh

Fr. Seán McDonagh SSC has been awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) following the first ever public examination in these islands of works submitted that included a viva voce presentation.

Fr. McDonagh, whose field of learning may be broadly described as ecological theology, is based at the St. Columban Fathers headquarters in Dalgan Park, Navan, County Meath. In his presentation he made the case that, “In the light of the escalating ecological problems facing planet Earth, from climate change, through the extensive pollution of fresh water and the seas to the massive extinction of species, ecological theology should be at the heart of every religious tradition if they expect that their message will have any relevance in the contemporary world.”

Speaking at this unique event, which was held today (Tuesday, 21 November 2006) at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland headquarters on Dublin’s Kildare St., Séamus Puirséil, Chief Executive of HETAC said, "The remarkable academic and scholarly achievements of Fr Seán McDonagh have been assessed by leading academics who have deemed them to be worthy of formal recognition and I am very pleased that HETAC has conferred this doctorate on him.

“It should be noted that the manner in which this degree was awarded is exceptional. It is based on the decades of study and practical learning undertaken by Fr. McDonagh and demonstrates yet another way that we can help achieve the Government’s goal of helping establish a Fourth-Level Ireland with this pioneering step in higher education. We want to underpin the development of a world-class system for masters/PhD training in Ireland by confirming that our rapidly expanding graduate-student cohort is being trained to the very highest international standards. Only France has a similar legal framework to recognise such outstanding achievement in learning and scholarship outside the confines of a third level institution and I am very pleased that Fr. Seán is the first recipient of PhD degree in this format having undergone a very rigorous assessment and validation process by HETAC and then having had to defend his conclusions viva voce in a public examination.”

Mr. Puirséil added, “The Government has made it clear that the case for seeking to enhance the standing and quality of Ireland's higher education system is absolutely compelling. It can be made from a range of broad social and cultural perspectives. It can be made in the interests of promoting active citizenship. It can be made in the interests of supporting every individual to fulfill their personal potential in life. And it can be made for the very critical importance of higher education in supporting Ireland's economic development objectives in the global knowledge era.

“A high performing third and fourth level system is an essential element of our national infrastructure as we seek to lay the foundations for future success. HETAC has been to the forefront with third level institutions in helping drive the need to respond to that challenge. If Ireland's ambitions for social and economic success are to be met in the complex and fast changing world of the 21st century, we need ambitious and innovative thinkers such as Fr. McDonagh and on behalf of HETAC, I heartily congratulate him on his achievement.”

FOR FURTHER DETAILS:
Séamus Puirséil, HETAC Chief Executive, 087 247 6811 or
Conall Ó Móráin, The Media Group, 087 246 3111

ABOUT HETAC
HETAC’s role is to support and maintain a national framework of qualifications in Ireland. It is the national awarding body for higher education and training awards outside the university sector. HETAC also sets standards, accredits, monitors and evaluates quality assurance in higher education programmes.

The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) today (September 25th) announced preliminary results of a survey on research skills needs which shows that Institutes of Technology are well equiped to support students in their ambitions to continue with their studies at Masters and PhD levels in their home institute. ..

HETAC survey finds Institutes of Technology well equipped to support research

- HETAC Chief Executive calls for greater use of the sector’s research capacity

The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) today (September 25th) announced preliminary results of a survey on research skills needs which shows that Institutes of Technology are well equipped to support students in their ambitions to continue with their studies at Masters and PhD levels in their home institute.

The survey also found that a particularly strong bond exists between the student and the supervisor in this sector. The survey findings highlight a strong convergence of their views of the conditions necessary for the creation of the right environment for the conduct of research.

Ipsos MORI were commissioned by HETAC to conduct analysis on the results of a Skills Training Requirements survey. This survey was conducted by HETAC with the support of the Institutes of Technology. The aim of this research was to inform initiatives to enhance the quality of training provided to postgraduate (Masters and PhDs) degree students. Related research obtained employer perspectives on skills needs by organising several focus groups.

The survey results were presented to and discussed at a Colloquium on Research Skills Needs hosted by HETAC in Dublin for key decision makers in the sector. The keynote address at the colloquium was delivered by Professor Malcolm McCrae from the University of Warwick in England and Chairman of the UK Council for Graduate Education.

As well as hearing of UK experience in this area, the colloquium analysed and took stock of research students’ skills needs and the learning opportunities that are available, identified any gaps that exist and agreed on possible actions for the continuing enhancement of research degree programmes.

Researchers within the Institutes of Technology expressed the hope that the next phase of research funding due to be announced shortly by the Higher Education Authority will result in substantially increased financial support for research within their institutions.

Opening the colloquium, the Chief Executive of HETAC, Séamus Puirséil said:

“Recent international peer review evaluations carried out by HETAC have confirmed the capacity of Institutes of Technology to play a key role in realising the ambitious targets recently set by the Government in the Strategy for Science and Technology and Innovation 2006-2013”

“The preliminary findings of the survey are in line with the long held view of HETAC that Institutes of Technology are equipped to support students in their ambitions to continue with their studies in Masters and PhDs in their home institute. It is particularly rewarding to note the strong bond between the student and the supervisor which exists in this sector. The survey findings highlight a strong convergence of their views of the conditions necessary for the creation of the right environment for the conduct of research.”

He further noted:

“HETAC deliberately convened this event at a time when research and innovation in higher education are being promoted at the highest political level. This survey and the attendance at today’s colloquium demonstrate to all that the Institutes of Technology have created and are committed to the continual enhancement of learning environments. Such commitment is vital to the promotion of good practice research methodologies which can be applied to research in the real world. While Directors of these institutes will continue to serve the many national priorities set for them, I again call on all those committed to promoting research and innovation to look to this sector for both leading and collaborating in the research opportunities.”

“The range of careers open to research degree graduates is much wider than it used to be. Accordingly, research graduates (Masters and PhDs) in addition to the traditionally valued research skills, specialist knowledge, creativity and imagination need to acquire a broad range of general skills for life and work under headings such as personal effectiveness, communication skills, networking, team-working and career management.”

Further information:
Séamus Puirséil, Chief Executive, HETAC 087 2476811 / 01 6314567
Dr Peter Cullen, Head of Research and Policy Analysis, HETAC, 01 6314567
Roy Dooney, The Media Group, 01 2301815 / 087 2414165

Note to editors:
HETAC (The Higher Education and Training Awards Council is a public body established under the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999 to establish and maintain a national framework of qualifications in Ireland. It is the national awarding body for higher education and training awards outside the university sector. HETAC also sets standards, accredits, monitors and evaluates quality assurance in higher education programmes.

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Validation Board passes International Panel Assessment...

Press Release: HETAC GETS FULL MARKS

Validation Board Passes International Panel Assessment

HETAC, (Higher Education and Training Awards Council), which is the national awarding body for higher education and training awards outside the university sector, has ‘performed effectively in its principal statutory functions since its establishment (in 2001) and has developed policies and procedures for each function which are being implemented and will be operated as appropriate’, according to an international assessment panel.

Prof. William Smyth, President Emeritus of NUI Maynooth chaired the assessment board, whose other members:
• Marion Coy, Director, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Galway.
• Steven D. Crow, Executive Director, The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Chicago, Illinois
• Revd. Darren McCallig, former Education Officer, Union of Students in Ireland
• Dr. Angelika Schade, Chancellor, Fachhochschule im Deutschen Roten Kreuz, Germany and former Managing Director, German Accreditation Council
• Dr. Norman Sharp, Director, Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, Glasgow
• Mr. David Parry, Higher Education Consultant (Secretary of the Review Team

The board in its assessment said that HETAC’s role within the Irish Higher Education Quality Network “…is another area where the Council’s (HETAC) leading role in European quality assurance development is acknowledged to the benefit of Irish higher education more generally”. Following the assessment HETAC has decided to embark on an advertising campaign aimed at school guidance teachers and employers to make them more aware of the HETAC brand and its international standing.

Welcoming the panel’s report Séamus Puirséil, HETAC chief executive, said, “This was a case of HETAC demonstrating an element of ‘do as I do, not as I say’. We are an assessment organisation and we chose to be assessed by an independent internationally recognised panel of experts in our field. I believe that HETAC may be the first agency of its type, worldwide, to have undergone this type of quality assurance review, which is in keeping with the Bologna Process adopted by 45 countries in 2005. It is a tribute to our staff that we have come out with flying colours and there are some very positive comments about the HETAC staff included in the report which is the kind of feedback one always likes to get.”

Other recommendations:

Arising from the recommendations of the review group HETAC has responded by posting programme accreditation notes on its website and it is hoped that previous accreditation notes will be added over time.

The panel commended the positive working relationship that operates between HETAC, FETAC and the NQAI. It pointed out to the potential overlap of operations between FETAC and HETAC at Level 6 of the National Framework of Qualifications where both bodies have powers to make awards, though the panel said it recognised the efforts that were being made by both sides to rectify the situation.

The panel recommended that the Council give urgent attention to the provision of initial and ongoing training to its reviewers.
Séamus Puirséil, chief executive of HETAC, was commended in the report for his involvement with the European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA).

HETAC has granted delegation of authority to make awards to the following Institutes of Technology: The Institute of Technology, Tallaght The Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown ..

The Higher Education and Training Awards Council has granted delegation of authority to make awards to the following Institutes of Technology:

The Institute of Technology, Tallaght

The Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown

All awards granted by the institutes under delegation of authority will be on the National Framework of Qualifications, ensuring recognition and eligibility for progression for the students that receive them. The delegation results from evaluations of the institutes conducted by HETAC. The institutes were evaluated by a panel of experts appointed by HETAC. The evaluations were undertaken against strict criteria and the successful outcome for the institutes was agreed with the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, as part of the process.

In welcoming this latest development, Séamus Puirséil, Chief Executive of HETAC, congratulated the two institutes on their achievement, and acknowledged that they have been maturing in their academic achievements since their establishment. He also commended the institutes on their substantial contribution to Irish higher education in general and to their respective communities in particular.

Each of the thirteen Institutes of Technology have delegated authority to make awards. HETAC sees this delegation as an important step in an evolutionary process, underpinned by the Qualifications Act, which recognises the need for third level education institutions to take ownership of quality assurance and the achievement and maintenance of the highest academic standards

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Joint Award - Cork Institute of Technology in Ireland and the University of Applied Science in Darmstadt (Fachhochschule Darmstadt), Germany...

In April 2005 Cork Institute of Technology in Ireland and the University of Applied Science in Darmstadt (Fachhochschule Darmstadt), Germany, signed a Franchise Agreement which allowed CIT's BA (Hons) in Multimedia to be delivered under franchise in the University in Darmstadt.

Work has been underway to transform this programme into a Joint Award, and on June 8th 2006 the Director of CIT, Dr. Brendan J. Murphy, and the President of the University of Applied Science, Darmstadt, Prof. Dr. Maria Overbeck-Larisch, signed a Consortium Agreement to this effect, in the presence of Séamus Puirséil, Chief Executive of HETAC, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council, Ireland.

The new Joint Award, accredited under HETAC, is rare in Europe in that it will allow for seamless transfer of students between the two institutions over the duration of the four-year undergraduate programme. The course will be delivered through English and with common content in both centres.

HETAC link up with UK body "...will help identify fraudulent awarding bodies or accrediting agencies across UK and Ireland." .

HETAC, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council, and UK body, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA), has today (6th June 2006) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate and collaborate on quality assurance matters in higher education.

According to Séamus Puirséil, chief executive of HETAC, “One of the areas of cooperation will be in the identification of fraudulent awarding bodies or accrediting agencies which may adversely affect the reputation of higher education awards and institutions in the UK and Ireland. Both QAA and HETAC recognise the importance of reducing the burden of review on higher education institutions. Today’s agreement, which takes immediate effect, will see QAA and HETAC work towards establishing a strategic alliance to enhance the operation of external quality assurance in both jurisdictions and improve the quality of higher education in the UK and Ireland.”

Peter Williams, Chief Executive of QAA, said: 'Today's signing will establish closer relations with HETAC and means that we can work not only for the mutual benefit of both organisations but also to reduce the demands placed on higher education institutions in both our jurisdictions. We very much look forward to cooperating with HETAC'.

QAA HETAC Memo of U photo.jpg
Peter Williams, QAA and Séamus Puirséil, CE, HETAC

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The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) today (29th May 2006)
presented the Munster Rugby Academy with a quality assurance certificate recognising that the Academy’s procedures meet the standards laid down by the Council for the Academy to shortly seek validation of its Diploma in Professional Rugby programme at Level 7 on the National Framework of Qualifications. A bachelor degree is also placed at Level 7.

