ST. PATRICK’S COLLEGE, THURLES 

 INSTITUTIONAL / PROGRAMMATIC REVIEW RECOMMENDATIONS 

 

 

Report on Progress  

 

 

 

1 October 2010 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

A systematic approach was taken to tackling the recommendations of the Expert Panel recommendations. Firstly, St. Patrick’s College’s response was submitted to HETAC. This response clearly stated the recommendations that were accepted and those which the college held reservations

about. The response also included an improvement plan. This plan detailed all of the recommendations and the personnel responsible for acting on them. Additionally, recommendations from the College’s own self-evaluation review were included, where appropriate. Some of the recommendations were duplicated or made redundant by the panel’s recommendations and as such were not included.

The president, academic coordinator and registrar arranged teams who were assigned responsibility for the acting on various recommendations. One person was appointed on each team as a coordinator/contact point. A template was devised whereby each team would document their plans of action and submit regular progress reports. The College Management Team consulted with the appointed College Advisor, Dermot Finan, on a number of different occasions during the implementation of the improvement plan. Mr. Finan reviewed the reports and discussed progress. Mr. Finan found the process to work very well and the system to be useful for maintaining momentum.

This report is divided into two parts. Part I lists all recommendations, the personnel responsible for them and their overall status. Part II is a summary of the actions taken to fulfil the recommendations.

PART I

STATUS OF ALL RECOMMENDATIONS

 

Overall Status of Individual Expert Panel and Self‐Evaluation Review Recommendations 

Recommendation Responsible Status 1. Focus on the management of stakeholder relationships with local schools, committees, business groups and career guidance counsellors etc. This will help increase both the quality and quantity of public awareness, public relations and the profile of the College.

CMcC, LNcC, SL, CS

COMPLETE

2. Develop a dedicated oversight function at the governing body/authority level to include additional expertise from the higher education and training sector.

SD, PH, TF, RP

COMPLETE

3. Review decision making structures and processes to ensure there is a separation of governance, operational management and academic decision-making. All elements should have clearly defined Terms of Reference.

SD, PH, TF, RP

COMPLETE

4. Review development of Strategic Plan, in particular the sequencing between vision, mission and implementation.

SD, PH, TF, RP

WIP 

5. A more clearly defined Academic Council should be constituted, with clearly articulated Terms of Reference. The Council should have a constitution which includes a clear demarcation of its role and functions. The College may consider including external representation on its Academic Council from experienced academics or academic managers in other Higher Education institutions.

SD, PH, TF, RP

COMPLETE 

6. Internal management and academic committees and boards should meet in accordance with a coherent schedule and Terms of Reference for each committee and board.

SD, PH, TF, RP

COMPLETE 

7. Review Quality Assurance policies and procedures and ensure that they are fully fit-for-purpose. The quality assurance procedures are considered by the panel to be over elaborate for the size of the College, for example, the procedures describe a six committee structure where two committees may be sufficient such as an executive committee and a programme committee.

PH SD

WIP 

8. Develops a strategic Human Resources Plan that, inter alia, takes into account the current significant reliance on part-time staff. The proposed plan should focus staff development on higher education development needs rather than operational matters.

DC MRonan MRyan / SL CSpooner

COMPLETE

9. Develop a clear Teaching, Learning and Assessment Strategy to include more rigorous internal moderation on, for example, joint project supervision and double marking arrangements.

Academic Coordinator/ Registrar/ Heads of Departments/Stream Leaders

WIP 

10. Develop internal and external options for students who fail to achieve the necessary standard for teaching required for the Bachelor of Arts (Honours).

SD WIP 

11. The panel recommends that the College progress the development of a College Policy on the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).

PH SD

COMPLETE

12. The panel recommends that the College issue the European Diploma Supplement to graduates of the College in accordance with the State requirements on the National Diploma Supplement Template.

PH SD

COMPLETE

13. The panel recommends that the College consider developing both internal and external options for students who fail to achieve the necessary standards for teaching.

SD WIP 

14. Enhance the library stock, particularly for Business Studies and also for modules in the Religious Studies stream.

SD RP DC

COMPLETE 

15.1 Take immediate steps to appoint an Advisor to work directly with the President, at a strategic level to address issues of governance, effective development of the Strategic Plan and the development of a strategic alliance with another higher education institution.

