Ninth Level Ireland

“This week, a report carried out by independent further education watchdog Quality and Qualifications Ireland advised that Dublin City University (DCU) should introduce ways for students to review their learning experience. The report addressed many of the concerns that most Irish students would raise with their education today: unclear grading systems, inconsistent requirements between modules and the quality of teaching …” (more)

[University Times, 13 May]

“Inconsistencies in the level of training and guidance provided to postgraduate research students who teach undergraduates at Dublin City University (DCU), have been highlighted in a new quality report card on the institution. Practice varies depending on individual programme chairpersons and module co-ordinators, according to a report carried out for the higher education regulatory watchdog, Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 8 May]

“Concern over the lack of training for doctoral students who are given teaching roles has been flagged in a new review of Dublin City University by the State’s regulator for higher education qualifications. It is the first wide-ranging quality review to be carried out of an Irish university by a team of academics commissioned by the Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 8 May]

“Sir, – Third-level institutions must take some responsibility for the high drop-out rate at college level. Does the Higher Education Authority monitor the quality of lecturing, the lecture content and the exam processes of these institutions? …” (more)

[Kathleen Barton, Irish Times, 19 February]

“My first batch of examination marking having been completed satisfactorily and my next paper not taking place until the weekend (Saturday morning, to be precise), I naively hoped that I could devote myself to research for a few days this week as I am behind schedule in completing a couple of papers …” (more)

[In the Dark, 17 January]

“Academic standards at the Union Theological College (UTC) are potentially ‘at risk’ in a number of areas, a watchdog has warned. The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) monitors standards in higher education institutions across the UK. The college is run by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and teaches theology to Queen’s University students …” (more)

[Robbie Meredith, BBC News, 5 November]

“DCU has just undergone an institutional quality review and that’s fine. I’m all in favour of accountability. But I do have a serious problem with the whole issue of quality and it has caused me to have a disagreement or two over the years with external examiners …” (more)

[An Irish Blog about Education, 2 November]

“Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which third level education requires ongoing assessment and updating in line with best practice internationally in order to ensure the ability of graduates to compete internationally; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 16 October]

“Mary Mitchell O Connor, TD, Minister for Higher Education, today launched two reports by the national regulator for quality in Further and Higher Education: Quality within higher education which is a summary report of the quality assurance and quality enhancement activities in publicly funded higher education institutions pertaining to the previous academic year; and Professional Body Accreditation in Higher Education Institutions in Ireland which was commissioned by QQI to establish a clearer picture of the professional accreditation landscape in Ireland …” (more)

[Department of Education and Skills, 13 December]

“Sir, – I want to thank Dr Greg Foley (Letters, August 7th) for his list of review processes at DCU. It should be required reading for anyone considering adding to the list …” (more)

[James Quinn, Irish Times, 14 August]

“Students’ unions in the UK claimed success in recent days after they were able to exclude 12 universities from a national student survey in an attempt to damage the government’s Teaching Excellence Framework. The radical action, they say, was successful. Now, if the Irish government does indeed introduce a similar framework, Irish students’ unions will need to decide what their stance will be on a policy that has divided UK higher education …” (more)

[Dominic McGrath, University Times, 12 AUgust]

“College lecturers have criticised plans which they say could result in rankings on teaching quality which place a major emphasis on student satisfaction. The Irish Times reported recently that a review into the quality of higher education is to be carried out by the Government following concerns over the impact of falling investment and rising student numbers …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 9 August]

“Sir, – With the news that the Minister for Education is considering the introduction of a UK-style Teaching Excellence Framework (Home News, July 25th) it is worth considering some of the quality processes that currently exist in the third-level sector, specifically my university, DCU …” (more)

[Greg Foley, Irish Times, 7 August]

“With the news that the minister is considering the introduction of a UK-style TEF (Teaching Excellence Framework) it is worth considering some of the quality process that currently exist in the third level sector, specifically my university, DCU …” (more)

[educationandstuff, 31 July]

“The Irish government, via Minister Bruton, is to ‘clamp down’ on essay mills. That trying, in effect, to outlaw d’internet is doomed to failure is indicative of how little sensible focus is exerted on real challenges facing the higher education sector. Here are ten things that are more deserving than essay mills of ministerial press releases, actions, legislation, appearances on morning radio …” (more)

[Brian M Lucey, 15 May]

“Higher education quality assurance staff have been told that it is ‘about time’ that they did more to demonstrate the value of their activities. Jeroen Huisman, professor of higher education at Ghent University, told the European Quality Assurance Forum that ‘surprisingly little work’ had been conducted on the impact of its members’ efforts …” (more)

[Chris Havergal, Times Higher Education, 24 November]

“Jo Johnson, the new Minister for Higher Education, surprised nobody last week by asserting his determination to deliver the Conservative Party’s manifesto commitment to ‘introduce a framework to recognise universities offering the highest teaching quality’. This will now be known as the Teaching Excellence Framework …” (more)

[Derfel’s Blog, 5 July]

“So there’s some excitement being generated this month with respect to the OECD’s Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO). Roughly speaking, AHELO is the higher education equivalent of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) …” (more)

[Alex Usher, HESA, 21 May]

“Sir, – In relation to Ms Hooper’s letter (December 5th), in which she asserts that what universities need is more rigorous, external examination, I wish to point out the following: As head of a department that will be examined on two occasions by an external professional body in 2015 …” (more)

[Patrick Ryan, Irish Times, 8 December]

“Administrators in universities used to be people who would support academics in their role. Now it feels increasingly as if the administrative machine follows Parkinson’s law, not only creating more work for themselves (under the guise of quality monitoring) but also more work for people who entered academia …” (more)

[Guardian Professional, 15 August]