The aim of the Munster Academy is to develop quality rugby players to play for the province – the current European champions. The Academy is a non-profit training institute charged with the development of young and emerging talent from schools rugby. The three year, part-time, Academy programme develops the student in all areas of sporting competences whilst affording him time to fulfil his academic ambitions. All Academy players are also in third level education or a trade apprenticeship. The Academy programme began in 2004 and takes on up to seven players each September. It will have 20 students from July 1st this year.

Players in the Academy aim to become professionals with Munster. To advance these prospects, the Diploma programme provides players with the mental and physical skills, information and supports to adapt to the professional game and become accomplished professional players.

To qualify for entry onto the programme, a player must have the potential to play senior international rugby and be willing to undertake and complete the programme. Munster Rugby’s elite player development programme monitors potentially suitable players from under 16 level upwards and Academy participants are recruited through a talent identification programme, an interview and a full medical and musculoskeletal examination.

On completion of the programme, players will be competent and have gained sufficient knowledge in all components of rugby – rugby technical, tactical, generic, fitness, lifestyle and psychological skills. This involves continuous assessments and monitoring progress while they are involved in the programme.

The Academy operates from both Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa in Cork and the University of Limerick. It is managed by Hamish Adams, a former provincial player in New Zealand, a Masters degree holder in sports psychology and former head coach with Dolphin RFC.

Making the announcement, Séamus Puirséil, Chief Executive of HETAC said:

“With the success of Munster, and the development of rugby generally, a professional career is a steadily growing option for a small number of elite sports people. However, we also recognise that it is not a long term career, which is why we have worked closely with the Munster Academy to develop quality procedures that help players prepare for alternative career paths and develop rounded skills. This gives players additional career opportunities when retiring from the game or if, for whatever reason, a professional career does not materialise or is suddenly ended.”

“The Munster Academy has developed a world class, holistic programme that addresses the fitness, rugby, lifestyle and psychological needs of the young elite players that will undertake the programme. It has also put in place the teaching and administrative supports to ensure that the content of the curriculum is world class in both sporting and educational terms”.

Munster Chief Executive Garrett Fitzgerald added: "I would like to compliment the hard work undertaken by everyone associated with Munster Rugby - but particularly Hamish Adams and Donal Lenihan, our Academy chairman- for preparing the way towards applying for this award. Since the advent of professionalism, there has been an increased onus not just on performances on the field but on how players behave off it. It is vital that players receive the best all-round education to develop their personal as well as their playing skills. I believe that if we achieve this award - with its wide and varied curriculum – it will help to nurture the future stars of the Munster and Ireland senior panels."

Munster Rugby 3.jpg

Note to editors:
HETAC (The Higher Education and Training Awards Council is a public body established under the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999 to establish and maintain a national framework of qualifications in Ireland. It is the national awarding body for higher education and training awards outside the university sector. HETAC also sets standards, accredits, monitors and evaluates quality assurance in higher education programmes.

Munster Rugby is the governing body of rugby football in the Province of Munster. Its aim is to encourage the playing of rugby and to ensure that adequate facilities are available for persons wishing to play rugby in the Province.

Speaking at a ceremony in Dublin today (Wednesday 5 April), Mr Séamus Puirséil, Chief Executive of HETAC, presented Tipperary Institute with a Certificate of Quality Assurance Agreement. Mr Puirséil congratulated Tipperary Institute on their achievement and noted that the Certificate of Quality Assurance Agreement and said, "The QA certificate marked an important milestone in the development of the Institute that guarantees, as much as possible, the quality of education that students can receive at the Institute".

Tipperary Institute Chief Executive Padraig Culbert who along with Director of Development and Academic Affairs Professor Gary Prosser accepted the Certificate said "The Institute is a dynamic higher education, development and research centre that strives to provide the best education possible for its students. We chose to seek the QA certificate as further validation of the excellent work that is being done by our staff here. We also wanted the students to know the education they are receiving is second to none - and that's guaranteed!"

The Institute is unique in Europe in its integration of third level education with rural community and business development programmes. The Institute provides a range of HETAC accredited Honours Degree programmes including Business Studies, eBusiness, Rural Development, Multimedia and Communications, and Software Development.

The Institute's academic programmes provide easy access to third-level education for people of the region as well as providing specialised and focused programmes of study for students from all over Ireland and overseas. Students benefit from superb education facilities, very affordable and high quality accommodation, and a wealth of social and sporting amenities.

Tipp Inst signing.jpg

Séamus Puirséil, Chief Executive and Mary Sheridan of HETAC present the certificate to the Chief Executive of Tipperary Institute, Padraig Culbert and Director of Development and Academic Affairs Gary Prosser

Six people who have all made a significant contribution to Irish educational, cultural and economic life are to be awarded honorary doctorates of law (LL.D) by HETAC, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council, at a conferring ceremony to be held at the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin on Monday 3rd April at 6.15pm

Those to be conferred include Louden Ryan, professor emeritus of Economics at Trinity College Dublin, whose seminal book on price theory, first published in 1958, has been widely acclaimed. Professor Ryan has had an illustrious career in the Public Service as Chair of the National Planning Board as well as Chair of the National Prices Commission.

Veronica Dunne is a distinguished singer and music teacher who has been a Principal Teacher of Vocal and Dramatic studies at the College of Music (Dublin) – now the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama. Veronica has been a director of the National Concert Hall and is recognised as the driving force behind the many young singers who have, over the years, reached the world stage.

Jim Dorney, General Secretary of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland, was a teacher and has been a trade union official for most of his working life. He has represented teachers in second level schools as well as the teaching staff in the Institutes of Technology dealing with further and higher education. Jim has been a member of many Government Agencies including the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland.

Seán Creamer was a primary teacher and a senior music inspector. He has done trojan work when, in 1985, he enlisted the support of primary teachers in establishing the National Children’s Choir. Since then more than 70,000 children have sung some 150 songs from the stage of the National Concert Hall. Seán Creamer’s contribution to the promotion of singing at school level on a nationwide basis has been recognised when he was awarded the Charlemagne Medal of the European Parliament in 2003.

Seán Ó Sé is a noted singer, teacher and lover of the Irish language. He has been a primary teacher in various schools and a Principal Teacher of Scoil Mhuire, Knocknaheeney on the northside of Cork City. Having studied speech training at the Cork School of Music Seán worked with the late Seán Ó Riada and many remember him for his rendering of “An Poc ar Buile” first recorded with backing from Ó Riada. He is also recognised as singing the definitive versions of other popular songs including “The Banks of my own Lovely Lee”, “Bhí Bean Uasal”, and “Táimse im’Chodhladh”.

Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh is a household name for his unique sports commentaries on RTE of GAA games and greyhound racing. His flow of information plays on the man as much as the ball and offers as much a social history of the games and their players as much as the games themselves. Micheál, a former teacher at Scoil Uí Chonaill he was also one time Cathaoirleach of Bord na Gaeilge as well as Cathaoirleach of the Irish language schools grouping, Gaelscoileanna.

The Ministers for Education of the European Higher Education Area meeting in Bergen in May 2005 adopted standards and guidelines for quality assurance in higher education. They also committed themselves to a model of peer review for quality assurance agencies on a national basis. The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) is being reviewed under the provisions of the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act, 1999 and as candidate for membership of the Register of External Quality Assurance Agencies operating in Europe. The initial step in the review of HETAC is this self-evaluation.

In December last HETAC invited persons and organisations wishing to comment on how effectively HETAC has performed these or any other of its functions since its establishment in June 2001 are invited to do submit their views. These submissions form a major part of this self-evaluation study.
The next stage of the review will comprise a site visit by the review team comprising:

* Marion Coy, Director, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Galway.
* Steven D. Crow, Executive Director, The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Chicago, Illinois
* Revd. Darren McCallig, former Education Officer, Union of Students in Ireland
* Dr. Angelika Schade, Chancellor, Fachhochschule im Deutschen Roten Kreuz, Germany and former Managing Director, German Accreditation Council
* Dr. Norman Sharp, Director, Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, Glasgow
* Dr. Seamus Smyth (Chair of Panel), President Emeritus, NUI Maynooth
* Mr. David Parry, Higher Education Consultant (Secretary of the Review Team)

The site visit will take place on 26-29 March 2006.

When completed the report of the review team will be published by HETAC.
The full terms of reference for the review, which is being carried out under the auspices of the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, can be found on our website at … Terms of Reference

The first 27 graduates of a ground breaking, cross border MSc programme in Innovation Management in the Public Service were conferred today (Wed 3rd May) at a ceremony in Dublin Castle that was attended by the President, Mrs. Mary McAleese. All graduates were high-ranking civil servants, 13 of them from the Republic and 14 from Northern Ireland.

The University of Ulster and the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) granted today’s degrees jointly. All candidates had completed a programme of study in Innovation Management in the Public Service at the University of Ulster and at Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT). The course was developed in collaboration with the Office of An Taoiseach and the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister at Stormont in response to the challenge to deliver more and better public services online. It was designed to meet the needs of high-ranking public servants in the implementation of e-Government initiatives in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Commenting at the graduation, Séamus Puirséil, Chief Executive of HETAC, said, "According to a recent survey by online consultants Elucidate (www.elucidate.ie) a third of internet users in the Republic have used a government or public service in the very recent past, with a large number of these people using both the Revenue and the Motor Tax sites. As these types of services grow and develop far more of the public’s interaction with the wider public service will be through the net and the timing of this degree course which will help the public service to stay at the very forefront of internet based services, is excellent.

“This programme is also an excellent example of cross-border co-operation at it is the first Masters level course to be submitted for joint accreditation by HETAC and a university outside the State and is in keeping with the territories’ commitment for the entire island to develop a system of higher education as part of a coherent and cohesive European Higher Education Area by 2010.”

"Emphasis on research has become a mantra for many, but not everyone understands why it is so important" Séamus Puirséil, HETAC

"All Institutes of Higher Education and indeed the higher education system as a whole needs to urgently review their approach to doctoral (PhD) education", according to Séamus Puirséil, Chief Executive of HETAC (Higher Education and Training Award Council).

Speaking in Sligo today, (FRIDAY 10th February) at the signing of an order granting the Sligo Institute of Technology the power to grant certain doctoral degrees, Mr. Puirséil said, "As we move up the economic value chain, which is government policy, we have to be careful that we don't lose focus and concentrate our research efforts too widely. We should concentrate on what we are good at."

He added, "We do have world-class knowledge in areas from IT to food and if we use this knowledge tied in with our growing research capabilities then this can help maintain Ireland's competitiveness. This country succeeds when we play to our strengths. But to maximise our research strengths we have to be far more serious about how much money we spend on R&D, especially the amounts being committed by the private sector. It's worth noting that at present Ireland's entire research spending is less than the budget of a major multinational".

"Though this emphasis on research has become a mantra for many, not everyone understands why it's so important. As the highly influential Roberts Report, 'SET for Success', pointed out 'Continuous innovation is key to the future survival and growth of businesses operating in what are increasingly competitive global markets. Although not all innovation is based on scientific R&D, the need for human ingenuity in making discoveries and creating new products, services or processes means that the success of R&D is critically dependent upon the availability and talent of scientists and engineers.'"

Mr. Puirséil said, "It is important to appreciate that in science and engineering, doctoral education is necessary for the development of the highest level of skills particularly in the 'high-technology' fields. And of course innovation - that is the successful exploitation of new ideas - is not only driven by science and technology but also by design, the arts and humanities.
Taking the view that quality and relevance of graduates is primary leads to important consequences for research policy. It suggests that emphasis must be placed on the quality, relevance and diversity of research degree programmes and on the general environment for early-stage researchers. These are issues that need to be tackled at the highest levels".

"Many countries are now moving away from the exclusively 'apprenticeship model' to more structured provision of doctoral programmes (apprenticeship + advanced study + transferable skills) for the purpose of improving quality and reducing completion times). Research activity needs to be spatially distributed to support the regions - but research infrastructural support must be concentrated, in order to yield the most effective results. This presents a very significant - but not unique - challenge for Ireland where scientific research activity in the university sector and the institute of technology sector is constrained by the fragmentation of resources (human and capital)"

In conclusion Mr. Puirséil said, "It is important to encourage the Institutes of Technology in building their 'applied research' capacity and to provide specific funding mechanisms to support this. However, in some fields in science and engineering this distinction between basic and applied research is not meaningful, practical or appropriate. Restriction of activity to 'applied' areas is difficult to reconcile with the realities of the research process, the principle of academic freedom (of the student) and the sustainability of research activity".