TF COMPLETE

15.2 Enter into a formal strategic alliance with a higher education institution that will help ensure sustainability for the College in terms of planning and taking appropriate action to meet the current and future needs of the College and provide for its continued development.

TF SD

COMPLETE

PRI. Reduce the number of stated learning outcomes for all modules to a more realistic number and realign the individual module learning outcomes with the programme learning outcomes.

SD, RP LNiC DC

COMPLETE

PRII. Apply the weighting of the final award classification as indicated in the Self-Evaluation Report (page 48) with a greater weighting placed on the final year assessment of 25:75.

SD COMPLETE

PRIII. Establish alternative options, as part of the counselling service, for students who wish to change their career direction and move out of teaching.

SD CMcC

WIP

PRIV. Explore the use of a greater variety of assessment instruments in the continuous assessment of the modules.

SD,RP,LNiC, DC,MR,MF

COMPLETE

PRV. Re-appraise programme content and ethos to ensure that a possible overemphasis on the Roman Catholic faith is avoided and that students are fully equipped also to teach in non Roman Catholic schools.

DC SEE COLLEGE RESPONSE

PRVI. The practice of having only one ‘Teaching Practice’ supervisor per student should be revised. Legislation that is relevant to the ‘Teaching Practice’ component should be relocated in the curriculum.

MR MF CS

COMPLETE

PRVII. Due to the fact that graduates of the business stream will not have Teaching Council recognition to teach economics, the College should review the number of ECTS credits allocated to the economics module with a view to reducing it.

RP SEE COLLEGE RESPONSE

PRVIII. The variation between continuous assessment and terminal examination weightings in the Business modules should be reviewed to ensure that they reflect a broader range of assessment strategies relevant to business.

RP COMPLETE

SERI. Increase representation at Programme Boards and Examination Boards TF Stream Leaders

COMPLETE

SERII. Increase effectiveness of Programme Board meetings – programme monitoring PH COMPLETE

SERIII. Plan, develop and implement a customised Information System

PH AC MG

COMPLETE

SERIV. Remodel website

MG SD

COMPLETE

 

LNcC – Laoise Ní Cheallaigh – Head of Nua‐Ghaeilge Stream     CSpooner – Caitriona Spooner – Senior Lecturer 

DC – Diane Corkery – Head of Religious Studies Stream      AC – Austin Cooney – IT helpdesk 

RP – Rebecca Purcell – Head of Business Studies Stream     MG – Marian Gleeson – Assistant Registrar 

PH – Paula Hourigan – Registrar           TF – Fr. Tom Fogarty – President 

SD – Shane Dempsey – Academic Coordinator       SL – Seamus Lynch ‐ Lecturer  

MRonan – Madeline Ronan – Lecturer 

MRyan – Maria Ryan ‐ Lecturer 

CMcC – Catherine McCormack ‐ School Liaison Officer/Lecturer/Student Counsellor  

Stream Leaders – Laoise Ní Cheallaigh, Martin Fitzgerald, Michael Ryan, Diane Corkery, Rebecca Purcell

 

 

 

 

 

PART II

PROGRESS REPORTS

Recommendation

1. Focus on the management of stakeholder relationships with local schools, committees, business groups and career guidance counsellors etc. This will help increase both the quality and quantity of public awareness, public relations and the profile of the college.

Progress

The group decided on a list of relevant stakeholders and devised a calendar of events which would be used to target these various bodies with the aim of increasing the quality and quantity of public awareness, enhance public relations and ultimately raise the profile of the college. This calendar is now saved on the staff shared drive and all staff are actively encouraged to be cognisant of upcoming events and to add to the calendar as appropriate.

The College’s school liaison officer continues to manage relationships with schools all over the country and is an active member of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors (IGC). Laoise Ní Cheallaigh, Ceann na Nua-Ghaeilge, has fostered very close ties with a number of local schools, in particular the local VEC school. She is facilitating the development of a local homework club. Laoise will propose students of the College to take part in this programme on a voluntary basis. Dr. Máire Ní Ríordáin, the College’s new Head of Education, has recently contacted all local post-primary schools and has welcomed all principals to meet with her with a view to introducing herself and developing closer ties. Additionally, the Religious Studies and Business Department have numerous staff who have very close ties with schools all over the country. A wide variety of links have been fostered/enhanced with various groups during the course of the last academic year, including:

EDIN - Educational Developers in Ireland Network

LIN – Leraning Innovation Network

AISHE – All Ireland Society for Higher Education

ESAI – Educational Studies Association of Ireland

LTN – The Learning Teacher Network

SCOTENS - Standing Conference on Teacher Education, North and South

BSTAI – Business Studies Teachers’ Association of Ireland

COGG – Comhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta & Gaelscolaíochta

Oifig na gCáilíochtaí

Foras na Gaeilge

Conradh na Gaeilge

Léachtaí Cholm Cille

Ceiliúradh an Bhlascaoid

IGC-Institute of Guidance Counsellors

Institute of Public Administration (IPA)

Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)

Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ACA)

Irish Taxation Institute (AITI)

Irish Tourism and Hospitality Research Network

Centre for Information and Knowledge Management, Research Group

Irish Biblical Association

Society of Biblical Literature

Catholic Biblical Association of America

Ecclesiastical History Society

European Society for Catholic Theology

European Network on the Instruments of Devotion

Fair Trade Thurles

Tipp FM

Thurles Education Centre

Trocaire

Recommendation

2. Develop a dedicated oversight function at the governing body/authority level to include additional expertise from the higher education and training sector.

Progress

The group identified twelve different institutions and researched their structures and terms of reference for their various governing bodies. Having done this, the group decided on an appropriate number of members and decided on a target skill-set to aim for in potential members. At this stage progress was discussed with the College Advisor. Articles of Governance were written and agreed in consultation with the Board of Trustees. A short-list of potential candidates was established. All candidates contacted accepted and a preliminary meeting was held on 1st June 2010. The first official Governing Board meeting will take place in St. Patrick’s College on 29th September. The board members are as follows:

Rev. Tom Fogarty – President, St. Patrick’s College

Dr. Richard Thorne – Director, Flexible Learning & Research, IOTI

Dr. Bernadette Flanagan – Director of Research, All Hallows

John Lonergan – Former Governor, Mountjoy Prison

Robbie Kelleher – Head of Global Investment Strategy, Davy Stockbrokers

Dr. Finbarr Bradley, Former Professor, DCU, UCD and NUI Maynooth

Rev. Christy O’Dwyer – Former President, St. Patrick’s College and Board of Trustees nominee

Rev. Celsus Tierney – Board of Trustees nominee

Ms. Paula Hourigan – Staff Representative

Recommendation

3. Review decision-making structures and processes to ensure there is a separation of governance, operational management and academic decision-making. All elements should have clearly defined Terms of Reference.

Progress

Having met with the College Advisor the following basic structure was decided on:

As detailed under recommendations 2 and 5 a Governing Board and Academic Council were appointed and terms of reference clearly defined for both bodies. The first Academic Council meeting took place on 19th May 2010. The management team has continued to operate under existing terms of reference. The creation of these bodies has allowed for a clear separation of governance, operational management and academic decision-making.

Recommendation

4. Review development of Strategic Plan, in particular the sequencing between vision, mission and implementation.

Progress

The College Management Team drafted a vision which reflects the current aspirations of the College. The College mission statement continues to reflect the purpose of St. Patrick’s College, the College’s primary stakeholders and our responsibilities towards our stakeholders.

Our strategic plan has been dictated by the fulfilling of the recommendations contained in the expert panel’s report. This has equipped the College with an immediate roadmap which has proved to be very effective. Long-term planning is largely dependant on the outcomes arising from the fulfilling of some of these recommendations. For instance, recommendation 15.2 – “Enter into a formal strategic alliance…” The choice of alliance partner naturally will impact on the strategic direction that the College will ultimately takes.

This alliance is currently being negotiated with a HEI from the university sector. The prospective partner has agreed to conduct a review of the College and its programmes with a view to accrediting them. The formation of this alliance has now enabled an engagement in long-term planning and the re-engineering of a five-year strategic plan.

Recommendation

5. A more clearly defined Academic Council should be constituted, with clearly articulated Terms of Reference. The Council should have a constitution which includes a clear demarcation of its role and functions. The College may consider including external representation on its Academic Council from experienced academics or academic managers in other Higher Education institutions.