"If Ireland aspires to be in the upper quartile of OECD countries, then these countries determine the threshold quality that must be achieved by its knowledge organizations. Quality of higher education begins with the quality of the academic staff. Richard Herman stated that: 'Institutional excellence is always created in local contexts, arising from local opportunities and fit to local challenges'.

HETAC's policy on research has been designed from the outset to foster international quality. It has established an innovative policy of accrediting specific discipline areas that encourages institutions to focus on research strengths".

IT Sligo.jpg
The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern with Col Joe Cox at the announcement of the delegation of authority for the Institute of Technology, Sligo.

HETAC's role is to support and maintain a national framework of qualifications in Ireland. It is the national awarding body for higher education and training awards outside the university sector. HETAC also sets standards, accredits, monitors and evaluates quality assurance in higher education programmes.

Commenting on the move, Séamus Puirséil, Chief Executive of HETAC said, "The Institute of Technology in Sligo has once again shown its leadership in academic standards in attaining the right to make doctoral awards. I congratulate the Institute's director, Dr Richard Thorn, and the staff and students of Sligo on this significant achievement. World-class applied research to doctoral standard is key to ensuring the continued growth of the Irish economy, in particular in areas such as engineering and the environment and after today's announcement Sligo has shown that it will be playing its part in the country's future development."

HETAC awards qualifications at all levels of higher education and training up to PhD level.

HETAC’s main functions include:

- Setting standards for higher education and training awards
- Validation/accreditation of higher education and training programmes
- Monitoring of institutional quality assurance procedures
- Delegation of awarding powers to recognised institutions
- Ensuring that student assessment procedures are fair and consistent
- Ensuring that arrangements are in place in commercial education and training institutions to protect learners
where programmes validated by HETAC cease to be provided.

Persons and organisations wishing to comment on how effectively HETAC has performed these or any other of its functions since its establishment in June 2001 are invited to do so in writing, by e-mail to review@hetac.ie or through our website at review , before January 23rd, 2006.

The full terms of reference for the review, which is being carried out under the auspices of the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, can be found on our website... Terms of Reference.

The OECD Report published last year will have a major influence on shaping education policy in the years ahead. While the report had many positive elements, I believe that there was too much focus in it on third level education rather than as higher education. We must remember that higher education encompasses third level (up to Bachelor degrees); fourth level (post graduate degrees) and fifth level (post doctoral studies).

It is critical for our economic performance that we radically expand the number of doctoral students in Ireland. The OECD sought a doubling by 2010. In science, mathematics and engineering, doctoral education is necessary for the development of the highest level of skills.

I understand that consultants are currently working on a submission to Government suggesting the establishment of graduate schools as part of a new fourth level in Irish education. If there is to be funding for graduate schools in Irish education then this is very welcome. However, these resources should be available to all institutes of higher education and not confined to any select group.

I look forward to HETAC and all of our accredited institutions participating fully in the preparation and discussion of any proposals in this area.

Finally perhaps that most important aspect of the OECD report is that it should serve as instrument for a major debate in Ireland on higher education – a debate that should be driven by our paymasters – the taxpayers of Ireland.

It is interesting to observe how involved parents are with their children’s education at primary and secondary levels. It is right that their involvement should be different in terms of the higher education of their adult off-spring – however they must be involved.

Those of us working in higher education must listen to the concerns of taxpayers in determining the type of higher education we provide. They must have an input into determining how much resources should be allocated to higher education and the proportion of that which should be spent directly on the higher education of their daughters and sons.

Further information:
Roy Dooney, The Media Group, 087 2414165 / 01 2755975
Professor Ciaran Murphy, Professor of Business Information Systems, UCC, 021 4903331 / 086 1732053

The aim of the Leinster Academy is to develop quality rugby players to play for Leinster. The Academy is a non-profit training institute charged with the development of young and emerging talent from schools rugby. The three year, part-time, Academy programme develops the student in all areas of sporting competences whilst affording him time to fulfil his academic ambitions. All Academy players are also in third level education or a trade apprenticeship. The Academy programme began in 2004 and takes on seven players each September. It currently has twenty students.

Players in the Academy aim to become professionals with Leinster, or other professional sides in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, France or Italy. To advance these prospects, the Diploma programme provides players with the mental and physical skills, information and supports to adapt to the professional game and become accomplished professional players.

To qualify for entry onto the programme, a player must have the potential to play senior international rugby and be willing to undertake and complete the programme. Leinster Rugby's elite player development programme monitors potentially suitable players from under 16 level upwards and Academy participants are recruited through a talent identification programme, an interview and a full medical and musculoskeletal examination.

On completion of the programme, players will be competent and have gained sufficient knowledge in all components of rugby - rugby technical, tactical, generic, fitness, lifestyle and psychological skills. This involves continuous assessments and monitoring progress while they are involved in the programme.
The Academy operates from its own offices adjacent to the Leinster Professional Team offices at Anglesea Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 and is managed by Colin McEntee an ex-representative player.

Making the announcement, Séamus Puirséil, Chief Executive of HETAC said:

"A professional career is a steadily growing option for a small number of elite sports people. However, we also recognise that it is not a long term career, which is why we have worked closely with the Leinster Academy to help players prepare for alternative career paths and develop rounded skills. This gives players additional career opportunities when retiring from the game or if, for whatever reason, a professional career does not materialise or is suddenly ended."

"The Leinster Academy has developed a world class, holistic programme that addresses the fitness, rugby, lifestyle and psychological needs of the young elite players that will undertake the programme. It has also put in place the teaching and administrative supports to ensure that the content of the curriculum is world class in both sporting and educational terms".

Leinster Chief Executive Mick Dawson added: "I would like to compliment the hard work undertaken by everyone associated with Leinster Rugby - but particularly Conor Hanratty and Colin McEntee - for achieving this ground-breaking award. Since the advent of professionalism, there has been an increased onus not just on performances on the field but on how players behave off it. It is vital that players receive the best all-round education to develop their personal as well as their playing skills. I believe that this Award - with its wide and varied curriculum - will help to nurture the future stars of the Leinster and Ireland senior panels."

World class validation of the country's first Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Performance has been announced by HETAC at a launch in Dublin today (Wednesday 24th August). The course, which will be offered in the Newpark Music Centre in Blackrock, County Dublin is the first non-classical undergraduate music performance course in Ireland.

Making the announcement, Séamus Puirséil, Chief Executive of HETAC said: 'Jazz performance degrees are now common in the US and throughout the EU. Our job at HETAC is to ensure that this course matches the best in the world so that students will be assured that their degree will be professionally recognised around the world, where hopefully many of the future graduates will play. All of the subjects in the course are designed to train young musicians to the highest international standards and to fully equip them to work in the world of contemporary music in Ireland and abroad'.

The BA in Jazz Performance (BAJP) will cover a wide range of musical techniques including performance, instrumental technique, improvisation, composition, computer music, aural training, arranging and pedagogical studies. As music is a central component of the rapidly growing entertainment industry which now offers diverse career choices to a large number of Irish students the course aims to provide a liberal arts education in music and covers many different areas and will give participants the skills necessary to operate in a wide area of contemporary music, not just jazz.

The Jazz Department of the Newpark Music Centre is staffed by some of the finest performers and teachers on the Irish jazz scene and is an affiliate school of the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, the biggest music school in the world and a pioneer in jazz education techniques. The Newpark Music Centre is also a founder member of the International Association of Schools of Jazz, which will allow the Centre to give BAJP students access to master classes by internationally recognised teachers and performers and exposure to the latest techniques in the study of jazz performance.

Mr Emerson, who will be 94 in August, received his MA in recognition of his outstanding achievement in learning and scholarship outside the confines of a third level institution. He has lived a life that has been remarkably full of practical and intellectual achievement.

· He founded and is the curator of the Donegal County Museum in Rossnowlagh
· He has a deep knowledge of local and military history and is an expert on the Spanish Armada wrecks off the coasts of Donegal and Sligo.
· He has recently begun a new research project into the life of Bishop Count Edward O’Rourke, born in Poland in 1876 who was apostolic administrator of Gdansk before the Second World War and a member of a distinguished Irish family who had fled Ireland after the Battle of Kinsale and ultimately became large landowners near Minsk in what is now Belarus.

His father died when Lucius was a boy from the after effects of being on hunger strike in Belfast during the War of Independence. Lucius became a highly proficient poacher in east Galway to help feed his family.

After winning a scholarship to St Jarlath’s College in Tuam in 1927, Lucius studied carpentry and woodwork and began a teaching career in Ballyshannon and Stranorlar that lasted for 40 years from 1936 to 1976. He was Headmaster of Ballyshannon Vocational School for 27 years.

Throughout his long teaching career, Emerson broadened his knowledge and range of skills through a wide range of courses and studies that included woodcarving, cabinet making, art and antiquities and oil painting. He is now an accomplished landscape painter.

As a younger man, Lucius was an officer in the FCA where he trained military shooting teams. A fluent Irish speaker, Lucius is now learning Spanish in advance of hosting thirty Spanish students in Donegal next month on an educational tour of the county.

Commenting on the unique MA award the Chief Executive of HETAC, Séamus Puirseil said: “The remarkable, distinguished academic and scholarly achievements of Lucius Emerson are worthy of formal recognition and I am very pleased that HETAC is conferring this degree on him. Only France has a similar legal framework to recognise such outstanding achievement in learning and scholarship outside the confines of a third level institution and I am very pleased that Lucius is the first recipient of an MA degree having undergone a very rigorous assessment and validation process by HETAC”.

The Chief Executive of HETAC (Higher Education and Training Awards Council), Mr.Séamus Puirséil, has said that it is a serious waste to European economies when highly qualified immigrants have to work at low-level jobs. This, he said, was largely due to the lack of appropriate mechanisms throughout the EU to recognise these peoples' formal, but foreign qualifications.

Mr. Puirséil who was speaking at the 12th Joint Meeting of ENIC-NARIC Networks(an EU/Council of Europe/UNESCO body for qualification recognition), in Dublin Castle today, where he called for targeted activity by all European Qualification Recognition Agencies to put in place proper and transparent processes, which would see flexible recognition mechanisms in place within a maximum period of 2 years.

He added, "If Ireland is to effectively bridge the skills gap - predicted to grow to 100,000 by 2010, mechanisms to encourage immigration by highly qualified people from other countries are necessary. Chief among these are flexible visa arrangements and appropriate and rapid qualification recognition processes. These are the essential tools that will allow employers target workers with the required skills from other countries to fill the growing gap that we cannot fill from our own population."

"When we invite people to work in Ireland, we have a moral and legal obligation to recognise their qualifications" - Séamus Puirseil, Chief Executive of The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC)

HETAC is pleased to announce that by the end of this year there will be full recognition of Chinese higher education qualifications in Ireland. The move should open up the Irish employment market to qualified Chinese workers and should bring immense benefits to Irish employers and the Irish economy.

Making the announcement today (Thursday 2nd June, 12:30 pm) at the European Consortium of Accreditation summer workshop in Dublin, Séamus Puirseil, Chief Executive of HETAC said, "The Irish were treated with great generosity of spirit when they went abroad to live and work. Now there is an obligation on us to show the same generosity to the thousands of workers from abroad who are coming here.

Our economic prosperity has created great wealth and a demand for labour that cannot be met from our own population. The new entrants to our workforce from overseas are a valuable asset to our economy and society. But they must not be confined to menial or low level jobs when they have qualifications that will increase their earning potential and career development."

Mr. Puirseil continued, "A laboratory technician from Poland or a nurse from Latvia, for example, should not be confined to low paid, repetitive employment in Ireland because their qualifications are not recognised. People should not come to Ireland and be forced into the sort of jobs we are not prepared to do. If foreign workers have qualifications, they are entitled to do the jobs they are qualified for.

We have a moral and legal obligation to help people from countries less well off than Ireland to maximise their personal development and use their skills to the highest level. It is an obligation on all of us - as a country and as individuals. Their qualifications and skills from their home country must be recognised. I am very pleased that HETAC, in cooperation with the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland and our partners throughout Europe, are delivering mutual recognition agreements to make this possible through developing a European Higher Education area and an overarching Qualifications Framework. The ongoing commitment of the Department of Education and Science and the personal interest of Ministers Hanafin and de Valera in this subject is also very significant."

Strengthening the value of accreditation and recogniotion
At the ECA workshop, delegates also approved a joint principle paper on the future value of accreditation in higher education in Europe. The ECA is convinced that the importance of accreditation in higher education will continue to gain ground. The members of ECA believe that mutual recognition of accreditation decisions will contribute to the recognition of qualifications in higher education and the mobility of students in Europe. It will also make life easier for institutions and study programmes operating across borders.

From Berlin 2003 to Bergen 2005 – ECA background
Under the Bologna process the Berlin ministers’ conference called for the development of mutually recognised guidelines, criteria and methods of quality assurance. To meet this requirement, the European Consortium for Accreditation was founded in November 2003. ECA is a union of national accreditation authorities. It was founded with the aim of regulating, in a unified way, the work of accreditation organisations in Europe thus creating the prerequisite for future cross-border recognition of national accreditation decisions.

ECA is a project organsiation and the members consider that the goal of “mutual recognition of accreditation decisions” should be reached by 2007 at the latest. The first interim results of the consortium were presented at the ECA annual workshop in Zurich 2-3 December 2004. The results of the ECA workshop will be revised in preparation for the conference of education ministers from 40 European countries in Bergen, Norway, and made available to the European Bologna Follow-up Group. OAQ, represented by its director Dr Rolf Heusser, will take over as chair of ECA in 2005. The consortium is administered through the Netherlands/Flanders accreditation agency NVAO.

Accreditation involves a formal and transparent quality assessment procedure which uses defined and internationally-compatible standards to assess whether higher education institutions and their programmes meet minimum quality requirements.

Further information at www.ecaconsortium.net European Consortium for Accreditation in Higher Education (ECA).

signing2.jpg

The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) will confer the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa on Sir Timothy Berners-Lee at a ceremony in Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts with an internet link up to HETAC’s headquarters in Denzille Lane, Dublin 2 on Monday 18 October 2004 at 10 am US time (3pm Irish time). The ceremony can
be viewed from 5 pm on the day at www.hetac.ie/bernerslee.

In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee, an Englishman, invented the World Wide Web to allow researchers with disparate computing systems to share information through a new environment that combined Internet-based protocols with a new type of hypertext document language. Instead of commercialising his work, he made the software freely available on the Internet in 1991. By so doing he increased the possibilities of the Internet, making information gathering and sharing easier for millions of people across the globe.

To ensure the Web remains open and continues to evolve as a public good, Tim founded the World Wide Web Consortium, an organisation that develops and promotes standard technologies for the Web and encourages broad international participation from industry, educational institutions, researchers, advocacy groups and others.

In addition, he is currently the 3Com Founders Chair at the Laboratory for Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

For further information contact Tadhg Ó hÉalaithe at +353 87 242 8244

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To download the News Release please click here.... News release

Galway Mayo Institute of Technology,
Dundalk Institute of Technology,
Athlone Institute of Technology,
Institute of Technology, Tralee and
Letterkenny Institute of Technology.

To download the press release please click here... News release

The launch of the National Framework of Qualifications, in October 2003, set in train some major changes in the qualifications system. In line with the Framework blueprint, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) has undertaken a rapid transformation of its award system. From the Autumn of 2004 the programmes leading to new higher education awards under HETAC will be Higher Certificate, Ordinary Bachelors Degree and Honours Bachelors Degree.

To download a table illustrating the changes in the system that will affect entrants to higher education please click here,,, Equivalences Statement

The new HETAC Awards Structure, announced today, is a major step in providing Irish students with a system that recognises what they know and can do regardless of where or how they achieved their learning.

The new structure provides a major advance in enabling employers to assess the suitability of candidates for employment,” “All new awards have three main purposes that ensure their relevance to: personal development, employment and access to additional education and training” he said at the launch of the new awards structure today.

Students starting new programmes or continuing their studies in September next will be entitled to the new Higher Certificate, Ordinary Bachelor Degree and Honours Bachelor Degree when they graduate in 2005. Almost 20,000 new awards will be conferred for the first time in 2005.

All programmes leading to HETAC awards have been reviewed and reaccredited in line with the new standards set out in the National Framework of Qualifications. The standards are based on the new Learning Outcomes approach, which outlines the knowledge, skills and competences to be achieved by the students. Over five thousand academic staff in over 40 institutions took part in the reaccreditation exercise between February and June of this year.

Students receiving the new awards will also receive the new European Diploma Supplement. The Diploma Supplement gives a detailed breakdown of their learning achievements in a common format agreed for 40 European countries. The information provided on the supplement will make it easier to access employment and more advanced education opportunities both in Ireland and throughout Europe.

HETAC has placed all its former and existing awards in the National Framework. Existing awards such as the National Diploma and National Certificate will not be awarded after June 2006. The placement of these awards ensures that they are included in the National Framework, at a particular level, and they will continue to be recognised as valid awards in their own right.

The new structures are in line with the National Framework of Qualifications and will be fully compliant with the European Qualifications Framework, which will be announced by European Ministers for Education in May 2005.

Mr Puirséil was appointed Acting Director of the National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA) in November 1996 and was appointed as interim Chief Executive of HETAC when that body replaced the NCEA in June 2001.

Mr Puirséil holds a first class Honours MA Degree from UCD. A former teacher and past president of the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) he has served as a member of many public and other bodies particularly in the education area. These include the National Council for Educational Awards, the National Council for Vocational Awards, City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee, Dublin Institute of Technology, Further Education and Training Awards Council and Bord na Gaeilge. He is also Secretary of the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) and Vice President of the European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA). He is a former Chairman of the Association of Chief Executives of State Agencies and is currently a member of the Civil Service Performance Verification Group.

Mr Puirséil was awarded the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (Honoris Causa) in 2003 by Lynn University, Florida in recognition of his work in promoting higher education in Ireland.

HETAC today launched its new updated website. The new site was designed in compliance with the Official Languages Act. It will enable easier access to Council documents and will also facilitate consultation as outlined in the Government White Paper “Regulating Better” (http://www.betterregulation.ie). The new site forms part of the Council’s modernisation programme under Sustaining Progress (www.taoiseach.gov.ie/upload/SustProgagri.pdf).

The Council will welcome comments from stakeholders on the usefulness of the site. If you find any errors in the English or Irish text, please let us know (agraves@hetac.ie) and we will correct it.

The Council at its recent meeting adopted this initial suite of titles for named awards. Additional titles for named awards, outside these determinations, may be considered by the Council as appropriate. Additional titles for named awards may also arise in the context of the Council’s policy approach on credit and in the context of joint awards.

This initial suite of titles for named awards is available to download here Award Titles.

The Higher Education and Training Awards Council with the agreement of the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland has decided that the following awards will be placed on the National Framework of Qualifications at the levels indicated: -

* Level 6 – One-Year Certificate, Advanced Certificate, National Certificate
* Level 7 – National Diploma
* Level 8 – Bachelor Degree (3 and 4 year honours) and Graduate Diploma (conversion)
* Level 9 – Graduate Diploma (first stage of Masters) and Masters Degree
* Level 10 – Doctor of Philosophy

Willie Moloney The Council and staff of the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) express their sincere sympathy to Mary, Emmet, Liam, Ailbhe and Ronan Moloney on the unexpected death of Willie who has been a source of great support to HETAC and its predecessor the NCEA for many years.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

All approved programmes, therefore, must be demonstrated to be validated against the Council’s standards for framework awards before 10 June 2006. In this regard it should be noted that virtually all currently running programmes have already been validated against the tacit standards under pre-section 25 procedures.

Considering these things, the Council has established a transition process for determining if a programme that has been validated under section 21(4) against tacit standards may be considered to be validated, under section 25, against the published standard.

The process requires that each institution review each of its approved taught programmes against the interim standards for awards adopted by the Council. The outcome of the review should be reported to the Council. The report should describe the process of the review and provide evidence that will enable the Council to satisfy itself that a learner may attain the standard required for the purpose of an award made by the Council or relevant awarding body.

To facilitate both consistency and compliance the Council has devised a set of programme templates for each major award type on levels six to nine on the National Framework of Qualifications and these are set out below. The Council requests that this internal review process be completed by each Institution in respect of all taught programmes by the 19th March 2004 and that a template for each programme, and an overarching statement be submitted to the Council by each Institution on or before that date.

The Council will evaluate the evidence for validation in the following period and expects that it will complete the task by the end of May 2004. This will ensure that the new awards can be offered for the intake of September 2005.

In the case of research programmes providers need not complete the template but should return a list of those programmes with candidates that will be assessed against the framework-based standards.

The Templates for transition to new Awards are available to download in the Programme Validation Section of this site, please click here: Transition Templates.

The submission by HETAC to the OECD Review of Higher Education in Ireland is available to download here in pdf format:
» OECD - HETAC Submission

Speaking at the meeting Mr Puirséil congratulated the Director of Athlone Institute of Technology, Prof. Ciarán Ó Catháin, and his staff on their achievement. Mr Puirséil noted that the Certificate of Quality Assurance Agreement, which is awarded by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council, marked an important milestone in the development of the Institute stating that “The agreement of quality assurance is a crucial component in this Institute’s application for delegation of authority.”

The quality assurance procedures of Athlone Institute of Technology were submitted to HETAC by the Institute and reviewed by an international panel of quality assurance experts. Mr Puirséil informed the meeting that the panel were satisfied that the quality assurance procedures of Athlone Institute of Technology met with the highest national and international standards and were essential measures to ensure that Athlone Institute continue to offer excellence in higher education.

Athlone QA Cert4.jpg

John Cusack, Orlaith Mc Caul, Professor Ciarán Ó Catháin, Dr. Joseph Ryan , Seamus Puirséil, Austin Hanley, Marian Fitzgibbon, James Coyle

To download the presentation in pdf format please click here

The Ministers committed themselves to the following priorities for the next two years:

1. They will strenghten their efforts to promote effective quality assurance systems
2. Step up effective use of the system based on two cycles
3. Improve the recognition system of degrees and periods of studies

The Council will consider how HETAC can support this.

To view the Communiqué please click here...

The HETAC Partnership Committee has agreed the following Sustaining Progress Action Plan in accordance with the requirements of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF)

To view the Action Plan please click on the following link Sustaining_Progress

The Network, which held its 2004 biannual conference in April last in Dublin, is the representative body of higher education quality assurance agencies throughout the world.

About INQAAHE

The International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) was established in 1991.

The Role of the Network

The main purpose of the Network is to collect and disseminate information on current and developing theory and practice in the assessment, improvement and maintenance of quality in higher education. Through this information-sharing, and otherwise, it is intended that the Network should:

* promote good practices in the maintenance and improvement of quality in higher education;
* facilitate research into the practice of quality management in higher education and its effectiveness;
* be able to provide advice and expertise to assist the development of new quality assurance agencies;
* facilitate links between accrediting bodies especially insofar as they operate across national borders;
* assist members to determine the standards of institutions operating across national borders; permit better-informed international recognition of qualifications;
* be able to assist in the development and use of credit transfer schemes to enhance the mobility of students between institutions within and across national borders;
* and enable members to be alert to dubious accrediting practices and organisations.

"I am very pleased to present to the Director of the Institute of Technology Sligo, Dr Richard Thorn, a Certificate of Quality Assurance. This Certificate which is awarded by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council recognises that the academic systems and procedures of this Institute meet the highest international standards. This is the first occasion on which this certificate has been awarded.

The quality assurance procedures of IT Sligo were submitted to HETAC by the Institute and assessed by a top level international panel of experts and the Institute came through with flying colours.

It is particularly important that this certificate be awarded at this time. Two weeks ago the Minister for Education and Science, Mr Noel Dempsey TD, together with almost forty other European ministers for education, signed an agreement in Berlin stating that the establishment of high standards of quality assurance in higher education would be their top priority over the next two years. Dr Thorn and IT Sligo have today taken the lead on European Institutes and Universities in achieving that aim.

I congratulate them on their achievement."

HETAC's proposal for a one day workshop in Autumn 2003. The topic of the workshop will be "Policy foundations for the provision of quality higher education in Ireland" People interested in the Workshop are invited to send a paper proposal or to send in an expression of interest together with a brief biography to workshop2003@hetac.ie

To view the announcement please click on the following link. Workshop November 2003

Consultation Draft Document Validation process, policy and criteria for the accreditation of providers to maintain a register for a specified research degree in a specified discipline area.

This document was circulated to stakeholders and published here on the HETAC Website, seeking written submissions by Friday 20th December 2002. As an extension of the consultation process, the Council is holding a Consultative Forum to include interested persons and bodies, on Thursday 9th January, 2003 from 9am - 4pm in the Dublin Airport, Great Southern Hotel. Participants will represent a wide range of stakeholders. Further information can be obtained by email to pgresearch@hetac.ie

The following is the HETAC response

Introduction

The Higher Education and Training Awards Council welcomes the publication of this Discussion Paper on issues that are considered to be worthy of individual debate and discussion.