Progress

The group responsible researched structures and terms of reference of Academic Councils in multiple institutions in Ireland and determined the appropriate size and structure for St. Patrick’s College in consultation with the College Advisor. Following this, terms of reference and a Constitution of the Academic Council was drafted. An inaugural Academic Council meeting took place on 19th May 2010. The College Advisor, who was unable to attend the initial meeting, has been invited to attend the next Academic Council meeting as an observer. This meeting is scheduled for 20th October 2010. At the inaugural Governing Board meeting, on 29th September, the establishing of an Academic Council Committee was proposed to deal with emergency items on behalf of the Council. This committee is to consist of approximately three members and is to be known as the Executive Committee.

Recommendation

6. Internal management and academic committees and boards should meet in accordance with a coherent schedule and Terms of Reference for each committee and board.

Progress

Having decided on an appropriate structure for the College (see recommendation 3) terms of reference were agreed for all of the relevant bodies. The implementation of the new structure began at the end of the last academic year and is continuing at present.

Recommendation

7. Review Quality Assurance policies and procedures and ensure that they are fully fit-for-purpose. The quality assurance procedures are considered by the panel to be over elaborate for the size of the College, for example, the procedures describe a six committee structure where two committees may be sufficient such as an executive committee and a programme committee.

Progress

As per recommendation 3 the organisational structure of the college has been restructured with each body having clearly defined terms of reference.

The Governing Board is responsible for:

(a) the development of the educational and pastoral character of the College in accordance with its Catholic ethos and the fostering of scholarship and academic excellence;

(b) the management, conduct and control of all the affairs, finances as per approved college budgets. The Board of Trustees reserves the right to control the sale of College property;

(c) the effective and efficient use of resources; (d) approving the annual estimates of income and expenditure, as determined by the finance

committee, and the management of the budget and resources available to the College; (e) exercising the option of representation on assessment panels dealing with the employment

of staff; (f) the deployment, appraisal, promotion, demotion, suspension, dismissal, determination of

the pay and conditions of service and the development of staff; (g) the expulsion of students in accordance with the regulations of the College; (h) the promotion of co-operation with any other institution, authority or body for any

purpose of the College; (i) undertaking any responsibility, which is necessary and appropriate to promote the

development of the College.

The functions of the Academic Council include:

(a) the design and development of programmes of study;

(b) the establishment of structures to implement those programmes; (c) the making of recommendations on programmes for the development of research; (d) the making of recommendations relating to the selection, admission, retention and exclusion

of students generally; (e) the proposing of the form and content of policies to be made relating to the academic affairs

of the College, including the conduct of examinations, the determination of examination results, the procedures for appeals by students relating to the results of such examinations and the evaluation of academic progress;

(f) the making of recommendations for the awarding of scholarships, bursaries, prizes or other awards;

(g) the provision, maintenance and monitoring of quality assurance procedures; (h) the performing of any other functions which may be delegated to it by the Governing Board;

and (i) the implementation of any directives and regulations made by the Governing Board relating to

any of the matters referred to above.

The Management Team of St Patrick’s College (i.e. President, Registrar, Academic Coordinator, Head of Religious Studies, Head of Education, Head of Business, Ceann na Nua-Ghaeilge, Caitriona Spooner (senior lecturer and ex-registrar) and Chaplain) meets at regular intervals (formally once a month but, in practice, more often as particular issues arise) and has responsibility for the operational management of the College. Its remit includes strategic planning, the monitoring of student intake, appraisal of facilities, planning of College events and publicity, course development and appraisal, issues pertaining to the pastoral care of individual students, etc. Given that the Management Team comprises full-time members of staff who are, perhaps, best acquainted with the day-to-day concerns of the College, and given its frequent convention, it is often in this forum that issues requiring attention are first discussed. At this stage, the staff member or body responsible for dealing with the issue is then identified and the duty of taking appropriate action is duly apportioned.

One Programme Board acts for both programmes. This has proven to be effective as two thirds of both of the College’s programmes are in common, i.e. the Religious Studies and Education components. The main focus of the Programme Board is to monitor the ongoing delivery of programmes and to introduce improvements where necessary. All lecturing staff together with student representative from the programmes under consideration comprises the Programme Board. The Programme Board meets three times per year.

Following a meeting of the College President, Academic Coordinator and Registrar with HETAC personnel in June 2010 it was agreed that St. Patrick’s College would amend the functions of the Academic Council to include overall responsibility for quality assurance. The Constitution has been amended and is expected to be approved by the Academic Council. The QA manual is currently being reengineered to reflect the changes above and will be submitted to the Academic Council for approval in due course. The reengineering process will also be impacted by developments with the College’s alliance partner.