The Council looks forward to working with the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, other awarding bodies and in particular with the professional bodies and other stakeholders in arriving at the most appropriate and effective way of incorporating the awards of the professional bodies and international awards in the national framework of qualifications.

The Council is happy to respond to the questions as posed by the Authority’s paper. It does however wish to state that the fundamental concern of the education service must be with the interests of the learner rather then with the interests of professional and International bodies. In this regard the rights of the learner to access programmes, to appropriate progression, to opportunities for lifelong learning and to the protection of his or her interests are of fundamental importance.

Chapter 1 – Introduction

Do you agree with the rationale suggested for the inclusion of awards in the framework? Would you suggest that the rationale should be changed or further amended?

The Council in general agrees with and supports the rationale for the inclusion of the awards of professional bodies and international awards in the framework. The Council is acutely aware of the key role that such bodies have played, and continue to play, in the development of Irish society. The Council’s predecessor has a long established record of interaction with these bodies at a number of levels, in the course of the development, promotion and recognition of the extra-university sector. It is envisaged that the work of the Council in the future will involve, to an even greater extent, interaction with these bodies and the inclusion of their awards/qualifications in the national framework will be beneficial to all stakeholders in particular the learners.

The Council recognises that the Authority is obliged to facilitate these awards within the framework. State recognition for the awards of these bodies should ensure that the framework is comprehensive, coherent and as inclusive as possible. It will also help to establish the framework as the single, nationally and internationally accepted entity, through which all learning achievements may be measured, using standards, and related to each other in a coherent way. In stating this it is important that each award is provided with the security of maintaining its original aims and objectives and distinctiveness as regards learning outcomes.

Chapter Two - Range of Awarding Bodies

Q2. Do you agree with the range of awarding bodies described in this chapter? Are there other types of awarding bodies, which the authority should consider? Do you agree with the descriptions of awarding bodies set out in this chapter? How should these descriptions be developed further?

The Council recognises that the range of awarding bodies considered in this discussion document are not an exhaustive list but consider that it is imperative to consider all models of practice currently in operation under the heading of professional and international bodies.

It is not necessary to delve into the very specific details of the structure and operation of these bodies but merely consider their inclusion if they lead to some public recognition by way of an award or qualification either as a non-statutory regulator using codes of practice or other such occupational currency. The output of the various bodies may determine the type or definition of that body, which in turn may extend beyond one type of awarding body.

The discussion document takes a very general approach in describing the range of practices currently in use under the heading of professional bodies. Similarly any awarding body making awards to learners in the state is deemed an international body. The models of practice put forward are so general that they do not provide a clear basis for progressing towards a solution for the inclusion of these awards at the appropriate level in the national framework of qualifications.

It is the significance of the differences between the range of practices under professional and international bodies and other awards included in the framework that should be taken into account in the discussion document and by the Authority before arriving at an appropriate process to facilitate the outcome. Extended consideration at this stage may identify alternative awarding bodies not yet apparent and a more appropriate range of processes to facilitate those awards and qualifications identified.

Chapter 3 – Issues Arising

Do you agree with the range of issues identified in this chapter? Are there other issues, which the Authority should consider? Do you agree with the discussion on the issues set out in this chapter? How should this discussion be developed further?

The Council in general agrees with the issues identified in this chapter. The validation process is an important characteristic for success in any qualifications framework. One key aspect of the validation process is the consistency of approach and outcome. The Council together with the Authority has a strategic interest in ensuring that the arrangements put in place for the inclusion of these awards in the national framework of qualifications are consistent with the processes deployed by the Council when making or recognising awards in the higher education and training sector.

Council is concerned that the range of issues identified will take due cognisance of all aspects of the new legislative arrangements that may not be fully operational to date. A fair and equitable approach should be taken to the inclusion of the awards of professional and international bodies and the application of the processes should provide a feasible outcome for all awarding bodies, other providers and recognised institutions running programmes for professional and other bodies.

In this context section 25 subsection 2 of the Act may give rise to a variety of issues that may have a bearing on the final process(es) put in place. Under this section recognised institutions are obliged to have all programmes of higher education and training which they provide, organise or procure validated by the Council. This section does not apply to other providers under the remit of the Council and may give rise to anomalies in the system. The Institutes of Technology currently provide a number of the professional body programmes. A fair outcome would ensure that equal recognition or equivalence on the framework is complemented by equal efforts towards accountability. The Bologna Declaration, the follow up meeting in Prague and the next meeting in Berlin in 2003 will undoubtly influence the process to be adopted for the recognition of awards made by international bodies for learners in the State. The declaration does not cover all international bodies but it does commit the signatories to engage in co-ordinating their policies to achieve the objectives set out in the declaration, objectives which cover core issues in this Discussion Paper.

Chapter 4 – Consideration of Processes for Inclusion in the Framework.

Do you agree with the possible processes for inclusion of awards in the Framework? Are there other processes which the Authority should consider? Do you agree with the analysis of the processes? What steps do you think that the Authority should take now?

Process 1

The first process outlined in the document would appear to be the most simple whereby the validation process of the awards Councils would be used in consultation with the Authority. The Council considers that this process could include the global awarding bodies, international awarding bodies and the professional awarding bodies as deemed appropriate by the Authority when the range and depth of all awards/qualifications of these bodies have been given further consideration by the Authority.

A more feasible approach under this process could be to replace the ‘award’ of the Council with the ‘recognition’ by the Council to ensure that the distinct features of the awards/qualifications are not in any way undermined. This process would also enhance transfer and progression arrangements which are largely ad hoc at present.

Process II

The process II as set out in the Discussion Paper may alternatively raise questions regarding comparability with the potential for recognising a dual rather than a parallel process in place. Under process II the Authority would be required to devise a new procedure to consider applications. The process would appear somewhat over elaborate and the Authority may be required to adjudicate at a later stage in a validation process regarding any appeals that may occur.

The Council considers that process II may invoke the Principle of Subsidiarity whereby decisions are made and matters are resolved as close as possible to those most affected by them.

Process III

The Council agrees that process III is not feasible at this point.

It would appear that the most appropriate way forward would be to apply one of the processes consistently with a subdivision within that process where appropriate. In considering each process it is important that the new remit of the Further Education and Training Awards Council and the Higher Education and Training Awards Council are considered in the context of the new framework as opposed to the functions and responsibilities of the former NCEA and NCVA.

The five people to be honoured will each receive the Degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa. They include Brian Farrell, the distinguished academic and University Professor, and one of Ireland’s most eminent broadcasters and political commentators. The Dublin born Christina Noble, who is the founder and director of The Christina Noble Children’s Foundation in Vietnam and Mongolia. Ms Noble is the principal driving force behind the foundation that gives poor, starving children and their families a chance to better their lives. Fellow humanitarian and founder of the Cuain Mhuire centres around Ireland, Sister Consilio has also dedicated her life to helping people overcome alcohol addiction problems.

Also being honoured is John Mc Gahern, the author of highly acclaimed novels and short stories and widely considered to be one of the finest Irish writers of fiction and Guy Haug, Principal Administrator in the Policy Development Unit of the Directorate for Education with the Commission of the European Union. Dr Haug has played a key role in the development and promotion of European Higher Education over the years and most recently in his work relating to the 1999 Bologna Declaration.

Ms Sile de Valera T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science will present the Honorary Doctorates.

Target decision date - June, 2003

Latest dates for receipt of submissions - 12.00 hours, Friday, 10 January, 2003

Target decision date - December, 2003

Latest dates for receipt of submissions - 12.00 hours, Friday, 25 July, 2003

Whilst an absolute guarantee cannot be given that it will always be possible to deal with a submission by the target decision date, submissions received by the due dates indicated will be given priority over submissions received after the due dates.

HETAC will be in a position to provide a faster response to submissions in cases where it receives advance notice of the intention to make a submission.

For further information please contact Renée Scully, Head of Programme Validation

I am delighted to be with you here today in the RDS to send off this year’s Irish delegation to the London International Youth Science Forum. Indeed I am humbled to be here among the students representing Ireland at this International event, as you are a very special group of people, in fact you represent the best and brightest of Irish science students chosen carefully for this event following an interview process.

London International Youth Science Forum
Karena Maguire, HETAC (centre front)and Michael Jacob, President, RDS with delegates from the Institutes of Technology

Looking at some of the reports from previous years it is not hard to see the huge benefits and potential returns to all the stakeholders involved in this Science Forum. In general terms: -

* Our presence at this forum signifies a commitment to science and in particular an investment in science education which is of paramount importance for the future of this country;
* Our presence also provides us with an opportunity to strengthen contacts and enhance networking in the general scientific context and more importantly to sow the seeds of future co-operation in an international context. As a small country and an island it is essential that we are involved in every available opportunity to engage in and contribute to scientific research through international co-operation.

For the delegates themselves there are many benefits: -

* It is a wonderful opportunity to be an ambassador for your country - an opportunity that does not come to everyone;
* You will also have a unique opportunity to meet young people from over 50 other countries worldwide and exchange views and opinions on the world of science. The social interaction, perhaps resulting in life long friendships is also very important.
* The fascinating array of lectures and site visits available during the two weeks, the expertise with which you will come in contact, and the many interesting perspectives on subjects that you will encounter in a very different way, will open your minds to many possibilities and this is what learning is all about.
* One delegate from last year summed up his experience by saying that this Science forum ‘acts as a centre for learning and understanding, it breaks all barriers, broadens horizons and friendships are forged which will reap benefits for science in years to come.’

The benefits of participation in the London International Youth Science Forum resonate very well with the purposes of the RDS, which are the advancement of agriculture, arts, science and industry. They also accord well with the purposes of my own organisation the Higher Education and Training Awards Council. This new Council was established by the Government in June 2001. The Council’s main functions include setting standards for higher education and training awards up to PhD level; the validation of higher education and training awards; the monitoring of institutional quality assurance; the delegation of awarding powers to Institutes of Technology and ensuring that student assessment procedures are fair and consistent.

We are at present busy devising new policy and criteria for all of these very laudable functions some of which were carried out previously by the Council we replaced – National Council for Educational Awards. Changes in Irish and European society and economic structures have prompted the need to reformulate our arrangements for guaranteeing the quality of Irish higher education awards. The institutions created to meet the challenges of the 1970’s, of which many of you present are students, have grown and matured. As well as that, higher education and training now takes place in a wider variety of institutions including the workplace, and uses a wider range of programme delivery methods, including various forms of open and distance learning. On-line education and training too is developing rapidly. All of these changes have called for many new arrangements to be put in place through the development of a new national framework of qualifications. We are working closely with the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland which is the body charged with co-ordinating the framework.

The National Qualifications Framework will help to ensure that the links and pathways between all higher and further education and training qualifications are better specified and understood. This will help all students to choose the most suitable learning options and thus achieve their maximum potential.

This high level strategic planning and policy development is, above all, student or learner focussed. When the framework is fully established it will provide a clear picture and path for all involved in not just higher education and training but all education and training measured by predetermined standards. It will also provide a basis for further social and economic development of our nation.

Policy and strategy aside the most important people in the higher education and training sector are the students themselves. Any opportunity for learning should be embraced and welcomed, and the London International Youth Science Forum is an important platform for launching the future potential leaders of tomorrow at the cutting edge of science.

The Higher Education and Training Awards Council is proud to be able to help those future leaders attend such a prestigious event as the London International Youth Science Forum. On behalf of the Council I wish you all the best for your two weeks and a safe journey.

The Department of Finance has requested that the Report of the Public Service Benchmarking Body be posted on each public service website to allow for wide circulation. To view the report, download Adobe Acrobat Reader

Report of the Public Service Benchmarking Body

To develop, promote and maintain higher education and training awards to the highest international standards and quality.

Strategic Objectives

* to determine and ensure compliance with, appropriate standards of higher education and training;
* to promote and support continuous improvement in the quality and standards of provision of higher education and training programmes, working in partnership and consultation with higher education and training stakeholders;
* to facilitate, develop and promote optimum delegation to recognised institutions, of authority to make awards within the national framework;
* to promote provider ownership of quality assurance and learner assessment procedures;
* in co-operation with Providers, to promote the higher education and training awards of the Council both nationally and internationally;
* to ensure that clear and accurate information is made publicly available about the quality and standards of higher education and training provision;
* working with the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland and the Further Education and Training Awards Council, to play a full role in the development and management of the qualifications framework for lifelong learning;
* to apply international best practice in evaluation and reviews of higher education and training;
* working in partnership with the Department of Education and Science, to play an active role in leading and managing the changes necessary to implement the Bologna process for the development of the European Higher Education Area;
* to promote diversity within the higher education and training sector, and between further education and training and higher education and training.

Dorte Kristoffersen is the Director of the Danish Evaluation Institute, a position she has held since 1997.

The Danish Evaluation Institute is an independent institute formed under the auspices of the Danish Ministry of Education whose functions include developing methods for evaluating the quality of teaching and learning, developing and highlighting quality of education and teaching through systematic evaluation, advising and collaborating with public authorities and educational institutions on quality issues. It is the Danish national centre of knowledge of national and international experience in educational evaluation.

Ms Kristoffersen is currently a member of a working group responsible for the formulation of a Danish Qualification Framework for higher education. Since 1998 she has been the Chairman of the co-ordination committee for the Business Excellence Award (EFQM) for public institutions in Denmark.

Ms Kristoffersen holds a MBA in intercultural communication and languages, has fluent English and French and an understanding of German, Swedish and Norwegian.

* Aisling O Sullivan, Dublin
* Valerie Doogue, Laois
* Deirdre Moriarty, Cork

Congratulations to the winners, each of whom receives a prize of €300. All completed 2001 survey questionnaires returned to us by 30th April were entered in the draw. If you are a HETAC or NCEA graduate and have returned your questionnaire we would like to thank you for your co-operation.

The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) conducts an annual survey of the pattern of first destinations of those who receive its awards (Certificates, Diplomas, Degrees and Postgraduate qualifications) as part of the First Destination Report published annually by the Higher Education Authority. Each graduate is sent a survey form in March of the year following graduation. The results of the survey are extremely valuable in assessing the continuing relevance of courses to regional and national needs.

The First Destination of Award Recipients in Higher Education Report is published by the Higher Education Authority and is available from the Government Publications Sales Office, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.

Agus a feidhmeanna á gcomhlíonadh aicí faoin Acht, agus i gcomhréir lena polasaí ó thaobh oscailteacht, trédhearcacht agus freagracht glacfaidh HETAC comhairle ar bhonn leathan i ndáil le forbairt a dhéanamh ar a polasaithe agus a nósanna imeachta. Mar chuid den phróiseas sin, foilseoidh an Chomhairle ó am go ham dréacht doiciméid polosaí chun deis a thabhairt do pháirtithe lena mbaineann, tuairimí a sheoladh díreach chuig HETAC.

Cuireadh tús leis an bpróiseas i mí Feabhra 2002 nuair a foilsíodh dhá dhréacht doiciméad comhchomhairle.

1. Dréacht Doiciméad Comhchomhairle maidir le tarmligean údaráis chun dámhachtainí a thabhairt. Leagtar síos sa doiciméad seo polasaithe molta na Comhairle, critéir agus nósanna imeachta maidir le tarmligean údaráis d’institiúidí aitheanta chun a ndámhachtainí a thabhairt.
2. Dréacht Doiciméad Comhchomhairle ar threoirlínte agus critéir do nósanna imeachta institiúdach í ndáil le háirithiú caighdeán.Leagtar síos sa doiciméad seo dréacht treoirlínte chun cabhrú le soláthróirí cláir, dírithe ar dhámhachtainí de chuid HETAC agus ar dhámhachtainí tugtha faoi údarás tarmligthe ag HETAC, nósanna imeachta i ndáil le háirithiú caighdeán a dhearadh agus a aontú le HETAC.

Cuireadh an dá dhoiciméad timpeall chuig geallshealbhóirí agus foilsíodh iad ar shuíomh HETAC ar an idirlíon ag lorg tuairimí i scríbhinn roimh an Aoine 15 Márta 2002.

Mar leathnúchán ar an bpróiseas comhchomhairle tá an Chomairle ag eagrú Foraim Chomhchomhairleach ar an dá ábhar in Óstán an Galway Bay, Bóthar na Trá, Gaillimh ar an Luan agus an Mháirt 25 agus 26 Márta 2002. Meastar go mbeidh breis agus céad duine í láthair ionadaíoch de réimse leathan de gheallshealbhóirí ar a n-áirítear foghlaimeoirí, institiúidí teicneolaíochta, institiúidí eile oideachais agus oiliúna san earnáil príobháideach agus poiblí, Ranna agus comhlachtaí Stáit.

Tuilleadh eolais ó Thadhg Ó hÉalaithe ag HETAC (01) 8556526 fólíne 117. Ríomhphost: tohealaithe@hetac.ie

In carrying out its functions under the Act, and in keeping with its policy of openness, transparency and accountability, HETAC will consult widely in developing its policies and procedures. As part of this process, from time to time the Council will publish draft policy documents for consultation purposes, to give interested parties the opportunity to comment directly to HETAC. The process was initiated in February 2002 by the publication of two draft consultation documents:

1. Consultation Draft Document on Delegation of Authority to make Awards. The document sets out the Council’s proposed policies, criteria and procedures in relation to the delegation to recognised institutions of the authority to make their own Awards;

2. Consultation Draft Document on Guidelines and Criteria for Institutional Quality Assurance Procedures. The document sets out draft guidelines to assist providers of programmes leading to HETAC awards, and to awards made under authority delegated by HETAC, to design quality assurance procedures for agreement with HETAC.

The two documents were circulated to stakeholders and published here on the HETAC Website, seeking written submissions by Friday 15 March 2002.

As an extension of the consultation process, the Council is holding Consultative Forums on both topics to include interested persons and bodies, on Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 March 2002 in the Galway Bay Hotel. Participants will represent a wide range of stakeholders, including learners, institutes of technology, other public and private education and training institutions, government departments and state bodies.

Further information can be obtained from Karena Maguire at HETAC (01) 8556526 or 087 2435377 or email kmaguire@hetac.ie

The following is the HETAC submission:

1. General.
1.1 The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) welcomes the publication of the Discussion Document and looks forward to working with the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI), the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC) and other stakeholders in developing the National Framework of Qualifications Framework.
1.2 HETAC suggests that the determination of standards and levels of programmes and awards should be regarded as an emergent process. It is also important to recognise that the establishment of the national framework is an opportunity for a new beginning. The framework should be designed and developed as a product with clear, definite structures which are capable of incorporating evolving processes. The new arrangements now being devised will be more expeditiously carried through if they build upon and synthesise the structures established to date in higher and further education and training, drawing upon experience accumulated since the foundation of the first Regional Technical Colleges in 1970. The formulation of the national framework of qualifications must take appropriate account of the provisions of the Regional Technical Colleges Act 1992, the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act, 1999, the Universities Act 1997, and other relevant legislation. The legislative provisions with regard to academic governance, quality assurance, delegated authority and learner assessment are of particular importance in this regard. In addition, the formulation of the national framework of qualifications should encompass a contribution to Lifelong Learning.
1.3 The formal review responsibilities of the NQAI and of the awards Councils will help to develop and reinforce already existing procedures. The Discussion Document may inadvertently give the impression that concepts of standards and quality are being introduced, and will be guaranteed and delivered, because of the establishment of the Authority and the two new Awards Councils. Concepts of quality and standards have been around a long time, long before the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act, 1999. It is important to appreciate that reliance for delivery of standards and quality will continue to rest upon provider institutions as it has done in the past.
1.4 The development of a national framework of qualifications could validly be based on what exists, rather than by means of the "top?down" approach implied by the principles?based methodology set out in the Discussion Document. A "bottom?up" approach, particularly in relation to higher education and training, would recognise and accept the standards and quality of the teaching institutions, and would attempt to design a framework to accommodate higher education and training programmes and awards in harmony with the further education and training provision. Much will depend on the leadership style adopted by the Authority and the Councils. A principles-based methodology is not a top-down approach if all stakeholders agree to the range of principles proposed and are continuously consulted on their implementation.
1.5 It will be a major task for NQAI to define the parameters of a framework to encompass the range and levels involved. Consultation, with stakeholders should guide NQAI in the performance of its functions.
1.6 In the higher education and training domain, most of the necessary elements of a national framework already exist. HETAC has inherited from NCEA a comprehensive structure of awards, from One?Year Certificate to Doctorate level, spanning almost all disciplines and subject areas encountered in higher education. That structure has been well accepted, nationally and internationally. Access, transfer and progression arrangements within the sector, and between it and the universities, are well defined and understood, although there are some difficulties regarding transfers between the technological sector and the universities. Workable arrangements already exist for learners to transfer and progress from the further education and training sector to the HETAC sector. Accordingly a fruitful approach might be to use the existing HETAC structures as a basis for the framework, integrating into this system the hierarchy of levels currently under development by FETAC on the one hand, and formalising and standardising the transfer arrangements with the universities on the other hand. The standard determined for one level will have to be comparable and fit in with standards at other levels. The need for collaborative work here, between NQAI, HETAC and FETAC, should be agreed.
1.7 Higher education and training is facing important external influences on award structures. The Bologna Declaration, endorsed by the Prague Communiqué, sets out principles aimed at the creation of a "European Higher Education Area" by the year 2010. Ministers of Education in 32 countries, including Ireland, have accepted these principles. HETAC awards will be required to fit the Bologna framework, as well as our own national framework of qualifications. This is an important constraint on the design of the national framework, insofar as higher education and training is concerned. The extent to which the proposed European Higher Education Area encompasses training is not clear at this stage of the Bologna process.
2. Principles and Process Guidelines.
2.1 Principles underpinning the Framework

2.1.1 The principles as outlined are, individually, unexceptionable. If a principles?based approach is considered desirable, the following suggested principles might be added to those listed:
* Subsidiarity
* International Cohesion
* Egalitarianism
* Measurability
* Commitment based on Consensus
* Synthesis
2.1.2 The Principle of Subsidiarity would indicate that decisions would be made and matters resolved as close as possible to those most affected by them. The Discussion Document appears to take an extreme view of the relative roles of NQAI, the Awards Councils, learners, providers, employers and other stakeholders. The Document may tend to give, however unwittingly, the impression that, having gone through a process of consultation, NQAI will impose a framework specification, with little scope for subsequent input by stakeholders. The Qualifications Act is capable of such an interpretation, but it is not likely to be the most effective one. Indeed the Discussion Document challenges such an approach in stating on page 26, when enunciating the process guideline of inclusiveness, that "it is vital that the ownership of the framework is shared with all stakeholders in the system".
2.1.3 The Principle of International Cohesion would mean that the Framework would take explicit account of the need to ensure that Irish qualifications are compatible with relevant international structures. This has particular relevance for HETAC, as its awards will need to be compatible with emerging frameworks arising from the establishment of the European Higher Education Area by the year 2010. The inclusion of International Linkages among the Process Guidelines is noted. This, however, may not be sufficient. The international dimension is so important in higher education and training that it needs to be included among the principles underpinning the Framework.
2.1.4 HETAC suggests that the Principle of Egalitarianism be included in the underpinning principles. The new National Framework of Qualifications will open new routes to education by means of its provisions for access transfer and progression. There is little point in this process if it is not matched by equal openness on the part of trade and professional bodies in regard to admission of new members to the bodies concerned. The Discussion Document (p 42) rightly speaks of the desirability of inclusion of the awards of private bodies within the National Framework. The quid pro quo however, for such inclusion is the adoption by the relevant professional body of a contra-restrictive approach in regard to its own admission criteria. It is important that these professional bodies be encouraged to open diverse paths of access to new membership. This is of such vital importance to the success of the new National Framework that it should be elevated to the level of a Principle.
2.1.5 Measurability of educational attainment is vital to the principles of transparency, simplicity, quality and equality. Its critical importance in this regard is such that it too should be elevated to the level of a Principle.
2.1.6 Commitment to the new National Framework is imperative. While that of HETAC and FETAC approved institutions is assured under the Qualifications Act the degree to which universities and private bodies will be bound is less assured. It is important to state the Principle that the new National Framework must achieve binding commitment based upon universal consensus.
2.1.7 There are two main difficulties with the general approach of attempting to build the Framework on a set of principles, however wisely chosen. One of these difficulties may be capable of being resolved by the adoption of a further principle. This is the problem that an approach starting from (first) principles takes no account of the existing situation. HETAC suggests that the Principle of Synthesis be added to the underpinning principles.
2.1.8 Irish higher education and training has evolved to meet the developing needs of the Irish people. Institutions and structures have taken the shape they have in response to those developing needs. Traditions and practices have become established as defining characteristics. Too radical a disruption of established arrangements could undermine the very features that have made Irish higher education and training the envy of much of the developed world. Further development and change are necessary, and it is the task of NQAI and HETAC to promote and manage that change, in a way that will not damage the values and traditions that have contributed to success to date.
2.1.9 For the avoidance of doubt, HETAC wishes to emphasise the need for appropriate change and development in higher education and training. HETAC is planning to be in the vanguard of innovation and progressive development, in partnership with NQAI and FETAC. Full consultation with all other stakeholders will be a critical success factor in bringing about the changes needed to ensure that Irish higher education and training continues to be at the highest possible standard.
2.1.10 In more recent decades our higher education and training provision has adapted very successfully to the rapid changes in economic and social conditions. It has been widely remarked that recent economic growth owes much to the standards and quality of our higher education and training institutions, especially the Institutes of Technology.
2.1.11 The Principle of Synthesis would ensure that the most effective aspects of existing arrangements are retained. Application of this principle would ensure that due cognisance be taken of the value of building on what has been successful.
2.1.12 Application of the Principle of Synthesis is linked to the Principle of Subsidiarity. In more idiomatic terms, what is argued is that a "bottom?up" approach is preferable, and more likely to be acceptable and to succeed, than a "top?down" approach. This is especially the case when it seems that the NQAI's Framework maintenance role is in danger of being interpreted as one of central control. "Top?down" and central control are not appropriate in the context of higher education and training, where institutional autonomy and self?regulation are essential defining characteristics.
2.1.13 The other major difficulty in starting from a set of principles is that it is not apparent how conflicts between the application of the principles will be resolved. Attempted adherence to a multiplicity of principles requires the adoption of sub?optimal positions in relation to one or more of the principles in any particular case. A pragmatic approach is invariably applied. HETAC would be concerned lest the resolution of conflicts between the underpinning principles would in any circumstances involve compromises on the Quality principle.
2.1.14 It is, nonetheless, difficult to envisage a sturdy and yet transparent national framework of qualifications if it is not principle-based. Articulation with the frameworks of other nations under the Bologna Declaration will only be effective if each subscribes to a common set of principles. It is to be hoped that the Principle of Synthesis may be used by all nations in making effective the creation of a "European Higher Education Area".
2.2 Process Guidelines