At the inaugural Governing Board meeting, on 29th September, the establishing of an Academic Council Committee was proposed to deal with emergency items on behalf of the Council. This committee is to consist of approximately three members and is to be known as the Executive Committee.

Recommendation

8. Develop a Strategic Human Resources Plan that, inter alia, takes into account the current significant reliance on part-time staff. The proposed plan should focus staff development on higher education development needs rather than operational matters.

Progress

Following the institutional review the College appointed a full-time head of business (previously this position was staffed on a part-time basis by a Tipperary Institute staff member), two full-time staff members and one full-time staff member on a year-long contract. A full-time head of the new Nua-Ghaeilge department was also appointed. In August 2010, the College appointed a full-time Head of Education and one more full-time lecturer for the education department. This has had a very positive effect on the College and reduced an over-reliance on part-time staff. Staffing in the religious studies department continues to be predominantly part-time, largely due to the specialist nature of the modules. With our current student numbers, it would be difficult to hire a full-time staff member for this department as they would be unlikely to be capable of lecturing on more than one or two modules. However, it is worth noting that the majority of part-time staff in this department have been lecturing for quite a number of years and have demonstrated a great commitment and loyalty to the College. The establishment of in-house Heads of Department has had an immensely positive effect on improving the student experience and quality of communication at a department and inter-department level.

Since the institutional review St. Patrick’s College has developed policies and guidelines which acknowledge the importance of providing continuous professional development (CPD) opportunities for staff members and has committed to supporting staff in their professional and research activities. The College is committed to facilitating the CPD of staff, and to affording staff members the time and space to engage with professional development activities that enhance the professional roles within the College. In order to foster a culture of research and to encourage staff members to engage with the CPD process, the College has put a number of support structures in place. The College accepts that it is difficult for staff members to make the significant financial contributions necessary to undertake substantial research and/or professional development programmes. A CPD bank account has been set up and the College has committed to lodging a specific amount to this on an annual basis. Remaining funds will rollover to the following year. Already, staff have applied for funding to aid with PhD fees and fees associated with presenting papers at conferences. The College is also committed to supporting academic staff in other practical ways. Staff can apply for leave for one day per week to enable the completion of research studies and short-term leave of absence to enable academic research. A minimum of two CPD workshops will also be held for all staff per academic year. Already this year (2010-’11) two workshops have been held on the use of interactive whiteboards.

Recommendation

9. Develop a clear Teaching, Learning and Assessment Strategy to include more rigorous internal moderation on, for example, joint project supervision and double marking arrangements.

Progress

A lot of attention has been given to enhancing teaching, learning and assessment methods since the Institutional Review. A CPD session was held by the College for all staff on the use of assessment instruments and their effectiveness. This session was facilitated by Marian Fitzmaurice (Learning and Teaching Centre, DIT) and her colleague, Lloyd Scott. Lecturers were given an opportunity to discuss assessment methods employed by the different departments and to air novel assessment methods and to assess their positive and negative points. All heads of departments met following this session and have devised a follow-up session. The College Registrar, Academic Coordinator, three Heads of Departments and one Senior Lecturer attended HETAC’s symposium in May 2010 entitled Repositioning Learner Assessment in Higher Education. While the College acknowledges the virtues of joint project supervision and double marking, these methods have yet to be employed across all departments due to resource constraints. However the Education department will be utilising double marking during the course of Teaching Practice assessment beginning this year.

A CPD session is currently being organised which will focus on the area of teaching methodologies with a particular emphasis on engaging with the learner and creating an interactive classroom environment.

As with other recommendations, there was a consensus that the choice of alliance partner should be finalised prior to the drafting of a finalised Teaching, Learning and Assessment strategy. It was felt that the methods employed in the partner institution would be likely to have an impact on the ultimate implementation of a strategy in St. Patrick’s College.

Recommendation

10. Develop internal and external options for students who fail to achieve the necessary standard for teaching required for the Bachelor of Arts (Honours).

13. The panel recommends that the College consider developing both internal and external options for students who fail to achieve the necessary standards for teaching. PR III. Establish alternative options, as part of the counselling service, for students who wish to change their career direction and move out of teaching.