2.2.1 As with the principles underpinning the framework, the stated Process Guidelines are individually unexceptionable.
2.2.2 As with the Principles underpinning the Framework, there will inevitably be a need for compromises and an acceptable way of resolving conflicts.
2.2.3 A potentially valuable source of ideas in this area has emerged since publication of the Discussion Document. The Report of the EU High Level Group on Regulatory Quality (Mandelkern Group), published in December 2001, suggests a set of seven core principles to be applied by public service agencies in carrying out regulatory functions. These are:
* Necessity
* Proportionality
* Subsidiarity
* Transparency
* Accountability
* Accessibility
* Simplicity
2.2.4 There are some inevitable overlaps between the Mandelkern Principles and both the proposed principles underpinning the framework and the proposed process guidelines for establishing the framework. HETAC recommends that, if a principles?based approach is to be used, both of the proposed NQAI sets be re?examined in the light of the Mandelkern Principles, to ensure that Irish public service practice in this area is in line with best European and international practice.
3. Policies and Criteria.
3.1 Awards Standards

3.1.1 The determination of standards is of paramount importance in the establishment of the National Framework of Qualifications. Full consideration of the issues involved would require a more extended treatment than is contained in the Discussion Document. The latter adopts a restricted defined meaning of the term "standards" as referring to standards of knowledge, skill or competence, together with levels of awards and the awards themselves.
3.1.2 Even within the "knowledge, skill or competence" usage, there are serious problems. There is a substantial body of research indicating that these elements are not among the leading attributes that employers seek in graduate employees. Values, attitudes and other personal characteristics are rated as more important than subject expertise and technical knowledge. The statement in the Discussion Document that "Competence draws on attitudes and values as well as on skills and knowledge" needs to be developed further in the light of this research in order to give adequate recognition of the importance of the affective domain in the specification of learning achievement.
3.1.3 HETAC considers that the "knowledge, skill or competence" approach, deriving from industrial concepts and models, may not be appropriate in some areas of higher education and training. This is a fundamental issue requiring further debate at all levels of higher education. Knowledge, skills and competence are only a subset of higher education. However, the evaluation of total learning is a fundamental issue worldwide. A total concentration on outputs of learning processes, as advocated in the Discussion Document, is unduly utilitarian in approach, with no account taken of the importance of the liberating aim of all education. This is important, having regard not merely to the diversity of programmes within the HETAC sector but also to reflect the wider national diversity including the university sector.
3.2 Award levels

3.2.1 Award levels are an essential feature of a framework of awards. The examples of Bachelor Degree specifications quoted from other countries are instructive. It would, in HETAC's view, have been helpful to include, for comparative purposes, the corresponding published description of Bachelor Degrees, together with those of other awards, previously published by the National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA). The thinking behind the differences between, for example, a National Certificate and a National Diploma in terms of learning outcomes, could inform the Authority's view of how levels in general should be described.
3.2.2 HETAC agrees that specifications of minimum entry requirements and standard duration of programmes are not, in themselves, adequate to define the level of a programme or award, and are less important defining elements than is popularly thought. However, these are perceived as important defining elements by many stakeholders, especially learners, employers and teaching institutions abroad to which learners may wish to progress for further studies. Unless levels of programmes and awards are defined in acceptable terms, confidence in the framework will be jeopardised.
3.2.3 HETAC does not accept the terminology of "portal awards" and "blue chip" awards. Such terminology is not only inappropriate, but positively dangerous if the suggested terms omit National Certificates and National Diplomas in the suite of awards so designated. Identifying particular awards as more significant than others tends to undermine confidence in the coherence of the framework. Care must be taken to ensure that each programme and award embodied in the framework is seen as a positive learning experience in its own right, and helps to contribute towards the potential for continued learning. It would be counter?productive if learners were to see some awards as part of a precondition to some higher, and well signposted, award that may not always be attainable by the learner concerned. The Equality Principle, and its assertion of the need for parity of esteem of all learning, would suggest that particular awards or award levels should not be identified as more significant than others.
3.3 Titles and Grouping of Awards

3.3.1 HETAC urges that award titles be clearly differentiated as between Further Education and Training (FET) and Higher Education and Training (HET) awards. It is desirable that the proliferation of award titles be avoided. The preservation of traditional degree titles is recommended, as is the avoidance of new degree titles and, possibly, a reduction in the current range of degree and other award titles. The introduction of the European Diploma Supplement for higher education and training awards, and a corresponding development in relation to further education and training awards, will reduce the need for award titles to denote excessive detail regarding programme content.
3.3.2 HETAC considers that there is much to be said in favour of grouping higher education and training awards by Fields of Study, preferably in accordance with the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED). There is also a case for differentiating the grouping of awards as between further and higher education.
3.4 Differentiating Further and Higher Education and Training

3.4.1 HETAC supports the adoption of the most open approach possible to the national framework, to provide an inclusive and meaningful structure. Higher education and training is undergoing very substantial changes as regards scope, structures and methodologies. HETAC is apprehensive that to embark on any detailed definitions at this stage, regarding any one sector, might preclude unidentified levels or sectors or other learning units, currently at an early stage of development, from an appropriate position in the new framework of qualifications. This apprehension would be particularly acute given a lack of information in relation to the measurement criteria to be applied in establishing standards of knowledge skill and competence. The development of the awards framework in the widest possible context is critical to its purpose. A study, primarily on learning and pedagogical grounds, should be embarked on to assist in establishing criteria for the classification of programmes of study as Further Education and Training or Higher Education and Training The focus of this study should be the learner - his/her path of learning and progression, and not an administrative expedient.
3.4.2 The establishment of a basis on which a distinction between further and higher education and training can be made will be particularly challenging. It will be difficult to establish a robust basis for this distinction on educational grounds.
3.4.3 Various sources where one might expect to find a definition of "higher education" turn out to disappoint: the Report of the Commission on Higher Education (1967), the Higher Education Authority Act (1971), and some others. HETAC notes that the Qualifications Act consistently refers to "higher education and training", rather than to "higher education". This new concept is even less likely to have a generally accepted definition.
3.4.4 In so far as a distinction is made between further education and higher education it should be clear and unambiguous. Learners and employers should not be subject to unnecessary confusion caused by such overlaps.
4. Access, Transfer and Progression.
4.1 The access, transfer and progression routes in higher education need review and evaluation, with a view to establishing greater clarity for learners and developing links with the training sector and the further education and training sector generally. HETAC looks forward to reviewing, in a positive and constructive manner, all of its inherited policy documents in the context of the evolving situation and the development of the national framework. As with their original formulation and development, these policies will be reviewed with due reference to the principle of subsidiarity, in consultation with stakeholders, and to the principle of synthesis, with the aim of reforming and innovating while conserving what is valuable and effective. This approach is the most likely to secure the endorsement and support of stakeholders, especially the providers of higher education and training.

The eight National prizes covered a wide range of discipline areas from Engineering to Marketing, Art & Design, Music, Science, Computing and the Duais Na Gaeilge Prize awarded for the most outstanding student in the Irish Language.

The Marketing prize was awarded in conjunction with the Marketing Institute of Ireland and went to a Limerick student, Mary O’Brien from the HSI College, Limerick. Mary was the most outstanding student in Marketing among all colleges and institutes running the National Certificate in Business Studies. Two new prizes were added this year - the Dr Tom Walsh Prize for excellence in Science and the HETAC prize for Computing.

The prizes were presented by Professor Ciaran Murphy, Chairman of HETAC. ‘Today is a day of celebration and recognition of learner excellence at the National Certificate, National Diploma and Bachelor Degree levels. Higher Education and Training is all about the end product, the learner and learner achievement.’ The new National Framework of Qualifications will map out the way for lifelong learning………’. The prizes consisted of specially crafted medals, scrolls and up to 750 euro each.

Other prizewinners included Mr Padraic Black for the Harbison Memorial Prize from Dundalk Institute of Technology. Ms Rachel Daly from the Cork IT Crawford College of Art and Design for the Larkin Memorial Prize. Ms Bernadette Ní Ghloinn, Duais Na Gaeilge, from Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. Ms Ciara Moroney from Cork IT School of Music won the Bridget Doolan Prize, Ms Kathryn Quinn from Athlone Institute of Technology won the Dr Tom Walsh Prize and the HETAC Prize for Computing was awarded to Mr Brian Murphy form Portobello College, Dublin. The Limerick Institute of Technology, School of Art and Design claimed a second prestigious prize for Limerick when Ms Sarah Ann Creaven was awarded the HETAC Prize for Design.

The ceremony took place at the Higher Education and Training Awards Council offices, 26 Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1 at 4.00pm Wednesday 13th February.

HETAC (the Higher Education and Training Awards Council) was established by Government on 11 June 2001, under the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999. HETAC is the qualifications awarding body for third-level education and training outside the university sector. HETAC is the successor body to the National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA).

Charles M. Cook is the Director of the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, a position he has held since 1981. The New England Association is the regional accrediting body for the six New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont). Recognized by both the United States government and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation, the Commission accredits the region’s over two hundred colleges and universities. As Director, Dr. Cook is responsible for providing leadership to and administering the New England accreditation process. Prior to coming to New England, Dr. Cook served as Assistant Director for the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association, which accredits colleges and universities in 19 states.

With nearly 25 years experience in regional accreditation, Dr. Cook is the longest serving director of a regional accrediting commission. He has been a member of the board of the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation and has served on the Committee on Recognition of the Commission on the Recognition Postsecondary Accreditation, as well as numerous national committees dealing with accreditation matters. He is a frequent speaker on issues related to institutional quality assurance and accreditation, regionally and nationally. He has also spoken to audiences on these matters in Greece, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Japan, Spain, and the Netherlands.

Dr. Cook was trained as a legal historian, having received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Central Michigan University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland at College Park where he also served as the Assistant Provost in the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences. He is the author of The American Codification Movement: A Study of Antebellum Legal Reform, which is included in the Contributions in Legal Studies Series of Greenwood Press. In addition, Dr. Cook has been a consultant to the United States Department of Justice on the history of two Native American reservations, authored histories of those reservations, and served as an expert witness in Indian claims litigation. Dr. Cook was a full-time faculty member at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio, and has served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Maryland, DePaul University, and Harvard University.

A native of Clondrohid, Cork, Mr. Ó hÉalaithe holds a Diploma in Public Administration, Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Economic Science from the National University of Ireland. He was up to 2000, Secretary General of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands. He has most recently served as Chairman of Údarás na Gaeltachta. He is a member of Coimisiún na Gaeltachta and of the Board of Governors and Guardians of the National Gallery of Ireland.

Tá áthas ar Chomhairle na nDámhachtainí Ardoideachais agus Oiliúna Tadhg Ó hÉalaithe a cheapadh mar Rúnaí/Ceann Eagraíochtá.

As Cluain Droichid, Co. Chorcaí do Thadhg Ó hÉalaithe agus tá Dioplóma i Riarachán Poiblí, Céim Baitisleár i dTráchtáil agus Máistir in Eolaíocht Eacnamaíochta aige ó Ollscoil na hÉireann. Go dtí an bhliain 2000, bhí sé ina Ard Rúnaí ar an Roinn Ealaíon, Oidhreacht, Gaeltacht agus Oileán agus ina dhiaidh sin ina Chathaoirleach ar Údarás na Gaeltachta. Tá sé ina bhall de Choimisiún na Gaeltachta agus de Bhord Caomhnóirí agus Riarthóirí, Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann.

The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) welcomes the publication of the NQAI discussion paper on a National Framework of Qualifications. It is important that we ensure the framework for higher educational and training awards fits into the European framework outlined in the Bologna process agreed by European Ministers for Education.

Ireland’s investment in education has been a major factor in our economic and social progress over recent years. It is particularly important in these changing times that we do not rest on our laurels.

HETAC supports the seven broad principles which will underpin the framework. These are: transparency, simplicity, quality, equality, relevance, comprehensiveness and simplicity.

The period of consultation in the first half of next year will be one of the most significant periods in the development of Irish education. HETAC looks forward to playing a full part in this consultation process.

The discussion document is on the NQAI website which is located at NQAI Discussion Document

An Interim Review Group, established by the Minister for Education and Science, before the commencement of the Qualifications Act reviewed four Institutes of Technology for this purpose. The Review Group recommended that the institutes concerned should have authority delegated to them to make their own awards at National Certificate and National Diploma level in relation to existing NCEA (now HETAC) approved programmes. Today's formal delegation to GMIT and IT Sligo, follows similar delegation to Waterford and Cork Institutes of Technology earlier this week.

In welcoming this latest development in the third-level technology sector, the Chairman of the Council, Professor Ciaran Murphy congratulated the two institutes on this landmark achievement, which acknowledged that the institutes have been maturing in their academic achievements over the past thirty years. He also commended the institutes on their substantial contribution to Irish higher education in general and to their respective regions and local communities in particular.

HETAC sees this delegation as an important step in an evolutionary process, underpinned by the Qualifications Act, which recognises the need for third level education institutions to take ownership of quality assurance and the achievement and maintenance of the highest academic standards. It anticipates that the other Institutes of Technology will request that HETAC delegate to them the authority to make awards.

The signing of the official order for Galway-Mayo IT took place in the Institute offices at 11.00am on Wednesday 17th October. The Chief Executive of HETAC, Mr Séamus Puirséil was in attendance.

The signing of the official order for IT Sligo took place in the Institute offices at 4.00pm on Wednesday 17th October. The Chief Executive of HETAC, Mr Séamus Puirséil was in attendance.

The two institutes were reviewed for this purpose by an Interim Review Group, established by the Minister for Education and Science, before the commencement of the Qualifications Act. The Review Group recommended that the institutes concerned should have authority delegated to them to make their own awards at National Certificate and Diploma level in relation to existing NCEA (now HETAC) approved programmes.

In welcoming this latest development in the third-level technology sector, the Chairman of the Council, Professor Ciaran Murphy congratulated the two institutes on this landmark achievement, which acknowledged that the institutes have been maturing in their academic achievements over the past thirty years. He also commended the institutes on their substantial contribution to Irish higher education in general and to their respective regions and local communities in particular.

HETAC sees this delegation as an important step in an evolutionary process, underpinned by the Qualifications Act, which recognises the need for third level education institutions to take ownership of quality assurance and the achievement and maintenance of the highest academic standards. It anticipates that the other Institutes of Technology will request that HETAC delegate to them the authority to make awards.

The signing of the official order for Waterford IT took place in the Institute offices at 5.00pm, Monday 15th October. The Chairman of the Council (HETAC) Professor Ciaran Murphy and the Chief Executive, Mr Seamus Puirseil were in attendance.

The signing of the official order for Cork IT took place in the Institute offices at 8.00pm, Monday 15th October. The Chairman of the Council (HETAC) Professor Ciaran Murphy and the Chief Executive, Mr Séamus Puirséil were in attendance.

The Director of Academic Affairs is also responsible for the development of policy in, and overseeing the effective management of, the Council’s functions in relation to learner assessment systems, access, transfer and progression within the HETAC sector, and recognition of awards.

Monitoring the educational needs of the economy, international standards and best practice, public policy requirements and regulations, and EU policies as they affect the sector, also come within the scope of the new position.

The historian, Toynbee looked at human history not as a catalogue of wars and battles but as a succession of civilisations. In doing so he highlighted the vital importance of the capacity to innovate and to adapt to change as an element in the waxing and waning of civilisations that comprises the whole span of human progress. Your involvement in the London Forum is an investment in those capacities. It resonates very well with the purposes of the RDS, the advancement of agriculture, arts, science and industry as Col. Ringrose has already said, and with the purposes of what was the NCEA, set up in 1972 to help develop the technological sector of higher education in Ireland as part of the overall economic development of our nation.

I have been tiptoeing around the word “Council” so far because, since I was here last year, the National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA) has been dissolved and its place taken by HETAC – The Higher Education and Training Awards Council.

HETAC is the legal successor to NCEA and will perform most of NCEA’s functions, e.g. awarding degrees, diplomas and certificates and guaranteeing the quality of those awards, and additional functions as well.

From its establishment in 1972 NCEA played a vital role in the development of Irish higher education and awards. NCEA awards have helped over 100,000 people to develop successful careers. The value of NCEA awards is not affected by HETAC and is legally guaranteed under Irish law.

Since the 1970’s, however, changes in Irish and European society and economic structures have prompted the need to reformulate our arrangements for guaranteeing the quality of Irish higher education awards. The institutions created to meet the challenges of the 1970’s, of which many of you present are students, have grown and matured. As well as that, higher education and training now takes place in a wider variety of institutions including the workplace, and uses a wider range of methods, including various forms of open and distance learning. On-line education and training too is developing rapidly. All of these changes have called for new arrangements for quality assurance. This need has been recognised in many countries. Ministers for Education in 29 European Countries have called for the creation of a European higher education area to guarantee standards, promote mobility and improve employability of graduates.

HETAC will operate with a counterpart organisation FETAC, dealing with Further Education and Training, within a National Qualifications Framework co-ordinated by NQAI, the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland.

The National Qualifications Framework will help to ensure that the links and pathways between all higher and further education and training qualifications are better specified and understood. This will help all students to choose the most suitable options to achieve their maximum potential. As many of you will know, student access, transfer and progression always took place under the NCEA system – indeed it was one of NCEA’s finest achievements. Under HETAC these possibilities will be formalised, promoted and developed.

Like all the best changes, the change from NCEA to HETAC has provision within it for continuity. One element of that continuity is that HETAC continues to sponsor your participation in the London International Youth Science Forum. I am glad that this happy occasion is your introduction to the new Higher Education and Training Awards Council and on its behalf, I wish you “Bon Voyage”.

The Chairman of the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) Professor Ciaran Murphy, today conferred the first HETAC awards in the Military College, The Curragh Camp, Co Kildare. The class of 40 cadets, the recipients of the National Diploma in Military Studies, made educational history as they received the first National awards conferred by HETAC and presented by the Commandant, The Military College, Col M. E. Lucey.

The conferring ceremony was followed by the commissioning ceremony attended by the Minister for Defence, Mr Michael Smith T.D. and the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Lieutenant General Colm Mangan. Second Lieutenant Denise McDonagh graduated top of her class. She received the first HETAC Student of the Year Award and An Claíomh Gaisce presented for the first time by the Retired Commissioned Officers’ Association.

HETAC will take a modern, progressive approach to third-level education. Professor Murphy said “Today we make the first 40 awards of HETAC. It is more than a new parchment and a new Livery. This Council fits within a broad group of bodies charged with establishing a framework of qualifications in further and higher education and training. It will facilitate progression and articulation.”

The class comprised 34 male cadets and 6 female cadets. The distinction of receiving the honour of the very first parchment of the new Council went to Second Lieutenant Anthony Bolger.

The new Council will confer approximately 20,000 awards between now and the end of December 2001.

HETAC makes first Awards
1st student to receive the 1st HETAC Award.

L to R - Lt. Gen. Colm Mangan, Chief of Staff, Defence Forces, Cadet Anthony Bulger, Professor Ciaran Murphy, Chairman, HETAC

HETAC makes first Awards
Military College, Student of the Year Award

L to R Cadet Anthony Bulger, Lt. Gen. Colm Mangan, Chief of Staff, Defence Forces, Professor Ciaran Murphy, Chairman, HETAC and Cadet Denise McDonagh, Military College student of the Year

HETAC sponsored the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) prize for the best food safety related project at degree level in the Institutes of Technology. This prize was designed and produced by a previous NCEA prize winner Mr. Brian Murray.

The prize-winning project examined the “Characterisation and prevalence of drug resistance encoding genes in Salmonella typhimurium”.

Each Institute of Technology was invited to submit their best food related project. The nominated students attended a seminar at the FSAI where their projects were presented to a panel of judges who included representatives from industry and education.

The professionalism of the presentations and the quality of the projects submitted reflected the high calibre of degree projects in the Institute of Technology sector. Project themes ranged from the microbial evaluation of vegetables from various salad bars to the analysis of milk substitutes for infants.

In a major move to recognise and certify a wider range of courses and learning than ever before the Minister for Education and Science Dr. Michael Woods, TD set up two new awarding Councils today. In future Degrees, Diplomas and National Certificates will be awarded by two new bodies (1) The Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC), chaired by Prof. Joyce O’Connor, and (2) the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) chaired by Prof. Ciaran Murphy.

Speaking at the launch Dr. Woods said “this is an historic and groundbreaking development. From now on any provider of education and training, regardless of its nature, where it is provided or how it is obtained, can apply to either of these two Councils for validation of a programme of education and training. Such programmes can take place in institutions, in the workplace or in the community and be either part-time or full-time. The Awards made will be fully recognised both nationally and internationally. They will also provide for progression and transfer of students, with full recognition for their studies to date, to Institutes and Universities. Courses provided by FÁS, CERT and Teagasc will now be validated through the new Councils. Existing universities and the Dublin Institute of Technology will continue with their existing arrangements for certification. All other institutes and educational establishments will come under the new Councils.”

Two New Award Councils
The Council of HETAC with the Minister for Education and Science, Dr. Michael Woods TD at the launch.

The Minister said, “the new bodies will also have an important development role in setting internationally recognised standards for new forms and courses in education and training which are evolving to meet a much wider range of conventional and adult learners. They will underpin the Government’s plans for the development of lifelong learning opportunities for all”.

The two new awarding Councils have three principal functions: the establishment of policies and criteria for the making of awards and the validation of programmes; the determination of standards of knowledge, skill or competence to be acquired by learners, before an award may be made by a Council or recognised by a Council; the making and recognition of awards where people have achieved the required standards as set out. Ensuring the quality of awards is central to the task confronting the incoming Councils.

Members of the Councils are drawn from a wide spectrum including learners and providers of further and higher education and training and the social partners.

Addressing the members at the launch Dr. Woods said “In moving towards the development of a national framework of qualifications, it is vital to ensure a clear continuum between the present awards system and the new system. The new Councils will develop and build on existing good practice and incorporate the best international experience when promoting innovation and advancement”.

The new Council has three principal functions:

* the establishment of policies and criteria for the making of awards and the accreditation/validation of programmes in higher education and training;
* the determination of standards of knowledge, skill or competence to be acquired by learners, before an award may be made or recognised by the Council;
* the making and recognition of awards where people have achieved the required standards as set out.

Launch of HETAC
The Minister for Education and Science, Dr. Michael Woods TD pictured at the Launch of HETAC with Professor Ciaran Murphy, Chairman and Mr Séamus Puirséil, Chief Executive.

Launch of HETAC
Professor Ciaran Murphy, Chairman and Mr Séamus Puirséil, Chief Executive, inspect the new HETAC sign at its offices at 26, Mountjoy Square, Dublin.

The Chairperson of HETAC, Professor Ciaran Murphy stated that “The establishment of HETAC today marks a new phase and a new challenge. The challenge for us in HETAC will be to maintain and develop the standard, quality and integrity of our higher educational system”. The Act, in recognition of the public policy objectives of the development of a binary system of higher education, sets out “the promotion of diversity and recognition of different traditions among its objectives. HETAC will respect this statutory objective and ensure its fulfilment”.

The Chief Executive of HETAC is Mr Séamus Puirséil who was previously Director of NCEA.