Progress

Having consulted with the College Advisor a decision was taken at management level to defer the development of alternative programmes for students who wish to exit from the teacher education programmes until a strategic alliance was in place. The reason for this was two-fold. Firstly, it was felt that the new alliance partner may be able to provide direct exit options and secondly the creation of an alliance is likely to have an impact on the nature of programmes that will ultimately be accredited.

Having initiated the formation of an alliance, the College has commenced strategic planning with specific regard to programme development. The accreditation process for the two existing BA programmes – BA (Hons) in Education, Business Studies and Religious Studies and the BA (Hons) in Education, Irish and Religious Studies has commenced. Following accreditation of the existing programmes, the College plans to seek accreditation for two further programmes using the existing model and introducing a new stream. The introduction of the additional stream will mean that in addition to an Education Department, the College will have four distinct departments specialising in distinct subject areas. The College believes that the introduction of extra modules will facilitate the development of a general arts degree which will enhance the College’s prospectus and provide a direct exit option for students who wish to change their career direction and move out of teaching.

Recommendation

11. The Panel recommends that the College progress the development of a College Policy on the Recognition of Prior Learning.

Progress

Following the Institutional Review, the College Registrar attended a workshop, hosted in DIT for policy makers developing guidelines on the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in December 2009. A draft policy has now been completed and is due to be considered at the first Academic Council meeting of this year.

Recommendation

12. The panel recommends that the College issue the European Diploma Supplement to graduates of the College in accordance with the State requirements on the National Diploma Supplement Template.    

Progress

The College Registrar consulted on the wording of the European Diploma Supplement with the Teaching Council and other bodies. Once satisfied that the wording was accurate, the supplements were finalised and forwarded to all graduates.

Recommendation

14. Enhance the library stock, particularly for Business Studies and also for modules in the Religious Studies stream.

Progress

Following the Institutional Review a full inventory was conducted on library stock. A list was compiled which catalogued the number of copies of each listing and whether individual copies were for loan on a reserve or longer term basis. An optimum level of stock was decided on for each stream. Additionally, the head of the Religious Studies Department requested all staff to update their bibliographies to satisfy concerns mentioned by the expert panel’s Religious Studies expert. All stock was ordered and levels have been maintained since the review. In addition to physical library stock, the College’s online journal database (EBSCO), which had included a Religion & Philosophy Collection offering nearly 300 full text journals, including more than 250 peer-reviewed titles, was enhanced to include Business Source Premier. Business Source Premier provides full text for more than 2,300 journals, including full text for more than 1,100 peer-reviewed titles.

Recommendation

15.1 Take immediate steps to appoint an Advisor to work directly with the President, at a strategic level to address issues of governance, effective development of the Strategic Plan and the development of a strategic alliance with another higher education institution.

Progress

Mr. Dermot Finan (former registrar of Sligo IT) was appointed as the College Advisor immediately after the review. Mr. Finan was instrumental in guiding the President and Management Team regarding the fulfilling of the expert panel’s recommendations. The College benefited greatly from Mr. Finan’s input, particularly at a strategic planning level. As can be seen from the progress documented under recommendation 5, the drafting of a long-term strategic plan is dependent on the fulfilling of some of the other panel recommendations. For instance, recommendation 15.2 – “Enter into a formal strategic alliance…” will impact on the strategic direction that the College ultimately takes.

The College Advisor was consulted prior to the appointment of a Governing Board and Academic Council and the drafting of terms of reference for both these bodies.

Additionally, the College President would have liaised with Mr. Finan in relation to negotiations with prospective alliance partners.

Recommendation

15.2 Enter into a formal strategic alliance with a higher education institution that will help ensure sustainability for the College in terms of planning and taking appropriate action to meet the current and future needs of the College and provide for its continued development.

Progress

In total the President, Academic Coordinator and Registrar were involved in negotiations at varying levels with a number of institutions with a view to potentially forming an alliance. Talks were concentrated on accreditation of programmes and the potential for future collaboration. The College has now initiated a review process with one of the universities with the mutual aim of having programmes accredited by the university’s academic council. It is intended that this review process will have concluded by the end of this academic year (2010-2011) and will be at a very advanced stage by Christmas 2010.

Recommendation

PR I. Reduce the number of stated learning outcomes for all modules to a more realistic number and realign the individual module learning outcomes with the programme learning outcomes.

Progress

Programme learning outcomes for the BA (Hons) in Education, Business Studies and Religious Studies and the BA (Hons) in Education, Irish and Religious Studies were revised and reduced. Following this all streams revised and where appropriate reduced the number of module learning outcomes so that every module now has between four and seven learning outcomes. Programme documents were amended to indicate which learning outcome grouping (e.g. knowledge, know-how and skill, competence) each individual learning outcome is aligned to.

Recommendation

PR II. Apply the weighting of the final award classification as indicated in the Self‐Evaluation Report (page 48) with a greater weighting placed on the final year assessment of 25:75. 

Progress

The Self-Evaluation Report submitted by St. Patrick’s College to HETAC prior to the expert panel visit indicated that the College intended that students’ final award marks would be based on 3rd and 4th year marks using a weighting, with the greater weighting placed on final year assessment. This has been implemented by applying a ratio of 25:75 with the greater weighting applied to 4th year results. This has been explicitly stated in student and staff handbooks. Students were emailed to advise them of the changes and having discussed this further at a Programme Board meeting on 7th October 2009, heads of departments and all lecturing staff agreed to reinforce this to students in the course of their lecturing.

Recommendation

PR IV. Explore the use of a greater variety of assessment instruments in the continuous assessment of the modules. 

Progress

A CPD session was held by the college for all staff on the use of assessment instruments and their effectiveness. This session was facilitated by Marian Fitzmaurice (Learning and Teaching Centre, DIT) and her colleague, Lloyd Scott. Lecturers were given an opportunity to discuss assessment methods employed by the different departments and to air novel assessment methods and to assess their positive and negative points. All Heads of Departments met following this session and have devised a follow-up session. Lecturers now employ a greater variety of assessment instruments. For example, this academic year the Business Department are trialling the use of peer-marking for group based assessments. Lecturers across all departments use a huge variety of different assessment methods, including, portfolios, presentations, exhibitions, critical analysis of journal articles, case studies, reflective journals, class plans, microteaching, peer teaching and cross-modular assessments.

Recommendation

PR V. Re-appraise programme content and ethos to ensure that a possible overemphasis on the Roman Catholic faith is avoided and that students are fully equipped also to teach in non Roman Catholic schools.

College Response1

The College accepts that students benefit from exposure to a diversity of Christian and varied Religious traditions. Given the Catholic history and ethos of St Patrick’s College, there is naturally a Roman Catholic element incorporated into the programme. However, the College believes that this is not to the detriment of the equipping of students to teach in non Roman Catholic schools, given that the majority of modules encompass the broader Christian tradition and are delivered from a critical standpoint. Students have successfully undertaken Teaching Practice and have gained employment in schools that do not exclusively subscribe to a Roman Catholic ethos. The College will continue to review the programme content to ensure that students are fully equipped to teach in both Roman Catholic and non Roman Catholic Schools.

                                                            1 This section and subsequent sessions entitled “College Response” are extracted from the document Response to Recommendations made by the Expert Panel and Improvement Plan published by St. Patrick’s College and submitted to HETAC in September 2009.   

Recommendation

PRVI. The practice of having only one ‘Teaching Practice’ supervisor per student should be revised. Legislation that is relevant and appropriate to the ‘Teaching Practice’ component should be re-located in the curriculum.

Progress

Following the appointment of a new Head of Education in August 2010 a restructuring of the Teaching Practice Supervision process was instigated. Students will now have two visits during their teaching practice from two different supervisors as intimated by the Expert Panel. The supervisors will collaborate closely and award an agreed mark, thereby satisfying the recommendation.

The positioning of legislation relevant and appropriate to the Teaching Practice component was reviewed. Legislation relevant to Classroom Management is covered in the syllabi in years two, three and four. Legislation regarding codes of discipline, appeals procedures and section 29, etc. are examined in year 2. Legislation relevant to Special Needs (EPSEN, 2004) is studied in year 3 and legislation regarding the The Teaching Council Act in year 4.

Elements of the Teaching Council Codes of Discipline have been introduced into year one module – Preparation for Teaching Practice and related documents are available to students in the library.

Recommendation

PRVII. Due to the fact that graduates of the business stream will not have Teaching Council recognition to teach economics, the College should review the number of ECTS credits allocated to the economics module with a view to reducing it.

College Response

The College is committed to providing students with a broad understanding of the Business field. It is the view of the College that Economics is an important foundation area within the Business Stream, even though it is noted that students will not have Teaching Council Recognition to teach Economics. The College feels justified to equate the importance of Economics (as a central part of the incremental development of subjects in the Business Sub Stream) to 1/8th of the Business Stream (or 10 credits). However, the College is prepared to keep the matter under review.

Incremental development - Business Sub Stream

Management Principles Marketing Principles Economics Entrepreneurship Strategic Management

Incremental development - Business Sub Stream

Quantitative Techniques Fundamental Accounting Financial Accounting I Financial Accounting II Financial Accounting III

The following additional rationales are also cited:

1. Quantitative Methods was reduced from 10 credits to 5 credits based on a review in line with the Economics syllabus, whereby overlap was eliminated from Quantitative Methods and delivered within Economics, this increases the importance of maintaining Economics as a 10 credit module, to ensure the continued delivery of this material

2. Unit 7 of the Business Syllabus at Leaving Certificate focuses on the International trading Environment, and Unit 2 of the Junior Certificate Business Studies Syllabus focuses on Economic Awareness. An ability to effectively deliver on both of these subject areas is enhanced through a 10 credit foundation in Macro and Micro Economic concepts

3. Completing 10 ECTS in Economics, gives students improved transfer and progression options within the Business field

Recommendation

PRVIII. The variation between continuous assessment and terminal examination weightings in the Business modules should be reviewed to ensure that they reflect a broader range of assessment strategies relevant to business.

Progress

The Head of Business decided in consultation with the Business Department on the appropriate changes that would be made to the continuous assessment weightings of the Business modules. A mechanism was also initiated to enable the conducting of a systematic and cyclical review of assessment strategies to ensure a broad selection of strategies relevant to business would be employed. This system is proving to be very effective with the Business department pioneering many novel assessment methods in the College. The following represents the changes which were made to assessment weightings:

Subject Weighting % Continuous Assessment % Final Examination Management 40 60 Marketing 40 60 Cost and Management Accounting 40 60 Strategic Management 40 60 Additional Points:

Quantitative Techniques maintains a weighting of 100% Continuous Assessment Economics maintains a weighting of 40% Continuous Assessment and 60% Final Examination Entrepreneurship and Business Law maintains a weighting of 50% Continuous Assessment and 50%

Final Examination Fundamental Accounting, Financial Accounting and Advanced Accounting Principles maintain a

weighting of 30% Continuous Assessment and 70% Final Examination. These adjustments in weighting allow for a broad range of continuous assessment strategies to be employed.

The remaining points represent improvements decided on internally following the College’s Self-Evaluation process. Many, of the areas identified internally were reiterated by the Panel and as such are not cited here in an attempt to avoid duplication.

Recommendation

SER I. Increase representation at Programme Boards and Examination Boards

Progress

A concerted effort was initiated to encourage greater student and staff representation which had a very positive response. Attendance records are kept and monitored. Represenation has been excellent since the Self-evaluation Review was conducted.

Recommendation

SERII. Increase effectiveness of Programme Board meetings

Progress

Improved student attendance has had a very positive impact on the effectiveness of Programme Board meetings. Student Representatives attend the beginning of every meeting and are invited to table student issues pertaining to the programmes. Staff may give a response directly to the student representatives at the meeting or may do so soon after the meeting, having had the opportunity to give the matter further consideration.

The Registrar now uses the first Programme Board meeting of the academic year to present an analysis of the student body profile and examination statistics.

The College is satisfied that Programme Board meetings are operating very effectively and provide a vital forum for all staff and students involved with the programmes.

Recommendation

SER III. Plan Develop and Implement a customized information system.    

Progress

Having decided on a model which would be fit-for-purpose a meeting was arranged with the developer to discuss the College’s needs. The developer has tailor-made a fit-for-purpose system having engaged closely in a consultative manner with the College Registrar. As well as the obvious functionality in terms of collating and storing student records, the system has been developed with the intention that it will also be of use in the Teaching Practice process. The system is now operational. The College Registrar is liaising with the developer regarding modifying the system following a period whereby the software has been trialled.

Recommendation

SER IV. Remodel Website 

Progress

The redevelopment of the College website was outsourced to an IT company. The new website was constructed such that it enables in-house updating. The new website is functioning well and is utilised to a much greater degree, particularly in terms of advertising courses and communicating with students and stakeholders.